Omnium-gatherum
Matt Hanson’s Brain Archive
March 7, 2006
JFK
Movies ‘based’ on true stories have always bothered me. On one hand it can make a movie much more interesting knowing that the movie has some basis in reality but on the other hand I think everyone needs to realize that these movies are still fiction, albeit historical fiction. JFK is based on a book by Jim Garrison, a New Orleans district attorney who brought it upon himself, years later, to solve the mystery of hte JFK assassination. The movie is certainly entertaining, well done, and at least on the surface, informative. The problem lies in that much of the movie is made up - several characters never actually existed in real life. It makes several leaps and connections that seem very reasonable in the framework of the film but in reality are quite far-fetched.
Films/TV are the most popular medium today so films like JFK can be dangerous. The vast majority of people who have watched JFK will never ask questions about it’s accuracy, will never read real historical accounts, and will simply assume it to be a mostly true account. I’m not saying that the theories presented in the movie are false, nor do I know them to be true. I don’t know what happened on Nov 22nd, 1963 and it’s doubtful that anyone ever will - Oliver Stone included.
Watch the movie but take it with a grain of salt. If you find yourself shaking your head at the end of the movie, wondering about the evils of the US government, then consider that you’ve just let yourself be convinced by entertainment that doesn’t even claim to be 100% true.
November 14, 2005
Kung-Fu Hustle
There are three main styles of the Wuxia, or “Kung-Fu”, film. The Bruce Lee style is real, or as a real as it can be and still be a good movie. There there is a more fanciful style that frequently uses “wire-fu“. The characters in the film perform amazing physical feats, such as jumping/flying, running up walls or tree limbs. The popular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is such a film, as are countless others. The third style of Wuxia film takes the fantasy element one step further. Heroes and villians, no longer content with amazing feats of physical prowess, are now endowed with supernatural abilities. They are the Chinese counterparts to Western Superheroes.
Kung Fu Hustle falls into the third camp with it’s Super-Heroes, and Super-Villians, who can fight, jump, fly, destroy city blocks by yelling, grab bullets from the air, and even get knocked into outer space and survive a fiery re-entry through the atmosphere. Kung-Fu Hustle has amazing special effects and a unique story. Perhaps it is the fact that I am a Westerner but in many Wuxia films I am unable to even guess what will happen next. Kung-Fu Hustle is like going to the circus as a bright-eyed, naive young kid, continuously amazed at the sights and sounds, no preconceptions about the end, and giddy with the plain silliness of at all.
If you are not a fan of the genre you may very well think it’s a horrible piece of drivel, non-sensical, stupid, and with no redeeming qualities. For the non-fan here’s the litmus test: If you thought “Big Trouble in Little China” was stupid then stay away. If you liked it, and you like the western super-hero genre, and think The Tick is funny, then it will at least entertain you.
As a fan of the Kung-Fu genre, and of bizarre films in general, Kung-Fu Hustle is an amazing film, and among the best of it’s kind. I would give it a rare 5/5.
October 22, 2005
Shaun of the Dead
Ok who doesn’t like a good zombie movie? Especially one as entertaining and quirky as Shaun of the Dead. Most cult horror movies aren’t obviously funny, Shaun of the Dead breaks that mold. It’s advertised as a zombie comedy while it pokes fun at all the zombie movie stereotypes. In fact, the official tagline calls it a romantic comedy, with zombies. See the official website.
There are two particularly noteworth scenes in the film. 1) Shaun and Ed chat about which albums are ok to throw at two oncoming zombies and 2) a series of cut scenes where Shaun and Ed run through the plan on how to rescue Shaun’s ex-girlfriend, kill his step-dad, and wrap it up with a few pints down at the local pub while the zombie thing blows over.
If you’re a bit put off by zombies, or the occasional limb being ripped off, or oozing brains, then perhaps Shaun of the Dead isn’t for you. If you think all those things are good fun then Shaun of the Dead will definitely please. If you think that movies without zombies are boring, and more movies should have gratuitous zombie gore thrown in (even if just during the credits), then Shaun of the Dead will be a favorite for sure.
September 12, 2005
Devil in a Blue Dress
Some great films never attain a big audience like they deserve. We watched Devil in a Blue Dress after seeing a preview for it in One False Move, another Carl Franklin directed film. One False Move was a decent film, but Devil in a Blue Dress is a great film - it is the quintessential detective story.
Denzel Washington plays Easy, who has lost his job and finds himself working as an impromptu private investigator in 1948 Los Angelos. With voice narration, gangsters, betrayal, and the ‘dame’, it is film noir at it’s best. Of particular note is Don Cheadle’s portrayal of Mouse, Easy’s childhood friend from Texas who is both funny and frightening. A smallish unassuming figure Mouse has a propensity for violence, but a charming attitude you cannot help but like.
If you like classic film noir detective stories like Chinatown and L.A. Confidential, then Devil in a Blue Dress is a must.
August 30, 2005
Princess Mononoke
Hayao Miyazaki makes films you would never see coming out of the west. The plots strike as unusual or weird, but they are utterly fantastic. I very much enjoyed his earlier films, Castle in the Sky, and Spririted Away. With their unique plots and characters these animated features introduced a type of cinema I had not delved much into before - that of Japanese animation.
Princess Mononoke captivated me in a similar way. From the beginning you are immediately empathetic with the plight of Ashitaka and his village that was attacked by a demon-boar from a far away forest. Ashitaka voyages to the forest and the adjacent mining town that has declared war on the forest, the creatures inside, and the forest spirit. Mononoke is a human that lives in the forest, raised by wolves. The people of the mining town are hard working folk who want to progress foward and mine parts of the forest. The forest creatures resent the encroachment of humans into the forest. In their actions the humans unwittingly create evil revenge filled demon creates when they fight the boars and wolves of the forest. Ashitaka strives for peace between the two factions.
