End Of The Week Shorts #68
In one word: beautiful.
Swades is a film about a boy born in India, who has been in America for 12 years, about to return home. In such, this is a film about the impact you can make in the world. It sees a man aim high and hit high, but not find his target. This story is brought to life with unimaginable heart and character, and this is off of the back of the narrative's own sentiments, little else. What I mean to suggest in this is that the music and sound design are not particular stand-outs in this film - in fact, the musical elements are so often at odds with the predominantly realistic aesthetic. Furthermore, the realism brings down the melodrama and spectacle, which strips rather raw the human notions made by the narrative. This film then confronts so much, and whilst it is not formally perfect, does not falter in expressing truth. More can be said, but all I want to do is urge you see this. Highly recommended.
Disclaimer: I did not watch this in full - I couldn't be bothered.
Having seen a good hour or so of this, I can't see many real virtues. The animation is kind of nice and the direction does manage to successfully produce some fleetingly immersive spectacle, but these elements are not integrated well into the narrative or general characterisation. For example, Kevin Hart as the bunny then feels like Kevin Hart screaming into a mic whilst a dissociated, ill-designed bunny moves about on screen. The end result speaks volumes about the rest of the narrative: tone-deaf, cliched nonsense. There is no harmony about this film, no sense of coherence manifested between the script and animation, nothing particularly inspired, and nothing anyone seems to have really put particular effort into. People tried and succeeded in making a basic kids' film. Not worth the time.
Considering how many laughs there are to be had here, and the intensity of them, I have to say this is excellent. I've liked all of Schlesinger's specials, but the integration of politics over the last few is... eh. Politics remains in Elder Millennial, and none of the commentary is particularly profound (some of it rather insipid), but, what matters most is that the focus on comedy often outweighs the ideological babble. It is even fascinating to see intellectually, let's say loose, premises give way to some pretty gut-busting comedy. This is an ode to Schlesinger's stage presence, her developed ability to jump between evolved voices and personas, as well as her timing and writing. It is through the annoying hashtags that appear on screen and the uninspiring ideological talk that there then shines a comedian that is still well-worth watching. I look forward to the next special. Recommended.
P.S. The intro to this special is one of the very worst openings I've seen in a modern stand-up special. It's not as bad as the shit that would appear before some 80s comedy specials, but that ship joke is a... something.
One of my absolute favourite stand-up specials ever - maybe even my favourite. Burr is perpetually on fire for more than an hour; his premises simple yet brilliant, his timing perfect, his character endlessly interesting and his act-outs on a whole other level to anything I've ever seen. There are just too many great bits in this to count: the helicopter sequence, the what did you think they thought bit, the dive into religion, the break-in bit, the turbulence bit... All of these bits I know and have heard/seen many times, but they still have me giggling like a fool. And still, yours goes quack-quack, mine goes quack-a-fuckin'-QUACK is one of the funniest things that has ever hit my ears. This is just my kind of comedy. I couldn't love this more.
The laughs aren't huge, but this is consistently funny. Segura, as always, is a breath of fresh air, creating comedy out of simplicity and basic observations. No grand social commentary, a few pokes at forbidden language, but everything is confined to his own world and translated through story. A good watch for character and insight above all else. Recommended.
Truth of any character exists far above. Where this 'above' is is so often measured not by distance, but by the density of cloud and strife that must be trudged through as to ascend to said truth. This is the story of great heroes, and it is presented incredibly by A Knight's Tale.
As much a fundamental and classical piece of storytelling as it is a study in anachronism, A Knight's Tale is daring in its exploration of the emotions we all know shall exude from a tale of heroism. It cares not for rules, only truth, and truth is felt; as is the depth of this narrative. The script, then, is the central star of this movie, but it cannot be overlooked how wonderfully this is performed and how brilliantly comedy arises from minor character interactions. Maybe not perfect (maybe a touch too long and lacking a romantic thread as good as each other thread), A Knight's Tale is a must-see. Originally unoriginal and a truth blast.
The Satanic Rites of Dracula (a.k.a Count Dracula and his Vampire Brides) is a trashy 70s horror movie from Hammer. It combines the basic Dracula narrative that has been recycled into the ground with the 70s detective film as well as the occult exploitation horror. What is probably most interesting about this film is how it is so absurdly inharmonious in terms of its mixed genreisms yet so strangely familiar.
In the end, however, this is directed with some flavour and energy, but is written and acted terrible. The action absolutely sucks and this is in no way atmospheric or at all scary. As trash goes, this does not wallow at the bottom of the pile, but it's certainly not worth watching.
A film about dysfunction and irrationality in love, Love Streams is structurally and dramatologically chaotic in an uncannily earnest way as it searches for order in a fray and sense in uncertainty. Exploring masculine and feminine manifestations of pathologised love, Cassavates drives deep into his impenetrable characters, constructing a dichotomy between an overbearing mother and a neglectful father who seem to balance one another out without changing inside themselves. Like cold and hot water that cannot mix, this couple is frightening to the senses. And a key element of this affection is the narrative's expression of faulted humanity as a call for love, and the general reflection of love as glue that gums up the cracks in our being.
In total, this is rather dumbfounding. It has not struck me as much as A Woman Under The Influence, but holds a similar, uncanny draw. Recommended.
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