cine + octo = boo

OK Go’s latest video, the second they’ve produced for their song “This Too Shall Pass” sparked this post. My wife was catching up on the goings on around the web this morning at breakfast, and despite having been sent the video 100 times I’d yet to actually watch it. Mind you, I’ve followed the backstory and was totally aware of the motivations behind the move by the band. I’d just neglected to actually sit down and watch the damn thing. It’s good, and I’ve embedded below for those who, like me, were somehow living under a rock all week.

The driving force behind this post was to discuss the band’s deft use of transparency to create viral videos, promote their work, and singlehandedly become a household name through the use of social media and the Interwebs. I’ll get to all of that, because it’s fun. But first, a primer.

Media companies typically wrestle with issues of transparency, and to say that they “don’t get it” is an understatement. There are exceptions to every rule, but most of these exceptions extend from businesses and brands whose core business is closely linked to their consumers and customer support. Before we dive into this, let’s take a look at some of the brands that have successfully jumped onto the transparency wagon in positive and impacting ways.

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It’s been an interesting decade for comic book films, with plenty of ups and downs. Here’s a look at the best and worst comic book films of the decade:

Top 10 Comic Book Films of the Decade

1. The Dark Knight

While Batman Begins rebooted the franchise, it was Nolan’s The Dark Knight that reinvented the franchise, elevating it to cinematic excellence. Gotham, for once, feels like a living city. Absent are the Burton-esque fronts, and frames packed with gothic throwbacks. There is Ledger’s brilliant turn as the Joker, his take on the character being both unique and defining. To know that we will never get to revisit this level of performance is quite discouraging. The rest of the film is packed full of excellent supporting performances. The Harvey Dent/Two Face arc is rendered with perfection, although admittedly it would be nice to see Two Face return in the future. In all, this is the definitive Batman film. Period.

2. The Incredibles

I neglected to include this film in my Top 25 Films of the Decade list, and I assure you it was an oversight. Brad Bird’s animated take on superheroes is a cornerstone for this generation’s comic geeks. It’s the cinematic counterpart to the gateway comics of my youth. While a simple yarn about a super powered family could have been sufficient for most, Bird and Pixar are never complacent with settling for the simple or the obvious. Instead, we are given a reflection on family, fatherhood, and the sacrifices inherent in parenthood. It goes without saying that Pixar makes great family friendly movies, but it should be overstated that they also make great cinema that also happens to be family friendly as well.

3. Spider-Man 2

Raimi’s second foray into the Spider-Man franchise was, quite simply, the best superhero film of the decade. That is until Nolan swept in with a sequel of his own that completely bumped Raimi’s effort down a few pegs. But, despite this bump Spider-Man 2 still remains one of the decade’s best. We finally get the conflict necessary to make the Peter Parker / Mary Jane Watson story arc take shape, and we’re given more allusions to the pending confrontation with The Lizard. Tops amongst all of this is the delicate balance of the Green Goblin story arc in support of a brilliant performance from Alfred Molina as Doc Ock. Hands down, his was an excellent portrayal of the villain, and had Heath Ledger not turned in his brilliant Joker performance, Molina would have easily won the title of Best Adapted Super Villain of the Decade. It’s still damned good nonetheless.

4. Sin City

They said it couldn’t be filmed. Then Robert Rodriguez went ahead and fought for it anyway. He even managed to woo Frank Miller,  who had ultimately sworn off of working with the Hollywood machine, into joining the project. That said, Miller is best in doses (especially cinematically, see The Spirit below), and partnering with Rodriguez seemed to provide the right mix. Who could’ve predicted that Rodriguez would be the one “reigning things in” in this collaborative effort. He’s usually the one going off the rails at every turn, wading in the balls out deep end with glee (see Grindhouse). Anyway, for fans of the graphic novel, this is about as good as it gets. You can feel the pulp, you can smell the pages. This is a comic book movie for comic book lovers, and it’s drenched in excellent performances.

5. Iron Man

I seriously underestimated this film when it was released. Not only is it a good turn in terms of comic book adaptations (for the most part, the characters come to life in a world that is for the most part believable), but it is also a harbinger of what could be. Imagine if Marvel were to put this level of care and craft (and vision) behind other “Avenger films.” They could accomplish the ultimate coup — a comic book crossover film. Let’s face it, the ultimate undiscovered country in the world of comic book cinema is the team up, or the crossover. Comics can hardly span an issue without a cameo or a crossover these days, and many of the better books out there are the result of years of comic book crossovers (Avengers, Justice League). So, while the future may look a little grim (please let Iron Man 2 rock), for now we have Favreau’s excellent experiment with Tony Stark, and aside from a rather flat role for Pepper, it’s a pretty good ride.

