End Of The Week Shorts #82
Deewana is a film about the fatal trials one is put upon in trying to walk a straight and virtuous path through their life; the stronger you become as a moral entity, the harder the world will seemingly want to hit you, and ones only defence is a righteous offence. Having said that it may be slightly ironic to note that the fight scenes are some of the most surprisingly effective and entertaining scenes in the film.
Coming to the negatives, Amrish Puri reviving the depthless evil caricature he played in Mr. India does little for the narrative dramaturgy. The heart of Dewaana is not in its physical conflicts (the scheming bad guys), but in the element of tragic fate: the intangible conflicts. With the overemphasis of a bad guy comes mere distraction from the inner challenges our characters face. So, all in all, this goes more for loud noises and bright lights than character depth, but is pretty enjoyable; catchy songs, some nice dance/fight choreography.
Over the past few years, I've fallen out of love with Tarantino--rather hard. This is simply for the fact that his films are so transparently his. And the more you study cinema, the more derivative, masturbatory and pretentious Tarantino becomes.
Re-watching Pulp Fiction today, I tried to look past my disdain and re-discover what it was that I liked about his films as a teenager, and I think I found something of a spark. Between classical melodrama and post-modern self-reflexivity there is a niche where, through dialogue especially, one can truly fall through cinema and be lost in a scene. I don't think it is particularly special that Tarantino cultivates a space capable of engulfing his audience, but this is his forte. Pulp Fiction, with its numerous dialogue set-pieces, is probably then the greatest demonstration of exactly what Tarantino does best; story aside, character and style pull us in for some film-nerd wankery.
I have just covered this in greater depth, exploring the musical expression of embarrassing desire, but here's a short, direct review.
Eddie Murphy: brilliant. Lighting up the screen with infectious energy when singing and dancing, Murphy puts on one of the best performances of his career, exuding intensely chaotic exuberance of a kind he best did on stage as a comedian (which is, arguably, where you'll find the best Eddie Murphy there ever was). Beyoncé, too: tremendous. Holding back for so long and then, only for 5 minutes, exploding through the screen, she, too, provides a career best. I can't say that this is a technical or dermatological masterwork - the constant music and songs serve as a major distraction, can sometimes be too sentimental and, even, a bit obnoxious - but it has been quite some times since a film has so surprisingly affected me as this did. Much appreciated.
Conflicting. Whilst I can make more sense of this having read more about its allusions and references, Lemonade feels too self-reflexive; too concerned with layering themes and imagery than generating a feeling. As a result, the songs, which carry the emotional narrative underlying all, are often undermined by the experimental audio-visual elements. Only very rarely do sound and image come together to evoke greater feeling, to reach out and affect with greater intensity - as in the final song. More often than not, the intellectual sound-montage reveals more subtext in the songs (or rather independently contrives it), but to what end? Beyoncé, in essence, seems to construct a narrative about overcoming betrayal and looking back into one's past (one's race's past and present) as to do so. But, there are too many political allusions for this basic narrative to resonate coherently. It is a probability that further reading and a re-watch would reveal more, but Lemonade remains conflicting in my books; not bad, but not affecting enough.
Animation is not the art of drawings that move but the art of movements that are drawn. Such seems to sum up the essence of McLaren's cinema.
It matters not what emerges from drawing--narrative and character for example--but what drawing emerges from; an imitation of movement, be it visible, audible, palpable or tangible in any other manner. The result of McLaren's reversal is not subversive and destructive, but investigative. McLaren questions how character, narrative and affection are transposed onto screen with his collective works - Begone Dull Care being one of his most striking. Boiling cinema down to its basic components - light, colour, lines - McLaren's proves that the higher functionings of cinema are predicated on simple recognitions of resonance in an abstract universe. Such is, in my view, unspeakably and unthinkably profound, yet unequivocally subtle.
An uncanny and infectious hatred for teenagers fizzles as the shadow of teenage angst and stupidity battles the devil's teenage sinner avenger.
Freddy vs. Jason, whilst a little over-directed and over-acted, is not a technically terrible film. The cinematography, set design and action choreography/design provide some light surprises. What doesn't surprise is the script, which, despite its self-aware ridiculousness, is nothing but terrible. Some laughs are to be had--and it's pretty hard not to turn slightly giddy at the careless disregard for reality, the excessive, watery blood, the debased sex jokes and the bodies hurtling through the air. In total, however, I find it all too easy to step back from this chaotic spectacle and simply observe, which is to say that this isn't all too engrossing despite having a somewhat intriguing premise.
No matter how many times I watch this, it still baffles me. Equally impressive as F. Percy Smith's technological innovations in microphotography is his sense of spectacle and novelty. This is so profoundly true that one almost feels as though cinema is re-invented in this short, given a new birth and a new internal trichotomy of technology, artistry and spectacle; a new quality of magic. Little can be said about flies glued to miniature props and, through implication and association, sold as gymnasts that is not abstract, stretching and silly, so all I can do is urge you give this a watch:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hlocZhNc0M
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How Cinema Works (Expanded)
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