In case you need something beautiful to rest your eyes on this weekend. Airportline present two visual stunning movies. New York I Love You has some great acting and if you are into love and dialog (as I most definitely am) it is a must, I found parts of it incredibly moving. Heima just makes you want to go to Iceland really bad. Really really bad.
Do you remember that Belgian man who was paralyzed for 20 years and then suddenly could communicate again? Well, turns out that he can't communicate at all, he is just conscious (which I guess is a good thing). But I, who thought this story was amazing, it made me think of one of my favorite movies of all time The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (based on the true story of a French Elle editor who gets a stroke that leaves him paralyzed and goes on to write a book (as amazing as the movie) by blinking with one eye), feel cheated by this inaccurate information. In this story in NRC International a scientist claim that "It was too good to be true and we shouldn't have believed it". Don't like things that turn out out be too good to be true.
I have few doubts regarding the brilliance of Quentin Tarantino, perhaps my generation’s most prolific film maker. From the beginning of his career he’s spread classics around him with an ease that is both intriguing, and at times, provoking. There are plenty of reasons to love this man, his movies do not only have intriguing plots, he is also a master of combining his movies with twisted music, something that in its own should place him among the modern masters of film making. In his latest movie, the Nazi slugging guerrilla fighting filled, Inglorious Basterds he ticks many of the boxes for a Tarantino classic.
One of my favourite aspects with the film-making of Tarantino is the characters in his movies. They are not only great on their own; they also interact with each other with an intensity that is remarkable considering all the loony elements he throws into his films. Few film makers can bring out so much suspense and bizarre moments as this man. Tarantino knows how to sequence the interactions between characters and pull them out so far that they physically hurt you; to create suspense between foes is something he’s done marvelously from the start, from the twisted monologues and discussions in between kills in Reservoir Dogs, through the post-killing bible quoting in Pulp Fiction, Tarantino has drawn out pre-murder suspense like no one else. He knows the anticipation of death is even more terrifying than death itself, not that anyone actually can verify that this is true.
In Inglorious Basterds he has never done this better, never done it with more intensity, never contrasted the characters with such suspense. From the brilliant opening scene it is a continuous trip through the twisted cruelty and humor that exist in every Tarantino movie. It is perfectly incorporated in the atmosphere and in the interactions between the characters. A master of writing contemporary dialog with pop cultural references, here he combines elite Nazis, farm boy Americans, and some Jews with a vengeance. It sounds like a field day for twistedness and Tarantino makes no one disappointed.
It is easy to see how this could have failed, I tell myself while the end credits roll down in front of me. Or maybe its not. I read that Tarantino waited 15 years to make this movie, that he has called it his master piece.
In the Airportline film book Pulp Fiction stand very close to my all time favourite movies. I am aware that this is a quite standard response for someone between 20 and 30. It is difficult for me to disagree with this but sometimes the masses are right I guess. Why is this relevant? Because for me, that is the only best Tarantino movie there is. My mind is filled with nostalgia that will never wash away, for me Pulp Fiction will always be the best, I’m defeated by my nostalgia.
But, for those of you not that are not emotionally and historically attached to his old classics, this could well be his best movie. It has beautiful filming, bizarre humor, glorious (if I may) bad guys, and the hilariously straight talking bad good guys. In Tarantino’s world no good man comes without some evil, and that evil has never been dressed better or served with such pleasing results as in this movie. Saying that Tarantion has done it again sounds a bit like a cliché, but not less true.
Do you remember when Christ Anderson came out with The Long Tail and predicted the end of the 'Block Buster culture'? People were suppose to go from mainstream culture to more specialized books, movies, music etc. that were more in tuned with their own needs and preferences. Of course you remember, well, turns out that this is not really happening, not in the way anticipated anyway. In a great exposé of modern media consumption the Economist analyzed what is happening in the world of books, news, music and film and came back with the conclusions that hits sell better than ever, and have a greater market share than ever. Nishé movies and music also do better then before, thus not totally busting the Long Tail theory. Everything in between is struggling, from medium sized newspapers who've seen their classified ads collapse, to musicians with a young fan base not buying albums anymore, the business of popular culture is relying more and more on big hits. And maybe Peter Cherning, who recently stepped down from a role overseeing the film and television business at News Corp, is right when he says that 'Hits are going to be the single biggest beneficiary of technology'. The Airportline thinks that this is a sad prospect. For those of you interested in contemporary media consumption I highly recommend this long but very informative article.
I saw Whatever Works, Woody Allen’s latest movie, yesterday. The reviews have been mixed, both from friends and trusted writers. And even though it had its funny sides, and gave New York the great look it always gets from the eye of Woody, with its grand apartments, outdoor lunches and general visual pleasantness, it fails to reach high enough both regarding the comedy and acting. In the middle of the story an old Nobel price nominee with a death wish, played by Larry David, walks around. The story revolves on around the theme of luck and chance and portrays New York as the intellectual haven that can even make conservative swamp idiots into successful sexually liberated artists. People fall into each others lives, fall in love and out of love and turn gay and yeah, Woody made sure to press in so many parallel lives and stories in one and a half hours it is no wonder that it leaves you feeling a bit cheated. With so much life drama the characters never become more than comedic staples to turn the never stopping plot from racing through relationships and people as a normal Woody Allen movie on crack.
Even though its a nice movie I lack the emotional intenseness, the complex relationships and the characters in Woody’s best works. This is of course intended to be a light comedy, but it feels a bit rushed, a bit too loose and comfortable, and even though Larry David fits the bill as some kind of complaining Jewish math genius, his lack of any emotional engagement becomes tiring in the long run and feels misplaced and simplified when it suddenly arrives. While I would like to like this movie it simply reminded me of previous great Woody movies, but unfortunately it never managed to step out from the shade of its older cousins. Like ‘A O Scott’ (what kind of name is that?!) wrote in The New York Times:
‘Mr. Allen’s imagination has returned to Manhattan after that invigorating European sojourn afflicted by an extreme case of jet lag.’
