So Fall 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty great time to go to the movies. Opening a week after the tense, gripping, and highly recommended Gravity, Paul Greengrass' Captain Phillips is almost as tense and gripping, and just as good of a movie.
I have to be honest that I wasn't looking forward to this. Frankly, I was kind of underwhelmed by the trailer. I guess it really wasn't so bad of a trailer, but considering it was the same exact trailer played before most of the movies I've watched since May, it grated on my nerves after a while. Still, I changed my mind about seeing it after reading some good reviews.
And I'm glad I did.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Gravity
Look, I understand why people don't go to the movies these days. With DVRs, Netflix/Hulu/Amazon, iTunes Season Passes, and many other ways to get our entertainment at our fingertips, a trip to the local cineplex seems less essential than ever. Even a non 3D ticket often pushes $10 these days, especially when you are in major metro areas. And those 3D tickets cost a couple dollars more, even more for an IMAX showing. Why blow a month's worth of streaming on a ticket to a movie, particularly when it's Clash of the Beige Generic Monsters, or Jack and the Beige Giants.
And frankly, who could blame you? For the most part, movies have failed to figure out how to use 3D. It isn't that it is impossible to use successfully, Avatar showed how well it could be used to enhance the experience, and Pixar and Dreamworks Animation has used it to add depth to their movies. Still, many movies, whether filmed for 3D, or done in post production, have failed to take advantage of it.
And frankly, who could blame you? For the most part, movies have failed to figure out how to use 3D. It isn't that it is impossible to use successfully, Avatar showed how well it could be used to enhance the experience, and Pixar and Dreamworks Animation has used it to add depth to their movies. Still, many movies, whether filmed for 3D, or done in post production, have failed to take advantage of it.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Dispatches from the Popcorn Stadium: Prisoners
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
If you saw the trailer or commercials for Prisoners, you pretty much have the gist of what is going on. The youngest daughters of two families are abducted, Jake Gyllenhaal is the investigator charged with finding them, Paul Dano is the weird guy with the RV who is kidnapped and tortured by Hugh Jackman, assisted (or at least not opposed) by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis. Fortunately, they kept the result of Jackman's brutal beating of Dano out, something that isn't the case in the actual film.
The political allegory of this film is not subtle, boiling down pretty much to "torture is bad and pointless, m'kay?" I guess the secondary message would be that torture is useless when dealing with a mentally challenged and psychologically scarred person who may not be guilty. Or that those who stand by and let monstrous behavior happen are just as guilty as those who do it. Either way, these points aren't very subtle, and neither is Hugh Jackman's performance.
Fortunately the movie is saved by Gyllenhaal's performance. You can feel the stress get to him, as the sleepless nights pile up and the frustration mounts. He's had a perfect record with his cases, but you can tell it's not about the performance, but about finding those kids. When it appears that all is lost, and he thinks he has blown the case, he goes off the rails in a completely understandable, yet scary way.
Beyond that, the cinematography was great. It captured that dreary feeling of late November, made worse by the tragic events that were unfolding on screen. To me, it seems almost criminal that Roger Deakins (look at his impressive filmography) has never won an Academy Award. Although not as epic or as colorful as some of his other work, this works just as well for the needs of this film. In a couple places, there are dark holes that characters have to jump down into. In both cases, they are shot so you see nothing but the empty darkness. It was foreboding and scary, particularly after the scene with all of the snakes writing around in trunks.
This was not a great movie, but it was worth seeing. Like too many movies these days, it is far too long. Just because Peter Jackson does it, doesn't mean every movie needs to be 2.5-3 hours long.
As the fall season kicks into gear, with Gravity coming out this weekend, it will likely get lost in the shuffle. It's worth checking out just for Gyllenhall's performance and the cinematography. If you haven't seen it already, I would suggest waiting a few months until it comes out on Blu-Ray/DVD or until its available on your streaming service / premium cable network of choice.
Rated R 153 minutes
If you saw the trailer or commercials for Prisoners, you pretty much have the gist of what is going on. The youngest daughters of two families are abducted, Jake Gyllenhaal is the investigator charged with finding them, Paul Dano is the weird guy with the RV who is kidnapped and tortured by Hugh Jackman, assisted (or at least not opposed) by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis. Fortunately, they kept the result of Jackman's brutal beating of Dano out, something that isn't the case in the actual film.
The political allegory of this film is not subtle, boiling down pretty much to "torture is bad and pointless, m'kay?" I guess the secondary message would be that torture is useless when dealing with a mentally challenged and psychologically scarred person who may not be guilty. Or that those who stand by and let monstrous behavior happen are just as guilty as those who do it. Either way, these points aren't very subtle, and neither is Hugh Jackman's performance.
Fortunately the movie is saved by Gyllenhaal's performance. You can feel the stress get to him, as the sleepless nights pile up and the frustration mounts. He's had a perfect record with his cases, but you can tell it's not about the performance, but about finding those kids. When it appears that all is lost, and he thinks he has blown the case, he goes off the rails in a completely understandable, yet scary way.
Beyond that, the cinematography was great. It captured that dreary feeling of late November, made worse by the tragic events that were unfolding on screen. To me, it seems almost criminal that Roger Deakins (look at his impressive filmography) has never won an Academy Award. Although not as epic or as colorful as some of his other work, this works just as well for the needs of this film. In a couple places, there are dark holes that characters have to jump down into. In both cases, they are shot so you see nothing but the empty darkness. It was foreboding and scary, particularly after the scene with all of the snakes writing around in trunks.
This was not a great movie, but it was worth seeing. Like too many movies these days, it is far too long. Just because Peter Jackson does it, doesn't mean every movie needs to be 2.5-3 hours long.
As the fall season kicks into gear, with Gravity coming out this weekend, it will likely get lost in the shuffle. It's worth checking out just for Gyllenhall's performance and the cinematography. If you haven't seen it already, I would suggest waiting a few months until it comes out on Blu-Ray/DVD or until its available on your streaming service / premium cable network of choice.
Rated R 153 minutes
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