Review: Jinn

68. Jinn
This film is, at best, what one would expect from a not very good SyFy television movie. Apparently it finished filming way back in 2010. I don't understand how it got a theatrical release after all that time.

It's obviously a project the writer/director was passionate about, as he is credited in several other departments as well. I'm sure he's familiar with the film's mythology, but he isn't able to explain that mythology to the audience in an effective manner. I was able to get the gist of what was going on, but it was all too complicated to fully understand everything.

Just about everything about the film is second rate. The screenplay seems to be written from a template, awkwardly introducing new characters and clumsily meandering from moments of clunky exposition to lackluster action sequences. I wouldn't have been impressed with it even if it had merely aired on television, but releasing the film theatrically further highlighted its vast shortcomings.

Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

67. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
While I had a few issues with this film, it was a significant improvement on the first Captain America film, and is one of the better films in the current run of Marvel superhero movies.

I was not a big fan of "Captain America: The First Avenger", because the character was uninteresting and had no narrative arc. Yes, he went from being a thin weakling (yet with a strangely masculine voice) to a buff super soldier, but there was no interior transformation. He was a nice, self-sacrificing guy at the beginning of the film, and nothing had changed by the end. "The Winter Soldier" gives the character more to do. He struggles adjusting to the new times he is living in. He finds that some people he's been working for are really agents of the enemy. The character is forced to take charge and make decisions on his own, rather than simply being the bland, loyal soldier that he was the first time around.

The film's plot is weightier than most of the recent Marvel films. "Iron Man 3" and "Thor 2" were entertaining enough, but they were also somewhat hollow. Their action scenes were fun to watch, but there was never any real tension behind them. "The Winter Soldier" had some good twists in the plot, which in turn lent more meaning to many of its action sequences. An intense action sequence involving Samuel L. Jackson's character was one of the highlights. It was not nearly the most elaborate in the film, but tons of explosions and boffo special effects are not necessary to create an effective action sequence. It is telling that in my opinion the least effective action sequence was the grand finale, which featured the most explosions and effects shots. The movie had reached the point where its ultimate destination had become obvious, and the action felt obligatory and drawn out.

My major problem with this film was with the character of the Winter Soldier himself. SPOILER ALERT. It turns out that the Winter Soldier, a mysterious assassin who has carried out several high profile jobs over the past several decades, is actually an old friend of Captain America's, seemingly killed in the first film. This is a great set-up for drama--two old friends forced to fight on opposing sides. Unfortunately, The Winter Soldier doesn't have any memory of his old life, or his friend, robbing the scenario of at least eighty percent of its dramatic potential. Captain America still feels conflicted about fighting his friend, but the opportunity for dramatic exchanges between the two is lost. The character also feels unnecessary. The film already had a good plot in place with plenty of effective twists. Perhaps it would have been better to save the Winter Soldier's introduction for a later sequel where he could have been explored more in depth.

In spite of a few shortcomings, it was a nice relief to see a Marvel superhero film that went beyond action for action's sake and actually had something to say.

Review: The Silence of the Lambs

66. The Silence of the Lambs
Another film from the "classics" series. "The Silence of the Lambs" is a very good film, and in the over two decades since its release, just about everything that can be said about it has been said. Instead of just discussing the movie on its own, I would instead like to examine its portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in comparison to the currently airing television show "Hannibal", which features many of the same characters and themes.

I mentioned just before this season premiered that I think the television show boasts the best filmed depiction of Hannibal Lecter. This is not a criticism of other actors who have played the role, but a reflection on both the show's writing and the brilliant performance of Mads Mikkelsen. In actuality, the show probably boasts the best filmed depiction of every major character in the cast--it's just that the character of Hannibal tends to get the most attention.

Anthony Hopkins' performance in "The Silence of the Lambs" became almost instantly iconic, and not just because of what he himself brought to the table. The audience's first impression of him occurs before he even appears. After hearing his doctor relate the story of how he attacked a nurse and ate her tongue, almost anything Hopkins did would have been effective--the audience was preprogrammed to be impressed. Hopkins does deliver an unsettling performance, often staring directly into camera. For the movie, that is enough, but there isn't actually much there in the way of realism or believability. I didn't really notice this until I saw Mads Mikkelsen's take on the character.

"Hannibal", so far at least, covers the time period before the title character has been imprisoned for his crimes. He actually helps the FBI to catch other serial killers. The first season sees him teaming up with Hugh Dancy's Will Graham (the main character from the novel "Red Dragon"), and the show follows the complex relationship that forms between these two characters. The characters' situation alone gives Mikkelsen a much more dramatically interesting character to play. We get to see Hannibal functioning as a practicing psychiatrist and cannibal. We get to see him attempt to hide his true nature from others whom he genuinely considers to be friends. We get to see him become nervous when his cover is at risk of being pulled aside. This is much more fascinating than the imprisoned, over-the-top boogeyman the character was in "The Silence of the Lambs" film. The best representation of the fundamental difference in the two portrayals is the famous line where Hopkins' Lecter speaks of eating a census taker, and then makes a slurping sound. Mikkelsen's character wouldn't be caught dead making that sound. When this realization struck me, it force me to examine the scene from the film more closely. While before the moment had served to make the character even more creepy and unsettling, I now realized how kind of ridiculous it was. If that had taken place in real life, I wouldn't have been scared--I would have probably laughed in the guys' face.

The creators of the show have said that they hope to eventually cover the events from the books. I hope they are allowed to get that far. I can think of many scenes from the films that would be positively electric when played between the characters on the show who would have several seasons worth of conflicts and emotional baggage. "The Silence of the Lambs" is a good movie, but "Hannibal" may be the best television show I've ever seen.