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Recently a friend of mine passed around Mick LaSalle’s “Best Films of the Decade” list, and the email thread inspired me to cobble together my own list. So follow the link to view my full top 25, with a few considerations. My list is based on the films I’ve screened, so it is by no means intended to be a complete cinematic analysis of the decade. I’ve pared films down by the ones that have stuck with me since the initial screening.

Top 25 Films

1. Mulholland Dr.

2. 25th Hour

3. Amelie

4. There Will Be Blood

5. In The Mood For Love

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Back in 2002, director Gaspar Noé unleashed the emotional onslaught Irréversible upon the world. At the Cannes film festival, reports of audiences walking out (and in some cases fainting) during screenings piqued interest in the film. Reactions poured in, and people questioned Noé’s motivation behind using acts of brutality and ultra-violence as centerpieces in the film.

As if by dare, cinephiles around the globe climbed into theaters to answer the question, “Is Irréversible a brilliant rebuttal to the revenge film, or merely an shameful exercise in gimmickry?” Defenders of the former argued that while sensational, the reworked timeline and presentation of the violent acts combined to create a dissertation on the fragility and futility of life. After all, the tagline for the film is, “Time destroys everything.”

Detractors felt Noé was guilty of painting a hateful and homophobic picture of homosexual men — specifically by portraying Le Tenia (Jo Prestia) first as a violent rapist, and later being beaten to death by Marcus (Vincent Cassel) with a fire extinguisher. The feeling at the time was that Le Tenia did not need to be homosexual for the plot to work, and that in doing so Noé created an opportunity to literally and viscerally gay bash.

My take, which is wholly based on multiple viewing of the film, is that Le Tenia’s orientation and backstory is actually used to create added confusion, something that is rarely captured in films dealing with these types of scenarios. Our brains are hardwired to seek out a sense of understanding when confronted with the unexplainable, and our desire to reason through the unreasonable often creates frustration when processing complex crimes such as rape.

Personally, Noé’s decision to reverse chronology trumps the accusation of homophobic revenge tale. We witness the crime resulting from Le Tenia’s actions before we ever see what he is supposedly guilty of. Note the word choice, as Marcus is as guilty (if not moreso) of committing a crime in the end. The ultimate message behind the film resonates more in the “what does revenge solve?” camp, than that of the redemption tale.

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Chalk it up to personal preference, but modern horror is completely underwhelming. Sure, much of the moralty found in classics of the genre delves into the realm of extreme fundamentalism, but the best films sink into the slow and steady build to a level of chaos that is equal parts sensually visceral and psychologically disturbing. If a film leaves me questioning, “How could this happen?” then it’s typically hit it’s mark.

Modern horror, increasingly referred to as “nu-horror,” rarely touches upon these fundamentals. Instead, they substitute plot, tension, and character-development for senseless gore and violence. True, the house that Saw built harkens back to aspects of older gore-heavy classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it sacrifices the macabre, the gothic Americana if you will, that somehow justified the gore. Even the remakes of these classics eschew substance over piles of defiled and carved-up bodies.Which is a long-winded way of getting to director Ti West‘s latest film, The House of the Devil.

A few days ago, a group of friends emailed me about a horror movie night they were planning. They’d compiled a short list of films to consider, and I added to their list. While it ran through the pre-requisite canon of horror, it still lacked anything recent worth watching. In hindsight, I should have included The Strangers, but spaced on it at the time.

Unable to attend, I found myself scrambling to work in some horror film viewing over the Halloween weekend. After re-watching The Gate on cable, I decided to crack open The House of the Devil, which is available in limited release and more interesting Video On Demand (Comcast, U-verse, and more).

West is gaining traction with his retro throwback style and approach, but to his credit the proclivity to homage never crosses into style over substance — think more Death Proof than Planet Terror here. He continues the trend with Devil, and never wavers throughout the film.

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Where the Wild Things Are teaser poster

The critical response to Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers’ treatment of Where the Wild Things Are, the classic 1963 childrens picture book by Maurice Sendak, has been less universal consensus than expected. Mind you, its still positive overall (upper 60% on Rotten Tomatoes), just not the 95% positive I’d expected.

Why?

So far the criticisms fall into categories best summed up as “overlong,” “meandering,” and “underwhelming.” Alongside those mentioned, I anticipate the following from some colleagues and friends, “More pop psychology B.S. from Jonze,” “Tried to do too much with too little,” and “It just didn’t do anything for me.”

