by Keepcoolbutcare on Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:52 pm
I'm really, really just going to try to try to either watch films I haven't seen before; films I missed in 2007, new movies from this year, "losing my geek cred" films from yesteryear, and, when that won't suffice, films I haven't seen in a number of years...which, hopefully, will lead to more "classics", foreign, and snooty intellectual films that I haven't seen since being forced to (for good or ill) in College. The internal debate, such as it is, is whether set the demarcation line at a minimum of 5 years, or, to make it a serious blast to my film-loving past, a decade.
Film - Year - Director - Hearts (out of 4)
b = first viewing
r = theater
January
3:10 to Yuma - 2007 - James Mangold - ♥♥♥
One spectacular action set-piece, which, pacing wise, unfortunately comes at the beginning of the film (the long shot of Wade's men as they turn their horses around to chase after the wagon? Lasted maybe 5seconds, tops, but it was exhilarating for both its depth of field and intimacy - felt I was right there in that bloody skirmish). Solid to stunning performances from rather stolid, stoic characters, with Peter Fonda re-defining grizzled and Ben Foster's sky blue eyes able to convey deranged bloodlust, madness, and a deep seated homo erotic adoration of Crowe's charismatic Wade. Real purty cinematography, with a damn solid score, the picture is unquestionably well put together...
But, really, it's the many ways one can read the films multi-tiered/layered allegory that bumps it up from average and, being a remake, obviously been there done that run of the mill Western to a film I somewhere between half and whole heartedly recommend.
Right off the bat we've got a romanticizing of lawlessness, of a son looking for an idealized father figure, someone, anyone, to stand-in for the crippled failure he considers his father to be. The film becomes, by this tacit admission, a stunning rebuke of the standard military recruitment - for why is it we ask the young, the youth, to go and fight and defend various flimsy rhetorical ideals when they should be led by the examples of their elders? It's not some pimply faced teen who should be out hunting Osama, but rather the "men" of the older generation, men who should be setting examples for the youth. That the younger Wade joins the fray could be seen as a quasi-right wing message of how we can win an untenable conflict...well, that's another positive in my allegorical scorecard, for I much prefer the conflicted messages on display here than any sort of rah-rah biased on whatever side of the fence you happen to think is right approach.
In addition, when one considers the youth-anizing of our current clime, how we're not asked to grow up too soon and the ever increasing life span of the average person, then Evans the younger is any 17-19yr. old wishing to "do right", to help out, to rush off to war to defend a world view that they are too inexperienced to realize is a lie. The parallel drawn between Evans risking his life on ideals (sure, he only signed on for the $$, but it became, due to his past, so much more), on leaving a lasting legacy of real heroism rather than the lies he's told his progeny could then be seen as a corrective to the collective lies we tell our youth - about honor, about a code of honor, about...well, insert any axiom handed down from our elders.
We've got a crippled war veteran (friendly fire) who, in the films best line, realizes he was paid for his damaged leg so as to let the powers that be conscience rest at ease (heh, at least he was paid, unlike so many crippled veterans of our more recent skirmishes).
We've got a criminal mastermind hijacking the "tracks" - read that as "oil pipeline" instead and Ben Wade goes from criminal to terrorist.
And a really nifty way to read the film (i.e. - it worked for me, and added much pleasure to, let's face it, a revisionist take that's been re-visioned already) isn't so much that Evans and his son equate to U.S. interventionism (with Wade as charismatic terrorist), but rather Wade and Evans being stand-ins for the Iraqi populace at large. Why would poor (dirt)farmer Evans care that terrorist Wade is fucking with a pipeline that's sure as shit to drive him off his land? Why would he side with a corrupt businessman who's only interest is the $$ Evans owes him (reconstruction as sham - see Haliburton & the corruption of government contracts)- $$ Evans can't possibly pay back with the precious lifeblood of all farmers (water) being choked off from him?
