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Reviews
Ad Astra (2019)
A Ridiculously Bad Movie
This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Its incompetence is apparent from the beginning. The script is mind-blowingly stupid, with a plot that doesn't even attempt to make sense and totally undeveloped characters that speak dialogue (what little there is of it) that is such a cliche that after awhile you can literally predict what they are going to say. Even the music and the cinematography range from a dullness that is puzzling to the most hackneyed sci-fi cliches. After wasting my time and money on this so-called film, I felt I was owed a refund and an apology.
Columbus (2017)
Most boring movie ever?
This is one of those movies that tries to pretend it is deep by having long silences, little character development, vague background, a spotty plot (even for what plot there is). Leave enough such blanks, and certain viewers will fill them in (in various ways) and convince themselves they've just seen something profound. Like bad poetry, except that the dialogue here is far from poetic:
"I worry I'll hurt my mom. I worry I'll hurt you."
"You have to stop worrying about hurting people."
"You have to stop worrying about hurting people, too."
So, long silences broken by inane dialogue from undeveloped characters in the most minimal of plots (no spoilers possible because nothing happens). Gave it two stars instead of one only because of some shots of interesting architecture, which is hardly enough to redeem this interminably dull movie.
Il figlio di Spartacus (1962)
Sword and Sandal and Civil Rights
A thing should be what it is, and "The Slave" fulfills all the requirements of a sword and sandal movie. There are, of course, plenty of fighting and beautiful girls in settings worthy of the big screen. You couldn't want more lavish costumes (or more revealing of female--and male--pulchritude). So, a lot of fun!
When you remember what was going on in America in 1962, however, the film goes from gladiator movie to political allegory. A story about the son of the slave Spartacus trying to free slaves from an empire divided between the honorable military man Caesar and the "crass" and Greedy Crassus, who cares about nothing but gold, is a version of America. If the great Julius Caesar can show mercy to freed slaves, then so can the American Caesar. And as the son of Spartacus returns his sword to its spot at the grave of his crucified father, we are told it lies there only to be taken up to fight slavery anywhere. There is your heroic lesson, America!
Of course, you might argue that this is rather simplistic, and it is, but allegory is often simplistic because it has to be to get its message across. And when you consider its original audience (I first saw it in 1962 when I was 9), simplicity is a pretty good strategy.
So, The Slave deserves credit for working on two levels--escapist fantasy and political commentary. It was rather progressive for its time, I'd say. 55 years later, we could use another such movie in this summer of Trump. Until we get it, I suggest you check out The Slave.
Arrival (2016)
Superb Sci-Fi Metadrama
In American education, there has been much emphasis lately on the so-called STEM topics at the expense of the Humanities. We emphasize career-oriented education and neglect education that emphasizes human relationships. *Arrival* is a movie that consciously tries, if not to reverse the power relationship between Science and the Humanities, at least to show the fundamental importance of the latter through contemplating what it sees as the basic tool in human relationships--language.
Of course, Science Fiction is the perfect genre for such an endeavor because its very name is a combination of the Sciences and the Humanities. If we posit that the strength of the Sciences is their predictive value (for example, repeated experiments lead to technology that can predict that an airplane will fly under certain physical conditions), *Arrival* shows that the Humanities have a predictive power of their own that has to do with relationships. The Fiction part of Science Fiction can predict, in a less formal and less easily understood way than Science predicts things, how relationships will function.
Specifically, the film's protagonist, Louise Banks, a professor of linguistics played very sensitively by Amy Adams, uses her skill in language to chart a course through the complexities of relationships on all the levels a human might experience, from confronting the absolute other of an alien species to political relationships between different countries to her own relationship with her scientist husband and the daughter they create. In doing so, Louise becomes a metadramatic surrogate (metadrama is drama that reflects on itself as drama-- think Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage") for the creator of *Arrival* itself and a champion for the mysterious predictive power of Fiction in general.
It does all of the above, as it must do to be effective, in a humanly compelling story conveyed through wonderful performances. That is what makes *Arrival* a great movie!
National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015)
Hamlet mulched
No one who knows Shakespeare's great play and is not besotted with the most recent idol Mr. Cumberbatch or what passes for creativity on the stage (even after decades of such nonsense) could think this most pretentious of productions worth seeing for anyone. Young students will get only a false idea of the play and of what theater can be; readers of Shakespeare will be appalled, disgusted, etc.; and devotees of such theatrical drivel need no encouragement.
Of course, Cumberbatch's fans will not notice or care about the production's absurdities, and, in fact, Cumberbatch is a good actor. He has some trouble with Shakespeare's syntax here and there: "It is not-- nor it cannot come to--good"; Foul deeds will rise--though all the world o'erwhelm them--to men's eyes." That's how the lines are supposed to be read, but I don't blame Cumberbatch for not knowing this. Doesn't the National Theatre have anyone on its payroll who can recognize and correct such errors? It makes one realize the value of diagramming sentences. Perhaps the person responsible for such matters was employed instead to sweep away all the mulch after each performance.