What makes Princess Mononoke so compelling is that (in our western manner) we like to take sides and the film takes you back and forth between both sides until you don’t know who is good and who is evil. While this seems like a straight forward concept it is virtually unknown in western film. When there are two opposing sides there is always one side that is portrayed as ‘good’ in the film, for the viewer to root for.
In the war between the Iron-town and the forest there is no victor, only an on-going desire for revenge. Such is the reality of war.
July 3, 2005
A Mighty Wind
A very worhwhile film if you enjoy satire. Similar to This Is Spinal Tap (same writer), A Mighty Wind is a “mockumentary” about folk music.
It is a very subtle satire, perhaps even more so then Spinal Tap, so much in fact that if a viewer may very well take it seriously if they didn’t know ahead of time it was a spoof. It’s the details that make the movie so impressive - the music, the album cover art and the wide range of characters. Fred Williard takes the show as Mike LaFontaine.
Check out these bits:
June 29, 2005
Batman Begins
I was never a comic book fiend, never watched the original Batman show, but fell in love with Batman due to Batman: The Animated Series. Batman became my favorite superhero and I realized what made Batman one of the most popular superhero’s - it’s not just Batman itself, it’s the villians. Batman has always had the most interesting and unique villians and Batman: TAS brought new depth to them. The Joker is not only one of the greatest villians invented, he is also the most widely known today in American pop culture.
The first Batman movie came out a few years before The Animated Series and it was a solid movie that I enjoy more now then I did in the theatre. But the movie offers a different type of Batman, a less agile one complete with body armor and less knowledge of the martial arts. The movies then declined, until the most recent movie. Batman Begins starts by examining the origins of Batman and focuses less on showcasing gadgets and vehicles for toy sales like the terrible Batman & Robin sequel did.
Batman has become a mythology unto it’s own, with every telling showing a different version of events. Batman Begins takes it’s own liberties and invents some of it’s own stories about the origins of Batman. While the story of Ra’s Al Ghul and the Society (or League) of Shadows is an old Batman story, the relationship between it and Bruce Wayne is new. It is a good version of the transformation of Bruce Wayne into Batman, has great back story of his training, and Michael Caine does a great Alfred. On the downside however the editing of the fight scenes was not so good, being too close and difficult to watch.
On the whole, Batman Begins is a great telling of a part of the Batman legend and one that most Batman fans are certain to enjoy.
June 3, 2005
The Aviator
A very interesting film about a piece of Howard Hughes‘ life, The Aviator is a very good film that shows us a great piece of history that while not forgotten goes unknown to a large portion of the populace. However true films like this always make me wonder. They are not just entertaining films, they replace historical accounts for many people who do not know the story of Howard Hughes outside this film. As such they become the most widely known account of history….do the writers and producers have an obligation to stay true to the real facts?
Leonardo DiCaprio, outside of Titanic, has had an impressive career and has been in several true story based films including Catch me if you Can and This Boy’s Life which are both great films. Some of DiCaprio’s best work remains his 1993 role of Arnie Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. He’s really come a long way since Growing Pains.
June 1, 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
If Episodes I and II were as good as as Episode III most people would be praising the genius of George Lucas for captivating us all with another trilogy nearly as good as the original 25 year old trilogy. But they weren’t and instead they were terrible. Focusing as much on the childhood of Anakin Skywalker was mistake as he tried to pack in all the interesting bits into Revenge of the Sith. The process of Anakin becoming Darth Vader and the take over the Empire is what we all wanted. That and more wookiees. Could have used more wookiees. Come on, we were all scammed in Return of the Jedi with Ewoks instead of wookiees. Between singing the Ewok song in 6th grade chorus and the cartoon and tv movies, well let’s just say I’m not a big fan. I’m also amazed that Yoda turned out to look so cool instead of looking like a funny flying muppet (due to the fact he was all digitally animated in these new movies)
In fact, the events in Episode III could have spanned three movies on their own and covered Anakin’s childhood only briefly. The love story of Anakin and Padme tops the charts for goofy and awkward dialog, but is still behind Darth Vader’s “NOOOOO” scream at the end. But if you recall Mark Hamill’s whiny voice as Luke Skywalker, dialog was never the strong point of Episodes I-III either but we loved them all the same. Let’s just be glad that Mark Hamill transformed into one of the best voice actors today.
Here’s my breakdown…
What’s yours?
May 23, 2005
Dogville
Dogville is perhaps the most unique film I have ever seen. It has no traditional set or scenery taking place basically on a large stage with tape on the floor indicating buildings and a minimal number of props (furniture, the meeting house bell tower, cars). The plot, while starting off ordinary and even a little slow starts to get more compelling and strange as the film progresses.
It is a film about human depravity, forgiveness, and misguided good intentions. It is about the misconception that good can be achieved through violence.
May 21, 2005
House of Flying Daggers
House of Flying Daggers is a good epic Martial Arts Film by Yimou Zhang, the man who directed Hero.
Zhang is fond of complicated story lines, Hero was full of alternate story lines that jumped around in time. Flying Daggers also has a complex plotline with twists and turns. House of Flying Daggers is a story of love and betrayal, with the amazing cinematography and fight choreography that was characteristic of Hero. I liked the Hero storyline a lot more, as Flying Daggers started off well but was too convoluted and a bit silly at the end. However if you liked Hero for the action and scenery you will enjoy Flying Daggers equally well.
