I've made a career out of being a day late and a dollar short, so it should come as no surprise that I finally got around to compiling my favorite ten films of the past decade a week after we entered the 2010s. As a cautionary note before I begin, I was a kid when the decade started and am just starting to enter full-fledged adulthood now. As such, what might have been particularly effecting ten years ago would probably strike me in an entirely different manner now. I've also seen probably one tenth of what Rosemary has seen, so please reference her list if you're looking for something approaching respectability. Now, in reverse order...
10. 28 Weeks Later (2007), Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
I've got a certain affection for the zombie genre that was detailed way back when I reviewed Zombieland months ago. This decade revitalized the genre, with the undead morphing from lumbering goofs into Olympic sprinters capable of dismembering a victim in seconds. In short, zombies were made scary again. Danny Boyle deserves a modicum of credit for this sea change with his overrated 28 Days Later, but the often overlooked second work of Spanish newcomer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is the rare example of a sequel that surpasses the original in every filmic sense. The opening 10 minutes of this film are some of the scariest and most technically brilliant moments put onto the big screen this decade. The rest of the film doesn't give one too much time to relax and is quite well done. The firebombing of an infected London in particular puts most Hollywood effects to shame. It's too bad that Boyle is rumored to be behind the upcoming 28 Months Later, because I'd like to see what Fresnadillo would have done with it. The young director has only one other film to his name (the flawed but fascinating Intacto), but he's already climbed into my pantheon of must-see directors.
9. Lord of War (2005), Andrew Niccol
Niccol's film is a most matter of fact look at gunrunning and just how bad Africa has been screwed over in the past two decades. I love great openings, and the opening scene here following a bullet from production to target from a single vantage point is one of the more innovative ever. The Constant Gardener touched on similar material and could have had this spot, but Nicolas Cage's utterly believable performance as an arms dealer puts Lord of War over the top.
Nicolas Cage is certainly one of the odder actors going. On one hand, his understated style has been brilliant here and in films like Adaptation and Face/Off. Last year, he teamed with Wernor Herzog in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans to deliver a performance on par with Klaus Kinski's best. Conversely, Cage will act in any piece of crap (looking at you Ghost Rider) in order to feed his disgusting need to buy any and all material goods under the sun. The man owns a British castle, a Caribbean island, and numerous mansions throughout the States. Keep on buying Mr. Cage, I guarantee it won't make your life feel any more meaningful.
8. Bamboozled (2000), Spike Lee
Bamboozled has some noticeable flaws, but Lee's story of the rise and fall of a modern day minstrel show sticks with me years after I saw it. Lee's refusal to pull any punches is commendable, and his critical look at both the black power movement and "Uncle Toms" makes its point about the dangers of selling yourself out and adopting a false persona for money and fame vividly. Satire is rarely done as well as it is here, and while the issue of race and the media may be uncomfortable it is well worth examining. Finally, Terence Blanchard's beautiful piano backing provides a fitting mood for the film, and rapper Mos Def steals the show as a dim-witted black power figure. Look up "Blak iz Back" on youtube to see the film's fictional "Mau Maus" led by Def perform one of the Top Ten hip hop singles of the decade.
7. The Triplets of Belleville (2003), Sylvain Chomet
A.O. Scott describes The Triplets of Belleville far better than I could when he praises the film as "a hallucinatory amalgam of Paris and New York." This is an animated film, but it's a far cry from the Disney films one sees as a child. This is animation that Dali and Buñuel would love, a film told entirely in caricature, sound, and music. There is little dialogue to speak of, but the surreal world created is deeply engrossing. "Belleville Rende-vous," the film's title song, is a perfect fit for the chaotic world of The Triplets of Belleville. It's nice to know that an animated film this brilliantly weird can be made. Rarely have such ugly on-screen representations made for such a beautiful film.
6. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Joel & Ethan Coen
It's been a good decade for the Coen brothers. They made four excellent films and won their first Oscar for No Country for Old Men in the 2000s. What's more, the brothers have enough gravitas to literally attract any actor looking for a "serious" film at this point. The Man Who Wasn't There is a departure for the Coens, a neo-noir film so true to the film noir of the past that it could easily pass as a mid-1950s release. The simple story follows the downfall of a normal man, a theme common to the brother's work. What makes the film so enjoyable, however, are the simple cinematography and attention to detailwhich give The Man Who Wasn't There the look and feel of a film made fifty years in the past.
5. Shaun of the Dead (2004), Edgar Wright/ Tropic Thunder (2008), Ben Stiller
Intelligent comedies are few and far between in an era in which Will Ferrell reigns supreme. Comedy works best when it is both absurd, inappropriate, and slightly uncomfortable. Both Shaun of the Dead and Tropic Thunder are huge successes based on these criteria. Shaun uses the standard zombie theme to great comedic effect in following the story of loser Brits through the zombie apocalypse. Slapstick humor is rarely funnier (or gorier) than it is in Shaun of the Dead. Tropic Thunder uses a more complicated backdrop than Shaun of the Dead, but ends up succeeding all the same. Ben Stiller for all his terrible films must actually be intelligent because in directing Zoolander and Tropic Thunder he has made the only two decent American comedies in recent memory. Tropic Thunder is well worth seeing if only for Robert Downey Jr's performance as a black man. It should have notified studio heads that utter inanity can make a film hilarious if it is well-written. Sadly, I think that message probably fell on deaf ears.
4. Syriana (2005), Stephen Gaghan
Syriana is one of the bevy of films dealing with the Middle East that Hollywood has put out since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Following the actions of the Central Intelligence Agency, the film follows American maneuvering in the fictional state of Syriana. While the scenario presented is fictional, the incredible plausibility of the film gives it emotional weight. Syriana points out that as long as the United States has any standing in the world, we'll use our influence and military might to intervene in other countries. More often than not, these interventions will have an underlying economic purpose and will not be of any benefit to the country in question. Syriana is able to examine this tenet of American foreign policy in a crisply shot and fast paced "Hollywood action thriller" sort of way. That it succeeds both as a film and in making a point makes Syriana well worth viewing.
3. A Very Long Engagement (2004), Jean-Pierre Jeunet
As far as moving love stories go, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better made in the last decade than A Very Long Engagement. This story of a girl holding out hope that her fiance has survived World War I is on this list thanks to Audrey Tatou's performance and the incredible cinematography of Bruno Delbonnel. The overhead shots of battlefields in particular are spectacular. Every person who loves The Notebook should see this and see how moving a film can be when it is this well crafted.
2. Spirited Away (2001), Hayao Miyazaki
Where The Triplets of Belleview made the viewer appreciate the beauty of its hideous caricatures, Spirited Away does the exact opposite with its animation. Hayao Miyazaki's story of a girl passing into a spirit world is told with some of the most beautiful hand-drawn animation ever created. The whole film is sort of an oblique Alice in Wonderland. Just as in Lewis Carrol's tale, Spirited Away's world is fascinating, but it also contains a simultaneous dark undercurrent that provides it with infinitely more depth than the standard coming of age story. Miyazaki's mind has produced some of the most beautiful combinations of image and narrative seen on screen over the course of his career, and Spirited Away is his masterpiece to date.
1. Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo del Toro
I'm sure a psychologist could have a field day with the fact that my two favorite movies of the past decade are coming of age stories involving thirteen year old girls (I chalk it up to mere coincidence). I do have an extensive review of del Toro's work with a particular focus on Pan's Labyrinth and its sister film The Devil's Backbone coming up sometime down the road, so I'll save most of what there is to say here. Suffice it to say that I readily believe del Toro when he says this film nearly killed him, as I've never run across a work so obviously personal and painstakingly filmed. There are layers and layers of texture in Pan's Labyrinth, and the interplay between the "fantasy" and "real" worlds is fascinating. It is not, Rosemary, simply an escapist fairytale.
