Crashdog Elektrabite, Gobletraider

No - I am not starting a comic strip... although, that title would be a funky name for one. Instead, that title sums up the six movies I watched on DVD this weekend.

This was a really action packed weekend by the way - nary a dull moment. 2 magnificent dinners, 2 nice breakfasts, a 2.5 mile and a 5 mile walk, 2 coffee sessions at Starbucks, 6 movies (some overlapping with one full day of couching) and a nice episode of The West Wing to wrap up proceedings. Plus, the fact that Daylight Savings got turned off means I can wake up and go to work an hour later starting today! Yay!

So yeah... here's some quick reviews of all six movies I saw (plus the usual ranting and raving about the ontological necessity of the human existential dilemma). ;) You brave enough to read on...?

Well, I guess you are. Kudos.

Crash

Without argument, the movie highlight of the weekend. I don't really know what kept me from watching this before, but I finally ordered it (in a batch of 7 DVDs) from Amazon.com. The film reminded me of Traffic and Syriana so much, I was surprised Steven Soderbergh had nothing to do with it!

The film seems to operate on four plot tricks - 1) take a whole bunch of racial stereotypes, give them good characterization depth and convoluted motive, 2) ensure that the plot resolution for each character/ story is a twist and in sopme fundamental way, a contradiction of the stereotype, 3) stagger the timeline, and 4) don't make all the connections between the multiple story threads too evident.

It works, and because it works, its no surprise it won Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Editing at the Academy Awards.

It has its flaws of course. For one thing, to try and give allegorical tales pertinent to almost every facet of the "melting pot" issues the US faces, they've packed in one or two storylines that are in my view unnecessary (Sandra Bullock's for instance - the "handyman who fixes locks" makes the same point as the "nanny who takes care of" her). And the second is, there are a few plot gaps (why Thandie Newton's husband never seems to learn of her near fatal accident for instance) which need filling.

But nonetheless, a brilliant film. I loved how it is uproariously in-your-face it is when it comes to racially insensitive dialogue. I also loved how even in the most heavy moments, it refused to take itself seriously. This is a thinking man's movie that makes you laugh without necessarily being a lampoon or satire. Go Watch. Now.

Wag the Dog

This purchase was one of those movies I've heard a lot about and have finally got around to watching. Dustin Hoffman plays a hollywood producer who is asked by Robert DeNiro and Anne Heche (it isn't exactly clear what they do, but they work for the President of the USA) to "stage" a US war with Albania. The purpose of this fake war that Hoffman produces is to distract the general public from the incumbent President's Clintonesque rendezvous with a young girl for the 12 days prior to election day, so that they reelect him.

In a nutshell, this movie was a letdown. The novelty/ audacity of the premise carries it for a half hour, but then the inane humor and the bad execution of the "master plan" lets you down. While the acting more than makes the grade, the material is just plain insipid. The characters aren't Machiavellian enough, and not for a second do you believe that they are smart or reality-aware enough to pull something like this off. In an age where so much detail about Presidential politics in the US is known to anyone who watches The West Wing or Commander in Chief (or Bush's escapades on CNN), this movie just doesn't make the cut.

But that isn't the biggest problem. The biggest problem is, this "satire" just isn't sharp or funny enough. Worth a miss. One of the few flicks I regret buying.

Elektra

Thank the powers that be, I did NOT buy this one. Watched it at a friend's place and Jennifer Garner's general hotness notwithstanding, it is a lousy, lousy, movie.

Now, I am a complete sop for a superhero tale. I can even take the bad superhero tales - dishrags like Steel (with Shaq in the titular role) or Batman Forever (yowza!) - and still find something to like... But I draw a line at crap like Elektra and Batman and Robin (aka Batman with Nipples).

Problems with this sodfest... hmm... where do I begin? First, it is a spinoff from Daredevil right? (a reasonably OK movie for me). So why in heaven's name would you not reference that movie at all? Not even a mention of Matt Murdock. No mention of Bullseye. No mention of how the father's dying affected Elektra. No continuity patch to explain how she ends up from that rainy terrace where she was left for dead by Daredevil/ Bullseye (who promptly went off on a showdown in a Begargoyled (as in Bedecked ;) ) church to that strange ninja training camp.

