by Sam Juliano
Memorial Day 2015. Barbecues, backyard swimming pools and relaxation are on most of the personal itineraries, as the weather in these parts cooperates gloriously. Around the corner are proms and graduations, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Here at Wonders in the Dark, the resident cineastes are gearing up for the Greatest Childhood Films Countdown, which is projected to launch sometime around June 15th. Ballots have been flying in all week (well over 20 to this point) and will be accepted until May 31st at 11:00 P.M. Any WitD reader is welcome to submit their Top 60 at TheFountain26@aol.com.
Lucille and I took in young Sammy’s final high school Spring concert at Cliffside Park High School on Wednesday night. Sammy plays the baritone, and after the instrumental numbers we stayed on for the chorus and ensemble. A great night in music.
You really have to question what is going on in the professional film critics’ ranks these days. Granted print media is on the decline, but when nearly 100% of the fraternity rates a movie like MAD MAX -utter trash that is surely one of the WORST films I’ve seen in years -good for those who are action and loud noise addicts, but no redeeming value whatsover- among the highest of the year, and issues divided reviews on WOMAN IN GOLD, a lovely film with Helen Mirren that is far better than many of these people give it credit for, you know something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Why engage in a thoughtful film, when we can sit and have our brains fried with meaningless drivel? Right. Of course. Makes perfect sense. But we know many of these publicans need ad revenue, so the ratings are inflated. Sad.
Mad Max * (Friday night) Secaucus Multiplex
Woman in Gold **** 1/2 (Saturday night) Montclair
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Mad Max not just from action fans but from normally thoughtful reviewers. I’ll stay judgement until I have a chance to see it for myself!
I’ve watched a few movies this week.
I much enjoyed The Babadook (2014), although I think it was lifted by the performances of the splendid Essie Davis and especially Noah Wiseman; otherwise I think it would have seemed a bit ordinary (it’s certainly derivative). All credit to its depiction of the “weird” loner kid, though.
I thought Stand by Me (1986) was pretty good, too. I’ve seen bits of it before, but never the whole thing. The Candidate (2010) is a good short based on a Henry Slesar story (yay!). Isle of Missing Men (1942) was an efficient enough entertainment. Midnight Intruder (1938) is moderately lighthearted garbage in a vaguely Mary Roberts Rinehart vein, but I found it lots of fun. Same goes for Paper Orchid (1949). I’ll be posting about some of these in due course on my own site.
Glad to hear Sammy socked it to ’em at the concert!
John, I too have (obviously) heard quite a bit of positive discourse on MAD MAX, and indeed have made that incredible consensus as the center of my lamentation. It is rare that I have found myself so extremely on the opposite side of a mass position, but my own feelings are so strong that I wasn’t willing to give an inch in assessing it. I have run into some other on line that hate it, but no doubt the overwhelming majority bought into it.
Great to hear you enjoyed THE BABADOOK! I did too, and really appreciated that creative central deceit. STAND BY ME is indeed a fine enough film, and I do rather like THE CANDIDATE. As to the others you document here, I have not seen them, but am looking forward to what you will have to say about them online. Thanks so much for the very kind words about Sammy my friend. And I wish you and Pam a super week ahead! 🙂
Sam — I couldn’t agree with you more. Len and I are among those looking forward to seeing WOMAN IN GOLD with Helen Mirren!
Thanks so much Laurie! I;d wager the house you will just love WOMAN IN GOLD. As to the other film, I am for sure taking some heat, but I will be standing my ground! 🙂 Have a wonderful week my friend!
Oh, Sam – no redeeming value whatsoever in Mad Max? You didn’t even find any merit in John Seale’s cinematography from a purely technical/aesthetic standpoint? Not even a slight nod to the surface level themes of redemption and fighting for your freedom? Nothing of note in the film’s condemnation of the idea of owning another human being and toxic belief systems? Cmon, Sam – it’s one thing to not enjoy that style of action film, but it’s a whole bother thing to dismiss the entire endeavor as worthless trash. While I respect that you might not have liked it (surely it is not for everyone’s tastes) I have to disagree with you 100% on your sentiments regarding the film’s value.
