(2007 dir. David Silverman) 2nd Viewing: April 25 2009
I feel like I was raised by this family, so naturally I'm crazy about the movie. One of my only complaints, and it's a silly one, is that it almost feels too short and compact. Hell, I'd pay to see a 4 hour Simpsons movie. Wouldn't you?
While it lasts, the movie is truly epic and high-larious. It was one of my more enjoyable moviegoing experiences of '07. To me, it never feels like a drawn out TV episode (like STEWIE GRIFFIN: THE UNTOLD STORY). Other than the length, I was enamored with almost everything about it. & kudos to the original staff writers btw, I loved this screenplay. An almost perfect TV-to-film adaptation in my eyes. The 2D with 3D animation mix is pretty uncomplicated yet nicely polished. And I got enough of a dose of Comic Book Store Guy, so I'm all set. It's frustrating that SURF'S UP got nominated for Best Animated Feature (AMPAS) over this and AQUA TEEN. I mean the former is an entertaining movie and all, but it seems like it just doesn't have the same level of staying power as the latter two. If you ask me, leaving off America's favorite yellow family is a head-scratching omission. While THE SIMPSONS MOVIE may not be as great as RATATOUILLE, PERSEPOLIS, or PAPRIKA; it was still certainly a wee bit better than SURF'S UP. For the majority of Americans, fans & non-fans alike, these characters are engraved into our collective conscience; so it felt really good (cathartic even) to finally see them represented on the glorious cinema screen. I feel as if I know all of them personally in real-life, even though they're silly larger-than-life cartoons.
(2007 dir. Bong Joon-ho) 2nd Viewing: April 24 2009
A dynamic & thrilling monster movie for the post-Sars virus post-9/11 international community. There's an intoxicating fable quality about THE HOST's narrative once it gets going; About how one family will stop at nothing to find their lost young - even if it means having to slay an oppressive dragon. The nightmare here being that the beast is personified by both a corrupt government and a literal leviathan. THE HOST has to be one of the most absorbing pieces of hybrid cinema from this decade. It's impressive how well writer/director Bong Joon-ho juggles the diverse tones of extreme horror, humor, and dramatic humanism in this movie. In my opinion, he's one of the most talented and accessible of Korean filmmakers to come around in a long while. And after BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE (2000), MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003), and now this; It's safe to say he's something of a visionary.. A visionary we should all be keeping a close eye on.
PROCEDURE
(2008 dir. Errol Morris) Date Seen: April 23 2009
The O.G. Boss "Director-detective" Errol Morris is back! And in a career full of eye-poppingly kinetic documentaries, I dare say that his newest may be his craziest yet in terms of visuals. (It may just be a documentary, but parts of it almost have the same energy of a Tony Scott actioneer). And it's more than a little fitting that STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE becomes a study of the complex role images themselves play in our new digital age. Through his usual trademark craft -- cinematic reenactments, "Interrotron" first-person confessions, atypical documentary scoring (Danny Elfman stepping in for Philip Glass), and brooding collages of archival footage -- Morris creates an expressionistic meditation on the media shit-storm that surrounded the infamous Abu Ghraib scandal. And I'm here to report that it's a proverbial buffet of food for thought. No stone of informative perspective was left unturned. The meatiest parts coming in the form of intimate letters, journal entries, & interviews with Lynndie England, Megan Ambuhl, and Sabrina Harman-- about how those infamously shocking photographs came to be. + how they affected the lives of everyone involved.. The vigorous hyper dissection on display in S.O.P. of the case reveals how some unfortunate and misguided grunts (some knuckle-dragging bullies, some emotional weaklings; but all mostly young/ignorant dumbasses) became scapegoats for their military higher-ups. Who, by the way, encouraged and gave the orders for everything that became scandalous. Several elements made up the way those de-humanizing still photos entered the popular imagination; first of all their content (obviously), but also the way they were intentionally arranged, and how some of the frames were even digitally manipulated. I think Morris inventively illustrates how a lot more than meets the eye went down that month in 2003. The most shocking and eye-opening part of the whole film for me is the sequence that highlighted which of the photographed acts were considered "Legal Standard Operating Procedure" or "illegal" by the CIA. You learn quickly how official U.S. policy is morally icky and more than a little fascist. The doc also really solidifies ones understanding of how potentially subjective news stories can be. Thankfully, Morris is not asking us to forgive these individuals. Just a sober clear look at the flawed humans at the center of the whole snafu. Already one of the better documentaries of the new millennium that I've seen and I think Morris' personal best work since THE FOG OF WAR (2003).
view the trailer below >
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