luke
05-31-2004, 01:12 AM
So I've managed to squeeze in a few movies over the past month. My brain has been in desperate need of food after the draining it's taken from the Monster Burner.
I picked my targets carefully, and got lucky with some rich stuff.
High Noon with Gary Cooper
What an amazing film! It kicks into high gear right in the middle of a western cliche, "the marshall's retiring." We (the viewers) know there's going to be trouble, and the film quickly throws another cliche on the fire: "the bad brothers are coming back to town." You've got your initial conflict right there: Does the marshall stay for one more day or does he cut out while he can? The answer seems obvious to we Hollywood-philes, but the film spins it out in excellent and unpredictable form! By far, my favorite aspect of the film is the economy of its execution. There is not one wasted shot or scene. Everything drives toward the end, High Noon. you feel the minutes ticking tensely by. And at five minutes past the hour, the film is over. Intense!
Godzilla, original Japanese cut
Like many of my generation, I grew up watching Godzilla ravage Tokyo on my tiny black and white tv on saturday afternoons. I could not, in good stead, write a book about monsters and not see this movie while it was on the big screen! It was a real treat -- very different from the american version. An even stronger anti-war, anti-nuke message if you can believe it.
My favorite scene: Takashi Shimura's family is being torn apart by the stress of the catastrophe. The family sits silent around the dinner table, heads hanging in awkward tension.
Suddenly, Godzilla attacks! Rawr! The family is galvanized by the threat of the monster and bands together to overcome. Excellent cliche!
Also, the low angle shots of Tokyo getting smashed by Godzilla's feet and tail were breathtaking on the big screen.
Super Size Me
A well done documentary about consuming way too much fast food. It's competently researched and covers the topic of consumption broadly. (it's not just about this guy eating at McDonalds.) Though it's not without its flaws, Super Size Me delivers a biting message with humor. (did I just write that?)
Twilight Samurai
A very cool samurai pic set in 1868 (if I'm not mistaken), but produced in 2002. It follows the story of Twilight Seibei during the months prior to the opening of the Meiji Restoration. Seibei's a poor, country samurai caught up in a bad situation. The film tweaks the genre tropes nicely and presents a fresh look at well-trodden paths of honor, loyalty, and duty. Very well executed film with a nice, gritty undertone. (I'm not ruining anything saying there is a happy ending, but it's pretty muted given the narration that follows.)
Twilight Samurai really screamed "game!" at me. There was so much Duel of Wits, Beliefs, Instincts, Traits, failed Resources tests and scripted combat going on!
Gamers
Erica sat me down to watch The Gamers, which was mercifully short. Though I did laugh -- the bits where reality and the game intersected to create wierd anomalies were my favorites. I found myself watching them play, saying to myself, "BW fixes that; that wouldn't happen if they had Instincts, etc." Terrible, I know!
-Luke
I picked my targets carefully, and got lucky with some rich stuff.
High Noon with Gary Cooper
What an amazing film! It kicks into high gear right in the middle of a western cliche, "the marshall's retiring." We (the viewers) know there's going to be trouble, and the film quickly throws another cliche on the fire: "the bad brothers are coming back to town." You've got your initial conflict right there: Does the marshall stay for one more day or does he cut out while he can? The answer seems obvious to we Hollywood-philes, but the film spins it out in excellent and unpredictable form! By far, my favorite aspect of the film is the economy of its execution. There is not one wasted shot or scene. Everything drives toward the end, High Noon. you feel the minutes ticking tensely by. And at five minutes past the hour, the film is over. Intense!
Godzilla, original Japanese cut
Like many of my generation, I grew up watching Godzilla ravage Tokyo on my tiny black and white tv on saturday afternoons. I could not, in good stead, write a book about monsters and not see this movie while it was on the big screen! It was a real treat -- very different from the american version. An even stronger anti-war, anti-nuke message if you can believe it.
My favorite scene: Takashi Shimura's family is being torn apart by the stress of the catastrophe. The family sits silent around the dinner table, heads hanging in awkward tension.
Suddenly, Godzilla attacks! Rawr! The family is galvanized by the threat of the monster and bands together to overcome. Excellent cliche!
Also, the low angle shots of Tokyo getting smashed by Godzilla's feet and tail were breathtaking on the big screen.
Super Size Me
A well done documentary about consuming way too much fast food. It's competently researched and covers the topic of consumption broadly. (it's not just about this guy eating at McDonalds.) Though it's not without its flaws, Super Size Me delivers a biting message with humor. (did I just write that?)
Twilight Samurai
A very cool samurai pic set in 1868 (if I'm not mistaken), but produced in 2002. It follows the story of Twilight Seibei during the months prior to the opening of the Meiji Restoration. Seibei's a poor, country samurai caught up in a bad situation. The film tweaks the genre tropes nicely and presents a fresh look at well-trodden paths of honor, loyalty, and duty. Very well executed film with a nice, gritty undertone. (I'm not ruining anything saying there is a happy ending, but it's pretty muted given the narration that follows.)
Twilight Samurai really screamed "game!" at me. There was so much Duel of Wits, Beliefs, Instincts, Traits, failed Resources tests and scripted combat going on!
Gamers
Erica sat me down to watch The Gamers, which was mercifully short. Though I did laugh -- the bits where reality and the game intersected to create wierd anomalies were my favorites. I found myself watching them play, saying to myself, "BW fixes that; that wouldn't happen if they had Instincts, etc." Terrible, I know!
-Luke