by Mr. Blunderson
I had to write this review today because I've written two rather negative reviews lately and had to prove to myself that I didn't start this site just to crap on movies on the internet. In truth I really didn't. It just turns out it's a little addicting.
But that means nothing at the moment since I LOVED this movie, a documentary following the descendants of D. Ray white, mountain dancer. Members of the White family are infamous in their little corner of the world. Larger than life, the stuff of legend and country songs.
You'll see it ain't always easy to be a White, but it ain't all bad neither. But when it is bad, it's pretty fucking awful. Whether it's waiting for your sentencing for attempted murder or having your baby taken away by the State or huntin down your no-account bastard cheating ex.
The White's don't make any excuses or apologies for who or what they are. It's made clear early on they aren't just a family they're a force of nature. When they come rollin your way you'd best step aside, run for cover, or put em in a song... You can't stop this train.
I've seen a lot of movies that promised sex drugs and rock n roll, but this one unflinchingly delivers not only on those promises but the stark and sometimes brutal aftermath as well.
You can take this movie a whole lot ways I suppose, but it really does have everything. Booze, weed, pill poppin, drugs snorted, drugs snorted off toilets, bowling, music, birth, death, reconciliation, redemption, fightin, carousin, mayhem...in, they even got a little kid who's a real life version of the Ricky Bobby's two sons in Talledega Nights.
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia reminds us all that life can make you hard, choices can wreck you in an instant, people can say and think what they want, but at the end of the day you're going to be who you are and you can't spend any time being ashamed of that. That's why I give this movie an "Oh Hells yes!" on the Mr. Blunderson scale.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Review - UNTHINKABLE
by Mr. Blunderson
I knew Unthinkable was tense at the 43 minutes mark when the "duh duh duh duh" thrilling music kicked in. Before that moment, there is a whole lot of talk. After that there is more talk, and then finally some more.
Did I mention the torture?
Not like Hostel torture, but it is present and gruesome in it's own right. I suppose it's a necessary evil as this movie is a big ole morality tale about torturing prisoners for information. Did I say prisoners? I meant terrorists. And does that make us terrorists ourselves?
It's a heavy question and in Unthinkable it is dealt with on all sides by a very heavy hand. It helps that some of the blows are being dealt by Samuel L Jackson. If only the other side could have countered with a champion in the same weight class. I don't think Carrie-Anne Moss was always up to the challenge. She does offer a stark contrast to Jackson's tough as nails mysterious government contractor in her role as the female FBI agent who is all about following protocol and upholding the constitution, but sometimes that wasn't enough. You need a real bad ass to go toe to toe with Sam Jackson. No question about it.
Did I say Agent? I meant Special Agent. People don't make movies about agents, now do they?
A terrorist has three nuclear bombs hidden in three locations in the United States. He is in your custody and you have a few days to extract that information from him. What are you going to do? Torture? Don't torture? "Enhanced" interrogation? At what point have you gone too far? Morally comprised much? What side are you on? Is either side completely right or wrong? Although Unthinkable raises the questions ultimately it doesn't bring any answers.
My concern is that the characters who were against and disgusted by torture compromised their values time and time again here while the other side was pretty much a rock in his position. In the end when the lines are finally drawn in the sand the side against torture has already backpedaled enough the stand they take for justice is way too little too late.
Did I like the movie? Naw, I guess I didn't. I can appreciate the fact that Mr. Jackson never asked where "the mutherfuckin bombs" were, but then again he did say "Military Intelligence, the great oxymoron."
Right. I get it.
Another thing that bummed me out is there were a bunch of characters established early on that just get tossed aside. I speak of the FBI team including the likes of Brandon Routhe, Gill Bellows and Joshua Harto... underused and then completely lost... blows my mind.
Being a post 9/11 world, this is the 21st century version of a cold war fable. But a true fable has a moral lesson and clear message. I might be splitting hairs since a real fable also features anthropomorphized animals...
But I digress.
