Critic's Corner

Ahh, after a month or so off, I've decided to blather about my recent Ho Hum likes and dislikes in the movie world. Here it goes...

Team America: World Police


(Team America saves Paris from the evil Arabic terrorists in true American fashion.)

I really wanted to catch this one in a theater, but as I've explained in past posts, this one got stuck in the lamest theater in town, so I waited. When it came out on DVD though, I rented it pronto and laughed my ass off (yes, I no longer have an ass). There is something in this movie to piss off everyone, including me, but that didn't stop me from finding it hilarious. For those not in the know, the movie is made with marionettes (puppets) in the style of the 60s TV show Thunderbirds. I caught some episodes of this surreal show on a cable channel (TechTV). My wife said that they had a similar show in India (so probably British) called Fireball XL5. I'm not sure the teeming masses knew (or cared) about this connection to the past, but it certainly added to the humor for me. Team America, though, is more of a parody of a Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster. If you don't know who he is, read this fine criticism of one of his craphole movies. It's not that everything he touches is awful (I thought Black Hawk Down was a good war-type flick), but he likes his formulaic epics (like Pearl Harbor) served with extra cheese. Anyway, Stone and Parker go after his type of movie with fervor. The other major element is exposing good ol' fashioned American hubris, which has been at an all time high since 9/11.

So, how do they do this? Well, South Park style, of course. With no holds barred, nihilistic FU's all the way around. This doesn't always play well, especially when you disagree with their disdain, but in those few instances, I got past that (and so should you...). My favorite part of the movie was the music. They skewer everything from the overhyped puke music from Broadway to the ignorant over-patriotic country songs (Toby Keith, Brooks & Dunne, etc.) that followed 9/11 to the putrid wussy rock found in movies like Top Gun (and that's not all). Trey Parker is quite a musical talent, both as a writer and a singer, and it makes his parodies all the better. He pegs the standard country & western voice perfectly in "Freedom Isn't Free" and sings quite well through his voice for Kim Jong Il on the touching ballad "I'm Ronery" (that's Lonely). A lot has been made of the porno-level puppet sex scene, and I don't suggest drinking milk during that scene or nose-squirting will ensue. The unrated version (which I own and, I think, is not for rent) takes that scene even further. If you've rented the flick and don't want to buy it to find out what you missed, the addition is more outrageous than hilarious, and here is a forum discussion about what was added. Well, I won't continue to babble on with enthusiasm about this flick, but I could... and if you're easily offended, don't say you weren't warned.
[One more note, if you heard Ebert's review on his TV show, he gave it a thumb's down because it was "nihilistic." This from the guy who wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls?? I think his brush with cancer and the effects of aging have completely neutered him. I used to (overall) like his reviews in the Siskel/Ebert days, but he has turned into a real pussy, and has dropped hints about his Christianity (as he fawned over The Passion). I don't care what his religion is, but I wonder if this is why he is often downing movies because of cussing and mean characters, which is isn't consistent with his library of past reviews. I'd think twice about his recent reviews...]

More Movies

Me and the wife enjoyed a small documentary made by the son of architect Louis Kahn called My Architect: A Son's Journey. If you like documentaries, you'll probably like this one. Kahn was a strange dude that lived trying to maintain 3 families and the filmmaker was not part of his wife's family, so the film is about this son's journey to sort out the situation, creating an engaging movie. Here is a more fleshed out review. We also liked The Aviator. This is one of the best looking films I've seen, with an incredible color palate of sepias and sky blue that both evoke pioneering aviation and the black and white films of the era. I ended up liking Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes more than Cate Blanchette as Kate Hepburn (which surprised me). Keep an eye out Loudon Wainwright III and his kids Rufus and Martha in the lavish scene at the Coconut Grove. We also liked the foreign film Bad Education, which twists with the best of them. This film is complex and I'd recommend it, but not as strongly as the plethora of critics that thought it was the best of the year. The Assassination of Richard Nixon was well made and, of course, Sean Penn did a great job with the role, but the true story was ultimately too harsh and plodding to be entertaining. The Life Aquatic was amusing (especially for its visuals) and quirky, but perhaps too quirky for its own good, so while I liked it, I'm not enthusiastic about it. Kinsey was a high-quality biopic that gets a thumbs up. Even though we both are avid fans of Ben Kingsley, I'd avoid the unpleasant and forgettable Suspect Zero, which skipped the theaters for good reason (not that there isn't worse schlock playing right now). We also liked a small film, mostly a thriller, called Undertow.

Coming Up

We look forward to seeing The Woodsman, The Sea Inside (a foreign film starring the great Javier Bardem), and Million Dollar Baby. I'm a little skeptical of the buzz over Million Dollar Baby as I don't particularly like Eastwood as a director. I thought Mystic River was good, but highly overrated, and I'm wondering if this one will be disappointing, but we'll give it a turn. I'm enthusiastically avoiding White Noise, which is based on the notion of getting messages from the dead in a TV screen's white noise. If you buy that, listen to this and you will here voices from my dinner last night... and I have a bridge you might like to buy. Also, you know there is trouble when critics say that Miss Congeniality II is not as good as the original. Why? The original sucked major ass. Also, read this funny review of Alexander, and then go find more of this guys reviews. They're not always helpful, but always funny.

Okay, that's enough. Please add your agreements, disagreements, other recommendations, and anything else...