Buys
On the strength of the Game of Thrones tv series, I went out and got the first four books of The Song if Ice and Fire. 3000 pages should tide me over for the summer, right? Other books on my list included Darth Vader and Son (see below) and Chicks Dig Comics. As for DVD, most of which made their way to this week's reviews already, I got the most recent Fright Night (directed by the guy who made Lars and the Real Girl?!), Gunless, True Lies, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and This Film Is Not Yet Rated.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: In preparation for MI4's release, I decided to watch Mission Impossible's second season, which is likely where the show really hit its stride. Peter Graves as Jim Phelps replaces Steven Hill's Dan Briggs and is immediately more iconic, but it's all look and voice, because the characters are basically ciphers (no explanation is given as to how the change happened or why Jim's even got Dan's apartment). Cinnamon, Rollin, Barney, and Willy become less and less reliant on guest agents (aside from the occasional trained cat), and the show manages to veer away from its formulaic structure a couple times over the course of the season's 25 episodes. For me, MI is all about outrageous con jobs perpetrated on generic communist countries and criminal syndicates, and as long as that's delivered, I'm entertained.
Ghost Protocol, I found, managed to pay tribute to the original series a lot more than any of its forebears (not difficult, mind you). There was the opening sequence montage with the fuse, the smoky finish, and though Ethan Hunt's skill set is still very stunt heavy, still some con job sequences like on the show. It did bug me that it was squarely set in MI3 (i.e. Alias Lite) continuity, but the central disavowal did lead to more old school MI stuff than usual as the technology broke down. Tom Cruise is starting to look tired, so it looks like they're grooming Jeremy Renner to take his place as the action hero. He's not a bad choice, if a little over-exposed these days. Paula Patton likewise does the job without being too remarkable. And Simon Pegg is always watchable. Some say this is the best of the franchise and I think I agree. It had the most solid character work to awesome action set piece ratio of them all. Clearer than the first, and less gimmicky than the second. This edition of the DVD has a couple of deleted scenes with director's commentary and a couple of very slight featurettes about one stunt sequence and one prop from the film.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a completely different take on the spy genre, realistic and gritty, but more than that, it exudes TEXTURE. The story is edited like a puzzle, one that Gary Oldman's George Smiley must assemble to find a high-level mole, and each frame is packed with information. What information is relevant to the case? Why are we seeing what we're seeing? The brilliance of this adaptation of John LeCarré's novel (and I haven't seen the previous one, mind, or read the book) is how it forces viewer involvement in this way. It's also got a powerful cast of British actors, including John Hurt, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones and Benedict Cumberbatch, and plays up its 1970s setting through the earth tones of the set design. The DVD has an audio commentary between director Tomas Alfredson and Oldman which I'd rate as fair, a few deleted scenes that really deserved to be deleted, and a 15-minute making of mostly made up of talking heads that nevertheless does the job.
And another 180-degree turn for the spy genre: I watched True Lies as well. (Don't worry, the spy genre is still represented on my "unwatched" shelf.) Hadn't seen it in at least 15 years, but my, couldn't James Cameron put an action sequence together in those days! In only two dimensions, too! Definitely one of Arnold's better action films (TOM Arnold's as well, ha!) and a sweet romantic comedy about a married couple reconnecting as well. I still wonder how they made some of those sequences work, but alas, I've only a got a cheapo DVD with an animated menu, but no extras. Ah well. Perhaps one day I'll find a special edition on sale and decide to upgrade. James Cameron would never make another movie I 100% enjoyed again after this... (Titanic is really two movies, a good historical recreation and a terrible melodrama, and let's not talk about the Great Satan of our movie age, the Third Dimension.)
Canada should make more westerns. Or at least western comedies like Gunless. I'll like almost anything with Paul Gross in it, so this purchase was a no-brainer. Gross plays the Montana Kid who unknowingly crosses the Canadian border when running from bounty hunters and becomes a fish out of water in a small Canadian frontier town (filmed in southeastern British Columbia) where, well, they just don't have pistols. The plot isn't particularly groundbreaking, and I'm sure you can imagine how it ends, but there are a lot of charming and funny surprises 'til then. Best of all is that the film doesn't shy away from examining the gunslinger's conscience, how he justifies what he's done, and how much it weighs on him. There is truth here. But no DVD extras.
