Strange Powers
How difficult is it to make a fantastically kinetic and
enjoyable super hero flick? (Ask the
talent behind the failed film versions of The Fantastic Four…and Daredevil…and Elektra…and
the two Punisher movies…and Green Lantern…and the first Judge Dredd film…and so
on.) So what’s the secret for the great
comic book explosion of 2012? Turns out
you need great actors and a great director, and then it’s not so hard at
all, which means the following four films fit the bill nicely.
While The
Amazing Spider-Man was solid if unnecessary (after all, the only reason it was
made was to allow Sony to keep the rights to the character’s films away from
Marvel, which is why we won’t have a Spidey/Avengers crossover any time soon),
it’s hard to beat the one-two punch of the beginning of a saga (The Avengers) and the end of one (The Dark Knight Rises), and the global audience clearly agreed, with enough staggering cash to guarantee still more super hero films for the foreseeable future. My dark horse here was Chronicle, which took found footage and adolescent angst and
ever-escalating power, blended it all together, and kept it under two hours. Dredd would fit here as well, but I’m
saving that for later.
Isolation
Two films, each wonderful in their own ways, each
offering a prolonged look at an America that is bent somewhat, twisted and refracted by the
experiences of the inhabitants of each cinematic world. Beasts
Of The Southern Wild offers a visit to a post-Katrina dystopia through the
eyes of a kindergarten-age sprite; the dampness clings to each frame, and
monsters imagined or otherwise lurk just outside the physical and mental frame,
until the fog lifts and the awful clarity offers a reality that would drive
almost anyone into fantasy’s waiting arms, where death remains an abstract and all monsters can be tamed and named.
The cinematic polar opposite, The Master puts post-WWII flawed
masculinity under an assiduously detailed lens with two different but twinned
examples of charismatic emptiness and raw twitching emotion. The cinematography is rich and stunning, the
acting is intense and startling, but the narrative just simply can’t quite keep
up, like a beautiful musician with a singular voice who sings material that
doesn’t do the other gifts justice. But you still want to listen, right? I sure did.
Psych One, Psych Two
Psychology portrayed on film is a dicey concept, with any psychological "truths" often disconnected from basic reality, even as the portrait pulls you in and captures your imagination. So it goes with these two films. One offered a laundry list of American ills and the
final solution for each through a prism of personality-driven pathology (God Bless America),
while the other provided a ripped-from-the-headlines documentary-style snapshot
of social influence and persuasion at its most pernicious and damaging (Compliance).
The former was a VOD experience between my fiancé and me, while the latter was a film festival first in that I counted at least 60 walkouts at various points during the film. The first was a wish fulfillment fantasy, while the second was a sad reality. But both offered a take on psychological processes rarely seen in films, and while one was more successfully cringe-worthy than the other (due to the better script, better acting, and overall veracity of Compliance), both were worth my time and yours.
The former was a VOD experience between my fiancé and me, while the latter was a film festival first in that I counted at least 60 walkouts at various points during the film. The first was a wish fulfillment fantasy, while the second was a sad reality. But both offered a take on psychological processes rarely seen in films, and while one was more successfully cringe-worthy than the other (due to the better script, better acting, and overall veracity of Compliance), both were worth my time and yours.
Comments
Post a Comment