Sadly, I couldn’t get my hands on a copy that wasn’t the MST3K-laced one, but hey. You do what you have to do in the name of bad art.
Completely devoid of comprehensible plot line, concise dialogue or half-decent acting, this is truly the worst of the worst, which loops it back around to being the best of the best. Highly recommended.
I saw this movie last night and pretty much sat in the theater in wonder for two hours. Not only were the sounds these three guitar legends able to coax out of their instruments amazing, but it held up as a journey through many philosophies about creativity and artistic creation. Immediately upon leaving the theater I felt an intense urge to pick up a guitar, find my voice and play whatever comes out.
Talk about resetting the synapses. They make it look so easy, but I wonder sometimes if they are created special beings. Beings that can tap into a sense of focus and creative meandering and a freedom and confidence to put notes and words on paper and hope other people feel the same way they do about them.
I can’t figure out why we complain when someone remakes an old movie, or makes a movie so similar to a predecessor that it seems more like a cheap knockoff of the original.
I mean, I complain about it too. But what was really wrong with remaking Dukes of Hazzard or Starsky and Hutch as a film?
And why is it that we complain about some and cheer about others? I don’t remember too much backlash when Johnny Depp played Willy Wonka in the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Is it the endless quest of humanity to search for something fresh and new? If so, what is the motivation behind that motivation?
If there really is nothing new under the sun, it seems like the best we could hope for is that artists learn to copy and twist well.
My favorite part of both of those movies is that the semi-magical quality of the characters’ movements during the fight scenes goes completely unexplained. And it doesn’t seem at all odd. (Perhaps in Chinese culture there is an inferred explanation for this, but us western-world watchers are in the dark.)
To me it seems almost as though the directors are trying to ease film watchers into the concept of suspension of disbelief. It’s a hard idea for me to get comfortable with as a questioning realist, but I still have a strong appreciation for the arts, so I have to learn how to submit my reason to the artist for the sake of the full enjoyment of the work of art.
Maybe it’s time for me to practice suspending my disbelief in bigger ways. I feel like it holds me back from fully enjoying life at times. Maybe fairies, aliens and Bigfoot are real and UFOs aren’t just unexplained weather patterns.
Today (err… yesterday now) I finished reading the Watchmen graphic novel (that’s a “really long comic book” to those of you with a social life) and then saw the movie a few hours later.
This was my first significant venture into the world of comics and superheroes aside from the blockbuster films most of us see. I have to admit that the graphic novel is something worth taking the time to read, though I still have my doubts about comic books in general; it would be hard to match what the creators of Watchmen did without stealing straight from them.
As for the film, I was impressed. Not only did it follow the book better than any movie I’ve ever seen, but it was actually a very compelling and well-produced piece of work. The intimidating near-three-hour runtime didn’t phase me and the few things I noticed that changed were completely understandable. In one case, even, a slight change in plot helped part of the story make more sense. My only concern is that this movie is probably going to be confusing for anyone who hasn’t read the book, so if you want to see it, read it first.
The question must be asked: does this mean I’m on my way down the path to becoming comic book guy? Doubtful, unless someone can show me something that is unarguably just as good, if not better, than Watchmen.
(P.S. Apologies for not talking about the plot at all here. Go read it yourself. I’ll even loan you my copy.)
I saw Slumdog Millionaire on Sunday afternoon at the Palm Theater. (Side note: never seen a bad movie there in my life; everything they play is worth seeing.)
The movie was great, but doesn’t quite live up to the endless hype I’ve been hearing. I’ve seen countless films of the same ilk (poor and lonely triumphs over his situation to scale the peak of human success) that were done better. The only difference with this one is that it is set in India. I’m a sucker for those stories, though, so it’s no wonder why I — and everyone else I’ve heard about — enjoyed it.
The most interesting aspect to me was that this is considered a Bollywood film, despite being directed and produced by Westerners (who, by the way, “>may have exploited some of the child actors involved). The quality of film was much higher than what Bollywood is known for, but they still paid homage to it by using a particular style of film and color filtering, as well as a little dance routine during the credits that was completely ridiculous.
I’d still recommend the film, but if you’re patient it’s supposed to release on DVD next month.
