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Melancholia (2011)
The End done right.
I finished watching Melancholia a few days ago, and I'm still thinking about it.
I knew it was about the end of the world, but I got confused at the beginning because there were no typical end-of-the-world signposts, like news reports, or white collar government workers running around in a frenzy looking for solutions, or Aerosmith ballads. Just a wedding.
I almost wish I didn't know what the movie was about before watching it, but I think that the wedding sequence demands that the viewer knows it's the end of the world to understand how subtly out of the norm everyone is. The wedding goes wrong gradually, and it's only in act two when the characters actually talk about the event that the character's actions in act one make sense.
If there were days left, I wouldn't focus on the event either. I'd probably do what most of these characters did and try to make the best of the time left and try not to dwell on it too much. This is why the movie succeeds: it's completely believable.
A stellar cast and great acting all around. Not one flat performance in the bunch. I loved John Hurt's character stealing the spoons and messing with the wait staff. Why not? Who's gonna care in a week? Only 9 out of 10, missing a star for the "Tree of Life" slow-mo at the beginning. Yes, it was beautiful and artistic, but I would have enjoyed the movie without it.
Irréversible (2002)
Evokes a reaction. That should be enough.
So, you decided to watch this movie. Unless you accidentally stumbled on it (and shame on you for not doing your homework) you know that it contains some brutal scenes, notably the rape scene and the extinguisher scene. I truly wish I had seen it without knowing what was coming, because it's hard to be objective when you're prepared for the worst.
Let's start with the controversial stuff. The rape scene was awful to watch. So was the murder. But I was prepared, so it wasn't as bad. I was more disturbed by the (Pan's Labyrinth spoiler coming) crushing of the skull in Pan's Labyrinth with a bottle - mostly because I went into that movie with the idea it was going to be a lighter fantasy. I had not done my homework, but I often do that so I won't be prepared. So I will genuinely react.
My point is, you won't hear about this movie without the controversy, so can you really objectively separate the controversy from the movie? I don't think you can.
I think that it was easier to watch this movie when I knew what was in it before I watched it and therefore could watch the movie as a whole without focusing on the controversy. As a result, it's a movie that evokes a reaction. Whether it's disgust or loss, that's the whole point. Make your audience react. So in that, it succeeds.
The theme is strong - there are things you do in life you wish you could take back, irreversible things. Once done, they can't be undone. Killing a man is one of them. In the end, Pierre loses his morality and can never get it back. That's the point the two men at the beginning are trying to make. The tragedy is that Pierre is trying to stop Marcus from doing what he ends up doing.
Those who condemn this movie for making them react in a negative way need to ask themselves why they decided to watch this in the first place. Except for a small percentage of people who accidentally rented or watched it, you knew what you were getting into. You watched it to see if it was as bad as they say. To say it's bad after that is like drinking milk that has lumps in it just to see if it's really spoiled, being upset when you taste sour milk, and then telling your friends how awful the "milk incident" was.
As for the style of the movie, I didn't need the low-frequency nausea-producing sound nor the hand-held camera style to get the feeling of sickness. It's a bit of sledgehammer symbolism that isn't needed (hence 8 out of 10).
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Hollywood: Make movies, please, not franchises.
There is no "may contain" - here be spoilers aplenty!
Looking beyond the abilities of McG, Christian Bale, and others who helped make this film possible, the major flaw is not the movie itself- it is our new passion for franchises, not films. For those who have seen this latest installment, ask yourself what kind of movie this could have been if they would have ended it without leaving room for sequels.
Time travel movies allow filmmakers to play around with the story so that you can see what happens at the end before the beginning if you like. In the Terminator world, we knew how it ends in the first movie - Reese says that the resistance wins, they'd crushed Skynet. Killing Connor in the future doesn't matter, so they send machines back to destroy him via his mother. So we know where we are heading. The last scene in the Terminator franchise should be sending Kyle through the time machine.
But if we do that at the end of this movie, it's all over, no more films. And we all know that to run a franchise into the ground, we need at least 2 or 3 really bad box office returns for sequels before we're giving up on it. No wonder Cameron said he was through - I'm surprised he did a second one, really.
We end this movie with Connor "still fighting the resistance"? Good thing he added that Skynet is global, so there's more work to do. But Ironside says we destroy Skynet, the war is over. I guess he needed to say "the war is over (in California)." Why not cut out the really bad ending (and the equally bad alternate ending- A Connor suit? No thanks) and write a movie that is a true homage to the first ones. Make it cyclic. And do it in one movie. It's possible, really. In fact, the end and the beginning of the franchise was already written in the first movie. All you have to do is fill in the middle.
That being said, if they make more, I'll see them. If not in the theaters, eventually. So instead of paying for one, I will have to pay for 2 or more. It's sad that we can't just make one movie anymore.
Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Potential was there...
I watched the second showing in Atlanta tonight. Some disclaimers:
As a fan of musicals, especially musicals that are not your usual fare, my expectations were high. I love Rocky Horror, was an avid fan for many years, and have been one of those who can quote not only the whole musical but all those lovely shout out lines in between. I also am a fan of stage musicals, and I would have to say Sweeney Todd has been my favorite since I first heard the music back in the early 90's. So I'm not afraid of a little blood with my music.
I also am a big fan of the Buffy musical. So I like Anthony Head's voice and acting. I should be foaming at the mouth at this movie. It's like it was made for me.
Unfortunately, I walked out of the movie thinking it was okay. Not great, but okay. That's when I ran into the fans, dressed like the characters and all chatting about how great it was. And it clicked.
This is supposed to be the next Rocky Horror... but without the long agonizing wait for a cult following. This was insta-cult classic! Just add water! The problem is, it's just not as good.
Believe me, I wanted it as much as the next Rocky/Buffy/Brightman fan, but the failing for me was in the music. I'm even a fan of this style of music, and it was not catchy. It was patchy. There were a few songs that were okay, but none of them were memorable. I'm not singing bits of them right now, and after a good musical you should be. As I talked to some of the fans who were wearing the costumes (some of whom I actually knew), their response to my critique was that "it grows on you" and that "I need to see it a few times".
They were gonna like this movie regardless, because they need another movie like Rocky Horror. And who doesn't? It gets boring watching the same movie for years and years - I know, I did it. But it's just not as good. And everyone is trying so hard to make it good.
This leads me to my last comment - I sat in front of a die-hard fan who was trying as hard as he could to make this movie great. He laughed the loudest and even tried to "Rockyfy" the movie by inserting his own shout-out comments. I remember thinking, "Dude, this isn't that movie" and I was only 5 minutes into it.
Don't try to make a movie good. Be objective. Even if it's your favorite kind of movie, don't be afraid to say that it's not that good. Wait for the ones that are.