Ok folks, just got back from my birthday night, a double bill of seeing Fritz Lang's M (by the way in the opening sequence of Amistad there is a bit with a nail that slightly resembles a scene in M) and Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. But I'm not gonna talk about that, or the other events the befell this the 26th anniversary of my blessed birth. Nope, I'm going to do reviews of the last two films I saw as a 25 year old. That's right, the film's that tipped me onto the other side of a quarter of a century. AMISTAD and SCREAM 2. A perrrrrrrrrrrrrfect double bill.
As usual I'll set you up on my state of mind, so you now how this youthful 25 year old was thinking. The day started with me waking up at 8:30 in the a.m. You see I had to go see Amistad with a local film critic/reporter that was interviewing me, and we were going to go see the press screening ohhhh so early. But hell, it's Spielberg, and is damn worthy of the proper motivation to wake my fat butt up.
Now this film critic for a major metropolitan newspaper daily picks me up in her modest car and my father too. (he wasn't about to let me go see a Spielberg flick without him, it just isn't done) This was being screened in the new north Austin GATEWAY theater. A fancy smancy joint with a train terminal for a lobby. It's huge, and has a goofy star waaaaay up in the sky like some sort of funky armadillo obsessed beer sign. There is a manager type awaiting us at the front door. Just the three of us enter the theater and take our seats.
First off, I hate this type of screening for a basic fundamental reason. FILM IS A COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE for me. It's about the audience, and the ability of film to join us together. An empty theater is like a toy store at Christmas with every toy on the shelf and unbought. It just shouldn't be. On the good side, as soon as we took our seats... BAM.... the movie starts.
No trailers. SUCKOLA!!!
Then that nifty as hell Dreamworks logo thing comes up. Neato, I like that thing, it brings a smile to my face. Then the movie starts... WHAT A FIRST SHOT!!! Magnificient! In fact that whole opening is incredible. You've seen glimpses in the trailers, but watching the sequence in it's entirety just works miracles. Good ol Jamus (is that right?) By the way if anyone is thinking of a BLACK PANTHER (Marvel superhero) then look no further than Cinque here, cause he is absolutely perfect for the role. The nobility this guy had is just phenomenal.
What did I think of the film? I loved it. In alot of ways it moved me much more than Schindler's List did. I know I know, Blasphemy. Schindler's List is a great movie. But I'll be damned if the waterworks from my ducts were opened into a continual stream of what Sterling Holloway would refer to 'precious bodily fluids'. And it wasn't cause of characters we care about dying, or the magnitude of criminal acts, or some sort of retro- guilt thing. It was because Speilberg created an emotional tapestry that just played me perfectly. The fact that McCounaghey was in this and Contact this year speaks highly of his agent, or his own decision making capability.
There is this one shot of the old original U.S. Capitol that just brought tears to my eyes, it was something so real, that for a moment I was transported to that world oh so long ago. Meanwhile, Anthony "I'm a real damn actor" Hopkins just eats up this film. I often go off on diatribes about Actors having parts rewritten to fit their personalities or delivery style. Hopkins is what acting should be about. About taking the screenwriter's words and transforming yourself into that character, adding the physical/emotional linchpins and characteristics that you do. Hopkins is a marvel, and I had to constantly kick myself from thinking of him as John Quincy Adams.
I was sooooo pleased with this film. It hit me right between the shoulder blades and left me breathless. I am not a deeply religious man, but there is one scene about religion, which I think is the most incredible telling of the Christ tale, I think I have ever heard. You'll know it when you see/hear it. Just amazing. Later I marveled at the fact that Speilberg managed to be of one religion, yet relate another's belief system as well or better than he has expressed his own on film. Powerful scene.
And the issue of not being able to communicate between peoples due to language barriers is very good. Best since "Shaka when the walls fell" The perceptions of cultures and knowledge is great. And Spielberg and his actors do a tremendous job of telling the viewer what the characters are thinking without motivation. A scene in the courtroom with Senke observing elements and piecing them together in a panicky state is... Wow.
Do I have some problems with the film? Yes. I'll tell ya, but in the overwhelming part this film works very very well. However... Just as in Schindler's List, Spielberg does an endcap (no not modern day) that distracts a bit. Imagine if you will if at the end of BEN- HUR, if DeMille had done a end-cap where he told us what became of everyone. Personally, I don't want to know what happened next. I like to go out and look it up, read a book. Giving away the "next" and not trusting your audience to be moved enough to go find out is a bit wrong. Also the Nigel Hawthorne/Van Buren sequences were less than great. And I felt these scenes detracted from the forward momentum a bit. BUT I LOVE THE FILM AND WILL BE SEEING IT AGAIN TODAY (Friday)!!!
After the film Dad, Film Person Interview type, and I went back to my place where we talked film, my site, my purpose for being, etc etc etc, for hours. Then I had to go score my tickets from the Austin Film Society for JACKIE BROWN on the 20th. Boy oh boy I can't wait to see this movie!!! And then we ate baked potatoes and salads, and got in line for SCREAM 2.
Now, to prove to you how nice a guy I am, I'm gonna tell you a favor I did Robogeek. Good ol Robogeek was sitting at home warming up a fresh cup of lubricant and channel surfing when I called. I had an extra spot for SCREAM 2, but since he hadn't seen the original yet, he wanted to hold off till he had seen it to judge. Soooooo, I told him about an extra ticket to TITANIC the same night. A spot that was mine if I wanted it, but I gave it to ROBO... of course my birthday was the next day, and I figured this magnaminous decision could be parlayed into bukew pwesents from Robogeek.