David, be rest assured I will be heading over to the Spin! Alas as to the matter of MAD MAX I will be standing my ground. I usually almost always relish John Seale’s cinematography, as his indelible images were shown to rapturous effect in films like THE ENGLISH PATIENT, COLD MOUNTAIN, WITNESS, DEAD POETS SOCIETY and even the mixed effort THE MOSQUITO COAST. But my argument remains – what good is it in the service of a dog? This film has close to no character development, the whole enterprise is a progressively tedious chase sequence, and one could care less about the fate of those being pursued. It is a relentless and exasperating display of style over substance, and I think I’d prefer to have a dentist drill my teeth without nova-cane, then subject myself to this mind-numbing torture again. I think I am normally a pretty reasonable guy, but this assault on my ear drums and sensibilities went way over the top. Your effort to inject prevalent themes here, when in the end it was dire way to invest time (I assure you I am not alone, despite the seeming conspiracy -or just bad taste en masse in the professional ranks) is falling on deaf eyes and ears. Yes I know what I like, and certain kinds of films don’t float my boat, but this film was brain dead, devoid of story, emotional connection or dramatic heft. You defend the special effects when in reality that is really all this film is. I have always respected you and will read your review of course my friend, but we are many miles apart with this film.
As always I much appreciate your engagement here, and have a great week!
Sam – this may be the first time I disagree with you 100% (okay, maybe 99%, as we can both agree the film was loud – ha ha). I return here not to try to sway your mind (you are an immovable force, my friend) but to rebut your stance for the sake of others who may be on the fence and who I would hate to see dissuaded from seeing the film because of your minority opinion.
While not Shakespeare by any means, the film did have character development. Furiosa was chasing down the dreams of an idyllic past, while Max was haunted by the death of (presumably his) child who he failed to save in this post apocalyptic hell-hole. It was clear (through action and simplistic dialogue) both were searching for redemption in their attempt to find freedom for the Five Brides of Immorten Joe who would have otherwise been abused and treated like cattle for the rest of their lives. Also, the character of Nux, an abused child raised in the torturous conditions of a sick religious cult that trained and bread him to be a martyr had a change of heart when he saw in Furious and the brides some sense of humanity.
The film was anything but brain dead. The creativity of the sets and costumes to build this the over the top future world were astounding, no detail overlooked and the minutia full of both darkly humorous and sickening images and ideas. How could you not see in the design of the Citadel nods to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis? I also found nods to silent era classics in the style of editing and movements of bodies in action.
As for what you describe as one long tedious chase scene, I saw as a wonderfully bonkers and insane runaway stagecoach that paid homage to Western mythos and then put it on steroids. It was fascinating and breathtakingly orchestrated.
Seale’s cinematography was magnificent – fireballs and explosions popping and colored like a whore’s lip gloss across scorched dusty and sterile otherworldly landscapes. It’s some of his best work…perhaps his best since The English Patient.
Finally, taking a page from some of your classic and earnest responses to those you have disagreed with in the past…98% of the critical community would agree that Mad Max; Fury Road is a monumental achievement.
At any rate – again, by no means am I trying to change your mind, Sam. I merely want others to know you are dead wrong and that they should give Mad Max a chance and judge it for themselves.
How could you not see in the design of the Citadel nods to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis? I also found nods to silent era classics in the style of editing and movements of bodies in action.
As for what you describe as one long tedious chase scene, I saw as a wonderfully bonkers and insane runaway stagecoach that paid homage to Western mythos and then put it on steroids. It was fascinating and breathtakingly orchestrated.
David, I applaud you for some masterful insights, and for getting as much as you did out of the film. My issue was never with what may have been a homage-ridden story arc, but rather with the non-stop and finally nerve wrecking and monotonous chase sequence that never caught my interest. Indeed I found the entire sequence alienating. The barrage of noise and explosions and the dearth of character development left me cold and uninterested. Yes, I do indeed acknowledge the sensational reviews, and you have every right to bring them up here, especially as I have been long famous for broaching that card. I was well aware of the consensus even before I walked into the theater, and would very much have liked to be on board. I just don’t see the intricate drama you describe, yet even if I did I would still have probably reacted the way I did. At some point I’ll give it another whirl, and see if my feelings are as strong as the are now. Again I really appreciated your passionate response my friend. 🙂
Hello Sam and everyone!
Wow, those are some harsh words towards Mad Max, which I will see soon enough, but I’m dubious (for my own reasons, I don’t like much the first two films and haven’t seen the third one), but in the end I can’t think in the same terms as you, specially when people as intelligent as Glenn Kenny are praising this movie. Your opinion coincides with a “Men’s Rights” movement which is hardly good company to be in there Sam.
So, the movies I did see this week:
– El Club (2015, Pablo Larrain) **** I have to write a review of this movie as it premieres this week in Chile, but what I have to say will be, strangely, more negative than positive, even though I do think the movie is fine.
– Don’t Drink the Water (1969, Howard Morris) ***1/2 I have a soft spot for comedies like these, specially when the jokes are particularly unfunny. But for some reason I can’t resist the acting chops and style that Jackie Gleason brings for every single line of dialogue, he is simply one of those irresistible guys that can make you laugh just saying “Hello”. This also marks the last Woody Allen related film I hadn’t seen yet. Woopeedoo I guess.
– Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994, Kensho Yamashita) *** For some reason this fails hard to entertain even though it’s every bit as preposterously entertaining as Biollante, at least in concept, Space Godzilla is interesting, but besides “crazy crystals” and “black holes” and a spectacular monster design, there’s really not much here in terms of lore that could’ve made Space Godzilla a memorable opponent for our beloved monster, specially when there’s actually little amount of fighting between them, as this one focuses too much on the human struggles to make a big machine that could destroy the monsters, and thus becomes like the best episode of Power Rangers ever but at the same time not exactly any interesting than them. A shame really, this is one I actually looked forward to seeing.
– Huemul, la sombra de una especia (2014, Diego Canut) ** I wrote a small campsule review for this one at my Chilean Cinema blog project http://2015nopuedo.tumblr.com/
– Moon Dust (2015, Scott Reeder) ***1/2 Maybe one of the strangest art projects out there.
– Werckmeister Harmonies (2000, Bela Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky) ****1/2 Considered among the best films of the 2000’s, I think I have better affinity with work like “Turin’s Horse”, but this is still wonderful. Again, Tarr (and Hranitzky) makes us wonder what would it look like if the world just ended in some random time of history, what if the apocalypse happened and we were left alone in a barren landscape. While this one doesn’t fade to black, it still leaves with an image of total annihilation, as if we were left to our devices with what is left of society and the symbols that we lived with. While it does fail to entrance like in something like Satantango, the film masterfully puts together elements here and there that make the movie work in terms of how strange one feels watching it, putting you in the same situation as the people in the town, where they are practically frightened by everything new that happens around them, and thus it leaves us wondering too what would happen, and when strange things happen, we are frightened and then wowed by the amazing quality of the images put together by this masterful filmmaker.
– No No Sleep (2015, Tsai Ming Liang) **** The walking never ends, because walking is a struggle, and the struggle for purity is what this monk strives for. We are all Kang-sheng Lee, walking and walking, finding a way to avoid what takes us apart from our path. This time, the obstacle is sexual urges.
That’s all, have a great week everyone!
and haven’t seen the third one
Oh do try, Jaime: it’s one of the strangest post-breakdown movies you’ll ever see. Watch it if only for the culture the kids build up toward the end, complete with its own language: it’s one of cinema’s best creations. Come to think of it, I’m kicking myself I forgot this on my list of Childhood movies. So far as sf/Childhood movies goes, this kicks ventures like Ender’s Game into the long grass.
Jaimie, there are plenty more people out there besides Glenn Kenny who liked/loved it, and just here on this thread David Schleicher is contesting my findings and singing its praises. But that is the point I am making, I am saying I strongly disagree with the consensus based on my own viewing. Kenny writes well, but I disagree with his as much as I agree to be honest. I look forward to comparing notes with you. I am far less concerned with “Men’s Rights’ movements” than I am to just say what I thought of a movie, which in this case was not very much. Yes WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES is a very great film – a masterpiece for me for sure- though yes, THE TURIN HORSE is even a bit greater. I am looking forward to NO NO SLEEP. I don’t know EL CLUB, but you came in with a pretty strong assessment there; DON”T DRINK THE WATER is fun; the Chilean and GODZILLA film don’t sound all that appealing. Ha! As to MOON DUST, this is another I really know nothing about. Fabulous capsule of Tarr’s film, and as always a masterful report my friend! Much, much appreciated!! Have a great upcoming week!
It seems to me that a big part of the support for Mad Max comes from the fact that it’s a big noisy action film where you can follow what’s happening, usually even tell who’s doing it, and that it’s made up largely of real objects photographed moving in space. It’s a technical tour de force, and an action movie where the action itself is well organized. Truck choreography at its finest! I don’t know if it translates into anything more, but that’s worth something.
Excellent point – and there is more there in Mad Max if you want to find it beneath the surface – but if not, you are spot on – at the very least it is a technical tour de force of choreography of real objects (how novel these days!).
Stephen, there can be no doubt that the appeal is precisely on the grounds you document here. And I can’t dispute that it is a technical tour de force and the truck choreography is one of a kind, but my position has been that its prowess on those counts alone doesn’t make for a satisfying cinematic experience. I was craving for character drama and something to connect with either emotionally or intellectual and all I got was a long chase with chapter stops. I do completely understand I am in an infinitesimal minority here, and as always am voicing a solitary opinion. I’m been on the other side of the coin enough times to know that what is one person’s joy is another’s scorn. I realize you are not putting up a defense for the film, and are not even saying it a good film, but are just trying to explain the incredibly positive reviews. I do appreciate that my friend. Have a great week!!