Friday, January 8, 2010
On Beauty
Olivier Assayas' gorgeous film Summer Hours (2008) follows three siblings as they deliberate whether to keep their childhood home after their mother passes away. The mother, an avid collector and supporter of her uncle who was an acclaimed painter, constructed a house with art, atmosphere, and room after room filled with flowers in vases. The garden is leafy and impressionistic; the interiors embody a shabby gentility.
Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, and Jeremie Renier star as the siblings torn between clinging to the rich family history their mother cultivated or forsaking their childhood utopia as their careers take them from China to San Francisco. Each one is emotionally attached to some object in the house, whether it is a platter shaped like a leaf or an assortment of wooden hands. For an interior decorator or collector of art and antiques, this film is an aesthetics dream, visually satisfying us frame after sunlit frame.
Assayas' proved his unprecedented ability at capturing everyday life in his dinner scene in Irma Vep (1996) (where a Hong Kong actress eats baguette while Luna's cover of "Bonnie and Clyde" plays in the background) and in Summer Hours the camera languidly strolls throughout rooms and gardens without ever losing it's visual or narrative power. Like a Monet painting it asks for your attention as it blooms with life and beauty.
Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, and Jeremie Renier star as the siblings torn between clinging to the rich family history their mother cultivated or forsaking their childhood utopia as their careers take them from China to San Francisco. Each one is emotionally attached to some object in the house, whether it is a platter shaped like a leaf or an assortment of wooden hands. For an interior decorator or collector of art and antiques, this film is an aesthetics dream, visually satisfying us frame after sunlit frame.
Assayas' proved his unprecedented ability at capturing everyday life in his dinner scene in Irma Vep (1996) (where a Hong Kong actress eats baguette while Luna's cover of "Bonnie and Clyde" plays in the background) and in Summer Hours the camera languidly strolls throughout rooms and gardens without ever losing it's visual or narrative power. Like a Monet painting it asks for your attention as it blooms with life and beauty.
Where Have All the Feminists Gone?
In Hole's rough and tumble song Courtney Love croons, "And I know it, I can't feel it / Well, I know it enough to believe it." If only Love was meditating on the inexplicable paradox of Diablo Cody's female protagonists in her new film Jennifer's Body, where we want to believe Cody thinks her characters are strong, but never quite feel it. Jennifer's Body stars Megan Fox, the title character, and Amanda Seyfried, nicknamed "Needy"; these two characters are meant to pass as more interesting, more intriguing, and more 'womanly' than their small-town classmates. We saw this same so-called alternative character in Diablo Cody's debut Juno, a pre-packaged indie film that suggested Juno was more complicated then most teenage girls because she knew Patti Smith had put out the the record "Horses" and talked on a hamburger shaped telephone.
But where Juno appropriately mentioned Smith, faintly identifying what Evelyn McDonnell writes about in Mama Rama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids, & Rock 'n' Roll, "'Love is a ring, the telephone / Love is an angel, disguised as lust / Here in our bed until the morning comes.' Smith sang how a lonely teenage girl felt, wanting to be loved and fucked," Jennifer's Body fails to identify the paradox of the vulnerability and the insatiable appetites of high school girls. Yes, Jennifer is suddenly transformed into a man-eating demon, but Megan Fox is too busy seducing to ever play her dinner scenes for laughs.
Jennifer talks candidly about her sex life, courageously marches up to a city band and introduces herself, and then seduces the bartender to buy the lead singer drinks, but what initially appears to be a rebel, soon dissolves into an insecure girl who, after a mysterious fire burns down the bar, passively agrees to ride in the band's van; despite Needy's pleas, the blackout windows, and the band's Greenday, creepy disposition, Jennifer allows herself to become a victim, now fitting Camille Paglia's definition of "pampered, white middle-class girls [with] infantile personalities, emotionally, and intellectually underdeveloped."
