I had originally wanted to see “The People Vs. George Lucas” mainly because I hoped it would vent out many of the frustrations that I felt as a ex-Star Wars fan. But at the end of the day, “The People vs. George Lucas” has no idea what it is or what it wants to be, thus we’re left with a generally muddled and awfully confused movie that seeks to do nothing more than make money off of and exploit Lucas as Lucas has purportedly done to his fans. We should love him but hate him. We should question him but also understand he has great intentions. He’s a hack but he’s an artist. He’s a hollow businessman, but a surefire juggernaut of filmmaking. He hasn’t made a film in years but he changed the industry. And that’s no end to what confusing mixed messages you’ll received while watching this slapdash wishy washy little film.
Chillerama (2011)
“Chillerama” feels like yet another production from the indie underground circuit that looks like it was so much fun to make. Everyone had a lot of laughs, the scripts were probably riots, and the directors joint efforts probably elicited a lot of pats on the backs. But when you see “Chillerama” you begin to realize that it was much more fun to make than it is to watch. I like Adam Green, I enjoy throwbacks to drive-in cinema, and I adore anthologies, but “Chillerama” is a swing and total miss for the directors whose entire project is summed up by bad sex jokes, flat dialogue, and poor effects.
Batman: The Line (2011)
I don’t know too much about Batman lore and I don’t pretend to. So it’s a tall order to ask viewers to keep in mind that this film is set between two issues of Batman that they likely never read before. Surely enough though, “Batman: The Line” works within the context of the Jason Todd storyline and really doesn’t take much time to expound on the scenario we’re witnessing save for a newspaper clipping of what occurred before we set down on Batman and the current Robin.
Midnight in Paris (2011)
To say that I knew what I was getting in to with “Midnight in Paris” is indeed would be a gross error. I had no idea what “Midnight in Paris” would bring me. So for the sake of not ruining what is ultimately a surprise filled comedy drama, I beg you to heed my warning about spoilers as “Midnight in Paris” is such a film that will demand audiences to suspend their belief, but in the meanwhile is typical Woody Allen whimsy. The man has the ability to channel surrealism and fantasy with films like “Zelig” and “Sleeper,” and thankfully “Midnight in Paris” is a return to form. Once again, Allen has lost a lot of his touch with his past films as he no longer spotlights the regular individual, but the glamorous one, but he surmounts such a caveat by delivering a premise in the tradition of the classic Allen pictures. The demented and lively, the ridiculous but existential.
Submarine (2011)
“Submarine” isn’t just the anti-teen romance, it’s actually a film that doesn’t glamorize the romance even though it’s essentially about falling in love and losing love. Almost like a lost Wes Anderson film, director Richard Ayoade’s dramedy is a bold cinematic venture that dares to defy any preconceived freshman notions about his film making and fully grasps on to pretension (featuring title cards and monotonous narration et al). This is basically because our main protagonist Oliver is anything but a humble heroic young man. In actuality, he’s very much filled with enormous pretension, and enough self-loathing to garner expectations from the girls of his dreams that are rock bottom.
The Thing (2011)
In director John Carpenter’s masterpiece of contemporary horror cinema entitled “The Thing,” we’re told that not only is the beast of the film weak, thus forced to take on the shape and form of humanity, but it also acts as an independent species. So while we think we may be seeing one monster, there’s an off chance this thing is really multiple organisms struggling for survival by hiding in our skin. There’s no one true thing in the Carpenter film, possibly multiple or even dozens of monsters hiding in our skins that we’re killing off one by one who continue regenerating. The wholly unnecessary “The Thing” now in 2011, completely shatters such a thesis by informing us that yes there’s one thing, and yes, this is what it looks like. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film.
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011)
There’s no reason to watch Tom Six’s movies. I’ll just say it. The man, as far as I can see, is a haughty self-satisfied tool who has no loyalty to his craft or his fans. And yes he has fans. Honestly! “Human Centipede” bred a legion of torture porn fans convinced Six was on to something with his “artistic” enterprise in to human suffering. In reality Six has admitted his idea of Human Centipede is far-fetched. He doesn’t even stand by his film, often mocking it with hushed snickers. And now we have “Human Centipede II,” a meta-movie that shows Six’s general disgust and discontent for his fans. Here, the movie he made is really a movie and the world we live in is a black and white cesspool. His one true fan is a bulbous, obese, perverse, man-child who does nothing but revel in human suffering because he’s trying to manifest the Human Centipede for himself.