rdukeesq

Here is the deal I am a story guy, I watch film because a great film has a story and world that is highly immersing. It can surprise, delight, affect the senses, and maybe even change you. However, my attorney Lazlo is an art house guy, he sees film as an extension of any other medium which shocks, makes you think, and even debate Why? In that sense "holy motors" is one of his films, and he did not like this film. I on the other hand did, so what does that say? This movie has no discernible plot, it makes no sense at all, and there are no characters which you can identify with or feel empathy. So why did I like it, well I saw myself standing in front of a vast painting. There I was in a museum, I was standing looking at the painting and Lazlo was standing next to me, we both had different perceptions of what we were seeing, both found different value, both found ourselves asking why, and ended up discussing the piece? And in the end isn't that what most any modern piece of art wants.

So to start I consider a non big budget movie with a 7 is generally a good film and as you approach 8 you are into excellent territory. The exception to this rule are your transformers and what not, which fans will give a 10 to, godfather doesn't even have a 10 for god's sake. So back to this film, been a long time since I did a review, but as I said this movie needs some love. I will make this review simple and to the point. The story was very good, the acting and casting was excellent, including an Oscar worthy moment from Casey Affleck. The direction was well done, it was very dark and gritty and a realistic portrayal of middle class white trash life. There is something major in the beginning which happens to Christian Bale that never seems to figure into the rest of the film, in any major sense. There is a plot development that resulted from that event, that existed but wasn't defining to the film. Although, it did just simply exist, which if you want a story that doesn't have to have everything wrapped up with a bow adds to the realism of the film. The ending was not predictable for the most part. Look, if you like dark, gritty, violent films, that are smart, I would say you cannot go wrong.

So I watched 2011's "the green hornet", starring one of my comedy favorites Seth Rogen and directed by Michel Gondry. So was it good, well I say it stung me in a good way. So was it great, well no. Was it as bad as the critics and others have made it ought to be I say no way. Look this movie is clearly a spoof of super hero movies, but not one that tries to beat you over the head with the fact that it is a spoof, so I think a lot of people just didn't get it. Seth Rogen plays basically the character he played in pineapple express, which considering he wrote this movie with his writing partner from that movie it makes sense. Michel Gondry directed this film and though he has a very distinct style usually e.g "science of sleep" and "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind", we the audience don't see much of his unique visual sense and quirky dialog. However, I found this movie to be very enjoyable and highly underrated. I don't know if comic book fans were put off by the fact that this movie is sort of like the inspector clouseau and cato take on the green hornet character, from the pink panther movies, or if stoners were put off by the not so stoned Seth Rogen in this movie, but it seems most people did not like this movie as much as I did. I researched the green hornet and found that since its inception there have been several different takes on the characters and general story, so the fact that this one was not faithful to the original in every sense should not be a big deal to "purists". This take seems slightly different in that the green hornet wants to be seen not as a hero but as a criminal, so he can infiltrate criminal organizations more easily. This also makes him busting up said organizations look like a grab for power rather than a vigilante exercise. The hornet (Britt Reid) and Kato have no real super powers, although Kato can sort of slow time but not literally. So the character setup is kind of like batman in a lot of ways including the hornet being a trust fund baby. Look, basically I really liked this movie, I thought it was funny and packed with good action sequences, but everyone does not share that view so I recommend it but, I can't say who this movie should appeal to since I was not in the majority on this one.