The weak female characters aside, Jennifer's Body fails at providing enough salaciousness. Director Karyn Kusama shies away from the gore, the humor, and simply tantalizes us with a scant few sexual scenes that are so tame they could belong in the High School Musical series. For all her tattoos and talk, Cody has simply written a fluff piece that holds together like Michael Bay movie. As Le Tigre sings, I'm ready for a feminist sweepstakes, not just on my CD player, but on my DVD one as well.
But where Juno appropriately mentioned Smith, faintly identifying what Evelyn McDonnell writes about in Mama Rama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids, & Rock 'n' Roll, "'Love is a ring, the telephone / Love is an angel, disguised as lust / Here in our bed until the morning comes.' Smith sang how a lonely teenage girl felt, wanting to be loved and fucked," Jennifer's Body fails to identify the paradox of the vulnerability and the insatiable appetites of high school girls. Yes, Jennifer is suddenly transformed into a man-eating demon, but Megan Fox is too busy seducing to ever play her dinner scenes for laughs.
Jennifer talks candidly about her sex life, courageously marches up to a city band and introduces herself, and then seduces the bartender to buy the lead singer drinks, but what initially appears to be a rebel, soon dissolves into an insecure girl who, after a mysterious fire burns down the bar, passively agrees to ride in the band's van; despite Needy's pleas, the blackout windows, and the band's Greenday, creepy disposition, Jennifer allows herself to become a victim, now fitting Camille Paglia's definition of "pampered, white middle-class girls [with] infantile personalities, emotionally, and intellectually underdeveloped."
The weak female characters aside, Jennifer's Body fails at providing enough salaciousness. Director Karyn Kusama shies away from the gore, the humor, and simply tantalizes us with a scant few sexual scenes that are so tame they could belong in the High School Musical series. For all her tattoos and talk, Cody has simply written a fluff piece that holds together like Michael Bay movie. As Le Tigre sings, I'm ready for a feminist sweepstakes, not just on my CD player, but on my DVD one as well.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Learning Lessons
Once asked by a reporter, "how do you know when you're finished?" the 1950s painter Jackson Pollock replied, "how do you know when you're finished making love?" These two questions get at the crux of Martin Scorsese's short film "Life Lessons" in the collection New York Stories (1989). Nick Nolte stars as the wide-eyed, bushy bearded painter Lionel Dobie who is unprepared for his upcoming show and trying to rekindle his romantic relationship with his assistant Paulette, played by Rosanna Arquette in a gutsy, if vulnerable, performance.
Nick Nolte amazes as the self-centered, albeit needy, painter as he shuffles through his New York loft playing tape after tape of soundtrack worthy music from Ray Charles to Bob Dylan. Lionel is earnest, but desperate and Paulette, at the end of her rope, both teases him throughout the film and dismisses his advances. Arquette is convincing as the beautiful novice who both welcomes the chance to rub shoulders with the elite, yet ultimately is overwhelmed by the experience and is unsure of how to conduct herself in circle after circle of acclaimed artists.
Even more then the story and the performances, it is really the cinematography that makes this film worthy of repeat viewings. Scorsese peppers the film in irises which are meant at times to pinpoint the correlative of Lionel's fixation or to simply focus on specific details in his apartment like a crystal glass of whiskey smothered in paint. There are the track shots that follow Lionel as he walks the length of his enormous canvas that allow the audience to see what he sees, but from a removed, third person point of view. These shots lend a kind of intimacy to our relationship with the protagonist. We invest in Lionel's need to determine when he is finished, in his art and in his relationships, but allow the film the time to answer those questions for us.
Nick Nolte amazes as the self-centered, albeit needy, painter as he shuffles through his New York loft playing tape after tape of soundtrack worthy music from Ray Charles to Bob Dylan. Lionel is earnest, but desperate and Paulette, at the end of her rope, both teases him throughout the film and dismisses his advances. Arquette is convincing as the beautiful novice who both welcomes the chance to rub shoulders with the elite, yet ultimately is overwhelmed by the experience and is unsure of how to conduct herself in circle after circle of acclaimed artists.
