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Reviews
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
captures sense of spiritual awe
This movie does a good job, more than any other I have seen, in conveying the awe, fear, and respect which the ancient Greeks felt toward their gods. We must remember that the era Jason lived in was almost 1000 years before the time of Socrates; we see here no mockery or philosophical dissection of the gods. The temple to Hera, in which Briseis hides in vain from the lethal sword of Pelias, is dominated by a huge, stern statue of Hera which seems to gaze off into an infinity beyond the understanding of mere mortals. When the priest of a humble temple transfigures into the god Hermes, Herrmann's magnificent score, along with the shocked, fearful look on Jason's face, shows us that even Jason, the self-professed doubter, is overwhelmed by the experience. When the ship's crew realises that the figurehead on the prow is actually a living, speaking manifestation of Hera, they all bow down on the deck, many averting their gaze from the awe-full sight. Even though Jason eventually defeats the mighty Talos, from the moment that we see Hercules and Hylas approaching Talos's monument, the camera's perspective shows us how tiny and insignificant these mortals are when compared to gods and Titans (well, Talos seems to be fulfilling the role of a Titan, even though traditional legends have him as a bronze "man", presumably much smaller, and in Crete, not on the route to Colchis). The genius of Herrmann's score, and how it fits hand-in-glove with the emotional content of the film, cannot be over-emphasized. By the way, the remake, decades later, is totally out of touch with this "feeling of awe" discussed above, besides containing some strange innovations to make the story more "politically correct".
Mysterious Skin (2004)
interesting, but flawed in concept
I'm not really sure this contains spoilers, but I'm playing it safe! This film tracks the growing-up period of two young men with very different lives, with one veering off into an endless stream of gay "tricks", the other along a path of confused groping towards a forgotten past, with a large false-turn into the UFO occultist camp. The convergence of their story lines has to do with an incident of sexual activity -- apparently more or less a lot of fooling around, game-playing, which, since it involved two young boys and an adult, is automatically branded as "abuse" in our culture --- be that as it may, the whole premise of this is that the incident was so "shattering" to one of the boys that he not only fainted dead away, but managed to completely forget everything connected with the incident. This notion is based on the "repressed memory syndrome", a bit of "urban legend" pervaded by amateur "therapists" which was quite in vogue about 15 years ago, but has been soundly debunked since then by reputable psychologists (cf. http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/default.asp?Display=56 )--- but Mr. Araki has apparently not kept up with things, and still believes in this nonsense, or is cynical enough to try and take advantage of viewers who may be less informed. If one takes this all with a grain of salt, the film is interesting due to its many unique characters and cockeyed view of American society.
The Triangle (2005)
where is that old Triangle?!
OK, this movie was about the Bermuda Triangle, which is/was supposedly east of Bermuda, which is east of Florida. So, why, SEVERAL times in the movie, did they refer to this area as being in the "Southern Atlantic Ocean" ?? If so, it would be south of the Equator, and it would be the "Brazil Triangle", or the "Argentina Triangle." It's one thing for a little kid to be fuzzy on basic geography, but when a "scientist" in a movie says these things.......
p.s. Lou Diamond Philips' character made the whole thing worthwhile. He added emotional depth to the story; such depth is often lacking in these science-fiction films.
Casino Royale (2006)
something new
For me, the 007 genre had become a bit too formulaic in recent years, but I thought I had to see the new one anyway. I was pleasantly surprised: it wasn't quite as gory (bloody) as the musical "overture" suggested it would be, but the violence often had a harder edge, to show us that people really suffered from it. The central romantic interest had more pathos and sweetness than one expects in a Bond film. These things contributed to a "darker" film, but more realistic at the same time. The use of locations such as St. Mark's Square in Venice and Lake Como up in the Italian Alps was an extra treat which made the movie a pleasure to watch. The opening chase scene was a little too over-the-top, but it does get your attention.
Earthsea (2004)
the Halmis strike again
I noticed that the same pair, Halmi Sr. & Jr., were "executive producers" in another miserable Hallmark adaptation, "Jason and the Argonauts." Although Halmi Sr. doesn't seem to have done too much damage in "Merlin", for example, it well may be their withering hands that are to blame for what we got here. Right from the start, with the opening music, I could tell something was wrong. It sounded like "Shrek" or "the Lion King" --- at any moment I expected to see bouncing ponies and fluffy little lambs scurrying over the hills. And then I began to hear dialog, "Hey Ged!" "Mind your father, Ged!" etc. Everyone (except this production's "idea men") knows that Ged was his secret name, Sparrowhawk was his commonly used nickname, and Duny his boyhood name. Why reverse it?? What for? And what about these "visions" he kept seeing? Nobody was seeing visions in the book, especially not visions of lovely young priestesses. And speaking of the "Old Powers", one of the most dramatic scenes in the whole book was when Sparrowhawk was being introduced to the great, evil stone, the Terrenon, housed in the depths of the Osskil castle. The whole chapter was ignored in this movie, to save room for a non-existent warrior-king charging around after the secret to immortality. In the end, boy gets girl, and, accompanied by more perky music, a wonderful light of peace spreads smiles throughout Earthsea. Ha! The book was in part written for "young people", but that means a thoughtful 14 or 15 year-old, not a goofy 8 year old. If the "idea men" who created this farce were forced to watch "Lord of the Rings" for ten times, compelled to study it, think about it, maybe then they would have come up with something watchable.....
