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Blogs by Bill Johnson
Notes on Iron Man, Deception, The Ruins, Young at Heart 5/4/2008 3:21:39 PM
Bill Johnson offers capsule summaries of recent films. Iron Man
posted 5/3/2008
This is a muscular, enjoyable action film that takes the time to develop characters alongside the action. And, unlike many superhero movies who are given powers, Iron Man is created by the hero, played by Robert Downey, Jr. Downey is joined by Gywneth Paltrow as his assistant, a role she gives life and heart to, and Jeff Bridges, who plays a wonderfully smarmy villian.
The set up for Tony Start's character is to go from being unresponsible to responsible.
Highly recommended to fans of action films.
Deception
posted 5/1/2008
This is a film in the mold of Malice, where the main character goes from being a patsy to, in the words of someone in Malice, getting 'in the game.' But, the main character also goes from being dead inside to alive. This creates a problem in structure, since it's not clear what the arc is for the main character. This is compounded by the fact that for a stretch of about 20 minutes, the main character, a mild accountant, experiences life as a member of a sex club, which is interesting and connects to his going from being dead to alive, but not from being a patsy to a player in a con game. And these problems are compounded by every deception in the story being flagged, unlike those that were hidden in Malice. So a careful viewer is always aware of what's coming next.
The actors don't overcome the problems.
The Ruins
posted 4/13/2008
This is a horror film in the vein of The Descent. The main characters are developed before the action turns grim, and no one does anything stupid. The story explores how people deal with fear.
The setting is some young American Tourists in Mexico visiting a ruin off the map and being trapped on it by armed villagers who refuse to let them leave.
Young at Heart
posted 4/6/2008
A group of elders in their 70's, 80's and 90's sing rock and roll classics and punk rock tunes. This is a poignant, sweet-natured documentary. Some of the drama comes from wondering which of the performers will be dead by the time of a concert performance.