Even more then the story and the performances, it is really the cinematography that makes this film worthy of repeat viewings. Scorsese peppers the film in irises which are meant at times to pinpoint the correlative of Lionel's fixation or to simply focus on specific details in his apartment like a crystal glass of whiskey smothered in paint. There are the track shots that follow Lionel as he walks the length of his enormous canvas that allow the audience to see what he sees, but from a removed, third person point of view. These shots lend a kind of intimacy to our relationship with the protagonist. We invest in Lionel's need to determine when he is finished, in his art and in his relationships, but allow the film the time to answer those questions for us.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Top 10 Films of the Decade
As we ring in the New Year with resolutions, it seems only natural we would reflect on the past decade as well: politics, pop culture, and the post worthy films of the past decade. I've conjured a list of the top ten and a runner up list of the ten who couldn't quite make the cut, but still deserve another viewing.
(1.) In the Mood for Love (2000) - Wong Kar-Wai's luscious, melancholy meditation on forbidden love is swathed in brilliant reds. It is a symphony of color and restrained emotion.
(2.) Requiem for a Dream (2000) - This harrowing horror story of four people destroyed by heroin and pills is an intoxicating mix of quick cuts (that mimic the characters' highs) and the Kronos Quartet's disquieting soundtrack.
(3.) Ghost World (2001) - This black comedy is about graduating high school when you still have no idea what you want to do with your life. It is Steve Buscemi's finest performance as the green cardigan wearing, record collecting recluse Seymour. The vintage clothes and sets are extraordinary; the acting even better.
(4.) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Squid and the Whale (2005) - The first is a yarn told in Alec Baldwin's smoky, New England accent, but both are about a family of underachieving genius which are both poignant and sprinkled in enough taxidermy and corduroy blazers to make Norman Bates proud. Anderson's soundtrack includes Nico, Nick Drake, and the Ramones among others. Gene Hackman and Jeff Daniels have never been so irresistible...or infuriating.
(5.) Monsoon Wedding (2001) - Mira Nair's family drama set on the eve of an arranged marriage has just been re-released by the Criterion Collection - and it is a well deserved accolade. The preparations and the ceremony are both intriguing and gorgeous, with shot after shot dripping in marigolds and music.
(6.) Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006) - Naomi Watts' spunky debut is pure delight and Laura Dern's geometrical face is a blue print of fear. The first is a dreamy meditation on making it big in Hollywood, while the second is a terrifying look at an actress who already has.
(7.) Secretary (2003) and Happy Endings (2005) - These two films tie for their stunning performances from the indie queen Maggie Gyllenhaal. Whether playing a submissive in an S&M relationship (which convincingly transforms into a sweet, if off-beat, love story) or a feisty singer, Gyllenhaal is charismatic, wide-eyed, and delightful.
(8.) Lost in Translation (2003) - Sofia Coppola's academy award winning film subtly captures the love that blossoms between two strangers during their stay in Japan. The long lens' emphasize the two main characters isolation and the sparse, but sharp dialogue sings.
(9.) The Lives of Others (2006) - A beautiful story on the redemptive power of art, this film follows a police agent as he spies on a playwright and his actress girlfriend; the agent slowly becomes absorbed in their relationship to one another and their work.
(10.) There Will Be Blood (2007) - A chilling story of power and greed, this film contains some of the best performances of the decade from Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. The sets are almost operatic in their grandeur and beauty.
Runners Up
(1.) Traffic (2000)
(2.) Storytelling (2001)
(3.) Shaun of the Dead (2004)
(4.) The New World (2005)
(5.) No Country for Old Men (2007)
(6.) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) and Summer Hours (2008)
(7.) Grind House (2007) and Inglorious Bastards (2009)
(8.) Let the Right One In (2008) and Thirst (2009)
(9.) Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
(10.) Man on Wire (2008)
(1.) In the Mood for Love (2000) - Wong Kar-Wai's luscious, melancholy meditation on forbidden love is swathed in brilliant reds. It is a symphony of color and restrained emotion.
