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Showcase
Presents: Teen Titans Vol 1 (7/1/06) Comics (2006 ***½)
Written and illustrated by various. This was another inch-thick
(524 pages!) collection of black and white reprints. The book
included the first few appearances of the original Teen Titans
(Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wonder Girl) as well as the first 18
issues of their own book. Most of the stories were written by Bob
Haney. I read a blog article recently in which the reviewer
(whose name I‘ve forgotten) described Haney has having written
"the most awkward teenager dialogue in comics history."
That‘s certainly true, but the stories still had a
light-hearted approach to them and it was fun to read about kids
who are also superheroes.
The Teen Titans will
always have a unique place in my heart because it was a copy of
their comic (belonging to my uncle) that got me interested in
comic books in the first place. They were the first "free"
sample of what turned out to be a lifelong (and occasionally
expensive) addiction. In fact, my first goal when I got serious
about collecting comics was to acquire a complete run of their
series. I think I accomplished this by age fifteen or so, and I
still have all those issues in comic boxes in my storage unit.
The artist most
associated with the original run of the Titans was Nick Cardy,
who illustrated roughly half the stories in this collection. As I
read this volume over the space of a couple of weeks, I was
occasionally astonished by Cardy’s illustrative skills, his
off-kilter layouts and flair for dramatic compositions. In fact,
a lot of the wow-factor pyrotechnics associated with comics
legend Neal Adams were present in Cardy’s panels and pages. I
don’t know if there was a direct influence between the two
artists or if so which direction it flowed. If I could ask for
three wishes, I think one of them might be to be able to draw
like Nick Cardy.
As much as I enjoyed
the early stories, my favorite Titans tales were actually the
ones that followed the ones in this volume. I hope this reprint
series is successful enough to warrant a second volume. If anyone
from DC comics is reading this, please… please print the rest!
If you don’t, I’ll be forced to dig my own copies out of
storage and read them an issue at a time.
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The
Devil Wears Prada (7/1/06) Glendale Mann 4 (2006 **½)
Directed by David Frankel, starring Meryl Streep and Anne
Hathaway, with a stand-out supporting performance by Stanley
Tucci. Hathaway played the assistant to a dragon lady (Streep),
one of the most influential women in the fashion world. This is a
challenging movie for me to review. My fiancée was a fan
of the original book and very interested in seeing the film, and
so we went. The reason it’s difficult for me to review is that
throughout the movie I felt as though I were on the outside
looking in. For one reason or another I never got around to
reading Vogue and I don’t have any particular affinity
for women’s fashion. It was obvious early on that having such a
background would greatly enhance one’s appreciation for the
world portrayed in the film. It wouldn’t be very respectful of
me to dismiss The Devil Wears Prada as a "chick
flick," though that’s not entirely inaccurate. It is,
however, fair to recognize the primary audience for the film was
women. Though I often have enjoyed other movies in that category
I still felt more excluded by virtue of my sex than usual. Having
said that, there was a lot to like about the movie -- Streep’s
performance was interesting and nuanced -- and I was never bored.
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The
Best American Movie Writing 2001 (7/3/06) Nonfiction
(2001 ***) Edited by John Landis, with series editor Jason
Shinder. This book collected a variety of articles written in
1999 and 2000, originally published in The New York Times, The
New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Moviemaker, and elsewhere.
They've been separated into arbitrary categories (actors,
writers, directors, genre, etc.) and represent, as the title
implies, a selection of some of the best writing on the topic of
film. Though I appreciated the effort it must have taken to read
and narrow down a large number of articles to a chosen few, John
Landis’ introduction and chapter previews didn’t add much. My
reaction to the writing was mixed. Some of it I enjoyed and some
even touched me, like Robert Polito’s "Barbara Payton: A
Memoir," the story of an aging screen star who had turned to
prostitution to pay for her drug habit. Other pieces, on the
other hand, were awfully long and dry, like Maria DiBattista’s
quasi-feminist analysis of His Girl Friday. My purpose in
buying the book was to widen my own horizons when writing on the
subject of film. Reading through the selections, I was drawn far
more to pieces in which the writer offered a personal connection
than those that took a more academic approach.