It may be that in this world, that lack of clarity--the blurring between what is just and what is needed--is our greatest obstacle and the side we ultimately take and the choices we make will define us as a society. If that's the case, then Unthinkable illustrates that conundrum all to well so I will give it a "why not?" on the Mr. Blunderson scale as there are certainly worse ways spend an hour and a half.
I knew Unthinkable was tense at the 43 minutes mark when the "duh duh duh duh" thrilling music kicked in. Before that moment, there is a whole lot of talk. After that there is more talk, and then finally some more.
Did I mention the torture?
Not like Hostel torture, but it is present and gruesome in it's own right. I suppose it's a necessary evil as this movie is a big ole morality tale about torturing prisoners for information. Did I say prisoners? I meant terrorists. And does that make us terrorists ourselves?
It's a heavy question and in Unthinkable it is dealt with on all sides by a very heavy hand. It helps that some of the blows are being dealt by Samuel L Jackson. If only the other side could have countered with a champion in the same weight class. I don't think Carrie-Anne Moss was always up to the challenge. She does offer a stark contrast to Jackson's tough as nails mysterious government contractor in her role as the female FBI agent who is all about following protocol and upholding the constitution, but sometimes that wasn't enough. You need a real bad ass to go toe to toe with Sam Jackson. No question about it.
Did I say Agent? I meant Special Agent. People don't make movies about agents, now do they?
A terrorist has three nuclear bombs hidden in three locations in the United States. He is in your custody and you have a few days to extract that information from him. What are you going to do? Torture? Don't torture? "Enhanced" interrogation? At what point have you gone too far? Morally comprised much? What side are you on? Is either side completely right or wrong? Although Unthinkable raises the questions ultimately it doesn't bring any answers.
My concern is that the characters who were against and disgusted by torture compromised their values time and time again here while the other side was pretty much a rock in his position. In the end when the lines are finally drawn in the sand the side against torture has already backpedaled enough the stand they take for justice is way too little too late.
Did I like the movie? Naw, I guess I didn't. I can appreciate the fact that Mr. Jackson never asked where "the mutherfuckin bombs" were, but then again he did say "Military Intelligence, the great oxymoron."
Right. I get it.
Another thing that bummed me out is there were a bunch of characters established early on that just get tossed aside. I speak of the FBI team including the likes of Brandon Routhe, Gill Bellows and Joshua Harto... underused and then completely lost... blows my mind.
Being a post 9/11 world, this is the 21st century version of a cold war fable. But a true fable has a moral lesson and clear message. I might be splitting hairs since a real fable also features anthropomorphized animals...
But I digress.
It may be that in this world, that lack of clarity--the blurring between what is just and what is needed--is our greatest obstacle and the side we ultimately take and the choices we make will define us as a society. If that's the case, then Unthinkable illustrates that conundrum all to well so I will give it a "why not?" on the Mr. Blunderson scale as there are certainly worse ways spend an hour and a half.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Review - FROZEN
by Mr. Blunderson
(spoilers)
Adam Green's Frozen illustrates everything that is wrong with winter. It's cold and wet out there and who the hell needs that, right? And you wonder why I never want to leave the house. I don't like heights. I don't like being out in the snow. I don't even really like being outside. On those factors alone this movie could be terrifying to a guy like me.
That said, Frozen was a little uneven. It was predictable in the sense that it was clear from the outset who was going to bite it first. It was the classic "third wheel formula that leaves the characters being at the greatest odds to survive the longest" because that tension/dynamic is interesting... so they tell me. And that's exactly how it played out here. It was also clear who was going to survive. It's the old "person who has the least experience/business surviving is the last man standing" device. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, only that I would have enjoyed the experience of watching this movie a lot more if it had deviated from those formulas.
As a caveat, I might have enjoyed this movie even with those those two aforementioned formulas if it had taken them and really swung for the fences with them. Maybe gone a little darker with a characters, or bleaker, or deeper... you get the idea.
