Wes Anderson is not for everyone. At this point, his films are an acquired taste, and there’s enough of a body of work for people to make up their minds whether they like the brand of hand-made, exquisitely carved life-sized doll houses he’s selling (if you told me a major director was also a serial killer, my first guess would be Wes Anderson). I happen to be an avid Anderson fan, but I don’t argue with people who aren’t. His bouts of whimsy are prone to self-indulgence, and his austere emotionalism can be hard to connect with. He’s a tremendous filmmaker but he isn’t invincible—The Life Aquatic is self-indulgent, The Darjeeling Limited is just plain bad. Still, Wes Anderson on his worst day is better than 98% of working directors on their best.
Category Archives: Movies
Need for Speed is delightfully dumb
You know those movies that come on TNT on a Saturday afternoon and maybe it’s just started or maybe there’s only twenty minutes left, but either way, you watch the movie? It’s not even necessarily that it’s a good movie, there’s just something about it that makes you watch, regardless of how much of the running time is left. And no matter how many times you’ve seen it, you still have the same stupid questions about it, as if each time it comes on you think—Now will be the time X plot point finally makes sense. Except it never does because it’s the same dumb movie it was the time before, and the time before that, yet it remains eminently watchable and enjoyable no matter what. Warriors is like that for me, or the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, or anything starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. And now so too is Need for Speed, the dumbest movie I’ve seen in a good long while.Continue reading “Need for Speed is delightfully dumb”
Grand Piano is ridiculous, thrilling
There was a point in the thriller Grand Piano that I laughed out loud. It was a climactic moment—it probably wasn’t supposed to be funny. But it was just so ludicrous that I couldn’t help it. The movie ventured firmly into unintentional comedy, but the weird thing was, it didn’t take away from the movie, or the experience of watching it, at all. It was just acknowledgment that, yes, things had gotten a wee bit silly, but that it was still entertaining and the conclusion satisfying, after all. Grand Piano is borderline stupid but it’s so STYLISH that really, nothing else matters.Continue reading “Grand Piano is ridiculous, thrilling”
Pompeii blows
Yes, I sat through Pompeii. No, I didn’t expect much. Yes, I did think “at least the volcano will be cool”. No, I’m not impressed with Kit Harington’s acting. Yes, I am impressed with Kit Harington’s abs. No, I don’t know who is still trying to make Emily Browning a thing. Yes, director Paul W.S. Anderson is pretty much a professional shit factory at this point. No, I don’t know if Keifer Sutherland is broke, but it seems likely since he’s in this movie. Yes, Jared Harris will be in any terrible movie you pay him to be in. No, I was not entertained at any point during Pompeii. Yes, the movie blew mega-chunks.Continue reading “Pompeii blows”
A fantastic waste of everything
A Fantastic Fear of Everything is, on paper, a great movie. It’s a quirky British import starring Simon Pegg, a genre-blending horror comedy with high level, Wes Anderson-ish production design. It’s perfect on-demand viewing—something a little unusual you probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise, except that it’s easily available in your living room. The reality of A Fantastic Fear of Everything, though, is that all that cool stuff is utterly wasted by an uneven script and uninspired direction.Continue reading “A fantastic waste of everything”
The LEGO Movie: Everything is awesome
It could have been a crash grab. It could have been a shameless piece of marketing designed to sell kids toys. And while The LEGO Movie is sure to drive kids to ask Mom and Dad for LEGO sets, it is not just a very expensive commercial. The LEGO Movie is, in fact, a highly entertaining, very fun and unexpectedly touching movie that kids and adults can enjoy equally. It might even skew more towards the adults, actually, as they’re better equipped to pick up on the nostalgic and pop culture references littered throughout the movie. Basically The LEGO Movie is Pixar at its best, except Pixar didn’t make it.Continue reading “The LEGO Movie: Everything is awesome”
The Top 10 Films of 2013
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen’s third film (following Hunger and Shame) and a bona fide masterpiece, 12 Years is an unflinching, uncompromising look at slavery in the American south. It’s painful and emotionally harrowing, and makes no attempt to make anyone feel good about not only this history but the long-reaching effects of it, which we’re still feeling today. 12 Years is not The Help, congratulating white people for ending racism in 1962. Instead it holds up a mirror to an ugly, unavoidable truth and asks only that we accept it and then figure out how to move on from there. It’s a beautiful film, almost lyrical at times, even for all the ugliness it contains. And with a central message of hope and survival in the face of soul-crushing despair, it’s one that, even though there are no easy answers, doesn’t give up on the possibility of healing. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s a necessary one.Continue reading “The Top 10 Films of 2013”
Cinesnark 