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The
Best of the Spirit (7/3/06) Comics (2005 ***1/4) Written
and illustrated by Will Eisner. Will Eisner passed away in
January 2005 at the age of 87. He continued working right up to
the time of his death. It would be a terrible understatement to
say he had a big influence on the development of the American
comic book. The Best of the Spirit offered a sampling of
his short 7-page Spirit stories, which were originally
produced, not as comic books, but as newspaper comic inserts. The
Spirit and his stories are well known… by comic book fans,
writers and artists. Eisner’s most famous creation never
attained the level of recognition by the general public as
Superman, Batman, and the rest. Will Eisner was for the most part
ahead of his time. He figured out "graphic storytelling"
in the 1940’s, long before anyone else really gave it a lot of
thought. At least that’s the general consensus. How true that
is, I’m not sure, really. It seems to me there were a number of
artists and writers from that time period who knew what they were
doing but just weren’t able to articulate it as well as Eisner.
Eisner is the father of the modern graphic novel, which is ironic
considering he got his start producing comic stories in such
short form. Reading through the stories in this collection, some
of the tales were of a scope that their 7-page presentation was
almost haiku-like. In my opinion, many of the stories suffered
from that brevity and condensation, and there were several times
when the stories became confusing. In my early years I’d read
most of the stories in this collection in black and white reprint
form, and this was the first time I’d read these stories in
color. To be honest, I preferred the black and white -- the color
seemed arbitrary and a distraction. As creatively successful as
some of his later "serious" work was, and as much as I
can appreciate his desire to separate himself from the fictional
character he was most associated with, I wish Eisner had left
behind a full-length graphic novel based on The Spirit. It might
have given the character the room to breathe he deserved.
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Primer
(7/5/06) Netflix (2004 ***) Written by, directed by, and starring
Shane Carruth. The premise of this independently-produced film:
Two men accidentally build a time machine in their garage. When
they decide to build a version large enough to hold a man, they
topple the dominoes of causality. Primer was a short film
(77 minutes) and I absolutely loved the first half of it. The
ramp-up to the far-fetched invention of the time-machine was
compelling. There was a point in the story, however, when things
began to slide down a bumpy hill and it became a jumble. I didn't
really understand what was going on for the last twenty minutes
of the movie. Now the thing is, I respect and even admire that
choice. As confusing as it was, it was still well-done
throughout. It's been argued the creator of any film owes
something to his or her audience, but does that include
comprehension? Perhaps clarity is just another dimension in the
cinematic experience. In my view, Primer was a success as
an experimental project, and it helped to view it as such. I
enjoyed the look of the film and appreciated what the filmmakers
were able to do with limited resources. Would I recommend this
film? I would... depending on the person and circumstances.
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Dodgeball:
A True Underdog Story (7/6/06) Netflix (2004 ***)
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, starring Vince Vaughn and
Ben Stiller. One of my fiancées Netflix picks, this was
the second time I'd watched Dodgeball. When I went to look
up my earlier critique, I couldn't find it; for whatever reason I
must have forgotten to write a review at the time, which is
unusual for me. I enjoyed the movie for the most part, but it
wasn't exactly a must-see. It was funny enough in spite of the
fact the story (such that there is) felt manipulated at the
expense of the characters being true to themselves. Watching
Vince Vaughn's performance, I was frequently reminded of a young
Bill Murray in Stripes or Meatballs. I kept
expecting Vaughn to lead his fellow team members in a chant of
"it just doesn't matter." I think it was Mark Twain who
said: "There's something intrinsically funny about someone
getting hit in the face or crotch with a red rubber ball."
If you agree with that statement, you'll probably enjoy
Dodgeball.
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Under
the Tuscan Sun (7/7/06) Netflix (2003 **½)
Directed by Audrey Wells. As a man, I was not the target audience
and there’s not much for me to say about this film. At the risk
of being sexist, I can appreciate why its themes would appeal to
women. Diane Lane was an excellent choice as the main character,
a divorcee who discovers her soul and the secret to happiness in
a villa in Tuscany. There was nothing wrong with the film, per
se, and it might make a good video rental. My primary complaint
was it never scraped below the surface and I wish there had been
more depth to the characters and situations.
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Powers
Vol 9: Psychotic (7/8/06) Graphic Novel (2005 ***)
Written by Brian Bendis, illustrated by Michael Avon Oeming. Alan
Moore’s Top Ten series and Powers offer two
different takes on the same premise: What would happen if you
combined a police procedural with superheroes? My reaction to
this collection of stories originally published in comic form was
mild disappointment. I’ve read all the previous stories in this
series, but for whatever reason I found this one less interesting
than earlier volumes. It seemed as though all the ground being
covered was so familiar as to induce a feeling of déjà
vu. Though it offered a mildly interesting resolution, the
primary multiple-homicide plot was never fully engaging.
