2012 – The phrase “they don’t make’em like they used to” just can’t hold up when talking about modern disaster films. Their 70’s heydey may have set a template, but that template really just consisted of crappy acting and spectacular set pieces. But no flaming skyscraper or flipped cruise liner can hold a candle to that absolute devastation that can be brought about with CGI. Roland Emmerich returns to the one thing he can do well (he directed Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow), and that’s destroying the world in inceasingly awesome ways. The sheer spectacle of watching everything (and I mean everything) either falling apart, catching on fire, being flooded or any combination of the three is about all you could ask for as far as sheer destruction goes. Well, less cheesy plots would also be nice, but again, that’s all thanks to the 70’s template: It’s just not a disaster movie unless a family is in peril, and someone has to outrun the devastation (which in this case, is frequently a collapsing vortex). (B)
The Decline of Western Civilization - Every since watching Z Channel almost a year ago, I had a desire to check out the 1981 documentary about the early LA punk scene. And although it’s not as exciting as I wanted it to be, it was at least interesting enough. The bands shown can vary between the less than stellar and the overly talented, just as they can solidify what I perceived the golden punk bands to be like as opposed to how some actually were. Case in point, I thought The Germs were pretty terrible, and closer to my expectations of that particular genre (though I do know and appreciate The Ramones, The Dickies and the Sex Pistols). On the other end of the spectrum, I found X to be very talented and listener-friendly, without losing to much of a percieved street cred. However, the problem with the film is that it is clearly more interested in the concert footage than in the reasons, the attitudes or the fans (though all get a share of face time), which makes it harder to recommend to people who don’t know that they’d like it to begin with. (C)
The Karate Kid – Aside from the sometimes hilarious 80’s
soundtrack, this childhood favorite holds up well. As film-making goes, it’s suprisingly good, with decent
direction, a unexpectedly smart screenplay, and a good strong sense of it’s own
values and limitations. The acting
is also better than I would have expected, with Macchio turning in a thoroughly
charismatic lead performance, and Morita adding decent levels of nuance. But I most enjoyed watching the film
from an adult perspective, and seeing Johnny (William Zabka) not as the central
villain (which I always had), but as simply a pawn in his evil sensei’s
villainy. It’s an unexpected touch
from an unassuming movie. (B)
The Karate Kid 2 – It’s got the same strong character as the original, as well as the emotional cornerstones, but for the most part, this quickly shot off sequel seems unnecessary. Following Daniel and Mr. Miyago to Okinawa is an okay if stretchy concept, but I suppose it adds an air of freshness to what leaving them in California would have accomplished. It just doesn’t have much to offer that you can’t get from the original. (C)
Wall Street – I suppose if I ever needed to convince myself that Oliver Stone was a good director, I wouldn’t need to look past my own experiences watching Wall Street. It’s a rugged battle of kind-of-good versus evil, with pretty fantastic performances (though Charlie Sheen’s drunken acting is less than stellar, and I never did buy into Daryl Hannah), a few stunning shots, and a quintessentially 80’s feel. But it’s the decently tense story that really sells me on Stone for one single reason: I barely understood a word of it. Not being keen on Wall Street lingo, or how stocks actually work, I may as well have been watching a foreign film without subtitles, or at the very least, a screenplay based on a technical manual. That lack of knowledge makes the film a bit less tense and engaging (I only understood when something was bad or good based on the way it was presented), but it’s a decent watch even so. (B)
I also have seen:
(500) Days of Summer (B+)
An American Tale (C)
Battle Royale (B-)
The Book of Eli (B)
Domino (D+)
Inside Man (B)
The Matrix (A-)
The Matrix Reloaded (C-)
The Proposal (B-)
Zombieland (B+)
Recent Comments