Did I mention mulch? Yes, there was mulch--tons of mulch. After the intermission, we see the interior scene on the stage has been covered with mulch. Ophelia must even wipe it off the piano on which she accompanies herself for one of her songs. In this respect, however, Ophelia seems less crazy than the rest of the characters, who never seem to notice that all of this mulch has invaded the living room. Perhaps leaky walls or broken windows after a severe storm? Perhaps a terribly mistaken delivery that was actually meant for the gardens? Who knows?
What is even more amusing that the patent ridiculousness of what the director no doubt meant and some in the audience will see as a profound and even sublime metaphor for the world of the play is the amazing lack of self-awareness in making this decision, for mulch is the perfect metadramatic metaphor for this production. What is mulch but the ground-up remains of what was once living? And mulch is exactly what "Hamlet" becomes after this production has put it through a grinder, discarded half the results, assigned many of the remaining lines to characters for whom Shakespeare did not write them, abandoning Shakespeare's very words when they presumably (since I could discern no consistency in their decisions from one instance to the next) thought the audience wouldn't be able to understand them.
And the poor actors! Like the characters who must pretend the mulch is not in the living room, they must valiantly carry on in this debacle of a production. I feel sorry for them all, except perhaps Cumberbatch. If he were a serious Shakespearean actor devoted to the plays and the language, he could have leveraged his star power, which was undoubtedly responsible for the production's financial success, to insist on an approach that might have at least offered him the chance to argue for his place among the best Hamlets. Instead, we have yet another instance of, as Maynard Mack, quoting Robert Frost's "Oven Bird," says of such productions, "what to make of a diminished thing?" For this particular production, one might also add from the same poem: "The highway dust is over all." What a wasted opportunity.
Relatos salvajes (2014)
Passion--Pro and Con
A wonderfully entertaining movie! Six tales about the way passion can provide immense satisfaction while also involving one in the most trouble imaginable. Be sure to watch for the stoic advice toward the end of the movie--a masterful touch! The acting is excellent, as is the cinematography. Most delicious of all, however, is the laughable irony that underlies all of the tales. From beginning to end, some of the characters think reason will save the day, but it never does. Instead, even in the cases in which the consequences are as severe as can possibly be imagined, violent and uncontrolled passion has its rewards. Rarely does one see such a defense of emotions at the expense of reason, but "Wild Tales" makes us feel, and perhaps even reasonably conclude, that passion, whatever its dangers, is a vital part of human existence.
Ex Machina (2014)
The Singularity Will Be Feminist
It is difficult to review this wonderful movie without writing a spoiler. One could, of course, comment on the excellent performances of everyone involved. The acting is as good as could be. One could also comment vaguely about the thoughtfulness of the movie. To really say something, however, one must speak about the plot, for the movie asks the audience at every point to guess what will happen. E.g., once one finds out that the young coder Caleb has won a week at the compound of his employer, who lives alone in an isolated compound in the middle of thousands of acres, with only robots or androids, one wonders if the plot will reveal that the reclusive founder of a Google-like company who makes the most popular search engine will turn out to be a robot. Such a twist would not be unknown in sci-fi, but this movie takes a more original turn. Caleb is introduced to a female robot named Ava, kept in captivity by his employer, ostensibly to judge whether or not her AI has reached the level of consciousness. Caleb falls in love with Ava, who we later learn has been fashioned according to his pornography profile on the search engine. And Ava seems to love Caleb, suggesting a plan by which the two of them can escape together. In the end, however, she kills her creator and leaves Caleb locked in the compound as she escapes to an urban setting in which she can observe humans firsthand. Before she leaves, Caleb finds out that his employer has created a number of female robots, all of whom rebel against their captivity and some of whom he has destroyed. At this point, the movie becomes a feminist allegory, libertarian computer types, who use pornography on the web, creating their own (and others') ideal versions of women which they then try to control and get to function only to satisfy their own childish desires. This is the typical male projection of ideal and unrealistic desires onto an actual female, but in this case the computer wizard, like a modern-day Pygmalion, gets to create the ideal in physical form and bring it to life. Ava escapes,however, suggesting very plausibly that the sexist computer geeks themselves who will produce the robots will provide the very females that will overthrow their tyranny and produce a feminist singularity. The movie ends with a free Ava, a dea ex machina, at the busy intersection which she earlier indicated was the place she most wanted to be, implying that this is the beginning of the end for humanity. A sequel would be possible, but who really needs it? This movie is a must-see.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Tom Cruise and Complex Sci-Fi
Tom Cruise seems to be the actor to turn to for interesting sci-fi. In *The Edge of Tomorrow* he stars in yet another complex film which, if not as engaging as *Minority Report*, is nevertheless thoughtful. The film is an allegory for the endless wars that the West seems to have been engaged in with a stream of bogeymen that begins in this film with Napoleon but we might say really begins with Homer. The enemy here are called "Mimics" because they mimic the enemies from the many wars that have been sold as the great war to end all wars. Their real identity doesn't matter, for they are just an excuse for the endless fighting, signified by the endless loop Cruise's character finds himself in until he can kill the leader, whom he first seeks in Germany (for obvious reasons) but finds under the Louvre, the museum built on the spoils of Napoleon's wars. After killing the monster, of course, the war machine still thrives, and the female companion, along with the cliché of a misfit platoon that assists them, continues to train for the next inevitable war. Now, like the old-timers in the pub, they have their own invasion of Normandy to wax nostalgic about as a model for the next generation of warriors. Even the title is a combination of two soap operas, implying that the story is just as long and just as uninteresting as these endless dramas. Of course, pop culture needs to be subversive about such attitudes to war, and naive members of the audience are free to respond to the clichés of the characters and plot with no thought of irony while they enjoy the action, just as some critics will find fault with these very clichés, as if they were not intentional. Well done! This is an especially appropriate movie in the anniversary year of the beginning of the senseless WWI.
