Tuesday, May 14, 2013

My Three Movies

I have some real catching up to do with reviews, so here are some quickly spilled out thoughts on three movies I've seen in the past week that you might be curious about.

Iron Man 3 -- Still a masturbatory series of ego strokes for Robert Donwey Jr instead of a movie, just like all three of the Iron Mens, but I think I probably enjoyed this one the most of the three. (Not saying a whole lotta much, mind you.) Maybe it's the post-Avengers glow, wherein I appreciated Downey more than ever thanks to Joss' take on him, or maybe it's that this here flick gave Gwyneth the most to do... and yes I still love Gwyneth so there is no need to argue with me at this point about it - if I ain't bailed by this apex in her utter ridiculousness, I ain't never gon' do it. She spends half the movie in her yoga outfit though! How hilarious is that? It's still basically a showcase for an actor I don't like though, with every whim of the story aimed to highlight his so-called skills - watch Robert Downey Jr. talk tough with a kid! Watch Robert Downey Jr. riff on his douchebag facial hair! Watch Robert Downey Jr. robertdowneyjunior everybody's face right off!

The Great Gatsby -- I've pretty much already seen other people say anything I might have to say about this movie at this point, but I'll try. It doesn't work. Leo and Tobey aren't right, and Baz just doesn't seem to know what he wants to do, or should be doing. Carey does good enough work with a totally impossible character (I love the book but Daisy is an impossible role for a human person to play) and never embarrasses herself. I don't think Baz gets her though, so he edits everything with a blender and zooms and pans and whizzes around anything interesting. Best in show for me was Edgerton, and not just because good goddamn him in those jodhpurs - I liked the edge of thug he brought to Tom; it added an interesting twist to the character for me. Tom's all haughty privilegeso how extra infuriating would it be for Gatsby if Tom was also so thuggish and, to Gatsby, even more unworthy of his station? More of that kind of unexpected upending was warranted really - I was excited about the movie from the trailer because The Great Gatsby is quite frankly an impossible book to turn into a movie, full stop, and the trailer made it look like Baz really wasn't going to try - it looked like he was gonna just go bat-shit off the rails with it, and do his own thing. Instead it's this half-assed muddle where he tries to cram his thing into the book, so we get reams of dialogue floating on screen while Tobey narrates while the characters all run around like buffoons. No go, old sport.

Aftershock -- Pretty much exactly what I wanted it to be. It's nobody's idea of great cinema but it delivers what you're there for, which is if you're like me a Final Destination movie where it's Mother Nature instead of Death hot on a bunch of no-good-niks heels. I know I'm pretty much the last person on Earth who still finds Eli Roth entirely charming, but I do, and he's loose and having fun in the lead actor role here. The set pieces are fun scary, the violence is fun gross, and it bops along at a good speed until its really really wonderful shot.
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6 comments:

triggerua said...

Funny you should say that about Eli Roth. I just saw him on Jimmy Fallon and while I find him gorgeous in photos he comes off as slightly arrogant and seems kind of dumpy on tv.

John said...

One of my coworkers has a 20/21 year old son and he and his girlfriend saw The Great Gatsby and he wasn't impressed. My 12 year old nephew saw Iron Man 3 over the weekend but I haven't asked him about it.

Anonymous said...

Is Aftershock already on DVD? Or did you watch in the cinema?

Jason Adams said...

It's in theaters and on demand, anon. I watched it on demand.

Ronald said...

But what did you think of the Debicki woman, who played Jordan Baker? (I can never ever remember her first name.) I thought she was excellent! The way she moved and talked and just...everything! I may be in love.

Jason Adams said...

Oh thanks for bringing her up, Ronald - I meant to make mention of her. I thought she was FAB, perfect for Jordan, but I don't think the movie gave her anything to do. Jordan should feel much more important to the plot but she was extraneous here. The same goes for Myrtle and Geroge - what does Isla Fisher have, like five lines? That's blasphemy.