Kirby Dick's This Film Is Not Yet Rated means to investigate the way the MPAA rates films, in particular why some are given the NC-17 kiss of death as opposed to others, and who the secret group of raters actually are. On the one hand, the documentary speaks with various film makers about their experiences with the MPAA and discusses its history and practices. On the other, it features a Michael Moore-like stunt in which Dick hires a private investigator to ferret out who the raters are (circa 2005) and follows him in his own bid to submit the documentary for a rating, and the following appeals process. There is some meandering as we get to know the female private eye, but it's not uninteresting and Dick manages to craft usable segues out of the slice-of-life material. Between the thrill of the chase in the Moore-type stuff and the comedy inherent in the system's absurd hypocrisy (spoiler: it helps the studios, but harms the independents), This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a fun and illuminating document on censorship in the movie business. The extras add a lot more information, thanks to a commentary track, a great bunch of deleted sequences, and brief Q&A with the film maker.
17th-century Korea is the setting for War of the Arrows, a 2011 action picture that builds its characters slowly in the first hour because it will turn into an incredible, breakneck chase in the second. On her wedding day, Ja-in, her new husband and much of her village are taken into slavery by Chinese forces, and it's up to her brother Nam-yi to come to their rescue. Nam-yi is an incredible archer, but the wedded couple aren't exactly without skill either. With two different Chinese forces (blues and reds) to defeat, there's plenty of martial violence (I said martial, not marital), mostly perpetrated on deserving villains. The drama stands up too, with good charismatic actors throughout. Animal lovers beware however. It's all fake, but a fairly remarkable variety of animals get killed as well. The DVD's extras are all marketing tools, a bunch of trailers and a 5-minute promotional featurette.
Books: Darth Vader and Son is a charming little picture book from cartoonist Jeffrey Brown who, though he's still using a naive indy style, has really improved in my eyes since, say, Clumsy. His characters are well-posed and speak through body language, it's lovely stuff. In the book, Luke Skywalker is turned into a young boy celebrating Father's Day with Darth Vader. Each page is its own gag, usually done as a single panel, alternating between Star Wars jokes (using lines and scenes from the films) or sweet father-son moments. It's incredibly cute and pays loving tribute to the franchise AND to positive father-son relationships as well. Out from LucasBooks (who really don't need your money), another home run from Jeffrey Brown (who really deserves it).
Hyperion to a Satyr posts this week:
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - Slings & Arrows
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - A Midwinder's Dream
On the strength of the Game of Thrones tv series, I went out and got the first four books of The Song if Ice and Fire. 3000 pages should tide me over for the summer, right? Other books on my list included Darth Vader and Son (see below) and Chicks Dig Comics. As for DVD, most of which made their way to this week's reviews already, I got the most recent Fright Night (directed by the guy who made Lars and the Real Girl?!), Gunless, True Lies, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and This Film Is Not Yet Rated.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: In preparation for MI4's release, I decided to watch Mission Impossible's second season, which is likely where the show really hit its stride. Peter Graves as Jim Phelps replaces Steven Hill's Dan Briggs and is immediately more iconic, but it's all look and voice, because the characters are basically ciphers (no explanation is given as to how the change happened or why Jim's even got Dan's apartment). Cinnamon, Rollin, Barney, and Willy become less and less reliant on guest agents (aside from the occasional trained cat), and the show manages to veer away from its formulaic structure a couple times over the course of the season's 25 episodes. For me, MI is all about outrageous con jobs perpetrated on generic communist countries and criminal syndicates, and as long as that's delivered, I'm entertained.
Ghost Protocol, I found, managed to pay tribute to the original series a lot more than any of its forebears (not difficult, mind you). There was the opening sequence montage with the fuse, the smoky finish, and though Ethan Hunt's skill set is still very stunt heavy, still some con job sequences like on the show. It did bug me that it was squarely set in MI3 (i.e. Alias Lite) continuity, but the central disavowal did lead to more old school MI stuff than usual as the technology broke down. Tom Cruise is starting to look tired, so it looks like they're grooming Jeremy Renner to take his place as the action hero. He's not a bad choice, if a little over-exposed these days. Paula Patton likewise does the job without being too remarkable. And Simon Pegg is always watchable. Some say this is the best of the franchise and I think I agree. It had the most solid character work to awesome action set piece ratio of them all. Clearer than the first, and less gimmicky than the second. This edition of the DVD has a couple of deleted scenes with director's commentary and a couple of very slight featurettes about one stunt sequence and one prop from the film.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a completely different take on the spy genre, realistic and gritty, but more than that, it exudes TEXTURE. The story is edited like a puzzle, one that Gary Oldman's George Smiley must assemble to find a high-level mole, and each frame is packed with information. What information is relevant to the case? Why are we seeing what we're seeing? The brilliance of this adaptation of John LeCarré's novel (and I haven't seen the previous one, mind, or read the book) is how it forces viewer involvement in this way. It's also got a powerful cast of British actors, including John Hurt, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones and Benedict Cumberbatch, and plays up its 1970s setting through the earth tones of the set design. The DVD has an audio commentary between director Tomas Alfredson and Oldman which I'd rate as fair, a few deleted scenes that really deserved to be deleted, and a 15-minute making of mostly made up of talking heads that nevertheless does the job.
