Movies
A plethora.
I caught the triptych of WOT films that came out on DVD Feb 19 and it's refreshing to see it finally being addressed without reservation Apparently the totalitarian free ride after their 9/11 extraveganza is over and artists feel free to explore the fallout without recriminations and accusations of not being on board the frenetic, flaf waving freedom train to fascism. Feb 19 is also the first release date in my recollection that five movies that had picqued my interest came out all at the same time.
It's an eternal truism that a good movie starts with casting and In The Valley Of Elah is a prime example. There couldn't have been a better pick than Tommy Lee Jones for the lead as an aggrieved father of a slain soldier slowly piecing together the circumstances of his son's death, at the same time juxtaposing his own sense of duty with the hallucinogenic reality of an Iraqi nightmare. This was Jones' movie through and through; it's no wonder he was honored with an Oscar dangle. His age, his temperament, his delivery couldn't have been more perfectly suitable to the role; that an unglamorous and hard bitten Charlize Theron accompanied him on this ride was an inspiration that helped the narrative immensely.
Rendition offers a peek into the ugly world of fascism's extra judicial dark side, where people can be snatched and persecuted, not prosecuted, at the whims of an uncaring and brutal machine populated by robots who've lost their humanity. Meryl Streep seems to be gloriously carving a niche for herself as an icy harridan who hogs all the delicious lines.
Brian De Palma's brutally honest portrayal of Iraqi hell on earth is a tough film to watch, but for me not in the way you might imagine. Redacted gives a fictional account of a real rape and murder by US forces a couple of years ago in the city of Sammara. He uses a variety of techniques to vivedly show the untenable position and horror of exposing young men to purposeless warfare and their frightening cruelty in response. I could see how a heavy handed recounting was necessary - this is not a subtle movie - because after all most people need to have a 2X4 upside the head as far as the empire's depradations are concerned. But this is nothing new to me and I have a hard time having to watch this crap, whether real footage or no. The macho posturing, viciously acting out of intense psychological wounds in horrifying ways, the whole cosmic futility of manufactured hostility makes me sick.
De Palma's effort was to counter the military's policy of the movie's title - redaction, or censorship, of the real Iraq. He's said that "the true story of the war in Iraq has been redacted from the mainstream corporate media. I did this film because I believe that if we as a country are going to cause such disorder we must also be prepared to face the horrendous images that result from these events."
What we're doing is so abhorrently wrong that Hollywood is starting to churn out movies addressing this crime. All three of these flicks are putting up red flags, or in the case with Elah an upside down american flag, a traditional distress signal, something that should have been done years ago.
Sometimes it astounds me that I took so long to realize how profound the classic films can be. Somehow I turned a corner on that sometime ago and got beyond the cruder technology and technique to appreciate them for what they are. Just like today's efforts the timeless, universal messages travel the best - stories that center on the archtypes and templates of human experience that can appeal to you no matter when they're told.
The Mrs and I watched two oldies recently. Both had to do with foibles and comeuppance with some terrific performances.
1957's A Face In The Crowd is a character study, the rise and fall of crass manipulation, decades ahead of it's time and subsequent outings like Bob Roberts. This was Andy Griffith's first film and arguably his towering career best. His creation of a mesmerizing/parasitical good ol' boy created deep division in the lipstick household. The Mrs could hardly stand listening to his obnoxious presense; I on the other hand absolutely love a great performance as a creep - think William H. Macy in Fargo. Scheming and machinations abound in this masterpiece that was extremely prescient, basically an unflinching look at how deceiving the rubes has a long and sordid history.
I've come to understand Kirk Douglas a lot better after taking in more of his work. Back in the fifties he starred in some films that if not pushing the envelope, at least showed he had quite the social consciousness. Two of them had Stanley Kubrick at the helm - the brilliant anti war Paths Of Glory and the later Spartacus, both decidedly radical in their political views. For Spartacus Douglas insisted that Dalton Trumbo, the screenwriter who had been blacklisted during the phony red scare, be credited on screen for his work in the movie, helping to bury that disgusting period in american history.
We watched Ace In The Hole the other night, an early effort that was directed by Billy Wilder. This one absolutely drips with sarcastic cynicism with it's depiction of media frenzy surrounding a guy trapped deep in a cave. It didn't hurt that it was filmed in New Mexico, one of our favorite places, and Douglas is at the top of a heap of unsympathetic media slimebuckets looking to capitalize on human misfortune. Some things never change.