David, I did take this film on its own terms for sure, but for largely rejected the ground rules. 🙂
Sam, Woman in Gold if fo me at this point in time one of the best films of,the year. A mature, intelligent,strong story that should have done better at the box office.
My film watching this past week was a mix of mediocre and good.
Cassandra’s Dream (****) I seemed to have liked this better than many people. A bit of Hitchcock with a touch of Crime and Punishment. You know how it’s going to end, but the trip was worth the ride.
Whirlpool (**) a Preminger film I found extremely disappointing. Just did not buy into the entire premise.
She Married Her Boss (**1/2) a minor comedy with Claudette Colbert and Melvyn Douglas that never picks up any steam.
The Dark Past (**1/2) a hostage thriller that’s get bogged down in a lot of simplistic psycho analysis, too much for its own good.
Rematched Fort Apache (*****) and Tension (****1/2)
Have a great week my friend
John, I am delighted to hear that! I remain perplexed at the mixed reviews, and feel some missed the boat. WOMAN IN GOLD is also one of my own best films of the year too, so we are in the same category. I did go a star less on CASSANDRA’S DREAM, but what you say here is fair enough. Agreed on WHIRLPOOL, as lesser Preminger, I do love FORT APACHE and TENSION, and have not yet seen SHE MARRIED HER BOSS and THE DARK PAST. Many thanks as always my friend! Have a great week!
Hi Sam,
I’ve been saying for some time now that the critical masses have been misguided. I think the time has come and gone when the critical realm really has any credibility. There are a few selected and well respected critics, but critics are a dime a dozen these days. They haven’t any more credibility than my neighbor or I for example. Lord knows my track record hasn’t been great of late, but at least I haven’t been overrating anything! Ha. This week I watched:
American Sniper (3/4) – Well acted from Cooper who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors to watch these days. However, the rest of the film was under-developed at times and some of the themes weren’t as thoroughly explored as they could have been. Still enough for me to give it thumbs up.
Leviathan (3/4) – Well acted mood piece. I was expecting something more uniqute, but this one reminded me of Ceylon’s films with how the film flowed and looked. So, although not particularly original, it had some engaging stretches.
Overall I’ve been under a lot of stress lately with work going at an incredible pace and there’s simply not enough hours in the day to get it all done. Such is the life I lead I guess, but it’s not leaving a lot of energy left over at the end of the day. I hope to get some rest this weekend. Hope you enjoy yours my friend.
Jon—-
I am not quite that down on the critical zeitgeist, and in fact find myself agreeing with them far more than disagreeing. But this past week was one instance where I obviously parted ways in grand fashion! 🙂 I do not read the lightweights to be sure, but the dozen or so that are well-worth examining. No you certainly have NOT been “overrating” anything as of late Jon, that’s for sure!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
i am not at all a fan of AMERICAN SNIPER and like it much less than you do, but good to see you gave out a thumbs up here. I did of course rate LEVIATHAN as an absolute masterpiece, and I stand by that position. I had it at #2 of the year. In any case my friend, I loved your childhood films ballot, and will be conversing with you in the upcoming months as the project moves forward. I am so sorry you have undergone this stress, and do know you have been burning the candle from both ends for too long a time. I really hope that things will be more relaxed. You don’t need that kind of pace. Ugh. I hope this will be a very good week ahead! 🙂
Sam, congratulations to Sammy on his final high school Spring concert! I know that had to be an unforgettable evening.
I took in a few more things this week – Ozu’s I Graduated But… and A Straightforward Boy, Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming and two docs, Ron Mann’s Altman and For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism. I was glad to see them all but particularly enjoyed the two documentaries. The Altman especially made me realize how little I actually knew about one of my favorite filmmakers. Recommended if you have not already seen it.
Hope you’re having a great week. Thanks so much Sam!
Many thanks for that Jeffrey!! This has been a hectic, though very proud time of the year, what with all the May birthdays and end of the year happenings connected to school. Later today we have Jeremy’s confirmation as well. The concert was indeed a wonderful time.
I remain thrilled that you are working through the early Ozus, and I do hope we’ll soon sort out the comment situation at THE LAST LULLABY. I do like I GRADUATED BUT, but obviously some great stuff lies ahead! I have seen FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES: THE STORY OF AMERICAN FILM CRITICISM, and it is excellent, but still need to see the Altman. Great to hear that report! Baumbach’s film is fine. Thanks again my friend! Have a great upcoming week! 🙂