Director Tom Hooper’s British drama about the power of words and the man lacking the stature and power of such abilities in the face of a looming evil with the power of speech is something of a quaint animal. Seemingly sneaking out of nowhere, Hooper’s drama is a film not only about a man stricken with the disability of stammering, but a man finding his power in the face of ultimate powers around him. This is a man of pure impotence, a man whose felt dwarfed by the importance around him. And when he’s finally forced in to the world that demands his capacity to become an individual, now it’s a time where he must show the world that he is someone of immense presence. He is someone demanding of a capable individuality. Even to his wife whose unabashed support is laced with a sense of patronizing tone and dominance over his lack of speech functionality.
Tag Archives: Romance
Seeking Happily Ever After (2010)
I think it’s misleading to tell people that men don’t think about this sort of relationship issue where they want to find the right person because I’ve met many men who are career motivated but also are committed to finding the right woman. Hell, I am currently a man seeking the right woman while also sticking to my guns as a writer, so it’s disparaging for the directors to proclaim women the all feeling all loving animal looking for the right mate while the men are mainly just selfish individuals focused on their jobs. More so, it’s pretty obvious most of the film is scripted, especially in the interviews where the women always seem to have the right anecdote and the correct story that can lead in to an escapade. Beyond that the directors want to blame everyone but themselves.
Blue Valentine (2010)
Director Derek Cianfrance ‘s romance works on the premise that subtlety is everything. That quirks and facial expression can do more than actual dialogue can achieve. But it also helps if you tell a story that’s actually involving and engrossing. “Blue Valentine” is a film we’ve seen a thousand times around Oscar season. It’s the experimental drama about a couple in turmoil struggling to regain that spark. We saw it with “American Beauty” to some regard, we saw it with “Revolutionary Road,” we saw it with “The Good Girl” and lord almighty we’re seeing it again. This time, “Blue Valentine” is about the choices in our lives and how sometimes we can make the wrong ones and not have any idea how to get out of the perpetual rut we’re in. The characters of Dean and Cindy are a couple whose strengths are based around habit and routine.
Transylvania Twist (1989)
Along with being one of my earlier horror movie memories, Jim Wynorski’s “Transylvania Twist” also happens to be one of the earlier horror movie satires that predates “Scary Movie” by almost ten years. It lampoons the slashers of the eighties, it tackles horror movie clichés to a fine art, and even props a few music videos here and there. A mix of “Kentucky Fried Movie,” some “Monty Python,” and a dash of “Young Frankenstein,” Wynorski’s “Transylvania Twist” is an admirable and often giggle inducing attempt at spoofing the entire horror genre and the fads of the mid to late eighties by staging some raucous old fashioned television commercials (with a horror twist of course), while also positing its own plot line in the process. After a hilarious prologue involving a hapless busty traveler and three demented slasher icons getting more than they bargained for, we meet Dexter Ward, a young man who visits his dead uncle at his funeral and is shocked to discover his uncle has yet to kick the bucket.
Vamp (1986)
As a kid, I spent my time around many adults who used to rent videos from my neighborhood video stores. And often times they’d have viewing parties where they’d all hunker down, pop in one video after another and experience whatever title they took a chance on renting sight unseen. And as a child born in 1983 I spent a lot of my time watching with them. As such “Vamp” from 1986 is one of the earliest memories of a movie that continues lingering in my mind to this day. The climax of our protagonists escaping from the vampires in the sewer attempting to reach daylight has been etched in to my brain along with the lowering platform finale of “Day of the Dead.”
All Star Superman (2011) (DVD)
“My last adventure is about to begin…”
I never actually was able to read all of Grant Morrison’s much hyped and controversial “All Star Superman” when it was originally released in newsstands back in 2005, so for me watching “All Star Superman” was mostly new territory. While I loved Morrison and Quitely’s treatment of the man of steel (for what I read), I lost track of the series, so 2011’s “All Star Superman” is fresh terrain that I was mostly excited to sit through, especially when you consider the cast of seasons heavyweights like Christina Hendricks, Anthony LaPaglia, Frances Conroy, and John DiMaggio respectively. “All Star Superman” remains about as true to Frank Quitely’s unique artistic design as possible while adhering to the neo-anime tone that DC has sidled with over the years. While the 2011 movie is short in the tooth, it is absolutely satisfying, especially in its ability to remain firmly entrenched in anime devices that keeps “All Star Superman” anything more than another stock Superman title.
Swamp Thing (1982)
I’ve read the comic books, collected the action figures, watched the animated series, seen the television show, and even watched the horrible sequel a thousand times. But up until now the original “Swamp Thing” has eluded me. Even when I had the world wide web at my disposal, the original Wes Craven directed “Swamp Thing” has been an oddity that has escaped the clutches from my grasp. Watching it finally after so many years of sitting through the sequel, I learned a lot. Mainly: Sometimes the most elusive movies can be just as awful as you think. All these years seeking out “Swamp Thing” admittedly set me up for failure, especially considering I’ve never heard anything but a lukewarm response from anyone when discussing “Swamp Thing.”