So I stand/sit in line for two and a half hours waiting for SCREAM 2. This is the first time in the longest time that I am in line with THE LINE PEOPLE. That faithful band of movie hounds that find tickets, no matter where they are. These people (of whom I'm a member) will do all manners of illegal and unethical practices in order to get passes. Everything from counterfeiting to bribery... Yes, yes we do it all. Many of you have asked, "How do I get to go to advance screenings?" To me this is a question akin to, "How do you put food in your mouth?" It's that natural a process to me. In my town, not yours, but mine, there are giveaways in newspapers, radio stations, television and so on. How can one person hope to watch and listen to all these outlets? Through networking. You go to one screening, talk to the people around you, ask a question like, "Have you heard of any screenings coming up?" This question can lead you to a lifestyle you can't possibly imagine. 'French Connection'-style racing about town, noone in pursuit, but racing against the hordes of ticket gatherers. In the beginning there were those that hunted and those that grew crops, well now there are those that scower the earth's surface for movie passes.
If you find yourself in one of these groups you will most likely be overwhelmed with coolness: posters, cds, hats, t-shirts and keychains. Now occasionally if you are lucky enough you will find yourself in possession of... let's say a Volcano mousepad or a Romeo and Juliet candle or a Tank Girl Tank Top or Black Belt Jones Panties. Yes, the rewards ARE great, but so is the effort. This life is only for those that take no to mean yes, and yes to mean MOVIE PASSES. You must be driven in your goal, have good detective skills (honed by years of Batman comics, Dick Tracy comics, Hardy Boys, Mr Moto, Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, The Thin Man, and a thousand other investigators) and the goofiness of the Marx Brothers. Remember Groucho, Harpo and Chico all got exactly what they wanted at the end of the film, so it is with you.
What was I talking about? Oh yeah, SCREAM 2! Weeeellllllllll, let me first say that I am not a gigantic Scream fan. In fact, I thought the first film had some scenes that dragged (Skeet Ulrich - the primary offender) but as a whole I liked it. It was clever and funny and the ending both made sense and worked for me. HOWEVER, this film feels a bit rushed. I never really got the idea that they were at a college, that they (victims/kids) were smart at all, or that the film was working.
Now I don't hate the film, I just think that it is lessor than the original. As Halloween 2 was to Halloween, so is this to Scream. Is it worth seeing? Oh Yeah!! If for only one fantasticly tense sequence about 35 minutes before the end of the film.
Which reminds me... the end, Hmmmmm, how do I discuss this without giving it away? hmmmmm... ok ok ok, I got it. It's terrible in my opinion. It's kinda like a Scooby Doo ending, you know where there are characters that really have nothing to do with anything, but they sorta have sinister looking faces and then at the end Velma and Daphne just pull the masks off. You know, "And I woulda gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for..." The original Scream's ending was set up wonderfully by that wonderful scene in the Video store. The closest here is the scene you've all seen in the restaurant in the trailer between Randy and Dewey. Personally I wanted this film to ... damn I can't say, cause it would spoil what happened by saying what I woulda liked to have happened, damn these Kobayashi Maru reviews I do. Hey say "Kobayashi Maru Reviews I do" 10 times fast, I bet you can't do it. Go on, I dare ya.
The film was absolutely ruined for me because my fave character dies, I now have NO INTEREST at all in seeing a sequel. I mean why? The one character who I personally thought should get the girl/boy, the glory and be the prom king/queen is dead. (I have to protect the gender so ya don't know who I am talking about, but as soon as it happens you'll go, "MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN, THAT FUCKING SUCKS!!!!!!! PISS ON THIS!!!!!" Probably those exact friggin words. I can't think of other words... Ok I can, "On the whole this development is quite erroneous and reeking of ill-begotten story meetings." Ok, but that's not the type of thing you EXCLAIM at the top of your lungs. How dare they do in who they do in. Dammit, I have to talk about this...
Before I go onto the spoiler part, if choosing a film to see this weekend see AMISTAD, it's the one.
WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN THE MOVIE. NOT OUT OF CURIOUSITY, NOT OUT OF SOME SORT OF GOOFY INQUISITIVNESS. SEE THE FILM AND COME BACK!!!! GO AWAY!!!! THIS WAY TO CERTAIN PERIL!!!!! OK, YOU'VE SEEN THE FILM, COME ON THROUGH!!!!
Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, Randy being killed is the worst idea in the whole world of rotten ideas. Randy and Dewey are the heroes, those damn broads that go prancing around screaming deserve DEATH!!! Yes, the geeks should live, they should be the heroes. That woulda been the real shock right. Kill the damn poster girls, let Randy and Dewey kill the bad guys/gals and go off to the next film. Right? RIGHT? Damn straight. Randy is our "the geek nations" horror mascot, and them turkey done done him in. I'm mad, I hate the film ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! Cry havoc and release the dogs of war!!!! Scream 3 starts with Randy waking up in bed sweaty all bent out of shape, because he dreamed he died and the girls that tease his geek dreams survive. Ok ok, I'm frustrated by a loss, this sucks. Randy was waaaaaay to smart to be leaning up next to a van, because you and I know that to not be killed in an open field in a horror film, that is filled with college students, you just stay away from anything that somebody who will kill you, wearing a goofy costume, could grab you and pull you into, to kill you. (Now ain't that a screwed up sentence) Randy would not forget the rules. The girls would, they would die, but Randy knows he is in a horror film, and knows the pitfalls, he should live!!! Just my opinion.