Review: Le Week-End

65. Le Week-End
There were moments in this film that made me think of two films I enjoy very much--"Sideways" and "Before Midnight". The comparisons did the film no favors, however. Rather, they highlighted how much better the other films were.

"Le Weed-End" tells the story of an elderly couple who is returning to Paris, where they took their honeymoon years ago, seemingly in an attempt to rekindle their fading love. For much of its runtime, the film seems aimless. It establishes the characters and their situation effectively, then doesn't seem to go anywhere for a long time. Events happen, of course, but they're all variations on the same theme. Something happens to create a spark between the characters, and they have a few moments of excitement and optimism, but then something else happens and they start to fight again. This happens several times, continuing long after we've gotten the point. Although "Before Midnight" involves a younger couple, it still deals with many of the same themes--the annoyances and resentments that can build up over the years of a romance. "Before Midnight" has a much defter touch, as the conflicts are introduced early and slowly build to a breaking point over the course of the film. It's writing is also both more realistic and emotionally satisfying. "Le Week-End" features some sequences that take away from a feeling of realism, such as one extended scene where the couple tries to escape from a restaurant to avoid paying the check. It's this kind of scene that reminded me of "Sideways", but while similar moments in that film rang true, here they felt like an artificial dramatic device to once again start the characters' love/hate cycle.

It's a big relief about halfway through the film when Jeff Goldblum shows up as an old friend and invites the couple to a party at his place. This gives the characters other people to interact with, breaking the stale cycle. Goldblum himself also brings some much needed energy to the proceedings. His quirky physicality and vocal patterns command your attention. The scenes at his party were the best in the film.

If the first half had been trimmed down significantly, this film would have been much better. It's still not a bad film, but I can't particularly recommend it, either. Jeff Goldblum's work is worth seeing on its own, but going through the first half in order to get to it may be asking too much.

Review: Cesar Chavez

I'm going to be featuring only one movie per update for my next few posts. This should help me keep my goal of still updating every other day, and will keep me from running out of movies to post about. I anticipate returning to two movies per post in a little while.



 

64. Cesar Chavez
I often stay for the entirety of the end credits when I see a film, even if it wasn't that good. It's a nice way to slowly detach from the world of the film and get back to real life.

I never leave before a movie is over, no matter how bad it is. If a film truly offends me on a level deeper than it being just a sub-par film, the greatest insult I can give it is to ensure that I am up out of my seat and rapidly moving for the exit the second the end credits start. That is what I did here.

Films that are sympathetic to a particular political point of view are sometimes so sure of their own opinion's infallibility that they don't bother to justify it. For me, it doesn't usually matter whether or not I agree with the film's point of view. All it has to do is justify that viewpoint within the context of the film. For example, I don't believe in the conspiracy theories espoused by Oliver Stone's "JFK". I am aware that there are factual inaccuracies in the film, but I am still able to enjoy it because it takes the time to establish the main character's actions as virtuous within the world of the film. I don't necessarily leave the film with the opinions on history that the filmmakers may have wanted me to, but I do leave it entertained.

In the case of "Cesar Chavez", the filmmaker's unwavering faith in their own opinions manifests itself in the protagonists. Most of the characters are self-righteous and overly sanctimonious. Midway through the film, a worker's strike led by the title character has led to a businessman being willing to negotiate and capitulate to some of their demands. During the negotiation scene, several of the workers crowd the businessman's office, being loud and disrespectful. One of them even goes into an adjoining bathroom and starts urinating without closing the door. I sat in the theatre dumbfounded. Were these really the characters I was supposed to be rooting for? There were many other similar scenes in the film.

I don't know much about the real life events this film was based on. Maybe the crass behavior was accurately portrayed. But films like this need to make the protagonists likeable if they want to successfully connect with the audience. By making them unlikeable, it connected with me in a different way--I actually began to root for the antagonists (which is never fun, because you know they're going to lose).

I've seen over sixty films in the theatre so far this year. This one is by far my least favorite. It was smarmy, sanctimonious bullshit. Even though I saw it for free, I'm ashamed that using my Movie Pass contributed in any way to the film's box office.

Goals for April

My goals for this month:

1. Watch at least 10 different movies in the theatre. My perennial goal.

2. Re-write the first 30 pages of my screenplay. I'm trying to be less ambitious with this goal than I was last month. I just want to make sure I get these initial pages into strong working order before I move on.

3. Finish cleaning my room. Self explanatory.

4. Make a blog post every other day. I've been doing this successfully so far. Much like my February goal to go to the gym every day, this goal is to make sure I stay on track despite how busy I'll be for the next few weeks with rehearsals/performances.

March Goals Wrap-Up

I had more trouble with my goals for March than in either January or February. I was perhaps a bit too ambitious, but I've also been going to rehearsals almost every Monday through Thursday. When combined with frequent trips to the movie theater, this didn't always leave me with tons of time to devote to my goals.

1. Watch at least 10 different movies in the theatre. I almost doubled this goal, making it to 19 different films in March.

2. Complete a first draft of a screenplay. I made it about 30 pages into my screenplay this month. While I was mostly happy with what I've written, there are a few things I have issues with and some fundamental changes I need to implement. As a result, I think it's better to rework those 30 pages before moving on.

3. Clean my room. I did some cleaning, but did not complete the job yet. I was able to clear a path to my bed so I don't have to pole vault into it anymore. This goal is still a work in progress.