And another 180-degree turn for the spy genre: I watched True Lies as well. (Don't worry, the spy genre is still represented on my "unwatched" shelf.) Hadn't seen it in at least 15 years, but my, couldn't James Cameron put an action sequence together in those days! In only two dimensions, too! Definitely one of Arnold's better action films (TOM Arnold's as well, ha!) and a sweet romantic comedy about a married couple reconnecting as well. I still wonder how they made some of those sequences work, but alas, I've only a got a cheapo DVD with an animated menu, but no extras. Ah well. Perhaps one day I'll find a special edition on sale and decide to upgrade. James Cameron would never make another movie I 100% enjoyed again after this... (Titanic is really two movies, a good historical recreation and a terrible melodrama, and let's not talk about the Great Satan of our movie age, the Third Dimension.)
Canada should make more westerns. Or at least western comedies like Gunless. I'll like almost anything with Paul Gross in it, so this purchase was a no-brainer. Gross plays the Montana Kid who unknowingly crosses the Canadian border when running from bounty hunters and becomes a fish out of water in a small Canadian frontier town (filmed in southeastern British Columbia) where, well, they just don't have pistols. The plot isn't particularly groundbreaking, and I'm sure you can imagine how it ends, but there are a lot of charming and funny surprises 'til then. Best of all is that the film doesn't shy away from examining the gunslinger's conscience, how he justifies what he's done, and how much it weighs on him. There is truth here. But no DVD extras.
Kirby Dick's This Film Is Not Yet Rated means to investigate the way the MPAA rates films, in particular why some are given the NC-17 kiss of death as opposed to others, and who the secret group of raters actually are. On the one hand, the documentary speaks with various film makers about their experiences with the MPAA and discusses its history and practices. On the other, it features a Michael Moore-like stunt in which Dick hires a private investigator to ferret out who the raters are (circa 2005) and follows him in his own bid to submit the documentary for a rating, and the following appeals process. There is some meandering as we get to know the female private eye, but it's not uninteresting and Dick manages to craft usable segues out of the slice-of-life material. Between the thrill of the chase in the Moore-type stuff and the comedy inherent in the system's absurd hypocrisy (spoiler: it helps the studios, but harms the independents), This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a fun and illuminating document on censorship in the movie business. The extras add a lot more information, thanks to a commentary track, a great bunch of deleted sequences, and brief Q&A with the film maker.
17th-century Korea is the setting for War of the Arrows, a 2011 action picture that builds its characters slowly in the first hour because it will turn into an incredible, breakneck chase in the second. On her wedding day, Ja-in, her new husband and much of her village are taken into slavery by Chinese forces, and it's up to her brother Nam-yi to come to their rescue. Nam-yi is an incredible archer, but the wedded couple aren't exactly without skill either. With two different Chinese forces (blues and reds) to defeat, there's plenty of martial violence (I said martial, not marital), mostly perpetrated on deserving villains. The drama stands up too, with good charismatic actors throughout. Animal lovers beware however. It's all fake, but a fairly remarkable variety of animals get killed as well. The DVD's extras are all marketing tools, a bunch of trailers and a 5-minute promotional featurette.
Books: Darth Vader and Son is a charming little picture book from cartoonist Jeffrey Brown who, though he's still using a naive indy style, has really improved in my eyes since, say, Clumsy. His characters are well-posed and speak through body language, it's lovely stuff. In the book, Luke Skywalker is turned into a young boy celebrating Father's Day with Darth Vader. Each page is its own gag, usually done as a single panel, alternating between Star Wars jokes (using lines and scenes from the films) or sweet father-son moments. It's incredibly cute and pays loving tribute to the franchise AND to positive father-son relationships as well. Out from LucasBooks (who really don't need your money), another home run from Jeffrey Brown (who really deserves it).Hyperion to a Satyr posts this week:
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - Slings & Arrows
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - A Midwinder's Dream
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