I caught the triptych of WOT films that came out on DVD Feb 19 and it's refreshing to see it finally being addressed without reservation Apparently the totalitarian free ride after their 9/11 extraveganza is over and artists feel free to explore the fallout without recriminations and accusations of not being on board the frenetic, flaf waving freedom train to fascism. Feb 19 is also the first release date in my recollection that five movies that had picqued my interest came out all at the same time.
It's an eternal truism that a good movie starts with casting and In The Valley Of Elah is a prime example. There couldn't have been a better pick than Tommy Lee Jones for the lead as an aggrieved father of a slain soldier slowly piecing together the circumstances of his son's death, at the same time juxtaposing his own sense of duty with the hallucinogenic reality of an Iraqi nightmare. This was Jones' movie through and through; it's no wonder he was honored with an Oscar dangle. His age, his temperament, his delivery couldn't have been more perfectly suitable to the role; that an unglamorous and hard bitten Charlize Theron accompanied him on this ride was an inspiration that helped the narrative immensely.
Rendition offers a peek into the ugly world of fascism's extra judicial dark side, where people can be snatched and persecuted, not prosecuted, at the whims of an uncaring and brutal machine populated by robots who've lost their humanity. Meryl Streep seems to be gloriously carving a niche for herself as an icy harridan who hogs all the delicious lines.
Brian De Palma's brutally honest portrayal of Iraqi hell on earth is a tough film to watch, but for me not in the way you might imagine. Redacted gives a fictional account of a real rape and murder by US forces a couple of years ago in the city of Sammara. He uses a variety of techniques to vivedly show the untenable position and horror of exposing young men to purposeless warfare and their frightening cruelty in response. I could see how a heavy handed recounting was necessary - this is not a subtle movie - because after all most people need to have a 2X4 upside the head as far as the empire's depradations are concerned. But this is nothing new to me and I have a hard time having to watch this crap, whether real footage or no. The macho posturing, viciously acting out of intense psychological wounds in horrifying ways, the whole cosmic futility of manufactured hostility makes me sick.
De Palma's effort was to counter the military's policy of the movie's title - redaction, or censorship, of the real Iraq. He's said that "the true story of the war in Iraq has been redacted from the mainstream corporate media. I did this film because I believe that if we as a country are going to cause such disorder we must also be prepared to face the horrendous images that result from these events."
What we're doing is so abhorrently wrong that Hollywood is starting to churn out movies addressing this crime. All three of these flicks are putting up red flags, or in the case with Elah an upside down american flag, a traditional distress signal, something that should have been done years ago.
Sometimes it astounds me that I took so long to realize how profound the classic films can be. Somehow I turned a corner on that sometime ago and got beyond the cruder technology and technique to appreciate them for what they are. Just like today's efforts the timeless, universal messages travel the best - stories that center on the archtypes and templates of human experience that can appeal to you no matter when they're told.
The Mrs and I watched two oldies recently. Both had to do with foibles and comeuppance with some terrific performances.
1957's A Face In The Crowd is a character study, the rise and fall of crass manipulation, decades ahead of it's time and subsequent outings like Bob Roberts. This was Andy Griffith's first film and arguably his towering career best. His creation of a mesmerizing/parasitical good ol' boy created deep division in the lipstick household. The Mrs could hardly stand listening to his obnoxious presense; I on the other hand absolutely love a great performance as a creep - think William H. Macy in Fargo. Scheming and machinations abound in this masterpiece that was extremely prescient, basically an unflinching look at how deceiving the rubes has a long and sordid history.
I've come to understand Kirk Douglas a lot better after taking in more of his work. Back in the fifties he starred in some films that if not pushing the envelope, at least showed he had quite the social consciousness. Two of them had Stanley Kubrick at the helm - the brilliant anti war Paths Of Glory and the later Spartacus, both decidedly radical in their political views. For Spartacus Douglas insisted that Dalton Trumbo, the screenwriter who had been blacklisted during the phony red scare, be credited on screen for his work in the movie, helping to bury that disgusting period in american history.
We watched Ace In The Hole the other night, an early effort that was directed by Billy Wilder. This one absolutely drips with sarcastic cynicism with it's depiction of media frenzy surrounding a guy trapped deep in a cave. It didn't hurt that it was filmed in New Mexico, one of our favorite places, and Douglas is at the top of a heap of unsympathetic media slimebuckets looking to capitalize on human misfortune. Some things never change.
posted by nolocontendere at 4:04 PM
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