Solid film making coupled with all the ways one can read the film make (the)3:10 to Yuma a ride I was really glad I eventually caught (ugh. sorry.)
The 39 Steps - 1935 - Alfred Hitchcock - ♥♥♥♥
Great Scot, a fucking cut on a pan to mask an interior car scene that was obviously shot on a studio to a location shot of the car driving away...in 1935?!? Endlessly inventive in it's many ways a man can escape capture (my favorite - while in Scotland, a sheep crossing gives our typical Hitchcock innocent on the run the impetus to flee, of course this time manacled to the pretty blonde who's already ratted him out twice already!), showing off Hitch's command of montage and, when it's required for the story, nerve racking longer takes involving fairly complicated camera moves.
Everything comes together in a brisk, economical fashion (85minutes), Robert Donat is an absolute delight, all physical grace and nonchalant blitheness in the face of the crushing forces of fate and world espionage aligned against him, and, when the time comes, this English Cary Grant proves capable of being able to spit words with the best of the "screwballers", as his at first sparring and then inevitable and delightful "romance" with co-star Madeline Carroll over the last 30minutes shows off his range, comic timing, and natural charisma.
An undertone of social commentary runs throughout, especially during the three big audience/crowd set-pieces, and Hitch really pulls out the stops during a sequence when you think Donat has just been shot - it's both seemingly out of nowhere and brilliantly set-up, which is the pinnacle of degree of difficulty to pull off.
The movie throws in some meta references, having characters often comment on how either what's going on around them or the things that Donat describes come straight outta some fiction, which has subsequently been done ad nauseum but retains a lot of charm simply for the era the film was made.
Great, great, great film, moviemaking at it's finest.
Cloverfield - 2008 - Matt Reeves - ♥1/2
Hud spelled backwards is Duh, which is pretty much all I started to insert every time that sub 80IQ having functionally ALF Moose McGee wannabe opened his yammering stupid hole. Essentially playing the by now patented JJ Abrams simpering best friend goody-goody meatbag originally inhabited by Greg Grunberg in various roles in JJ projects, Duh-boy's infuriating vapidness is the most likely reason the giant rancor beast was so rankled in the first place...little wonder the unfathomable beast from 20,000 fathoms deep seemed to always be somewhere in the vicinity of our fucktarded foursome, as it clearly had a well reasoned deep seated grudge against such an abundant waste of life.
The only positives I can say for CLOVERFIELD is that the smoking hot minority chick lived, Michael Giacchino outdoing himself yet again with his simply astounding score that plays over the credits ("ROAR!" Cloverfield Theme) and the 15 or so minutes of Slusho...aside from those, and the utter elation I experienced at Duh and his dunderheaded friends deaths, egad, what an atrocious film.
Blatantly betraying the very hand-held found footage gimmick that supposedly the film's raison d’être at every conceivable turn, presenting a cliche of a cliche of cardboard cutout characters and then not making a single one of them sympathetic, ignoring all sorts of space-time logic with Slusho's mass rampage, something something exploiting 9.11 something...suffice to say I detested the film.
A lot.
ETA: Funniest part of the film? Espying a smoky thingie burn...I don't know why, but that gave me the howling fantods.
And, idiot filmmakers, the best thing about monster movies?
The monster. No, it doesn't necessarily need to be explained or have an origin story, but something, anything more than what was shown might've mitigated by hatred.
As it was, I couldn't even really root for Slusho to kill the pointlessly blathering yuppie scum, 'cuz Slusho wasn't really given an explanation.
And if those yammering dunderheads behind this film want to equate the senseless destruction with 9/11...um, geo-political neophytes, lemme tell you something...there's a VERY good reason for terrorism, it's not unexplainable/unknowable.
