Since I’ve been sick in bed for the better part of a week, I’ve had the chance to get caught up on some of my Netflix pile. Here are my thoughts on some more recent releases.
Good Night and Good Luck
I was a bit disappointed in this one. Though it was only about 90 minutes long, it still felt a bit tedious. There really wasn’t a whole lot of meat here — the “plot,” such as it was, seemed like nothing more than a framework for the real-life televised battles between Murrow and McCarthy. Mind you, it’s an interesting part of American history, and one that I’d love to learn more about. And if this had been a documentary (which it practically was anyway), I think I’d have appreciated it a little more. I was just expecting a little more dramatization I guess. Still, Strathairn played a hell of a Murrow.
Mirrormask
I’m not a huge fan of fantasy, and something in me keeps insisting that I’ve grown out of my Neil Gaiman phase. But this movie looked interesting nevertheless, so I gave it a go. And I’m really glad I did. It’s the typical “little girl gets pulled into a magical land of wonder” movie, but the look of the land in question is like nothing I’ve seen in a movie before. I recall Dave McKean’s mixed-media artwork from some old Sandman covers, but seeing them in motion is quite something else. It’s a quick movie, not a terrible amount of substance (though more intelligent than your typical summer blockbuster — it was written by Neil Gaiman, after all), but a lot of fun nevertheless. Almost makes me want to go back and reinvestigate Labyrinth or The Dark Crystal. Almost.
The Aristocrats
When I heard the concept of this movie — a documentary about a single joke — I couldn’t imagine the premise holding up for an hour and a half. Amazingly it did, solely on the strength of the performers. There’s some great material from some comic luminaries here: Carlin, Robin Williams, Penn and Teller (Penn actually co-produced the thing), Eric Idle, Gilbert Gottfried (whose post-9/11 telling of the joke at the Friar’s roast of Hugh Hefner was legendary) and many, many more. Oddly enough, my favorite version came from Carrie Fisher, who incorporated the “golden shower sequence from Singin’ in the Rain.” (Singin’ in the Rain starred Fisher’s mother, Debbie Reynolds.) Hell, there’s even a mime in this movie that made me laugh. And that’s really saying something.
The Brothers Grimm
Aside from the filthy medieval motif and the occasional signature visual effect, I really wouldn’t have realized this was a Terry Gilliam film had I not gone in knowing this. It was remarkably formulaic and predictable, and there was scarcely a darkly disturbing chuckle to be had anywhere. (Which, honestly, is why we like Gilliam, innit?) I mean, it had its moments, but for the most part it was just a typical dark-ish fantasy movie. I don’t regret having seen it, but I won’t exactly be rushing out for my own copy. Which is sad, because I did do that for pretty much all his other films.
I also poked around some of my own DVDs — the new season 1 sets of Justice League (which I maintain is the greatest superhero cartoon ever created) and Batman Beyond (which was a hell of a lot better than it had any right being) and one of my sets of Seinfeld (6, I think?). With the Seinfeld set, I was reminded of two things: this really was a very funny show, and god DAMN is Jerry Seinfeld a pretentious ass. Something about the way he talks about “crafting” the comedy and how he and Larry David were geniuses just rubs me the wrong way. I never laughed at much of anything Jerry had to say before or after that show. I find it hard to believe that he was the driving force behind any of the better stuff. My money’s on Larry David, who comes off as far more self-loathing, and consequently, a little more humble.
So that’s how I spent my week. Being unemployed is such hard work, you know?