Love this Steven Spielberg interview in Entertainment Weekly. It’s not all on-line yet, but check out some highlights here: http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/12/01/this-weeks-cover-steven-spielberg/
His quote about how we all see a different movie is like what I always say about none of us reading the same book at Books & Bars.
None of reads the same book, sees the same movie or hears the same song. But I contend books are the best of these for adding our own interpretations. Like Jonathan Jones said in his review of Franzen’s Freedom:
“he also offers something no HBO series can – the solitude and moral introspection of the novel, the beauty of prose, the imaginative love affair you form with characters you alone see in the way you see them. Freedom is the novel of the year, and the century.”
I liked Drive but maybe it’s my own internal hype that is disappointing me. Last couple films I saw, that all indicators would have led me to believe I should have loved, were sadly underwhelming (Submarine). I liked both of the films, but wanted to love them. I brought a lot to the table, to my viewing experience. Maybe too much? Nothing matched the feeling of hearing this song from Drive for the first time on the morning I then decided to see the movie. The script was a predictable B-movie with the usual cast of failed heist characters. Gosling’s The Driver is like an 2011 version of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. But the cinematography and music may remind you of Miami Vice or Heat. There’s not a lot said, it’s mostly long slow shots over music like this. I don’t have time for negative reviews. What am I doing. It’s good, sadly, not great.
In a reverse hype situation, the last film that was better than expected was probably Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Anyway, can you recommend something without overhyping it or overselling it to me? Or do I have to come to something on my own and be pleasantly surprised now?
Aussie Nash Edgerton’s first feature, The Square, is worth your Netflixing time. Edgerton gets the thriller pacing and tone just right in a very Hitchcockian sense. Included on the DVD is his short, The Spider, which is a must see. Both have enough shocking, “OH!” exclaiming moments to put them at the top of your queue. Enjoy.
I’m not a cinema history scholar or anything like that, but I’ve been an arts editor for two years now and I am more unsure than ever about what film criticism is supposed to be. I’ve edited countless film reviews, and my standards of what I want to see in them have been constantly challenged…
I’m still formulating my opinions on where I currently stand, but hope to help further this discussion.
I used to think the worst thing in life is ending up alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.
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Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) in World’s Greatest Dad - written by Bobcat Goldthwait
No, this is not a commentary on my own family or friends. But have you ever been out with people, maybe at a party, and wondered what you were doing there? Ever have no interest in the conversations around you and feel really out of place?
