We now have gone two straight weeks without an A- or A movie. Doesn't mean these have been bad, but nothing amazing yet and it's been the longest since I started this thing. This week comes three very different B movies and two other interesting yet lackluster films.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (David Lynch, 1992): This movie isn't horrible, it's just pointless. It's pointless for fans of Twin Peaks, and it's pointless for those who haven't seen the show because I can't imagine anyone who hasn't seen the show getting anything out of it. The movie is pointless for fans of Twin Peaks because it's about the death of Laura Palmer. Now, isn't that what the show was about? Yes it was. The movie basically tells us everything Agent Cooper and co. found out about Laura Palmer's death was correct (the movie is a prequel, but if you watch it before the show it will spoil the whole show). I guess if you're one of those people who need to see things to believe them it might be for you, but I personally found it horribly pointless. The whole show was about finding out the deep dark secrets of the small town and a small town girl, and this movie doesn't focus at all on the surface reputation of a small town, it just goes right into the deep dark stuff. I feel like if David Lynch wanted to do a prequel, he should have showed us the backstory of Agent Cooper, who basically is the main character of the show, and whose backstory we know to an extent, but still has room for mysteries. While the movie is pointless, because it's directed by David Lynch there are still some interesting visual and surreal tricks in it that I personally enjoyed. Some of the surreal stuff is really random, but a lot of it does make things more interesting and they're all at least true to the show. Lynch always makes things interesting, and I didn't really get bored too much in the movie because of him, but I found myself always waiting for something important to happen.
Grade: C-
Waiting For "Superman" (Davis Guggenheim, 2010): The state of education in America is one of those issues that I think isn't treated with the appropriate urgency. While this movie is not the definitive documentary on education in America, I still have enormous respect for the movie because of the issue and what it tries to do. The movie leaves out a lot of the issues surrounding education in America, including race, but I don't blame the movie for that. The issue is humongous and no one movie can encapsulate everything that is wrong about the education in America. The main flaw with the movie is that it tries to, and that's a pretty respectable flaw. The reason I liked this movie is because it uses emotion. Emotion is why movies work. Giving facts and figures works to a certain extent, but people don't start to actually want to do something about an issue until they have some emotional connection to it, and this movie provides that. The finale of the movie is an extended sequences featuring all the interviewed kids and their lotteries for charter schools. It's a tremendous sequence that's very emotional and makes you feel for the issue in a very personal way. Otherwise, without that sequence the movie would be pretty average. It's a movie that people should watch, but I do wish other directors focus on specific issues in the education system and not the whole thing.
Grade: B
Hard Eight (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1996): The first film directed by the great Paul Thomas Anderson, probably the best young director working today. All of this four other films he did after this are either masterpieces or near-masterpieces. This one is his first movie and not as famous as his others so I wasn't expecting a lot, which is probably the right thing to do. You shouldn't go into "Hard Eight" expecting something like "There Will Be Blood," but for what the movie tries to do, it does very well. It's a very calm and cool movie, that's not very ambitious like all of PTA's other movies (with the exception of "Punch Drunk Love"). It's a simple story of a guy and his decision to take up a protege, and it's set in Reno. I guess you could say it's a small-scale character/mood piece that has some great scenes and great characters. Everything fits together well, but not in the best way possible. There are parts in the second act that are pretty forgettable, and they don't add much plot-wise or thematically. The plot and dialogue was kind of Tarantino-lite, while the directing was Scorsese-lite. Further down his career PTA definitely went more towards Scorsese than Tarantino, which is pretty impressive. I was thinking about what group of people I'd recommend "Hard Eight" too, and at first I thought it's probably something all PTA fans should watch once, but then I don't know how you can be a film buff and not be a PTA fan, so I guess I recommend it to any film buff though it's probably better if you've seen "Boogie Nights" or "Magnolia" first so you have something to look for.
Grade: B
The Fall (Tarsem, 2006): This is a a hugely ambitious film that doesn't quite get there, at least not in terms of substance. The visuals in the movie are what everyone talks about, and rightly so. It's unbelievable that there is no CGI in this movie, Tarsem actually went to like 20 countries and filmed in the craziest of places that look breathtaking on screen. Even if you've seen every movie ever made, I bet there are some images in this film that you've never seen before. That's just one half though, the other half of the film takes place in a 1920's LA hospital, between two people who are telling the story that takes place in these wild places. The little girl in the movie apparently improvised a lot of dialogue, and it really shows. She is unbelievably natural in the movie, and it's really quite amazing how it helps the movie. So far I've said the visuals and the acting are great, so where does it fall short? The script. The story deals with suicide and storytelling to a degree. I felt like neither the story the guy was telling, or his own story were compelling enough. I admire Tarsem's attempt to create something huge out of a very intimate story, but I really didn't care enough about Lee Pace's character. The story within the story is a bit forgivable, because it was a storybook or a fable, and there were times where it reflected what was going on in the real world in brilliant ways. In any case, you'll forever remember the visuals of the movie, but probably not recollect the story.
Grade: B
Drive Angry (Patrick Lussier, 2011): I also saw this movie in theaters, though I'll be reviewing it for The Daily Evergreen this week and I don't want to be redundant so I won't write anything here. I'll just say that the movie was crazy and very fun sometimes, though trying much too hard sometimes as well. A certain audience will probably really enjoy this. Here is a link to my review.
Grade: C
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