Did you know that there are still people who leave Marvel movies just as the credits start to roll? Do these individuals not have social media? Have they never read a single review of Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America et al.? How can people still be unaware of the fact that there is a post-credits teaser in every single Marvel movie?
By the time I first heard about Richard Linklater’s 2011 filmBernie, I had seen most of his work. I had been entertained and moved in an incredible range of ways by Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Waking Life, and certainly by the trilogy he has created with Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, and others. I enjoyed movies likeSubUrbia, School of Rock, The Newtown Boys, and Me and Orson Wellesfor various reasons, all the while marveling at Linklater’s ability to be versatile within his own distinct filmmaking style.
Although I just couldn’t get into the idea of doing another horror movie marathon for last month’s column, I did at least try to come up with something different I could do. After all, it’s the only holiday I’ve managed to continue loving and looking forward to over the years. Another marathon didn’t really interest me, nor could I get into the idea of a top-five countdown of some kind, or running through the all-time favorites list as it currently stands.
I first read Orson Scott Card’s novel ‘Ender’s Game’ when I was a teenager. It quickly became one of my favorite books of all time and Card quickly became one of my favorite authors. I attended a panel at NYC Comic Con several years ago where Card spoke about an ‘Ender’s Game’ film and his attempts to get it onto the big screen.
It makes perfect sense that I discovered Richard Linklater’s Waking Life while I was helping someone housesit for a couple in California. Being so close to San Francisco was nice, but the fact that the couple was extremely big fans of medicinal marijuana was pretty nice, too. That’s not to say that Waking Life has to be seen with a few chemicals battling for control of how you view reality. I’m just saying that it’s probably one of those movies that people are tempted to experience, in such a way as to get as close to the tone of the film as possible.
There were already 50 people in line for Captain Philips 90 minutes before it started when I was at the movies on Thursday. This morning, I overheard 6 people in front of me and 3 behind me in line buy tickets for Gravity.
I tried, but I was unable to escape Gravity. No, wait…this weekend I just couldn’t ignore the pull of Gravity. No, no, I got this. I tried to deny Gravity but its force was just too great.
Admittedly, I don’t really get all the fuss about Ben Affleck in the Batman/Superman spectacular, or Charlie Hunnam in the 50 Shades of Grey film adaptation. In terms of public shit fits, the anger and disbelief, the shrill voices of the people who could totally do a better job with the casting, than those shameless, grotesque Hollywood whores, has died down a fair bit (for now).
For this weekend’s releases, I was torn between Don Jon and Rush. (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 was right out. I don’t review kid’s movies because I almost always like them.) Smartly, I did an impromptu poll so I didn’t have to actually think for myself. The people voted and I was off to Don Jon.
Between seasons one and two of Twin Peaks David Lynch put out the film Wild at Heart. Thanks to Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet, Lynch enjoyed a career high point and a level of fame he’d never achieved before and probably since although he came close with the Oscar nomination for Mulholland Drive. It’s unfortunate that the film he premiered at this point did not hold up to his two previous personal films, Eraserheadand Blue Velvet. I don’t mean to imply that Wild at Heart is an atrocious film; it’s not, certainly not like Dune. Wild at Heart just can’t keep a solid tone and the quality varies so wildly that viewers are left wondering what they just saw and not in a good way such as with Eraserhead or Lynch’s short films.