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Twin
Peaks: Season 1 (7/9/06) DVD (1990 ***½) Series
created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. When Twin Peaks
originally aired I was an immediate fan. I taped each episode and
watched it twice, searching for clues as to "who killed
Laura Palmer?" Considering the virtual explosion of
television show DVDs, I found it very odd that: (1) the original
2-hour pilot wasn’t available "officially" in the
U.S. and (2) the second season wasn’t currently available on
DVD. Watching the seven episodes that comprised the first season
for the first time in a decade (somewhere I still have my old VHS
copies) was like stepping into a time machine. While I still love
the show, I’m not blind to the fact that the soap opera
elements haven’t aged particularly well. Still, there was so
much to like about the original series: The deliberately-stylized
characters were all so much damned fun! I found myself wondering
whatever happened to all those actors. I know there’s probably
little point in it or likelihood of the project getting off the
ground, but I would love to see David Lynch revisit the town of
Twin Peaks.
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Six
Feet Under: Season 5 (7/9/06) Netflix (2005 ***½)
Series created by Alan Ball. This was the fifth and final season
of Six Feet Under. (Spoiler alert) It wouldn’t feel
natural to review this season without mentioning its narrative
focus and source of closure, the death of Nate Fischer, the
series’ nominally central character. Nate’s death came at the
end of the ninth episode of the 12-episode season in a show
entitled "Ecotone." Ecotone is defined as an area of
overlap between two communities. In the episode it referred to
the sudden (in a "holy shit!" kind of way) attack of a
hiker by a cougar while hiking on a suburban trail. While I don’t
know precisely what the writers meant the title to signify, I can
hazard a guess: Throughout the episode Nate was in transition
between life and death, and for awhile he existed in an area of
overlap between those two worlds. I enjoyed the last few episodes
of the season very much and found them quite effective. In a
lesser show, the necessity to "tie up all loose ends"
could be painful to watch, but the various ways in which closure
was danced around and occasionally attained were written with a
sense of elegance befitting the show. The final five minutes of
the last episode permitted a unique glimpse into the future, as
the viewer was allowed to witness the final moments of each of
the main characters. Looking at the series as a whole, it was
strongest when focused on what made it unique: Demystifying death
and sincerely examining the ways in which dying is a part of
life. It was at its weakest when it degenerated into unconnected
(and sometimes conventional) soap opera storylines. Finally,
there was an irony in the fact that I watched the final episode
of Six Feet Under immediately after watching the last
episode of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks: Season
1. While I have no idea the extent to which Alan Ball or his
writers were personally influenced by the 1990 series, there was
an inescapable similarity: Both were, on the surface, prime-time
soap operas with a multiplicity of character-driven storylines,
and each series set out from the get-go to shock and challenge
their viewers, albeit in very different ways.
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Elf
(7/12/06) Netflix (2003 ***½) Directed by Jon Favreau. I
last watched Elf on 11/9/03, nearly three years ago, but
it certainly doesn't seem like it's been that long. This is
probably the best movie Will Ferrell has ever made and the role
he was born to play. He played the childlike adopted elf Buddy
with pure energy and perfect comedic timing. If I compiled a list
of the ten best Christmas-themed movies of all time, Elf
would be on it. There was a lightness and exuberance throughout
the film that made even a cynical heart like mine want to sing
Christmas carols. The only thing keeping me from giving it a
four-star rating is I feel it missed an opportunity for hitting
some deeper emotional notes. I can see how making its emotional
chords more poignant might have run counter to its light-hearted
comedic tone. However, even acknowledging that, I still imagine
an alternate universe version of Elf in which it was
possible to achieve both without diminishing either.
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Exercises
in Style (7/13/06) Nonfiction (1981 edition *½)
Written by Raymond Queneau, translated by Barbara Wright.
Exercises in Style was originally published in French by
Quenaeu, a linguist and mathematician. Barbara Wright's English
translation was first published in 1958. This is an odd little
volume and is the direct literary precursor to Matt Madden's 99
Ways to Tell a Story, which I read and reviewed a month ago.