Alexander (2004)
homophobic translators in Taiwan
As the now-more-famous line was being uttered to the effect that Alexander had "never been conquered in his lifetime except by Hephaiston's thighs" I carefully watched the Chinese subtitles (viewing the movie here in Taiwan where I live), and "thighs" was changed to "hand" --- in other words, sex was changed to a vague image of combat. Of course the average Chinese viewer would totally miss the point, thanks to the distributer and their translators. And I'm sure that was their intention. - Further on, when Alexander and his old buddies were applauding some male-dancers (in India) and Alexander went up to give a congratulatory hug, there was a loud chorus of "Kiss him! Kiss him!" from the Macedonian peanut-gallery, but the otherwise fairly meticulous translators simply ignored these simple words: no subtitles at all appeared. Here in "free" Taiwan, controlling people's access to information is practiced with the same flair thought more typical of our big neighbor to the west.
Some writers have complained about being constantly bombarded by homoerotic overtones while watching the film ....apart from a couple of chaste little hugs shared by A. and H., I can't think what they are referring to.... well, some people have a much sharper eye for such things. The bedroom scene with A. and Roxanna, however, was much more lengthy and blatantly sexual than any "homoerotic" episode in the film.
Some viewers may have forgotten the clear distinction made between sex and love, seeing "eros" where there was only "philia", but near the beginning of the film there was a clear allusion to the idea expressed by Plato (himself a boy-lover) that a chaste, elevated love was the ideal to be strived for. To the modern mind, romantic love SHOULD be sexual...but the ancient Greeks, at least the intellectuals, had a different point of view...and it shouldn't be that taxing to be confronted with it...even in the midst of a Hollywood spectacle.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
great cinematography AND sound effects
We often see movies, e.g. the Rocketeer or Seabiscuit, where the director strives to make us feel as if we are back in the '30s, but this Sky Captain movie does them one better with its use of "blue screen", giving us an old-fashioned comic-book feel in every frame. The film should be nominated for a cinematography Oscar based on this, but there is another Oscar nomination, perhaps less apparent, that it deserves: sound-effects (editing?). There's not much of a memorable score ( i.e. melodies), but, over & over, the sound effects are just right for each scene, just perfect for enhancing the mood. I look forward to buying the DVD for my collection.
Fear No Evil (1969)
a frightening, errie experience
I have a taped copy of this movie ...... somewhere. It is quite special, so I was surprised to find it unlisted in guidebooks such as Mauldin's. An important element involves a demonic force trying to seduce a young woman when she gazes into a mirror. Maybe it's just me, but the idea of an evil force from inside a mirror trying to distort your view of reality and control you seems particularly frightening --- of course one thinks of Dead of Night (1945), the old classic horror film. Also, the scenes where the demon is being summoned are quite disturbing --- the makers of the film seem to have had some special insight into demonology. Bradford Dillman is already dead for most of the movie, but he plays a great haunted spirit on both sides of the grave, and Louis Jourdan is good as the calm, rational psychiatrist trying to help the woman by any means possible, including unorthodox ones.
Jason and the Argonauts (2000)
lacking sense of wonder
The criterion "sense of wonder" is commonly applied to sci-fi works, but is even more relevant to the fantasy genre. When the reader or viewer is touched by feelings of awe and mystery, they feel "moved" and have a deeper, more positive reaction to the artwork being witnessed.
The Harryhausen film was much more successful at this: the Bernard Herrmann score was masterful, and certain scenes portraying the interaction of gods and human beings (such as in the temple of Hera, the transformation of Hermes, the awakening of Talos) conveyed the deep reverence and awe that Bronze Age Greeks must have felt towards their gods. This newer Hallmark version conveys an attitude towards the Greek gods closer to mockery and amusement, perhaps appropriate for the "sophisticated" Athens in the age of Euripides or Aristophanes, but certainly out of touch with the period over a thousand years earlier when Jason lived.