Everybody into the pool!
Add comment July 16th, 2009
George Clooney in THE GOOD GERMAN
Over at Gawker.com, Natasha VC has an article examining what she refers to as “pool movies” — i.e., the films directors made not for the big artistic challenge, but instead for the big financial reward.
Though some of her picks seem pretty dead on — really, why else would Jonathan Demme remake THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE other than the cash — others don’t give credit where credit it due. Soderbergh’s THE GOOD GERMAN is more risky and ambitious than TRAFFIC, and Fincher’s THE PANIC ROOM might not be as edgy as FIGHT CLUB (the film that preceded it) but if you watch the movie or listen to the commentary track, it’s obvious Fincher was excited by the technical challenge of it all. Plus, he followed it with ZODIAC, one of the best (and least compromising) movies of the 21st century.
As for Ang Lee’s THE HULK, he might have accepted job with popcorn movie success in mind, but anyone who saw it can testify that Lee threw in so many quirky personal elements — those crazy panels within the screen, for example — that it’s practically an art film. Plus, when you quote a Rex Reed review in your article (as Natasha does in reference to LUCKY YOU, you’ve all but admitted you’re grasping at straws.)
Read the entire article here – and be warned, the language over at Gawker gets a bit salty.
