Pointless Man

I have been a sometimes-fan of Prince since I first sat down and listened to an LP of Purple Rain back in the early '90s.  That 1984 record is probably the best rock album of its decade. Still, in all that time, I've never been able to bring myself to watch the movie in its entirety until this last Wednesday. I'm not sure I've seen a better representation of mid-80s goofiness, self indulgence, or childish faux-sexuality in a single movie. It was fantastic--almost as good as the record, though, of course, for completely different reasons. I'm not sure if I can't recommend it, or can't recommend it enough.

Many people decry Hollywood for its lack of originality, what with all the sequels, rehashed plots, adaptations, and remakes. I understand this critique. I feel its draw. But, when I think about it, I'm not against those things. Riffing on a theme is the basis for a lot of great art, including some movies. If we couldn't appreciate taking the same pieces through different moves (or different pieces through the same moves), we'd never retell our own stories, never play the same boardgame twice, and hate all music not based on random note choices. I'd like to say I am simply against bad movies, but this is not entirely true. I can have fun with bad movies. Hell, I've seen They Live and Class of 1999 at least a dozen times each; Blade 2 is one of my favourite films; and while I didn't like Mission Impossible 2 , I did like making fun of it. What's more, even less than enjoyable material can offer us something, when it points to better works. I never woul...

It's gotten terrible reviews. It can't be good. Ignoring the whole comicbook thing, its pedigree is questionable, at best. Yes, yes, I know. Just like the Punisher cannot be good in comparison to other heroes, it seems Punisher movies cannot be good in comparison to other action or comicbook flicks. Even when I was a kid, the Dolf Lundgren Punisher was laughably bad, but not so much that it was really worth seeing. The series reboot, starring Thomas Jane , seemed so uninteresting, I didn't even consider watching it. Just like the Punisher cannot be good in comparison to other heroes, it seems Punisher movies cannot be good in comparison to other action or comicbook flicks. Rebooted and recast, again, this time with Titus Pullo--known to those who haven't watched Rome as 'Ray Stevenson'--in the lead role, would the Punisher fare any better this time around? I decided to find out last week. It was Tuesday night at 7PM, so even though I was at the only screen sho...

I am a big fan of prolific Japanese director, Miike Takashi. His movies are not always good (which would be an accomplishment, considering he averages about three feature length films a year), but he doesn't mind experimenting or playing around. Not everything he tries works, but when it does, it can be pretty damn awesome. His subjects and genres vary wildly from a musical about a family running an inn, to a kid fighting goblins, to some of the best yakuza flicks I've seen. Meanwhile, he tends to get good performances from his actors, even when they are children or non-native Japanese speakers. The only time I've been completely disappointed with one of his pieces was a rejected instalment in Showtime's Masters of Horror , entitled 'Imprint'. The story was stupid, and the acting was bad. This was Miike's first all English production, and it showed. So, when I found out one of his 2007 films, Sukiyaki Western Django was in English, I was a bit put off. How ...

When I am at my mom and stepdad's place, I sometimes end up seeing movies I would never watch otherwise. Recent titles have included Codename: The Cleaner and A Night at the Museum , both of which were better than I would have thought, though the leads played to my expectations. Cedric the Entertainer is still hilarious, and Ben Stiller is still better suited to serious acting than comedy. While baking some banana bread, I also ended up seeing about half of Shut Up and Sing , the documentary about the Dixie Chicks pissing off all their patriotic country fans and dealing with the fallout. Getting past the terribly uninteresting music, the film was pretty interesting and well made. The Chicks and their manager can be genuinely entertaining as people, and watching the business side of things is fascinating. It's also disturbing to see just how dumb some of their former fans are. On my own, I've recently watched: Miike Takashi's 2007 flick, Crows Zero , is a stupid, but en...

After watching the unrated version of Doomsday I think it took an unnecessary beating at the hands of critics, but who knows how different the theatrical release was? I've enjoyed Neil Marshall's exploration of variations on horror tinted pulp, so far. I don't see how Doomsday was any worse than Dog Soldiers , but I guess people were hoping for his latest effort to top The Descent . Good luck there. Not only was he back to editing his own product (rather than Jon Harris, editor of Snatch , Ripley's Game , and Layer Cake ), but the synergy between writing and location in The Descent couldn't be improved upon. That movie was scary long before any traditional horror elements were introduced to it. As a film in the tradition of Mad Max and Escape from New York , Doomsday did just fine. It had a decently disturbing near future, a nasty supervirus, and some badass action sequences, including some really fucking cool fights. A few moments stretch the viewer's suspen...

