DMMCOT#9 The movies this summer I didn't 'get'...

...get/like/understand popularity of etc that everyone else seemed to.

These are the films where I and others don’t see eye to eye. I’m not talking about critics here. I’m talking about the greater web movie-community. Not site-specific opinion, more a general feel, a consensus. First up;

Pineapple Express.

It’s so, so, stupid to feel like this needs a disclaimer, but here it is: I wasn’t high. Nor should I be. I didn’t need heroine to ‘get’ Trainspotting, coke wouldn’t make Scarface better and people don’t drink when watching Leaving Las Vegas.. And so, this is one of the worse movies I’ve seen this year. Kinda fits somewhere near ‘Van Wilder’ on the comedy rank ladder.  

My beef: too loose. I know the trick, where you run the camera and wait until something golden slips out, but PE was the worst example of this. Scene structure was loose, too many times I was waiting for the cut. Scenes filled with nothing going on, and lines of dialogue filling empty space, surprisingly devoid of jokes. Worst example: the end diner scene. There wasn’t even a joke they were heading towards, it was simply ‘This is what we did,’ on repeat. Oh, and they bonded. And there’s my next beef; the friendship bond wasn’t genuine. When Rogen’s said that the only reason he talks to his dealer is because he gives him drugs, that was the truth. Nothing after that, aside from guilt, kept him from coming back to save him, let alone become best friends with him. That connection wasn’t there. Loose. Speaking of loose ends, what happened with the girlfriend? Where’s that sub-plot’s resolution?

The Dark Knight

It’s my favorite film of the year so far (I’ve missed heaps though). If I were a reviewer, I’d give it 8/10...then I’d either:

i)          Cry because my job involves mebeing immersed in works which I wish I had the talent/opportunity to create.

ii)                   sit back and laugh because I have the easiest job in the world (wonder why reviewer’s are getting downsized?)

The backlash is inevitably on its way. It is not the second coming of Christ, it’s just a damn good movie. Where I don’t agree is with this ridiculous notion that it is a perfect film. Well duh, but what’s worth noting is, TDK was a crime movie which has the lead (uninteresting lead) in a silly outfit. I see this as a bad thing, not the greatest marriage of comic book fiction and realism. It also has a grand total of ZERO good action scenes. So, it is a crime film with a silly costume and poor action. To conclude: the reason why I don’t see eye to eye with ‘them’ on this film...it was a disappointment. I thought somewhere along the way Nolan, who’s already demonstrate he can do drama...would learn how to crank up the adrenaline.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Pfft, fuck this movie. The biggest set piece with the natural essence monster was half way through the film, the finale was low key, poorly choreographed. It had lovely make up, but it also had one story that simply never took off. Too many elements crammed into the end. Big rock guy...was a doorway? FUCK YEAH! Oh, it was stylish. That GdT style has gotta count for something. No, it doesn’t. Why is my favorite film of his Blade 2?

The new guy in the helmet (no character names illustrates how ‘nothing’ this film was to me) made me laugh. Oh those foreign accents. Guaranteed comedy gold. Finally: Abe’s love arc, tacked on. I would be indifferent except that I really liked the first one.  

Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I loved it...It changed my life.