To preface, so many pseudo-critics easily mistake the purpose of reviewing a film. So much of the “likability” factor in film relies on interpretation, opinion, and cinematic knowledge. These three aspects battle about with each screening, and ultimately the resulting review has nothing to do with “right or wrong.” There is no correct answer to a film, yet so many folks get stuck on these aspects. Interpretation and opinion often conspire to trump cinematic knowledge, or vice-versa, but neither camp is entirely “right.”

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There is more to The Invention of Lying than you’d expect, but not in a sensational way. Confused? Allow me to explain. A cursory viewing of the trailer led me to believe that this film would be yet another misfire — a decent premise wrapped up in a series of trite cliches. Underwhelming at best.

Yet, the vehicle was co-written by Ricky Gervais, so I bit. I’m glad I did.

With Invention…, Gervais is clearly borrowing from some of the territory Woody Allen cut his teeth on. Situational humor, satirical comedy, and the making of the socially aware funny. Sure, he even goes as far as borrowing the trademark Allen font for a very Woody-esque title card heavy opening to the film, but what unfolds is something uniquely Gervais — recklessly critical, yet deftly balanced.

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oh artistic intent, where would we be without you? we’d certainly have fewer arguments discussions brewed amongst the fanboy cine/audio-phile crowds, that’s for sure. when it comes to long-standing debates in the film and music worlds, non-wages larger than The Beatles catalog in mono vs. stereo, and Kubrick’s final five films in 1.85:1 vs. 1.33:1 aspect ratios.

The Beatles are to Kubrick as sound fidelity is to image composition.

both are tough battles, but i’m here to go on the record about something that is, for once and for all, a clear cut case:

The Beatles in mono is clearly not debate-able in the same way that aspect ratio is in regards to Kubrick’s famous final five.

what the hell am i talking about?

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for those of you just tuning in, back in March first-time director Mark Region dropped a puzzler on the world in the form of the trailer for his first feature film shot on 35mm titled After Last Season. what followed was months and months of speculation, second guessing, and utter confusion.

Trailer for After Last Season

everything about this film looks amateur — so much so, that it appears completely intentional. some have even speculated that the film is some sort of viral marketing campaign. for what? who knows. i’ve come across some claims that Spike Jonze is somehow behind this, and that it’s related to his upcoming film Where the Wild Things Are. i don’t see a connection, but i suppose anything is possible.

who is Mark Region? the name seems preposterous, although some have actually spoken to the man. other times actor Jason Kulas has stepped into the role of spokesperson. but why? is it the inconsistencies that plague the film’s origins? someone funded this, it cost $5 million (yes, THAT cost $5 mil), so what are the details here? Region claims this was his first opportunity to shoot on 35mm, but everything i’ve seen appears to look almost like video, not film.

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much has been made of Bryan Singer’s decision to film Valkyrie in English. that’s right, a German historical drama…in English. wherever you fall on the fence of that argument, try to put it aside if you can. while troubled, Valkyrie has a lot going for it. first off, the cast is top-notch, and like Defiance, the tale centers on a historically significant figure which provides a distinct entry point into a rarely explored aspect of World War II. unlike Defiance, Valkyrie has the benefit of re-uniting Christopher McQuarrie and Bryan Singer, the duo behind The Usual Suspects and The Way of the Gun…well, OK Singer had nothing to do with the latter.

the point is, these two understand the fundamentals of a pot-boiler, and they play around with historical drama in a very interesting, and, more importantly, engaging way. The story of Claus von Stauffenberg and the attempt on Hitler’s life is the stuff of legend, and the film is paced in such a way to keep you hooked despite knowing the ultimate outcome. Cruise’s likeness to von Stauffenberg is uncanny, and he manages to hold things down (despite some of the claims coming from the von Stauffenberg estate).

unlike Defiance, Singer and McQuarrie rely on their own strengths to engage the viewer. the plot is thick and full of twists, and in true McQuarrie fashion, almost confusingly so. Singer brings a stylistic look to the film that is unlike any other World War II film of late. it’s not a great move, in fact it’s almost a bit too stylized, but ultimately it succeeds in providing distinction — something that is important in the already bloated WWII genre.

however, it’s important to note that i watched this in less than ideal circumstances, so i really should give it a second look. the good news is, i want to give it a second look, so that’s saying something. i’m giving this one a middle ground review until i can give it another spin and dig deeper.

3 stars