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Blogs by E D Detetcheverrie
Cine 5/9/2011 4:54:05 AM
Something old, something new. I've been watching a lot of movies lately. Been working my way through James Bond. I grew up with Bond, could often be found sitting by myself in the lunch room at school bent over an Ian Fleming novel. But I never saw most of the films. Now that I've been viewing them in order from beginning to most recent, I realize I must've started in the theater with Moonraker. Until recently, I was under the impression it was one of the worst Bond films, and was surprised to find it better than I remembered. So many people have it in their heads that Connery was the best Bond, but I began with Moore, so to me he set the tone for the character. Rewatching the films, I noted that if Sean is better, then the movies are not, his films often wavering between dull and silly. At least Moore had better stories and enough budget to help the ridiculous seem a bit more believable. People claim Moore played Bond humorously...but clearly the writing for the character was changed as well as a few other details to help differentiate between the two actors' styles. Overall, the series strikes me as silly, and yet remains enjoyable. I have not yet worked my way up through Timothy Dalton's portrayal, and have never seen his Bond. George Lazenby did a good job with a storyline that was rushed and not particularly well developed, with more time spent on the scenes featuring the most females in One Her Majesty's Secret Service than scenes that could have helped drive the story home. I've seen Brosnan's Bond before, but will keep watching for the opportunity to critique his films anew, and really appreciate the Craig Bond films for many reasons. But I had to pluck out the original Casino Royale which was so excrutiatingly horrible as to be even disturbing to me. I sent it to Goodwill for someone else to enjoy or cringe before. That leaves room in the case I keep all my Bond films in for one more movie. I doubt the next will end the hero's run. He's a guaranteed moneymaker no matter who's playing him.
I got Emma to sit through 9, and she didn't quite get it. The film is vague enough to leave room for the viewer's interpretation, but to me the message was clear, very personal, and precise. I was able to watch the original short it was based on and decided that unlike most critics, I liked the big theatrical treatment better. The original is about accomplishing something even if it takes the rest of your life to do it, then learning that this life may not be all we have. Well, that's one interpretation anyway. The theatrical version was more complex with more emphasis on the esoteric than merely the triumph of the human spirit. If nothing else, it's a very finely crafted computer animated sci-fi/horror film. I'll admit it's not for everyone, though.
I bought Dead Again yesterday, replacing the VHS I'd had of it. Now that's a thought-provoking, tense, but fun film! And I picked up Darby O'Gill And The Little People, a '59 Disney film starring a very young Sean Connery singing! I like to watch it around St. Patrick's Day. Despite age and improvements in special effects, it manages to hold its own. I remember a few of the images in it being a bit scary for me as a small child, but obviously it managed to endear itself to me despite that.
Then we saw Thor yesterday. I'd never read a Thor comic book in my life, thinking the stories would be too silly for me. His costume was awful. In the comic book series, that is. With luck, the artists who work on that title will adopt his theatrical look into upcoming books. I was going to wait until I'd heard some reviews before even contemplating it, until I heard Kenneth Branagh was the director, and that intrigued me considerably.
Words that come to mind after seeing it include scope, breadth, vision, art. Wow. Asgard looked like something from a Star Wars film, and that took me by surprise. I hadn't anticipated cities, imagining instead something more agrarian than spectacular. In this treatment, the old Norse legends are more akin to aliens than gods, which also required time for me to digest. That and the fact they are depicted as so alien that the first time I saw horses running across the Bifrost bridge, it disappointed me. It made me wonder if these "gods" had made routine forays to Earth to steal livestock. Perhaps their true origin was Earth, and they took plants and animals back to Asgard to remind them of home. Or maybe it suggested we here on Midgard are descended from these god-like alien beings. Either way, it was never explained. As a science fiction writer, however, these remained niggling details for me. Heimdall was a striking figure with surprisingly more to do with the storyline than I would have guessed off the get-go, and I'm astonished at the number of people who've taken issue with the fact that the character is portrayed by a black man. Again, without having read the comic and with only a rudimentary knowledge of the old Roman/Norse tales, as far as I knew, maybe he was a black man! Now that I've done more reaserch on the topic I see that he was often referred to as "the whitest of the gods", however what that actually means in the old writings has been up for debate for centuries. If there was doubt off the get-go, then why should it make a difference now? What a bunch of weenies! Actor Iris Elba portrays the guardian as something somehow aside from, if maybe not above the rest of the Asgardians, a noble, fiercely loyal figure content to be the watchful eyes of the world he inhabits, deciding who may or may not enter his kingdom. I wouldn't care if he'd been Inuit or Phillipino or even Sri Lankan.
The parts of the story that unfold on Earth are far less exciting and even rushed through, details glossed over, set in a bland part of New Mexico with an outdated feel to it. I suppose the dull palette of the film at this part and the forlorn landscape are meant to better contrast with the other worlds the Asgardians visit or inhabit, but I found myself not really caring about what happened to the lesser developed characters who interact with the God Of Thunder when he is banished to our world, craving the raw beauty and fascination of the other worlds of the Nine Realms instead.
Loki's tale is interestingly spun, and he has always been a character with particular fascination for me; one of the Great Tricksters who feature so frequently throughout many world belief systems. The writing behind this film is woven wonderfully. It's a great storyline that's not too complex for kids to follow. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor well, introducing us to a headstrong young man bent on glory, ending with a wiser man shaped by the blows of the hammer of life. There are even a few delightfully comic moments that help add realism to the otherwise fabulous tale. It's visually glorious with an engaging story and definitely worth the full movie price. I was very surprised to find myself liking this film. I don't care much for magical fantasy unless it's somehow done exceptionally well. Thor just neatly slides itself into this category, with a few sillier notions here and there I could have done without.
