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Reviews
Frances Ha (2012)
Baumbach and Gerwig kick down open doors
Entitled. Mean-spirited. Lazy. There's a French saying about lazy artists picking easy targets.. It's known as 'kicking down open doors.' That's exactly what Frances Ha does.
Nothing to see here unless you're young and wealthy in NYC and, somehow, still feel you need vindication. In which case, come right in and make yourself at home.
Sorry, but in my book, everything is politics and this movie specifically invites the type of criticism I am making here.
Unfortunately, the ruling class in this country has such a stranglehold on the 'art-world'that a self-indulgent piece of garbage like this will, rather than meet with criticism, get raves from the kind of cozy intellectual mainstream that, like blue-bloods throughout history, looks down on labor and working for a living.
This is tired stuff, folks. These sentiments were exciting when the beat generation- a generation which actually struggled for their art- exulted in them in the 50s. To imply that one can transpose those same power-elite tangents to spoiled rich kids in NYC in 2016 is just insulting.
I'm not a fan of the Men's Rights movement either, but this movie takes Mansploitation to a new level. Frances Ha actually managed to make me feel sorry for a Wall Street broker bro. Jesus. What an accomplishment. Why? Because I have some humanity and these characters are all about dehumanizing the 'other' and those who are not like them. Why not tie Patch down and crap down his throat while you're at it?
I am far from anti-intellectual, but I do consider myself a bit too far to the left in my politics to relate to the facile rich-kid uber domination of the arts that has become the norm in today's America -and is lovingly represented in Frances Ha. Watching this movie, I kept wishing the guillotine would come back in vogue.
Wild Canaries (2014)
Hipster Idiots Foist Horrific Mess Upon the World
I never write reviews but 'Wild Canaries,' I feel, truly deserves a public service announcement. Please go see this movie. It is a perfect, if unintentional, blast of zeitgeist that will educate you on how the new America rewards its self-satisfied elite for the barest of efforts. You will swoon at the sad realization that this demonstration of talentless privilege unwittingly provides.
In short, this movie managed to make its lack of heart (and art) so outrageously offensive that I can only pray that it will quickly disappear from my consciousness..
From the moment Levine's idiotic presence graced my screen I knew I was in for it. My theory is that his brand of self- satisfied mug can only derive from a total lack of self-awareness coupled with a life of being rewarded for mediocrity, and I think this movie and some of the reviews on this site bear me out. Sophia Takal, who I really liked in the truly inspiring movie 'Supporting Characters,' joins him here with a screechy, sophomoric characterization that should, if there is any justice in this world, put an end to her acting career.
The writing, if I can call it that, managed to sap any and all energy and tension out of every single pivotal scene in the movie. Here's a clue: even if you're writing a 'screwball comedy,' the audience expects the characters to act in a somewhat believable manner. Situations, as opposed to screeching while jumping up and down and doing stiff 'funny walks,' are what drama, comedy, and tension should derive from. The 40's screwball comedy/mysteries they are trying to emulate were dripping with elegance, real mystery, tension, and charm. This movie has none of these things- and less.
The only mystery here is how this mess got funded, and, sadly, even that isn't much of a mystery; to answer my own rumination, there really is no justice in this world-- These are exactly the kind of entitled hipster idiots who somehow manage to convince gullible dental surgeons and rich families to open up their wallets and drop their pants so they can take a shot of uninspired arriviste 'art' up the wazoo.
But, not to worry for their future: I'm sure that what these hacks lack in talent will undoubtedly be assuaged by the oblivious and comfortable lives they will lead living off of their parents' real-estate investments while basking in the adoration of like-minded dimwits.
I truly wish these people the best in the hope that, for all our sakes, they stay far away from anything that resembles a movie set in the future.
And thank heavens there's a real world outside of Red Hook and Bushwick that knows crap when it sees it. And if it sounds like I'm making a personal attack on the makers of this movie, it's because I am; I don't like being taken for an idiot.
Teeth (2007)
Greater Than the Sum of its Mutilated Parts
If you like art movies that move you and make you think yet aren't too lazy or self-obsessed to take the effort to entertain- not always an easy trick to pull off- 'Teeth' is for you.
After hearing a bit about the movie and expecting nothing more than a crotch-grab-inducing B-horror flick, I was frankly curious to see how this subject matter could possibly be handled without an X-rating. In the process of getting my answer I was treated to a refreshingly unflinching examination of teen mores, unrequited love, revenge, and feminism all wrapped up in a coming of age story brilliantly headed by Jess Weixler.
John Hensley is equally absurd and on-target in the role of her troubled brother Brad and the disturbingly believable cast of characters takes the viewer from one unexpected place to the other while always ringing true.
Underneath its veneer of teen/horror camp, 'Teeth' is intelligently accessorized with the kind of ticking subtext that pumps the narrative through with humor, spunk, and heart. It pulls you in with all of the heady energy, truth, and blinding optimism of an ill-advised teenage crush.