Another beef I had was the fact that I didn't care much for these three people so I wasn't really invested in hoping they would survive. Honestly, I'm kind of sad they didn't all get eaten by a bear. Of course, bears generally hibernate during the winter because it's cold and wet out there and that just goes to show you that bears are fucking smart.
But I digress. There are no bears in this movie.
There is a pack of wolves though. I think it's really smart to hang around a ski resort if you are wolves hungry for human flesh. Lot of people falling down and whatnot. Easy pickins, right?
Just an observation.
The characters didn't quite land for me. I don't insist on everyone in every movie I watch being likable all the time, I am a realist. But when it came down to it I just couldn't get behind these three. Maybe I don't have to. Maybe no one does. But if even one of them could have connected with something in my brain just a tiny bit more this movie would have been riveting instead of feeling (broken record, sir) uneven.
What was good about this movie? Frozen has some moments of spectacular tension, a few cringe inducing visuals, and the snow itself is incredibly convincing. Overall this one is so close to being great but falls just a little short. The premise is brilliant, there are some excellent moments that were quite gripping. The worst thing about Frozen is that I seem to have written this review in one of those moods where saying anything nice is like chewing glass... I can't bring myself to do it.
Oh yes I can.
The cinematography was pretty damn good. Green's visuals heightened the sense of isolation and acrophobia (that's fear of heights, fellow jerks) and it didn't hurt that he shot the film in the greatest snow on earth (Ski Utah. Suck it everywhere else.)
All in all Frozen is better than bad so I give it a "why the hell not?" on the Mr. Blunderson scale.
(spoilers)
Adam Green's Frozen illustrates everything that is wrong with winter. It's cold and wet out there and who the hell needs that, right? And you wonder why I never want to leave the house. I don't like heights. I don't like being out in the snow. I don't even really like being outside. On those factors alone this movie could be terrifying to a guy like me.
That said, Frozen was a little uneven. It was predictable in the sense that it was clear from the outset who was going to bite it first. It was the classic "third wheel formula that leaves the characters being at the greatest odds to survive the longest" because that tension/dynamic is interesting... so they tell me. And that's exactly how it played out here. It was also clear who was going to survive. It's the old "person who has the least experience/business surviving is the last man standing" device. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, only that I would have enjoyed the experience of watching this movie a lot more if it had deviated from those formulas.
As a caveat, I might have enjoyed this movie even with those those two aforementioned formulas if it had taken them and really swung for the fences with them. Maybe gone a little darker with a characters, or bleaker, or deeper... you get the idea.
Another beef I had was the fact that I didn't care much for these three people so I wasn't really invested in hoping they would survive. Honestly, I'm kind of sad they didn't all get eaten by a bear. Of course, bears generally hibernate during the winter because it's cold and wet out there and that just goes to show you that bears are fucking smart.
But I digress. There are no bears in this movie.
There is a pack of wolves though. I think it's really smart to hang around a ski resort if you are wolves hungry for human flesh. Lot of people falling down and whatnot. Easy pickins, right?
Just an observation.
The characters didn't quite land for me. I don't insist on everyone in every movie I watch being likable all the time, I am a realist. But when it came down to it I just couldn't get behind these three. Maybe I don't have to. Maybe no one does. But if even one of them could have connected with something in my brain just a tiny bit more this movie would have been riveting instead of feeling (broken record, sir) uneven.
What was good about this movie? Frozen has some moments of spectacular tension, a few cringe inducing visuals, and the snow itself is incredibly convincing. Overall this one is so close to being great but falls just a little short. The premise is brilliant, there are some excellent moments that were quite gripping. The worst thing about Frozen is that I seem to have written this review in one of those moods where saying anything nice is like chewing glass... I can't bring myself to do it.
Oh yes I can.
The cinematography was pretty damn good. Green's visuals heightened the sense of isolation and acrophobia (that's fear of heights, fellow jerks) and it didn't hurt that he shot the film in the greatest snow on earth (Ski Utah. Suck it everywhere else.)
All in all Frozen is better than bad so I give it a "why the hell not?" on the Mr. Blunderson scale.
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