It is a wonder someone hasn't made Bad Dudes into a flick. I mean, really, can you get a better action premise than street thugs trying to save the President from the ninjas who kidnapped him? I don't think so.

In reviewing the new Batman movie , Roger Ebert writes, 'This film, and to a lesser degree “Iron Man,” redefine the possibilities of the “comic-book movie.”' Now, Ebert knows there are a fair number of films based on comicbooks which have nothing to do with superheroes or adventurous men in tights. This is probably why he put the term in quotes. But, still, everybody knows that he meant action movies starring men who wear masks, capes, or both. And, probably, most people think these are the only kind of comicbook inspired movies there are. Some might object to this characterization of the basis of Sin City or Hellboy , but these still feature over-powered action heroes. Considering some very good, not-so-super-hero-ish movies like Ghost World , A History of Violence , Road to Redemption , and American Splendor had been based on comics well before Iron Man and The Dark Knight , Ebert's statement seems unfair, or at least to unintentionally expose the unjustified bias he (...

In response to something somewhere else: I consider 'taste' as personal, but 'good' as intersubjective. What appeals to any one person is largely dependent on their circumstances and exposure, and may not be readily changed by reasoning. But it is not necessary to base one's idea of 'good' wholly upon one's tastes. After all, one can be told how and why slices of sharp cheddar and tart apple complement eachother, and thus recognize this as a good combination worthy of recommendation to others, yet still not enjoy it (much, if at all) personally. One can recognize a good banjo player without especially enjoying the sound a banjo makes. And so on. Of course, not everybody is capable of or interested in being able to appreciate or understand things which do not particularly appeal to or please them. It is something of an acquired taste, and bias can get in its way. Everybody has their limits. I still cannot quite hear why Charles Mingus is so revered in jaz...

This one man is living out a Choose Your Own Adventure on film. Can you seriously look at the characters he's played in Better Off Dead , Say Anything , and High Fidelity , and tell me he's not playing the same character at different points in his life? There's not that much in terms of background story that distinguishes these characters. Sure, names change, and some events differ (or are perhaps omitted), but Cusack's characters in these are all quirky, charming guys with overactive imaginations, a self deprecating sense of humour, and a romantic (if sometimes jaded) view of dating and dealing with the opposite sex; all with the same diction, and the same good looks. With a little work, we can even include his appearance in 16 Candles as one of Anthony Michael Hall's nerdy buddies as a prelude to this guy's later adventures. If this character had walked a slightly different road out of high school (say, missing out on his last big date with his high school s...

Recently watched Hard Candy and Payback: Straight Up . Neither may have a lead character that is actually a sociopath in the now obsolete technical sense, but whatever. Both have a hardcore, crazy, yet principled lead. Sort of like Darkman . >_> Ahem. Hard Candy is a tough watch at times. It's about a 15 year old girl who hooks up with 30 year old man she met on the net, and goes home with him. The much publicized twist is that she isn't interested in fucking him, and he isn't about to take advantage of her. Quite the opposite, actually. She spends most of the movie physically and emotionally torturing her would be lover. She is almost unwavering in her confidence she's doing the right thing. The vast majority of the film is spent in a house with just characters, and these somewhat confining aspects can add to the overall uncomfortable feeling of the movie. It's sort of like a light, morally complex, Americanized Funny Games with really beautiful photograph...

I'm a sucker for being let in on the creative process, especially when such need and joy are part of it. I can dig that. --This post will be expanded upon later, I think.--

It is a shame for fans of westerns, great film, or Nick Cave that The Proposition has not been given a wider release. It is awesome, and deserves greater attention than it has been afforded. The score, acting, cinematography, sound editing, and direction are all masterful. The script's not bad, either. If you have the chance to see and don't, you will be doing yourself great disservice.