The premise of Exercises in Style was that a rather banal
non-story involving an altercation on a bus followed by a later
discussion about a coat button was told 99 different ways. I
expected the re-tellings to focus on the conventions of various
literary genres and narrative points of view, etc. (telling it as
a mystery or a western, or first, second, third person etc.), but
unfortunately the majority of the variations were linguistic in
nature: Anagrams, unusual spelling variations and word-truncation
comprised many of the versions. The result was a collection of
mostly unreadable word-play. While I admire the effort it must
have taken to translate such a book, reading linguistic material
one step removed from its original source added an additional
level of distraction. While I had hoped reading the book would
provide insight into the multitude of stylistic options available
for describing scenes, only about 20% of the material was
suitable for that purpose.
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Pretty
as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch (7/13/06) Netflix
(1997 **½) Directed by Toby Keeler. This documentary
explored the mind of David Lynch as expressed through his films
and painting. It was made around the time of Lost Highway,
a film in which Lynch's sensibilities took him well beyond the
edge of what was accessible for an audience. I recommend this
documentary to anyone already a fan of Lynch, but anyone else
would likely be bored. The documentary tended to jump around a
lot, but I didn't mind that too much. Listening to Lynch and
others speak articulately about his creative methods gave me even
more respect for the man as an artist. It's been five years since
Mulholland Drive and I very much wish he were producing
more films. But the wait is nearly over: Inland Empire,
starring Laura Dern, should be coming out sometime this year.
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The
School of Rock (7/14/06) Netflix (2003 ***) Directed by
Richard Linklater. Jack Black starred as a musician kicked out of
his own band. To pay his share of the rent, he steals the
identity of his roommate, a substitute teacher. Instead of
teaching the normal curriculum, he teaches rock theory, and
within a few weeks transforms his classroom into a hard-rocking
band. It was interesting watching this a few days after watching
and reviewing Elf. In both films, the comedic lead (Will
Ferrell and Jack Black respectively) leaped into their roles with
reckless abandon. Though their styles differed, the result was
the same: Moments of high-energy hilarity. I sincerely respect
Richard Linklater and the choices he’s made in his career,
including the fact he’s established a pattern of alternating
between serious, limited-audience films like Waking Life
and Fast Food Nation and more commercial ventures like Bad
New Bears and School of Rock.
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A
Scanner Darkly (7/16/06) Glendale Mann 10 (2006 ***)
Directed by Richard Linklater. This was a challenging movie for
me to review, because I'm of two minds on it. I never got around
to reading the Philip K. Dick book on which the film was based,
so I can't compare the the film with its source material. It was
a movie like Linklater's Slackers, Waking Life and Before
Sunset, which is to say there was far more talking than
action. That will undoubtedly turn some people off, as will the
rotoscoping. As an artist, I was impressed with the visual
process, which marked a significant improvement over the
technique used on Waking Life. At times it was beautiful,
adding a level of intensity to the performances. From what I've
read, because of the time-consuming task of processing the entire
film, there was some difficulty in completing the project on
schedule and its release was delayed as a result. I don't expect
it will make much money -- there were only about 15 people in the
theater when I saw it -- but it was still successful in my mind
as an example of what can be done with film.
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Mystery
Science Theater 3000: I Accuse My Parents (7/19/06)
Netflix (1944/1993 **½) Original directed by Sam Newfield.
According to imdb.com, Mr. Newfield (who died a month after I was
born) was likely the most prolific director of American film
ever, having directed more than 300 films. Clearly the
sensational nature of this film was the reason it was selected
for the MST3K treatment by Joel Hodgson and company.
However, I was actually surprised by the relatively high quality
of the direction. Most of the B-films shown on the "Satellite
of Love" were directed by individuals with marginal skills
at best. The screenplay (and undoubtedly the budget) of I
Accuse My Parents didn't leave much to work with, but Sam
Newfield still apparently did his best with the material
available. As for the MST3K dimension of the experience,
it was one of the weaker episodes I've seen. Still, a weak
episode of MST3K is usually better than most popular TV
comedies.
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Amadeus
Live (7/20/06) Hollywood Bowl (2006 ***) This was the
second concert I've seen at the Bowl, and there will be many more
to come over the course of the summer. This production of Amadeus
featured Neil Patrick Harris as Mozart and Michael York as
Antonio Salieri. The performances were good, as was the music.
