No one said it's easy wearing the crown. Especially when uppity types want to strip you of your magical powers. How cheeky. Using a narrative which tracks historical events, the creation of the Magna Carta, the movie chronicles the last stand of a group of defenders at the Alamo, oh, excuse me, Rochester castle. The hordes come in, the hordes go out. The defenders, whittled down, one by one, suffer horrible fates. BTW, the director on this one, limited because of the overwhelming surfeit of men, decided to achieve cathartic effect through the use of violence instead of sex. As the defenders are reduced, there is a hint of questioning of the themes of violence in the name of god. Giamatti is quite satisfying as King John and the key figure of the knight portrays a relatively redeeming degree of torture in the face of temptation and the horrors of war. All in all, you can see the origins, or in a classic case of movie time reversal, the borrowings from the Western genre, with a few modifications, evident in the narrative. I found it satisfying, genuine, with historic authenticity thrown in for added grit. Who knew that pig fat, exhibited in a scene of unspeakable brutality, was used to undermine castle walls because it burned hotter than anything else? Poor pigs. Where's the SPCA when you need 'em?
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Trip
(I) (2010)
Hard to believe they're acting
9 July 2011
The first thing I noticed about this pair up was that the two were made for each other. Their dialogues are so easy, so effortless follow there was no awareness of the intrusion of false, unnecessary dialogue. This is for the movie version. I had a hard time buying the notion that this was a piece of fiction when it most likely was, but that's how smooth the personal and theatrical mixed in. The other lovely part is how the theatrical structure for the piece, the necessary obstructions, personal dilemmas, blended in so seamlessly. These people weren't acting. Oh yes they were! The story, low key as it is, is set against the bleak north country with snow on the ground and complemented by the considerable sophistication of the restaurants. It takes a genuine student of human character to illuminate human behavior in a way this comprehending of the slight struggles for control, as well as the peculiar side effects of self indulgence. It looks simple and easy. To make it this recognizable and entertaining is not. Or maybe it is if you're in their profession in a non Hollywood sort of way.
The Departed
(2006)
Never saw a movie like this
25 June 2011
It's not a true story. Or is it? With the recent arrest of Whitey Bulger, who was reportedly a partial role model for Frank Costello, the Jack Nicholson character, the movie comes back to life as a testimony to recent historical events. What amazes me is how deeply I was drawn in to what is supposedly a fictional story. If these characters are made up, the screenwriter is, well, actually better than Shakespeare. That, or he knows the place, Southie, so well its molecules ooze out of his skin and just telling what he knows. The placement of literary devices, betrayal, suspicion, tension ratcheting scenes is so precise, so well planned you have to cancel all your calls for the afternoon. It's ridiculous. Never saw a movie so tightly planned, so well played, so unforgivingly methodical in its creation of character. The actors, of course, deserve credit. But hey, they're reciting lines written by the writer.
Casino Jack
(2010)
This can't be true... right??
11 December 2010
The only way I'm able to watch this and remain certain that the world still rotates on an axis is to view it as a Mel Brooks comedy. When Johnny in the hood plants five rounds in his drug dealing opponent, he gets jail time. Not so much here. This can't be real, right? This narrative HAS to be inflated for dramatic purposes. The director, the writer, HAD to blow up the characters to make this a movie. Otherwise, the game in Washington, as depicted in this movie, is so fun house mirror, a person who operates in the so called real world would have to stop at the door, sort of like a vampire who can't enter the house because of the garlic, except in reverse and say- hey this stuff is off the charts weird. I mean, the stuff about the Marianas I can sort of understand, but the pen stabbing, the hit-man, the zamboni, the gay Hampton flings, the f***kng monkey references, the twenty three million false wire transfer, kwik e mattress, "the god of moses is the god of the republican party"- it just goes on and on. This has to be made up. It's the only way to preserve a modicum of credibility in the structure of government. On the other hand, maybe, like the guy Sprague who lost his job, this is really real and he, unwilling and unable to join in the fun house party, is the only sane person in the crowd. The one who says, stop, wait a minute, there's something wrong here. Otherwise, it's just a freight train out of control. Looks like fun, but plenty crazy.
Tell Your Friends