June 19th, 2008
I saw THE HAPPENING last week, and to say it was a disappointment implies I had hopes it might actually be good. Truth is, after watching Shyamalan’s LADY IN THE WATER and reading the book THE MAN WHO HEARD VOICES, I had a pretty good idea that THE HAPPENING was going to be pretty bad. And it was. Very bad, in fact. After the movie, my wife and I kept picking it apart, thinking of ways every single scene — heck, every single shot — could’ve been improved with a rewrite here, a tweak there.
I’m just talking as a movie watcher (and books-about-movies reader) here, but it seems to me that Shyamalan needs someone he trusts, someone he’ll actually listen to, to take his screenplays and give them a good, tough once over. His dialogue is awful, his scene construction is frustratingly bad and the entire plot plays out in a bland, boring manner. This, after all, is a movie about people committing suicide for no reason. The tension should be almost unbearable in every scene. Instead, there’s no tension at all.
I’m not alone in my take on THE HAPPENING — the critics have been pretty brutal — but here’s a review worth reading. It’s from Jim Emerson’s excellent Scanners blog, and he’s responding to the idea proposed by film critic Kim Newman (who I normally agree with) that the backlash against the happening is a sign of racism against Shyamalan’s Indian heritage. As Emerson rightly points out, that’s not the movie’s problem:
“Shyamalan’s previous debacle, “The Lady in the Water,” exhibited all the same problems as “The Happening,” especially on the level of Filmmaking 101: knowing how to “cover” a scene, how to set up a shot, when to cut to the next one and what it should be. WATch ing; thismovieiS a B I T L LLL L i Kk e Re-LiKe-ADING -thisSENTence. It’s random, erratic, and and the errors distract from the feeling and the sense of what it’s trying to convey.”
 Read the whole thing — along with some interesting comments — here.
June 18th, 2008
Last night, in yet another bid to sell more DVDs, the American Film Institute released its list of the top ten films in several genres. I’ll skip the complaint that “animation” is a process, not a genre, and get right to the listings, then offer my typically shrewd comments after each category:
Animation
1. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, 1937
2. Pinocchio, 1940
3. Bambi, 1942
4. The Lion King, 1994
5. Fantasia, 1940
6. Toy Story, 1995
7. Beauty And The Beast, 1991
8. Shrek, 2001
9. Cinderella ,1950
10. Finding Nemo, 2003
Comments: SNOW WHITE, which I’ve seen dozens of times in the last several months (thanks, Allison!) is definitely a groundbreaking work of animation, and it holds up surprisingly well. But it’s not nearly as good as PINOCCHIO or (especially) BAMBI, Disney’s crowning achievement. There should be more Pixar on the list — especially TOY STORY 2 and THE INCREDIBLES. SHREK, I’m sorry, is an adequately animated collection of pop culture references that doesn’t deserve a spot, not matter how much money it made. And while CINDERELLA has its moments, I’ve grown to hate this story of a young woman who refuses to stand up for herself no matter what. The fact that millions of little girls, my daughter included, love it, is sort of disturbing.
Fantasy
1. The Wizard Of Oz 1939
2. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, 2001
3. It’s A Wonderful Life, 1946
4. King Kong, 1933
5. Miracle On 34th Street, 1947
6. Field Of Dreams, 1989
7. Harvey, 1950
8. Groundhog Day, 1993
9. The Thief Of Bagdad, 1924
10. Big, 1988
Comments: The usual suspects, and WIZARD deserves its top spot. I prefer TWO TOWERS of the trilogy, but I can see why they’d go with the first in the series. And it’s nice to see GROUNDHOG DAY on the list — it’s one of the best movies of the last 25 years, and it really is a fantasy film.
Science Fiction
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977
3. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
4. A Clockwork Orange, 1971
5. The Day The Earth Stood Still, 1951
6. Blade Runner, 1982
7. Alien, 1979
8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991
9. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers ,1956
10. Back To The Future, 1985
Comments: Not a bad list, overall. I’d put the replace T2 with the original TERMINATOR, but aside from that, it’s hard to argue with the choices. Not a whole lot of science fiction in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, but it’s a great film, and what other category are you going to put it in? Teen comedy? Actually…
Sports
1. Raging Bull, 1980
2. Rocky, 1976
3. The Pride Of The Yankees, 1942
4. Hoosiers, 1986
5. Bull Durham, 1988
6. The Hustler, 1961
7. Caddyshack, 1980
8. Breaking Away, 1979
9. National Velvet, 1944
10. Jerry Maguire, 1996
Comments: Ahem? THE BAD NEWS BEARS? SLAP SHOT? Give NATIONAL VELVET and JERRY MAGUIRE the boot to make room for these 1970s classics. Nice to see THE HUSTLER up there, and not the more modern (and less effective) THE COLOR OF MONEY.
Western
1. The Searchers, 1956
2. High Noon, 1952
3. Shane, 1953
4. Unforgiven, 1992
5. Red River, 1948
6. The Wild Bunch, 1969
7. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, 1969
8. McCabe And Mrs. Miller, 1971
9. Stagecoach, 1939
10. Cat Ballou, 1965
Comments: CAT BALLOU? Really? How about BLAZING SADDLES, in honor of the late Harvey Korman?