Day Night Day Night - 2007 - Julia Loktev - ♥♥♥
We come to find out many things about the anonymous heroine of DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT; "She" (as listed in the credits) is 5'6" tall, a size "2 or 3 or 4", with size 9 feet. "She" is remarkably polite (always a "please" and "thank you" for her, excepting one, masked conspirators), her dulcet tones a marked contrast from the cacophony of her intended act, and seemingly quiet shy and reticent in both her appearance and demeanor. "She" is quite fastidious, thoroughly cleansing not only her body but also the few items of clothing she's brought along with her on her one way sojourn to NYC blow herself and a bunch of unknown others up in Time's Square.
Yes, you read that right.
But what we never come close to knowing in this tension filled existential thriller is the big why, the reasons behind her, and her conspirators, intended act of terrorism.
That could be a deal breaker for some, but first time director Julia Loktev is so good at getting inside the head space, via lots of medium to full on close-ups which reminded me lots of under appreciated auteur Lodge Kerrigan and his similar stylistic camera and thematic work in both KEANE and CLEAN, SHAVEN, of pretty darn remarkable and if there's any justice in the world soon to be at least minor film starlet Luisa Williams. An auspicious debut, to say the least...saying more, her stunning features - luscious lips, big 'ol saucer eyes, striking bone structure and dark complexion - might leave her in the b movie to straight to dvd action picture ghetto, playing stereotypical Middle Eastern and/or Latin villainess; which would be most unfortunate, as her naturalistic talent (sans makeup here, which works, 'cuz she kinda bares her soul) would be wasted.
What I really admired about the flick is it's sheer balls to the wall guerrilla filmmaking brio, as the (many) scenes shot right in the heart of busy Time's Square could no way have been approved of by whatever bureaucratic department gives permission to lens in NYC - 1) the budget for this flick would've been astronomical with the permission, and 2) there wouldn't have been nearly as many passerby that stared directly into the handheld near the camera person's hip digital video camera. I particularly liked that aspect of the film...since it's a rarity to see anyone stare directly at the camera, it gives the film an immediacy, a near documentary vibe that so much "reality" tv/films strive for but never achieve. The effect is startling, and it's neat how it's mirrored in the long takes that open the film of a not full revealed "She" wandering about Port Authority in NYC - as she pivots around, ostensibly searching for her contact, the camera is practically on her neck, looking over her shoulder, until, quite suddenly, "she" turns and stares directly into the camera.
The "will she or won't she" ratcheting tension becomes damn near unbearable at times, New Yorkers are shown to be a pretty caring bunch (to the surprise of my partner) and a stunning late film revelation calls into question any pre-supposed notions one might of had of "she". Good flick that I'm not surprised never caught on (not with that plot element) but am glad to have experienced, as I expect some big things from both the director and star.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - 2007 - Julian Schnabel - ♥♥♥ - Some musings here.
Entourage - Season 3 p. II - 2007 - Doug Ellin - ♥♥
Haters are correct, this show has fallen the fuck off. Not nearly as funny, and not that Vince and boys are becoming somewhat domesticated, not nearly enough drugged up debauchery. Too much Johnny D, Ari has become a sniveling vagina, Vince's morals feel false, cheap and corny (why the fuck NOT sleep with that spoiled heiress for $60million?!? You think a quick fuck isn't worth that kind of dough, to make a movie your way, with final cut and everything? Fuck. That. Shit. It's a fucking bald gentleman lie, that).
Eyes Wide Shut - 1999 - Stanley Kubrick - ♥♥♥
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - 2007 - Seth Gordon - ♥♥1/2 - Fetid nerds I have observed...
Lost - Season 3 - 2006-2007 - Abrams/Lieber/Lindelof - ♥♥♥1/2
Nyocker! aka The District! - 2004 - Áron Gauder - ♥♥1/2 - Read on, morons!
Persepolis - 2007 - Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi - ♥♥♥ - Stray thoughts, much better review here.
Rififi - 1955 - Jules Dassin - ♥♥♥♥
Dassin has such a brilliant mastery over light and shadows (Chiaroscuro to my film/art school dorks) that watching RIFIFI becomes a lesson on pure filmmaking brilliance...and that's not even mentioning the 30minutes of near silence (only diegetic sounds, no music!) set-piece that will never, ever be duplicated.