(2.) Requiem for a Dream (2000) - This harrowing horror story of four people destroyed by heroin and pills is an intoxicating mix of quick cuts (that mimic the characters' highs) and the Kronos Quartet's disquieting soundtrack.
(3.) Ghost World (2001) - This black comedy is about graduating high school when you still have no idea what you want to do with your life. It is Steve Buscemi's finest performance as the green cardigan wearing, record collecting recluse Seymour. The vintage clothes and sets are extraordinary; the acting even better.
(4.) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Squid and the Whale (2005) - The first is a yarn told in Alec Baldwin's smoky, New England accent, but both are about a family of underachieving genius which are both poignant and sprinkled in enough taxidermy and corduroy blazers to make Norman Bates proud. Anderson's soundtrack includes Nico, Nick Drake, and the Ramones among others. Gene Hackman and Jeff Daniels have never been so irresistible...or infuriating.
(5.) Monsoon Wedding (2001) - Mira Nair's family drama set on the eve of an arranged marriage has just been re-released by the Criterion Collection - and it is a well deserved accolade. The preparations and the ceremony are both intriguing and gorgeous, with shot after shot dripping in marigolds and music.
(6.) Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006) - Naomi Watts' spunky debut is pure delight and Laura Dern's geometrical face is a blue print of fear. The first is a dreamy meditation on making it big in Hollywood, while the second is a terrifying look at an actress who already has.
(7.) Secretary (2003) and Happy Endings (2005) - These two films tie for their stunning performances from the indie queen Maggie Gyllenhaal. Whether playing a submissive in an S&M relationship (which convincingly transforms into a sweet, if off-beat, love story) or a feisty singer, Gyllenhaal is charismatic, wide-eyed, and delightful.
(8.) Lost in Translation (2003) - Sofia Coppola's academy award winning film subtly captures the love that blossoms between two strangers during their stay in Japan. The long lens' emphasize the two main characters isolation and the sparse, but sharp dialogue sings.
(9.) The Lives of Others (2006) - A beautiful story on the redemptive power of art, this film follows a police agent as he spies on a playwright and his actress girlfriend; the agent slowly becomes absorbed in their relationship to one another and their work.
(10.) There Will Be Blood (2007) - A chilling story of power and greed, this film contains some of the best performances of the decade from Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. The sets are almost operatic in their grandeur and beauty.
Runners Up
(1.) Traffic (2000)
(2.) Storytelling (2001)
(3.) Shaun of the Dead (2004)
(4.) The New World (2005)
(5.) No Country for Old Men (2007)
(6.) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) and Summer Hours (2008)
(7.) Grind House (2007) and Inglorious Bastards (2009)
(8.) Let the Right One In (2008) and Thirst (2009)
(9.) Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
(10.) Man on Wire (2008)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Grating Emptiness: Alvin and the Chipmunks
After nearly a month off I'm quite pleased to mark our return from the realm of defunct websites that start out with the best of intentions and then shrivel and die in short order. No, that was not to be our fate. We're here to erratically analyze films with no seeming structure or narrative thread.
As such, it seems only natural that I would follow up Rosemary's burst of wide-ranging reviews with a close look at the pinnacle of American cinema in 2009, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel. Babysitting one's younger cousins definitely has its perks from time to time, such as the rare opportunity to see an inspired children's film such as Alvin 2 on the big screen.
I've got to admit that Alvin provided exactly what I was expecting going in. Kudos for that, I guess. One expects that the "plot" will be a combination of Hollywood's most tired cliches from the past quarter century. It is. One expects to see the actors mail it in for the check. They do. One expects the story to be cluttered and far too complicated for the target pre-teen audience to follow. It is. One further expects the addition of female "Chipettes" to lead to over-sexualized dance numbers and innuendo in a film aimed at eight year olds. Thankfully, we are not disappointed.