Being hearing impaired, the music wasn't as loud as I would have
liked, though I had little trouble hearing the voices of the
actors. I've always liked the story of Amadeus. There is
something about the character of Salieri -- a man whose curse was
to recognize both the genius of Mozart and the limits of his own
talents – that I especially enjoyed and identified with. The
worst nightmare of any artist is to come face to face with their
own mediocrity. On a personal note, this was the second time I've
seen this story presented on stage: In the early 1990's my friend
Scott Koepke played the title role in a Community Theater
production in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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Coupling:
Season 1 (7/23/06) Netflix (2000 ***) I'd head about this
British sitcom a year or so ago when one of the major networks
aired an American version which immediately belly-flopped. The
best way to describe the show -- which featured three men and
three women -- is that it was like Friends... if they all
talked nonstop about sex. Most of the plots were sexual in
nature. In an example from the sixth and last episode of the
season, we learn that Patrick keeps a walk-in cupboard full of
videos of women he's slept with. Susan, one of his many ex's,
becomes enraged when she thinks Patrick has shown the home-made
porn to her current boyfriend, Steve... and all the others as
well.
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Superman
/ Batman Vol 1: Public Enemies (7/24/06) Graphic Novel
(2004 **½) Written by Jeph Loeb, illustrated by Ed
McGuinness. From the beginning of this book, Loeb established a
technique of parallel narration by Superman and Batman. His point
was to provide a comparison/contrast of the two heroes.
Unfortunately, it wasn't especially clever and was so distracting
it interfered with the story. The primary physical conflict was
this: A meteor the size of New Zealand is on a collision course
with earth, and since the meteor is a fragment of Superman's home
planet Krypton (and is in fact made of Kryptonite), U.S.
President Lex Luthor blames Superman and declares him and anyone
who assists him a fugitive. Frankly, as story spines go, this
wasn't one of the most inspired. So what made the book mildly
worthwhile? The visuals and eye-candy. The most interesting bits
in the book were appearances by a wide spectrum of DC comics
characters, both heroes and villains, and the way in which those
characters were drawn by Ed McGuinness.
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Big
Star: The Short Life, Painful Death, and Unexpected Resurrection
of the Kings of Power Pop (7/24/06) Nonfiction
(2005 ***) Written by Rob Jovanovic. This was an unusual choice
for me; I rarely read books or magazines about the music world.
However, since buying an iPod a few months back I've found myself
listening to the first three Big Star albums a LOT. When I
stumbled upon this book listing at Amazon.com, I figured what the
hell, and so I ordered a copy. The first word that comes to mind
in critiquing Jovanovic's writing style is "competent."
He did a solid journalistic job of researching the history and
material and selecting quotes from the hundred or so interviews
he did. This was no small task, considering he was researching
events thirty years in the past. I appreciated that this project
was a labor of love coming from a fan of Big Star and their
music. Sadly, I would guess there's not much of an audience for
the book. Most people aren't aware of the band or their
incredible music, and the mystery of why they never got the
audience they deserved is... Well, that's really the central
question of the book, isn't it? As much as I respected the job
Jovanovic did, what was missing for me was a sense of
storytelling variety. While I don't suggest he should have
sensationalized the material, the tone throughout the book never
really changed, even when he described Chris Bell's death and its
emotional aftermath. It was also a real shame that Alex Chilton,
arguably the central figure of the story, refused to be involved
with the book's production, and the work suffered as a result.
Having said all that, I don't regret buying and reading this book
one iota. If you are a Big Star fan like me and want to learn
more about the story behind the legend, this book is probably the
only chance you're ever likely to get.
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Monster
House (3D) (7/26/06) Glendale Mann 10 (2006 ***½)
Directed by Gil Kenan. My fiancée and I went to see this
film on a Wednesday night; it was playing on two screens as we
got to the ticket booth we learned the 7pm show (the one we were
going to) was playing in digital 3-D for only $2 more. What an
unexpected treat! Monster House wasn't a perfect movie,
and I had some mixed feelings, but my overall experience was
strongly positive. Because I saw it in 3-D (which was excellent,
by the way), I can't discount the contribution that may have had
to the sensation of being on a roller coaster that was frequently
thrilling and only occasionally confusing. The movie opened with
a shot of a single orange leaf. In a self-conscious homage to
Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis was one of the executive
producers), we follow the leaf as it leads us down a residential
neighborhood and directly into the story. The main characters
were all twelve or so, and the tone of the whole thing reminded
me of contemporary juvenile fiction. There were some genuinely
scary moments, and there will undoubtedly be a lot of
seven-year-olds with bad dreams. Much has been made of the use of
motion capture for the character motion, but I felt it was
generally used effectively, though there were a few times when
the actions captured seemed to deliberately call attention to
themselves. The character designs weren't 100% successful, but I
liked the fact they weren't over-designed and at times they
demonstrated surprising appeal. I was especially impressed by how
tight the direction was. According to imdb.com, this was the
first film Gil Kenan has directed, and I was impressed by how
fluidly he told the story and how well the camera related to the
characters.