One can palpably feel the immense influence Dassin had on Kubrick, particularly Kubrick's similar in tone noir that put him on the filmmaking map, THE KILLING.
Great, great, great movie.
Smiley Face - 2007 - Gregg Araki - ♥♥1/2
The Sopranos: Season 6, Part II - 2007 - David Chase - ♥♥♥♥ One of the best, in terms of both quality, trendsetting and imitators spawned in it's massive pop-cultural wake, television shows in the history of the medium goes out not with a whimper, not with a bang, but a great big What the Fuck assholes, choose your own damned interpretation.
Which, for a show that absolutely reveled in the anti-climax, in leaving many, many a thread unanswered (how great would it have been if during the last episode the long forgotten Russian mobster showed up on Paulie's doorstep?) and, even though a good chunk of the show revolved around Freudian psycho-analytic theory (the purpose of which, seemingly, to change people's behavior), it's greatest strength proved to be TV's long standing maxim of "kinetic stasis" - sure, sure, we want growth and arcs and the other lies of how people set in their ways can change, but TV is all about returning characters to the status quo.
The genius of long form, season long television arcs is telling stories whereby the characters can't grow, can't change - 'cuz if they changed too much, the very reason we latched onto them in the first place is altered.
I find it amusing that soooo many people wanted Tony to pay for his past mis-deeds, when the same fucks who wanted some form of cosmic retribution were cheering him on, rooting for him, from the very beginning of the show.
Awesome ending (and that's all of Season 6) to a brilliant run.
The studly lady may have sung, but it was a hell of a tune.
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February
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days - 2007 - Cristian Mungiu - ♥♥♥1/2
The -1/2♥ that keeps 432 from utter perfection is for the utter clueless uselessness of Gabita...seriously, she gives halftards a bad name.
And Mungiu could easily have called this BESTEST. FRIEND. EVAR! and had just as informative a title.
For what a friend Otilia is, eh? Who the hell doesn't need a BFF like Otilia in there lives? I like to think I'd go above and beyond for my friends in a time of need, but Otilia's actions would make all such gestures moot.
Intensely gripping, with hypnotic long takes and an absolutely mesmerizing performance from Anamaria Marinca as Otilia, the 432 never beats the viewer into submission with its slight condemnations of life under an oppressive regime, but the suggestion runs throughout the course of the film - from a morally wishy-washy abortion Dr. to snooty hotel receptionist, to the black market purchasing of regular convenience goods, to the film's tour-de-static-camera-force set-piece, a very, very uncomfortable dinner party attended by Otilia 'cuz she's not only a great BFF, but an awesome girlfriend to boot.
It's in that long, painfully drawn out scene that the tension established earlier (it comes post shma-shmortion) becomes nearly unbearable, and it's all pretty much accomplished by a nifty composition and Marinca's subtle facial movement - utterly remarkable acting, staging, direction in a film that features plenty of each.
I could go on, and probably will, especially about the wonderfully discombobulating characterization of the abortionist, but suffice to say that 432 deserved all of its accolades and awards and more than lived up to the crushing expectations I had going in...no easy feat, that.
American Gangster - 2007 - Ridley Scott - ♥♥
If you've read all this before, it's because I read all of this before, 'cuz I swore I had no desire to ever see this...so the near plagiarism I'll just blame on the drugs (see MICHAEL CLAYTON review).
Since this is a pretty much 80% fictional biopic, it's still a biopic - or rather, a dual 80% fictional dual biopic. Biopics, being biopics, are rather vignette-ish in nature...writers and directors only have a certain amount of time to cover a person's life, so there's obviously the expected leaping from scene to scene, time to time. By that very nature, certain segments, certain sections, will most likely standout from the others.