But fine... lets blame all that on copyright issues/ the need on the studio's part to set this up as a separate franchise. But then, why are all the villains in this movie more reminiscent of X Men than anything else? The ultra-super imaginitively named trio: "Typhoid", "Stone" and "Tattoo" are a stone's throw away from being homo superioris (the mutant race). I also DO NOT dig the pseudo-babble that is that pseudo ninja/ faux-Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon stuff. Ugh.

Oh, and the romantic angle sucks too (just in case you notice it in between the fits of retching in response to everything else.)

Reality Bites

Yeah yeah yeah. I've seen this before, and I own the DVD (which is in India). But as I was vegging out on Sunday, it came on TV, and I could not resist watching it. I could write a whole post about this movie alone, but this one is already promising to be a long long rant, so not now. Consider this a mention of the movie, for the record.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Watched this as soon as I could in the theatre back in November of course... and I have the same mixed feelings I had back then about it as I watched the special edition DVD.

Unlike Prisoner of Azkaban, this one has a much jerkier flow to it. No wonder, given how much larger the fourth HP book is compared to the third... but to me, that just kills the attention level I can devote to the movie. The acting/ special effects/ action/ story all are satisfactory... but I'm beginning to more and more firmly believe that the best audio-visual medium for Harry Potter is a television series made lovingly, and at a liesurely pace. Full of all the glorious detail that makes J K Rowling's world come alive in the books.

And I shudder to think how the fifth movie (based on the mediocre but huge fifth book) is going to turn out. Erm...

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Cradle of Life

Now there's a good brainless faux-superhero movie. I could not resist watching this (again on TV) just to get over Elektra. Sure, it murders any semblance of Greek mythology it is referencing. It is essentially James Bond and Indiana Jones without the obviously Freudian size obsession. Er... strike that. It is a Bond/ Jones hybrid where the focus of the obsession with size has moved by about 1.5 feet.

But then again, it is so not taking itself seriously. And who wouldn't like to see Angelina Jolie pouting rather severely at the rock monster thingies (totally ripped from Jabba the hut's Rancor from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by the way). Ah well...

Also, I can't wait to buy (and play) Tomb Raider: Legends on my X-box. First Tomb Raider game of the 7 released that I will NOT play on a PC.

The West Wing (7.17): Election Day (Part 2)

As the final season of the West Wing begins to wind down, we are finally told who will replace Jed Bartlett as the next President. Its the Democrat - Matt Santos, who becomes President Elect a few hours after his running mate Leo McGarry dies of a heart attack (a plot point necessitated by the unexpected demise of the actor, John Spencer, for similar reasons).

Well, I can honestly say this is one of the few TV shows I have seen EVERY episode of so far. In fact it may be the first - only I'm not sure if I've seen all the Friends episodes from the 9th/ 10th season. Gives me an extra kick to think of this as a one last, unnecessary affirmation of my geekdom.

Ah well, I'll write a longish rant about this series once it winds down in mid-May.

-=-=-

In conclusion, a quick to do list of movies/ books on the consumption anvil:

DVD

Lost in Translation (horribly horribly overdue for watching)
Being John Malkovich (horribly horribly overdue for watching)
Finding Neverland (horribly overdue for watching)
Big Fish (horribly horribly overdue for watching)
The Truman Show (Indulgence buy for my DVD collection)
Peter Jackson's King Kong (Another "must-buy" impulse translated to a satisfactory "I-own")
Life as a House (I love this movie! must write a review after a DVD refresh viewing)
Good Night and Good Luck (really looking forward to seeing this one!)

Books

Joseph Campbell - The Hero with a Thousand Faces (bought with DVDs)
Roger Zelazny - The Chronicles of Amber
Christopher Paolini - Eragon, Eldest (Inheritance, Books 1 and 2),
Steven Erikson - Midnight Tides (long long overdue - will have to finish this in time for the soon to be released "Bonehunters", Book six in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series; this is book 5)

Sigh... It is back to nimis opus parum vicis once again!

Peace... out.