Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich
Tax the Rich
Movie Monday
OK, I admit it! I ordered something online today, Cyber Monday. I'm not proud that I succumbed to the siren call of capitalism. I'm not even sure I really wanted my purchase (hued lace yarn.) But it's done. I will be knitting till I die and beyond (neat trick for an atheist.) But, at least, I'll be using good yarn - and it was on sale!
Spent Saturday working on my newsletter. For some reason it was a 7 hour project which was spent in the kitchen on the laptop and the TV turned to the weekend marathon of The Lord of the Ring. (Could this be why it took so long?) I started watching at 8 pm Friday night and continued into the wee hours of today. Since this its 10th anniversary, they also showed the extended version of the trilogy (I think about 3 times total.)
What do they call LOTR junkies? I'm one for sure. But even after 10 years, the damn thing holds up. Not so much the CGI, which Jackson once said would one day become dated, but the acting out of the story. The little vignettes which suck you into the characters' lives. I'm happy Jackson didn't go for star power (rumor is that Sean Connery was offered the part of Gandalf - not a good match.) Instead, by using good, solid actors, Jackson made what may be the best ensemble epic of all time. Think about it: most epics pivot around one character and his/her interactions with secondary players. Gandhi, Lawrence of Arabia, Ben Hur, Avatar, the list is endless. With LOTR, there is hero's journey but both Frodo and Aragon are making equally important ones. There are "sidekicks" but they are all unique: Sam with Frodo, Pippin and Merry with Theoden and Gandalf and Legolas and Gimli with Aragon. There are the "waiting women" but both have unique personalities: Arwen who watches and protects and Eowyn who chafes that she can't fight as her men do. And there's so much more but this is not the my movie for Monday. That honor, or perhaps dishonor goes to, The American with George Clooney.
If the world were going to end today and you had never seen any movie in your entire life and The American was the only movie available, I would say: Read a book instead.
The American lacks everything except gorgeous scenery. The acting is bad, the plot is wacky, and apparently from IMDb reviews, the mechanics of building an assassin's rifle were all wrong. It seems obvious this film was going for the ennui of the over-the-hill assassin which European films have a knack for nailing. Clooney doesn't.
Clooney is an American actor through and through. It's not a bad thing but the closest he ever came to the weary pessimism found in European films was Michael Clayton. Being talented with a comedic spark, Clooney is able to "phone in" some roles, as he does in The American. Never is the audience engaged in this man's life. We start with a mystery. He and his girlfriend are in Sweden. They walk into a snow covered field. Someone is following them. Clooney shoots the man, send his girlfriend to call the police and as she walks away, calmly shoots her. Wow!
Next scene, he flees to Italy, calls his boss, says he wants out. OK, says the boss just one last job. It's to make the gun for the killer, not to be the killer. There's a lot in this setup but it goes nowhere. It's established that he frequents prostitutes but then, bingo, he falls in love with one. Of course, he still has this gun to make which he does and then the movie engages in the longest, most boring sequence of "taking the gun out for a test run." Remember the tautness of The Day of the Jackal where the gun is made and tested. It all done tautly with a minimum of talking and in the back of the audience's mind is the question: Will the Jackal kill the kindly gun maker has he done with other helpers? Perhaps the director was trying to repeat that scene. He doesn't. And so The American just goes boringly along. Even twists and betrayals fall flat.
At first, I thought the movie was based on the Henry James novel of the same name. It isn't. But I always remember James as being so boring. I know he was supposed to be deep but I could only go so far with a James novel (he was better with the short story) before I felt like I was swimming in the molasses of triviality. Sort of how I felt by the closing credits of The American.
Spent Saturday working on my newsletter. For some reason it was a 7 hour project which was spent in the kitchen on the laptop and the TV turned to the weekend marathon of The Lord of the Ring. (Could this be why it took so long?) I started watching at 8 pm Friday night and continued into the wee hours of today. Since this its 10th anniversary, they also showed the extended version of the trilogy (I think about 3 times total.)
What do they call LOTR junkies? I'm one for sure. But even after 10 years, the damn thing holds up. Not so much the CGI, which Jackson once said would one day become dated, but the acting out of the story. The little vignettes which suck you into the characters' lives. I'm happy Jackson didn't go for star power (rumor is that Sean Connery was offered the part of Gandalf - not a good match.) Instead, by using good, solid actors, Jackson made what may be the best ensemble epic of all time. Think about it: most epics pivot around one character and his/her interactions with secondary players. Gandhi, Lawrence of Arabia, Ben Hur, Avatar, the list is endless. With LOTR, there is hero's journey but both Frodo and Aragon are making equally important ones. There are "sidekicks" but they are all unique: Sam with Frodo, Pippin and Merry with Theoden and Gandalf and Legolas and Gimli with Aragon. There are the "waiting women" but both have unique personalities: Arwen who watches and protects and Eowyn who chafes that she can't fight as her men do. And there's so much more but this is not the my movie for Monday. That honor, or perhaps dishonor goes to, The American with George Clooney.
If the world were going to end today and you had never seen any movie in your entire life and The American was the only movie available, I would say: Read a book instead.
The American lacks everything except gorgeous scenery. The acting is bad, the plot is wacky, and apparently from IMDb reviews, the mechanics of building an assassin's rifle were all wrong. It seems obvious this film was going for the ennui of the over-the-hill assassin which European films have a knack for nailing. Clooney doesn't.
Clooney is an American actor through and through. It's not a bad thing but the closest he ever came to the weary pessimism found in European films was Michael Clayton. Being talented with a comedic spark, Clooney is able to "phone in" some roles, as he does in The American. Never is the audience engaged in this man's life. We start with a mystery. He and his girlfriend are in Sweden. They walk into a snow covered field. Someone is following them. Clooney shoots the man, send his girlfriend to call the police and as she walks away, calmly shoots her. Wow!
Next scene, he flees to Italy, calls his boss, says he wants out. OK, says the boss just one last job. It's to make the gun for the killer, not to be the killer. There's a lot in this setup but it goes nowhere. It's established that he frequents prostitutes but then, bingo, he falls in love with one. Of course, he still has this gun to make which he does and then the movie engages in the longest, most boring sequence of "taking the gun out for a test run." Remember the tautness of The Day of the Jackal where the gun is made and tested. It all done tautly with a minimum of talking and in the back of the audience's mind is the question: Will the Jackal kill the kindly gun maker has he done with other helpers? Perhaps the director was trying to repeat that scene. He doesn't. And so The American just goes boringly along. Even twists and betrayals fall flat.
At first, I thought the movie was based on the Henry James novel of the same name. It isn't. But I always remember James as being so boring. I know he was supposed to be deep but I could only go so far with a James novel (he was better with the short story) before I felt like I was swimming in the molasses of triviality. Sort of how I felt by the closing credits of The American.
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