AMERICAN GANGSTER is full of those discords, of great scenes sandwiched between inferior or lesser ones. About an hour could've been lost of the 3hr. take I saw, and it would've improved upon the proceedings immensely.
But buried within a lot of dreck, there's some neat things a happening - the how Frank Lucas acquired dead presidents, in the coffins of G.I.'s, was pretty damn indicting of the U.S. policies of the time (and now...). Ditto the near subconscious condemnation of said policies, how while we were losing some fight we should not have been in in the first place we were simultaneously losing large swaths of our inner cities to drugs, to decay. That was admirable, even daring.
And, contrary to a lot of Zoners, I thought the Richie story was the better story - no, not the afterschool special shenanigans of his adultery, divorce, and poor childcare skills, but his zeal, his integrity, his desire to punish his own corrupt kind was riveting - done before in SERPICO, sure, and while I thought Crowe was merely adequate, it was the dogged investigation that I really glommed to.
Does anyone know if this was shot with one of those newfangled digital cameras? While I respect the varied locations and must cut some slack for that, it didn't look all that great - and, yeah, I think that's what Scott and Savides were possibly going for, but it didn't look all that gritty and run down...it just kind of looked blah. For sure, Scott can still frame a shot well enough, but, like the vignette nature I discussed earlier, it felt sporadic - there really wasn't any one particular shot or sequence (aside from the fields of poppy...drool) that stood out for me, that had me thinking about this later.
The Assassination of JJ by the Coward RF - 2007 - Andrew Dominik - ♥♥1/2
Birth - 2004 - Jonathan Glazer - ♥♥1/2
Verily, the first 40-45minutes are without question the best sustained direction that I've possibly ever come across. Sure, it's a Kubrick homage, or it's indebted to Kubrick, but Glazer went so far as to out-Kubrick Kubrick...no small feat.
And I was still with the film for about the first hour - until it circled back upon itself to reveal just what exactly Anne Heche had buried in Central Park.
After that, after the ambiguity of whether or not that creepily adorable little bastard was Nicole's reincarnated husband? It falls off.
Hard.
Look, 'twas utterly unbelievable, no question, and, during that interim between the brilliant first third and the big reveal, I pretty much figured out that it must've been some sort of diary or journal - but the way it was played, that we just didn't know for sure, that was the drama, that, along with the let-me-pick-my-jaw-off-the-floor direction, that was the hook.
Should've let other stuff play for longer, and made that revelation the big reveal.
Almost, but not quite, a masterpiece.
But so close only gets you so far in the world of film. Can't wait to see what Glazer does next, though sadly nothing is listed on his IMDB page.
Diary of the Dead - 2008 - George A. Romero - ♥♥1/2
Don't believe the hate.
Elephant - 2003 - Gus Van Sant - ♥♥1/2
Gone Baby Gone - 2007 - Ben Affleck - ♥♥♥
Haute Tension - 2003 - Alexandre Aja - ♥♥
Figured I'd revisit after my initial outright loathing...it moved up to average, but not for lack of trying. The bootleg I scored well before it opened in the States was slightly different, as I could've sworn it opened in the car. Rewatching, it is kinda neat picking up on the hints and clues of what's to come - Marie's car ride reminisce of having a dream of chasing herself, of her distrust of the "normal", of her unhealthy love for Alex.
And they never share a scene together, Marie and her twisted alt - Marie only ever views him from wardrobe slits, glass, windows, the start of the rampage occurs when Marie is damn near literally and rather forcefully metaphorically in an removed attic, a far off room (of her mind, for those who don't pick up on such things). Even when they throw down, either one or the other's forehead/eyes are under the plastic sheet...when Marie cracks "him" on the skull, it's in the exact same spot as she's bleeding.
Ok, I get all that (now - it's not like I didn't notice the first time, but, well, more on that in the upcoming denouement) , and knowing that now, on repeat viewing, it's fun to notice.