David Cross is the actor who most needs to make a public apology for his role in Alvin. The man co-hosted the funniest sketch comedy series of my lifetime in the '90s with The Mr. Show on HBO. Earlier this decade, he was pretty funny on Arrested Development. Now it seems like every ounce of edginess and humor has been wrung out of Cross in his quest to make it big. It's pretty sad watching him go through the motions, and he'd be best served to hang it up and go back to stand-up at this point.
But truthfully it's not really a surprise that Hollywood spit out an unnecessary sequel at Christmastime in order to make a quick buck (over 120 million domestically in its first three weeks). At least someone decided that making the chipmunks look like they were "street" (seen here) was a no-no for The Squeakuel. What's sad about the whole affair is how no effort whatsoever was put into the film. The film copies most of the elements of High School Musical, adds some pop music covers, and tosses in a few fart jokes. It might be the most empty moviegoing experience of the year, a movie without any substance whatsoever. Thank god it's going to make 200 million dollars, so we can eagerly anticipate another sequel with a cute tagline in two years. Be still, my beating heart.
I've got to admit that Alvin provided exactly what I was expecting going in. Kudos for that, I guess. One expects that the "plot" will be a combination of Hollywood's most tired cliches from the past quarter century. It is. One expects to see the actors mail it in for the check. They do. One expects the story to be cluttered and far too complicated for the target pre-teen audience to follow. It is. One further expects the addition of female "Chipettes" to lead to over-sexualized dance numbers and innuendo in a film aimed at eight year olds. Thankfully, we are not disappointed.
David Cross is the actor who most needs to make a public apology for his role in Alvin. The man co-hosted the funniest sketch comedy series of my lifetime in the '90s with The Mr. Show on HBO. Earlier this decade, he was pretty funny on Arrested Development. Now it seems like every ounce of edginess and humor has been wrung out of Cross in his quest to make it big. It's pretty sad watching him go through the motions, and he'd be best served to hang it up and go back to stand-up at this point.
But truthfully it's not really a surprise that Hollywood spit out an unnecessary sequel at Christmastime in order to make a quick buck (over 120 million domestically in its first three weeks). At least someone decided that making the chipmunks look like they were "street" (seen here) was a no-no for The Squeakuel. What's sad about the whole affair is how no effort whatsoever was put into the film. The film copies most of the elements of High School Musical, adds some pop music covers, and tosses in a few fart jokes. It might be the most empty moviegoing experience of the year, a movie without any substance whatsoever. Thank god it's going to make 200 million dollars, so we can eagerly anticipate another sequel with a cute tagline in two years. Be still, my beating heart.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Oh Father
Amy Berg's devastating documentary Deliver Us from Evil (2006) traverses through the past of the Catholic priest Father Oliver O'Grady who raped and molested dozens of children over a span of thirty years. Through interviews with both O'Grady and the victims and their families, Berg examines not only the ramifications of O'Grady's actions, but the politics of the Catholic Church as well.
Though this documentary does not wholly fit the definition of an expository mode of documentary, Berg does sway the viewers' opinion of O'Grady through her more extensive interviews with the victims and even some of the victims' parents. While there is no narrator, Berg splices the main story with interviews of Catholic priests on trial, blatantly attempting to deny their knowledge of O'Grady's acts and their own concealment of his history with each new parish they sent him to. One of the most disturbing parts of the film is when a psychologist explains that, to a Catholic priest, any sex is 'bad' sex, thus, raping a child is simply on par with a consensual adult relationship between a man and a woman. The reflections of O'Grady himself reveal a man who cannot comprehend the ramifications of his actions, nor totally accept that he has done anyone harm. Congenial and candid, he admits to his actions, but qualifies them by stressing that most of his advances were done out of tenderness. As he talks against the backdrop of a playground, the effect is chilling.
Berg's documentary is not argumentative, nor does she condemn the Catholic faith; yet, this film grapples with the hypocrisies of Catholic politics and the Church's betrayal of the families who suffered under the hands of their priest. Though this film is filled with pain, Madonna's lyrics could be applied to the victims' relationship with O'Grady when she sings, "you once had the power" - had, but now has not.
Image courtesy of movieposter.com
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