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The
Iron Giant (7/27/06) Netflix (1999 ****) Directed by Brad
Bird. When this movie was first released I saw the trailer and TV
commercials and decided it wasn't worth seeing. By the time I
learned otherwise, it was no longer in the theaters. The
mishandling of The Iron Giant by Warner Brothers'
marketing remains a cautionary tale to everyone in the animation
industry: It is quite possible to put your heart and soul into a
project and produce an amazing movie and still have it belly-flop
at the box office. There was so much to love about this movie.
The story was as rock-solid as you can get. I love that it was a
period piece set in the 1950's that evoked not only a sense of a
more innocent America, but also a sense of the Sputnik-induced
paranoia of the times. The animation was top-notch throughout,
ranging from exciting battles and explosions to surprisingly
gentle scenes between a boy and his 100-foot robot friend. Though
produced at Warner Brothers, it would fit right in alongside the
very best Disney films of all time.
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Blue
Velvet (7/28/06) DVD (1986 ****) Directed by David Lynch.
Blue Velvet is a film that has a personal significance to
me: When I first saw it during its original release, it made me
realize how powerfully manipulative film can be, and I found that
fundamentally inspiring. Most critics consider it David Lynch’s
Magnum Opus, and I agree with that assessment. Simply put, it’s
one of the great films of my generation. Sadly, its content
wasn’t for everyone and it remains a hard film to watch at
times. Dennis Hopper’s Frank Booth was a profoundly disturbed
man and there was imagery (long since burned into my brain) that
extended beyond comfortable boundaries and became deeply
disturbing. Never before or since has the conflict between good
and evil -- a theme that would be central to the world of Twin
Peaks -- been explored with a masterful touch both dramatic and
comic. There was a 1950’s naiveté to the proceedings;
watching it now after all these years -- can it possibly be
twenty years later? -- it represents a bridge between my life now
and a world thirty years before the film was made.
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The
Tick: The Entire Series (7/30/06) DVD (2001 ***½)
"I am the wild blue yonder!" This was a brilliant but
short-lived TV series on Fox, and it makes me smile every time I
watch it. I'm not the first to say it, but Patrick Warburton was
born to play The Tick. His over-the-top naive character was
splendidly complimented by David Burke as Arthur, and together
they made a wonderful duo. It's really too bad this show was
canceled after only nine episodes. I wonder how it might have
evolved. The writing was really top notch, and it was fun to
explore the domain of the superhero from a real-world frame of
reference. On the DVD's audio commentary, Barry Sonnenfeld
(director of the pilot and executive producer of the series)
talked about the choices made in creating a live-action world
based on Ben Edlund's comic creation. I feel he did a brilliant
job and the property was compatible with other Sonnenfeld
projects like Men in Black and The Adams Family.
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Glen
or Glenda (7/30/06) DVD (1953 **½) Directed by
Edward D. Wood Jr. It's tempting to give this movie a single
star, because it really is a bad movie in most senses of the
word. But I'm not going to, and here's why: My rating scale is
based on my personal enjoyment, and I actually got a fair amount
of entertainment out of my viewing experience. Glen or Glenda
falls into that rare category of films so bad they actually
become good. There was a luminous passion with which Ed Wood
wrote, directed and starred (as Daniel Davis) in this picture.
The film's structure drifted in and out of coherence; only a
slightly twisted mind would envelop an exploitative treatise on
transvestitism with such an elaborate narrative structure. There
were at least two framing stories: In the first, a police
detective consulted with a psychiatrist following the suicide of
a transvestite. In the second (brilliantly reenacted in Tim
Burton's Ed Wood), Bela Lugosi played "The
Scientist," who may or may not have been God. His
monologue ("Pull the string! Pull the string!") made
little sense. There was also a bondage dream/nightmare sequence
near the 2/3-point in the film that reminded me of an Irving Klaw
photo session with Bettie Page. The sequence didn't really relate
to the core theme or story of the film, and yet somehow I didn't
mind....
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