REVIEW – Everything Must Go

If Everything Must Go works, it works solely because of Will Ferrell. This is a film with performances that yearn for conviction and material that shines with promise. It missteps greatly in its search for a tone. Dan Rush’s script of Raymond Carver’s story has levels of depth that call for a different interpretation. Perhaps Rush, who directed the film as well, felt he needed to make a feel-good parable out of the material. It doesn’t work. 

REVIEW – Chronicle

A hole in the ground glows blue inexplicably as three teenage boys explore its mysteries. What they find inside of it is a jagged hunk of rock that resemble’s Superman’s spaceship. It emits a forcefield, rendering the boys disabled and knocking out their electrical equipment. The next day, they discover that they have attained powers and, over the course of the film, will discover their inherent tendencies whilst utilizing them.

Chronicle is as much a superhero film as it is a found-footage film, but it’s the human dilemmas at its core that create a deeper experience. Superhero stories are ridden with mortal dilemmas, be it Peter Parker’s inability to fit in with the world to Batman’s innate fear and rage that propel his good deeds. Some heroes seem to exist out of sheer optimism, but no matter the God-like powers they may be given, each one is grounded in the fact that their cores are inherently human and that their problems are shared by the mortals they protect. A number of Jesus allegories could be made in regards to this, but I think Bryan Singer took that cake home with his Superman Returns.

Let’s talk about GIRLS for a minute…

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a fan of Lena Dunham.

Her debut film Tiny Furniture was a smart, self-effacing and refreshingly honest look at post-graduate insecurities and fears. It was lauded by critics and won the Best Narrative Award at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. It was an introduction to Dunham’s voice and sensibilities, but I worried that it would be a one-off talent. I was wrong.

Her new series, Girls, tackles similar issues with the same tenacity that defined her previous work. It’s funny, uncomfortable and not above criticizing its four protagonists. Dunham excels in placing herself in awkward and compromising positions, and her commitment to being so uncouth is a large part of the show’s appeal. She’s a misguided brat with the best of intentions, and I would be hard-pressed to argue that she’s not the only 20-something with the same flaws.

The show has had its share of fans (it was lauded as “groundbreaking” by David Wiegand and the San Francisco Chronicle), but its passionate base of detractors have attacked the show on the grounds of nepotism, racism and a lack of realism. These are bogus claims, in my opinion, but they’re worth noting, especially for a show as fresh as this one is.

REVIEW – The Avengers

The Avengers is preposterous fun, a heaping pile of popcorn entertainment that wows as much as it incites my rolling eyes. Here, most of Marvel’s biggest superheroes are allowed to fight alongside (and against) each other in kinetic fashion, and for the most part it works. If there were ever one person to make these dynamics fit, it’s Joss Whedon. I propose that he take the reigns of development at Marvel Studios. He seems to be the only one who truly gets it.

May the Fourth be with you… (and also with you).

This month marks the 35th anniversary of the release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New  Hope, and after years of tinkering, mythological exploration and those dreaded prequels (which do not have a place on my movie case), one thing remains: the wonder and excitement that first film contains. From the opening scroll (complete with John Williams’ iconic score) to the dogfight along the Death Star’s treacherous surface, the film creates a world so wholly realized and executed that I doubt any other film could do it today. Even Avatar, for all of its box-office heft and special effects, could not engrain itself in the same way that Star Wars has. I think it all comes down to the indelible power of the story, the unending battle of good vs. evil, and the respect it plays to a number of genres and tropes. Tattooine is the wild west, bore straight from the heart of a John Ford film. Its central premise is Shakespearean in nature (family betrayals, power plays and a chorus in the form of C-3PO and R2D2) and it’s the consummate science fiction film, exploring a universe of planets and characters whose implications mirror our own lives, even today.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is now my most anticipated film of 2012.

The reports out of Sundance this year were unanimously adoring of Benh Zeitlin’s debut Beasts of the Southern Wild for its hypnotic and poetic visuals and the breakout performance of Quvenzhane Wallis. This week, the trailer premiered and it is gorgeous. In minuscule glimpses it portrays a world filled with mythology, wonder, love and loss. I’d argue from this short clip that the film has some Katrina-esque inspirations at play, drawing upon images of flooded neighborhoods and areas of disrepair to fuel its narrative. There’s also an interesting interconnectivity at play that you’d normally see in a Malick film, and it looks as if it could be as lush and fulfilling as one of his films. Behind this lies P.T. Anderson’s The Master and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus as my most-anticipated films this year, but I’ll get into that with another post soon. Until then, the trailer for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Video courtesy of Badass Digest‘s YouTube page.

Are we defying a master? Kubrick’s early films to be released on Blu.

It should go without saying that Stanley Kubrick is one of the most undeniable talents in the history of cinema. I say “is” despite his passing in 1999, as the power of his work still resonates today, inspiring filmgoers with his iconic imagery and calculated observations on the nature of humanity. Is mankind inherently evil and destined to destroy itself in the face of technology, violence and sexuality? Ebert has noted that Kubrick’s films are about the preservation of humanity and the lengths men will go ensure their standing in the world. This is why films like Dr. Strangelove, 2001 and Full Metal Jacket resonate so strongly today. It’s the innate desire to be in control of our own existences that fails us in the end, sometimes (and ironically) by fate itself, as can be seen in his masterwork Barry Lyndon.

Why Fix What Isn’t Broken: an ode to 24fps and the illusory power of the cinema.

I know I shouldn’t even comment on it. I haven’t seen any of the footage, but I have a gut feeling as to how it must play. I’d like to preemptively draw a line in the sand towards something that could very well blow me away come December. I could eat my words, but I don’t mind.

I don’t want 48 frames-per-second to be our new norm.