5.29.2008

Recently Viewed

A couple of things have contributed to my absence from the blog lately. First of all, there was the bi-annual end-of-semester flood of papers and grading, compounded by the fact that I had to submit my final grades about a week earlier than usual because of my attendance at an out-of-town money-making opportunity. Secondly, there was my introduction to The Evil That Is Facebook, and all its time-sucking pleasures. (Ooh, I think I made it sound more exciting than it really is. Or did I?) Since most of the people who read this blog with any kind of regularity are also on Facebook, I have been assuming that they can just as easily not read my postings there as well as here. So if you're not on Facebook, and have been deprived of my wit and vital social commentary, I apologize. I can't promise that I will be posting daily, but I will try to check in from time to time, especially seeing as how here, in the privacy of my blog, I can write full and/or rambling paragraphs like this one and feel that I have been able to at least complete a thought, something the denizens of Facebook (and I say this with the full disclosure that I've pretty much set up shop there myself) seem to resist.

Blah blah. You may have noticed, if you follow my links on the sidebar over there, that Billville has "transformed" into a book blog, a change of genre that suits its author well. Perhaps Chazzbot will undergo a similar transformation, though at the moment I have no idea what kind of transformation that might be. In the meantime, here are some comments on the movies I've seen in the last month. (I was going to try to catch up with the movies I'd seen in April, too, but that may have to wait for a future post.)

Iron Man ****
The first and, so far, best of the summer blockbusters, particularly if you have any familiarity with the comic book and its non-traditional hero. Tony Stark is middle-aged, business-minded, and drinks too much. His armor serves mainly to keep him alive, and not just when he's battling similarly-armored baddies. You couldn't choose a better person to play this role than Robert Downey, Jr., an actor we all know has made his share of bad decisions. Downey's smirks and what seem like offhand remarks throughout this film are almost as entertaining as the CG effects of Iron Man keeping pace with jet fighters and sports cars. Several nods are made to Iron Man lore, Stan Lee makes his requisite cameo (even though, as always, he had little to nothing to do with how the Marvel superheroes look), and the cast is rounded out by similarly well-chosen actors in what seem to be tailor-made roles. Funny, fast, and even momentarily thoughtful at times, though you may have to overlook the fact that the Middle-Eastern villains perform all the same torturous acts that U.S. soldiers have become notorious for these last five years.

Batman **
Though I love this character almost as much as Iron Man, Tim Burton's take on the Dark Knight does not hold up well at all, particularly in comparison to Christopher Nolan's interpretation. Where Nolan's major fault is perhaps taking everything a bit too seriously, Burton doesn't take much seriously at all. Where Batman is concerned, that's not always a bad thing, but this film is more about Jack Nicholson's Joker, and Jack takes that pie and runs with it, all the way over the top. When we're not watching Nicholson chew the scenery, we're looking at Kim Basinger's best impersonation of Veronica Lake (not that I'm complaining) or Michael Keaton trying on his serious face. Bruce Wayne's backstory is given a few somber moments (mostly to attract the interest of Basinger's Vicki Vale), but the majority of the film is given over to Jack and his antics. Nicholson is wildly entertaining, but the film overall seems pretty hollow, particulary the climactic fight scene and its rather tame resolution. At least the set design and the moody lighting (or lack thereof) is worth a look. But I think we're better off with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ***
This is another movie that I sense will not hold up well in future viewings. Its primary appeal, one the film milks relentlessly, is nostalgia for the previous, better films, and at that it succeeds admirably. Where this glorification becomes tedious is in the overly-familiar pattern of the screenplay, such as the character who stops in the midst of disaster to stuff his shirt full of gold trinkets--I wonder what his fate will be? The film is best in its first third, when Indy stumbles into a nuclear test site. The moment when Indy is silhouetted by a mushroom cloud is the moment when I abandoned my critical faculties for the remainder of the film. There are lots of small moments here that are witty and memorable: Shia LeBouf's entrance as a junior Marlon Brando, the gopher-hill gag on the Paramount logo, man-eating ants, Shia's Tarzan routine. Unfortunately, those small moments don't add up to a cohesive whole, in the way that any of the previous Indy films did. But I don't begrudge the time or money I spent on this return to former glories, and I don't imagine many other people who remember seeing Raiders in the theatre will, either.

Monsoon Wedding ****
This is one of the most visually, emotionally, and musically dynamic films I've seen in some time. The five storylines here, all related to the preparation for a big Indian marriage ceremony, are neither complex nor entirely unique, but the actors bring a lot to the table, as do the glorious costumes and set designs. The film does not shy away from issues of class distinction that affect Indian urban life, nor does it fail to question the cultural tradition of arranged couples. In fact, the film parallels a story of love between two lower-class workers with the more grandiose posturing of the upper class. None of this, however, makes any of the characters less appealing. This is a romantic film, yes, but not one that will make you feel stupid by the time the credits roll. More likely, you will feel like dancing to the incredibly seductive soundtrack and/or shaking off the rich palette of colors in the film with a quick seizure. Lush and rich, this film is visually and narratively satisfying, and the fact that it is filled with incredibly gorgeous Indian women hurts not a bit.

5.15.2008

Olbermann on Bush's Golf Game