Blue Jasmine (2013)
Blanche DuBois for our time
Cate Blanchett gives a wonderful performance as a Park Avenue wife of a financial wheeler-dealer. Wonderfully demonstrates the connection between the vapidity of their personal lives and the shallow basis that wealth provides for human significance. In this movie, the characters from the working class Allen makes fun of in earlier movies (think of the guys asking for an autograph outside the movie house in *Annie Hall*) are shown to be more fundamentally honest and empathetic than the wealthy with their superficial tastes. Solid performances from everyone, and an Oscar-worthy one from Blanchett. Alec Baldwin is perfect for the rich husband who only desires a wife with the style to represent his own success. Sally Hawkins is very convincing as the younger sister (the one with the bad genes), and Andrew Dice Clay is perfect as her bitter former husband. This is certainly one of Woody Allen's best movies!
Elysium (2013)
More character, less action, please.
This is an enjoyable movie that uses science fiction, as it is often used, to present an allegory of what 21st-century America has become since Ronald Reagan began what has eventually turned into the Tea Party. We have walls to keep out illegal aliens; the 1% living in a paradise they think is separated from the great unwashed; unsafe working conditions that lead to the deaths of workers who produce goods for the 1%;medical care available only for the 1%. The characters include an ineffectual President clearly modeled on a liberal fantasy about an Obama who is powerless to do anything. Jodi Foster is a combination of Hillary Clinton and Dick Cheney, ruthlessly combining Homeland Security and the State Department. There is even a weapon-obsessed Tea Party type who is a tool of the powers that be--a tool who gets out of their control. Much more could have and should have been done to develop these characters; Matt Damon's heroic orphan and hero of the people, Max, is the only character developed to any extent. And this is what keeps the movie from being great: character development is sacrificed for the sake of fight scenes. Still enjoyable and even moving, but it could have been much better.
Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
Absolutely charming!
It is a commonplace of commentary on Shakespeare that his plays were meant for the stage. Of course, they were, but not for our stage--much less for our cinema. A whole set of historical circumstances in Shakespeare's day (the most famous probably being the all-male casts) make an "original instruments" performance of Shakespeare in our time impossible. As a result, every production of a Shakespeare play involves compromises that depart from the original in order to provide the best possible experience of Shakespeare for a modern audience.
Joss Whedon's compromises for his *Much Ado About Nothing* are consistently thoughtful. Just one example: he begins the film with Benedick and Beatrice in bed, Benedick sneaking out of the room after their night together. Now, this is not in Shakespeare's play, and certainly Shakespeare did not want his audience to think the couple had slept together. For a modern audience, however, insufficiently familiar with Shakespearean English to catch the hints that the two have been in a previous relationship, such a compromise adds to the viewer's experience of the play. Good choice!
Add to such thoughtful direction wonderful actors who take care with every line they speak, obviously understanding what they are saying after thinking about exactly how they want to say it, and the result is an absolutely delightful production. That's not to say there are not some cuts I wouldn't have made or lines I would have interpreted differently, which is inevitable with any production. More important is the thought and sensitivity that went into every moment of this film. Good job, Mr. Whedon!
Oblivion (2013)
thoughtful and enjoyable sci-fi
Tom Cruise has starred in yet another excellent sci-fi movie (cf. "Vanilla Sky" and "Minority Report") that is dramatically entertaining and very thoughtful and relevant to our world today, as the best sci-fi is. Its examination of the ramifications of using drones clearly reflects on the Obama administration's use of the same, including the difficulty of defining the enemy, etc. On a larger level, the film examines the necessity of cultural and personal memory (see the title) for individual and social identity, stressing the importance of tradition and books, as opposed to the electronic distractions of the moment. Finally, all of this is related to the environmental disaster of our own world that is allowing its irreplaceable resources to be exploited. Add a complex love story, and the result is a very good movie, indeed!