Aja still fucking cheated though. That wasn't misdirection, that was a lie, and it ruined what could've been an amazing treatise on psycho-sexual obsession.
Still, I like Aja as a director, dug his HHE remake, and, while not completely jazzed for MIRROR, I will see it...eventually.
Hukkle - 2002 - György Pálfi - ♥♥♥♥
brilliant visual storytelling - makes your typical Amer-indie/Sundance fare look downright amateurish and boring by comparison. A remarkable achievement, can't wait for Palfi's next.
In Bruges - 2008 - Martin McDonagh - ♥1/2
Hit dudes in Bruges cop Catholic guilt attitude; bores me to moon, gag me with spoon.
The Lady Vanishes - 1938 - Alfred Hitchcock - ♥♥♥1/2
Michael Clayton - 2007 - Tony Gilroy - ♥♥♥
I wish I had a viable control group...like, this is keepcool on vicodin, codeine and weed, versus this is keepcool while maximizing his potential, living life to its fullest.
But, alas, I've taken a lot of drugs for a long period of time.
If anything though, even without the control group, this should prove, once and for all, that drugs are indeed bad.
Fun, but bad.
Written while on feel good candy, obviously.
Peeping Tom - 1960 - Michael Powell - ♥♥♥♥
Shadow of a Doubt - 1943 - Alfred Hitchcock - ♥♥♥1/2
The Hitchcock retrospective at the flophouse continues, this time with Hitch's personal favorite of all his films, and it's easy to see why. Debonair, dashing and devious, the always unappreciated Joseph Cotten has never been better, particularly when he articulates his disdain for his fellow humans, especially women, in a couple of wonderfully creepy monologues*. Stunning use of light and shadows throughout, the pull back in the library when Charlie Newton discovers just what Uncle Charlie was concealing with his desecration of her father's treasured daily paper being the highlight (in the DVD commentary, Hitch wanted the effect to be like a "whoosh" sound, and boy does that shot succeed in that), but there are scads of other instances of Hitch's utter mastery of composition and lighting throughout.
Very cool to see a young Hume Cronyn as a prototypical nerd - his running metatextual "perfect murder" scenarios he and Mr. Newton run on each other during the course of the film add an extra kick to what's going on before us - ditto Hitchcock filming a stolen base (of all the baseball plays Hitch could've used, it' all too fitting, no?) and one other instance of the serene bucolic charm of suburban U.S. being shown for the sham that it is (that I've unfortunately forgotten), and the parallels between Cotten's blonde charmer and the Nazi menace currently plaguing the world become even more clear. That when he's killed, his memory is untarnished in the eyes of the townsfolk, that his sister never recognized his fairly obvious evil ways, the pining that Uncle Charlie and his sister have for an idealized past? Hitch might not have done outright political commentary, generally pushing story above metaphor, but in SHADOW OF A DOUBT, at least in retrospect, its pretty clear that he had an agenda above and beyond the call of pitch-perfect story construction and ratcheting suspense.
The only reason I took off the 1/2 ♥ is that I just couldn't stand the high pitch caterwauling of Patricia Collinge as Charlie's mom and sister - I'm willing to allow Hitch his pretty darn sexist views of women, but her utter cluelessness, her grating voice and all too stereotypical demeanor had me siding with Cotten far more than I think Hitch intended...or maybe not, never know with that women issue freakshow. Charlie herself, who starts off like her mom only to grow right before our eyes into a cynical, jaded woman by the end...well, at least her early annoyingness is blunted by her character arc. I can forgive Emma only so much before her perf became too much to bear.
*"The cities are full of women, middle-aged widows, husbands, dead, husbands who've spent their lives making fortunes, working and working. And then they die and leave their money to their wives, their silly wives. And what do the wives do, these useless women? You see them in the hotels, the best hotels, every day by the thousands, drinking the money, eating the money, losing the money at bridge, playing all day and all night, smelling of money, proud of their jewelry but of nothing else, horrible, faded, studly, greedy women... Are they human or are they studly, wheezing animals, hmm? And what happens to animals when they get too studly and too old?"
and...