What happened to Nightcrawler? There's no Nightcrawler in this one, and no one says why. You've got hundreds of mutants in this flick, but one of the most important characters in the second movie doesn't once get so much as mentioned? This is the sort of thing you can almost expect X3 to do to itself, and there are moments, at least, where it does just that. The terrible writing and lackluster direction make this not quite worth seeing in the theatre, while it is too special effects driven to be viewed on the small screen. There are some disappointing moments even in that area, where certain characters are given digital skins, and it looks like something from 1999. Outside of that, the movie has the makings of a great camp adventure. Oh, and if you have young children and want to talk to them about issues like racism, homophobia (I wish there were a better, recognizable word for that), self determination, and various other ethical issues, this might not be a poor basis for...

I have suggested before that someone should make a medieval zombie flick in technicolour, and set it in Spain to acheive a look similar to Sergio Leone's westerns or Eastwood's Joe Kidd . Let me now add, the zombies shouldn't go about creating more living dead. Instead, they should just devour things, right down to the bone. And they shouldn't just focus on people. Why let other animals have a free pass? What kind of hungry beast passes up a docile cow to go chasing after armed humans? A friend has expressed some concern that the movie would be in the vernacular or accents of the time. Let me reassure you, we would not take this route. Perhaps the movie would be in a foreign language, and I suppose we'd have to have a priest shouting out Latin somewhere in there, but I don't see any reason to go too far out of the way for realism when you're dealing with the supernatural. As to tone, I'd want something old school; something in tune with The Seventh ...

Movies based on books ought to be expected to be as separate from their origins as movies 'based on a true story'. To complain that such a flick is not true to its source is perhaps to assume that it should have to slavishly recreate the original work. A movie can sometimes do well with that sort of approach, (as, say, with Fight Club ), but not all films can stand to follow the particulars of a story written more than 20 years ago for an entirely different entertainment medium and audience. Saying V for Vendetta works on its own as a movie, does a fair job expressing the import of the individual over the government and dealing with difficult issues such as terrorism, is not to say it is superior to the comic it is based upon. Saying one should attempt to appreciate or enjoy it as a piece by itself (as most will, having not read the book), is not to say comparisons between the comic and the film should be avoided altogether. It is possible to have had fun watching V , and stil...

And use it in a zombie movie. Set in Spain. During the dark ages. But somebody should have a gun. And the flick should just be one long series of Kurosawa and Leone nods, except with zombies. Zombies.

I've written somewhat jokingly in other venues of aesthetic evil--a notion put forth in some philosophic circles, in David Bowie's Outside , and in the very notion of a 'clip artist'--something I've been thinking about applying to some extent, albeit in an amoral light, in a story about the disenchantment of a hitman with violence. So the idea that morals and aesthetics can be intertwined in complex ways is nothing new. It is often the case in fiction that evil, good, and the characters which represent them are, perhaps in melodramatic fashion, simplified and distilled to be viewed through a distorted 'less is more' sort of lens. When this is done poorly, we get the stereotypical, lowest-common-denominator sort of product we expect from summer blockbusters and best selling novels sold by the checkout lines of your local supermarket. But it is not out of necissity that such an aesthetic produces lackluster material. One might argue such an approach has result...

For those with an interest in expressing the truth through art, inspiration can be found here: John Pham's Substitute Life Layer Cake Me, I'm often of the mind, truth is not beauty, beauty not truth; art as expression, aesthetic experience, entertainment, or decoration is independent of what actually is and any abstract truths pertinent to reality. Absurdism captures the human condition only incidentally, so far as I am concerned. Some of the best work in the genre is not developed unto a theme, but aims only at offering itself to whatever audience there may be. It does not set out to make a grand statement, however many we might find in it. Those discoveries say as much about us as they do about their creators and the art which we delve in to. But there are many approaches to and understandings of whatever art might be. For expressive work of the highest calibre, complete with something akin to a story, I suggest the above linked material. Illustrating feeling, focusing on wha...

The two Ghost in the Shell movies are replete with theological and philosophical quotes, especially the second one. Assuming this is reflective of the manga upon which they are based, it makes me wonder if the creator intended his title to be as subtly ironic as it ended up. Seeing as the phrase 'ghost in the shell' originated (by Gilbert Ryle) as a derogatory term for the idea of ethereal souls running our worldly bodies, but the point of the series seems to be that souls do in fact exist--and that they can be generated synthetically and transferred, allowing for the classic cyberpunk theme of man and machine, or internet and Real Life being no different. Anyway, it's just a little something that pops into my head every now and then.