Gangster
1. The Godfather, 1972
2. Goodfellas, 1990
3. The Godfather Part II, 1974
4. White Heat, 1949
5. Bonnie And Clyde ,1967
6. Scarface: The Shame Of The Nation, 1932
7. Pulp Fiction ,1994
8. The Public Enemy, 1931
9. Little Caesar, 1931
10. Scarface, 1983
Comments: I’d put GOODFELLAS in the top spot, but that’s just me. Otherwise, it’s a pretty solid list, though I’d make room somehow for MILLER’S CROSSING. Maybe by removing one of the SCARFACEs.
Mystery
1. Vertigo, 1958
2. Chinatown, 1974
3. Rear Window, 1954
4. Laura, 1944
5. The Third Man, 1949
6. The Maltese Falcon, 1941
7. North By Northwest, 1959
8. Blue Velvet, 1986
9. Dial M For Murder, 1954
10. The Usual Suspects, 1995
Comments: “Mystery” covers so much ground it’s almost impossible to narrow it down to 10. I’ve always thought LAURA was a tad overrated, and I might replace it with another noir, like OUT OF THE PAST. All the Hitchcock is good, and it’s nice to see BLUE VELVET get some recognition. As for more modern films, how about MEMENTO, SEVEN, last year’s brilliant ZODIAC or, in the same vein but a little older, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN?
Romantic Comedies
1. City Lights ,1931
2. Annie Hall, 1977
3. It Happened One Night, 1934
4. Roman Holiday, 1953
5. The Philadelphia Story, 1940
6. When Harry Met Sally…, 1989
7. Adam’s Rib, 1949
8. Moonstruck, 1987
9. Harold And Maude, 1971
10. Sleepless In Seattle, 1993
Comments: I’ll go with ANNIE HALL, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and HAROLD AND MAUDE, but I’ve never been much of a Chaplin fan, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY is (sorry fans) a Woody Allen ripoff and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY hasn’t aged especially well. How about HIS GIRL FRIDAY, MY MAN GODFREY, any of the THIN MAN movies or RUSHMORE?Â
Oops! Last-minute edit to add THE APARTMENT, the greatest romantic comedy ever made!
Courtroom Drama
1. To Kill A Mockingbird, 1962
2. 12 Angry Men, 1957
3. Kramer Vs. Kramer, 1979
4. The Verdict, 1982
5. A Few Good Men, 1992
6. Witness For The Prosecution, 1957
7. Anatomy of a Murder, 1959
8. In Cold Blood,1967
9. A Cry In The Dark, 1988
10. Judgment At Nuremberg, 1961
Comments: Listen, I love IN COLD BLOOD more than anyone, but the courtroom scene in that movie is a few minutes long, at most. I’d put ANATOMY OF A MURDER in the top spot. Everything a courtroom drama should be, this movie is — and it has Floyd the Barber in a small role!
Epic
1. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962
2. Ben-Hur, 1959
3. Schindler’s List, 1993
4. Gone With The Wind, 1939
5. Spartacus, 1960
6. Titanic, 1997
7. All Quiet On The Western Front, 1930
8. Saving Private Ryan 1998
9. Reds, 1981
10. The Ten Commandments, 1956
Comments: Of all the “genres” on the list, this one interests me the least. These sort of movies tend to be Oscar bait, with big budgets and huge spectacles taking the place of genuine human interest. Sure, SCHINDLER’S LIST is great and TITANIC is the most popular movie of all time, but when’s the last time you felt like watching either one? SAVING PRIVATE RYAN has a great beginning, a pretty good ending and nothing in between, and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is a camp classic dragged out to fill air time (and lots of it) every Easter. GONE WITH THE WIND, for all it’s politically incorrect content, at least manages to be entertaining, and I haven’t seen REDS in years but I still remember the emotional impact of Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton finally reuniting.
OK, that’s my take on the list. What’s yours?
June 13th, 2008
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Two fairly big summer movies opening today — M. Night Shyamalan’s THE HAPPENING and Marvel Comics’ second attempt at their mean, green guy, THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
Trouble is, they’re both getting so-so reviews. THE HAPPENING is apparently a step back from Shyamalan’s last fiasco, THE LADY AND THE WATER, but nowhere nearly as good as his earlier films. Critics say THE INCREDIBLE HULK isn’t as smart or entertaining as IRON MAN, but a lot faster and more fun than the Ang Lee’s 2003 take on the character, HULK. (Strange to think that the same guy who directed BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN directed that movie, isn’t it?)
I’m actually going to see a movie this weekend (as a matter of fact, two — my daughter and I will be checking out KUNG FU PANDA), with a viewing of THE HAPPENING on Saturday. I’ve read the reviews (carefully, to avoid spoilers), but I’m still looking forward to it. I hated LADY IN THE WATER, but am one of the few people who enjoyed THE VILLAGE. Hopefully I’ll like this one too.
If you see either one — or both — swing by the comment section and tell us what you thought. And please, especially in the case of THE HAPPENING, use spoiler alerts, OK? Thanks!