"You think you know something, don't you? You think you're the clever little girl who knows something. There's so much you don't know, so much. What do you know, really? You're just an ordinary little girl, living in an ordinary little town. You wake up every morning of your life and you know perfectly well that there's nothing in the world to trouble you. You go through your ordinary little day, and at night you sleep your untroubled ordinary little sleep, filled with peaceful stupid dreams. And I brought you nightmares. Or did I? Or was it a silly, inexpert little lie? You live in a dream. You're a sleepwalker, blind. How do you know what the world is like? Do you know the world is a foul sty? Do you know, if you rip off the fronts of houses, you'd find swine? The world's a hell. What does it matter what happens in it? Wake up, Charlie. Use your wits. Learn something."
and the way Cotten delivers them both, with so much conviction, so much deep seated venom? Not to mention the way Hitch shot both of them?
Just flat out masterful filmatism.
Strange Circus (Kimyô na sâkasu) - 2005 - Sion Sono - ♥♥♥
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…no one does bizarre quite like the Japanese. Cult Director Sion Sono, he of Suicide Circle/Club infamy, ups the weird ante to the nth degree with STRANGE CIRCUS, a macabre, Grand Guignol tale with story elements typical of your garden variety, run-of-the-mill, heartwarming type themes such as incest, sexual abuse, dissociative identity disorder, and, of course, extreme gore. A mindfuck of a film whose shifting realities only become clear in a final 30minutes that really, really tie the film together, Sono culls together disparate bits from similar influences such as Fellini, FIGHT CLUB, DePalma, and The Three Faces of Eve into a potent stew of psycho-sexual tension.
Teeth - 2008 - Mitchell Lichtenstein - ♥♥1/2 - Take a bite out of cock!
Terror's Advocate - 2007 - Barbet Schroeder - ♥♥♥
So there's no question that Jacques Verges certainly deserves to have a documentary made about his utterly fascinating life and career...but to have a damn near sycophantic documentary about such a polarizing figure, with very few to nary a peep of counter-arguments against his person? I dunno...that struck me as patently false. That he comes off like a smug pompous Struggling Background Artist did him no favors in my mind either - sure, he's got a right to be, but to not stick it to him with rebuttals, with more pointed questions...Barbet, you're sure no Errol Morris, that's for damn sure.
But I can't hate on a doc whose subject matter not only fucked one, but possibly two, hot female terrorists...I mean, we've all got our kinks, maybe Verges figured his out at a young age and only went into his line of work to get a chance to experience the intoxicating feminine power of bomb-planting extremists?
The doc also is a pretty good barometer for where one stands on certain moral issues...I think a lot of us will agree that defending the freedom fighters in Algeria in the mid 50's to early 60's is righteous, is just, is something that doesn't really need defending - they were, after all, a people who had suffered through the harsh lash of colonialism and only doing what they could to bring their occupier to its knees, no?
But, and here's where it gets morally gray - do you defend Klaus Barbie? (actually mounted an intriguing defense, by putting colonialism and all it's ugliness on trial while defending Barbie - but while the twinkling in Verges eye suggests a bit of merry pranksterism to it - his scalding hot cup o' smug sure runs over.)
Do you defend the incompetent boobery of Carlos the Jackal? (say what you will about Carlos' OPEC raid in the 70's, his spree of bombings in France in the 80's was just to get his snatch back. He's a liar, a failure, and rather ugly...that's right Carlos, I'm calling your punk ass out!@!)
Fascinating, but not nearly as in-depth, as journalistic, as it could have been.
There Will Be Blood - 2007 - Paul Thomas Anderson - ♥♥♥1/2
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Personally, I'm an atheist in the voting booth and a theist in the movie theatre. I separate the morality of religion with the spirituality and solace of it. There is something boring about atheism.
