short film reviews, criticism, and occasional musing.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007, USA)

For anyone under the apprehension that geeks can find acceptance and understanding in the company of other geeks . . . maybe this feeling won’t be so strong after seeing The King of Kong. The idea of geek love doesn’t seem to hold true in the world of competitive arcade gaming, though this may have something to do with the nature of hobbies that rely on high scoring as a show of dominance. Then again, perhaps none of us can help behaving like junior high school girls at one time or another.

In The King of Kong, upstart Steve Wiebe threatens to overthrow the original Donkey Kong master, Billy Mitchell. Billy (who looks like a hillbilly Nick Cave) takes Donkey Kong very, very seriously. Steve has no agenda except perhaps finally to find a forum in which he can realize his potential – he’s been recently laid off, which gives him a lot of time to practice. Billy, and by extension his clan of arcade masters, takes Steve’s outsider challenge quite personally, setting himself and the entire group up for some vicious jabs by documentarian Seth Gordon. In this respect, The King of Kong is similar in nature to Chris Smith’s American Movie, which also investigates a world of earnest outsiders. But while some episodes are certainly played for laughs (Steve’s live-play attempt at the record is treated by Billy’s friends as no less serious than the Treaty of Paris), Gordon respects Steve’s good-natured and heartfelt attempt, and generally abstains from poking fun at his hero. Sure, it’s just Donkey Kong, but in the end, the game turns out to be one of the most important episodes in two men’s lives, though it has a very different impact on each.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Fall Movie Preview

September has suddenly arrived, and pretty soon a deluge of fall films will flood the theaters, most of them Oscarbating their little hearts out. Save for a few, I have no idea what made me pick these films over others to preview - there is way too much product on its way to the screen right now. Expect a holiday preview in November, which should hopefully round this out a bit.

No Country For Old Men - This is absolutely, without a doubt, at the top of my list of fall films. I didn't want to get my hopes up too high, but it's far too late by now. The Coens are a great choice to adapt this Cormac McCarthy book, and the casting looks pitch-perfect. Bardem seemed an odd choice at first, but after watching the trailer several times, I think he might be perfect. And is this really the first time the Coens have worked with Tommy Lee Jones? That seems unbelievable.

3:10 To Yuma - Apparently, cowboys are the new inner-city cops. I'm not going to comment on what that might say about our current political climate. In any case, I'll watch anything Christian Bale does, and I think Russell Crowe will match him pretty well, intensity-wise. James Mangold has decent style, but the story looks pretty routine (it is a remake, after all), so the acting will probably end up being the most interesting thing about Yuma.

The Kingdom - I'm so freaking sick and tired of Jamie Foxx. And I still don't get how Jennifer Garner is a big star. Yeah. I can't wait until Chris Cooper starts making movies I actually want to watch again. Jason Bateman, too. Also, did you know that Islam is a totally alien and hostile culture? True!

The Darjeeling Limited - I like Wes Anderson pretty well, but I'm not sold on this one. I'll see it just for the awesome India scenery (and to see how Anderson portrays the culture), but this could not be a worse time for an Owen Wilson movie. Plus, it's been quite a while since Adrien Brody did anything worthwhile - though this might be just the right project for him. Lots of emo histrionics.

Things We Lost In The Fire - I've missed you, Benicio! But I will not be seeing your new movie, a story about coming to terms with . . . zzzzz.

Hitman - Fall is so full of prestige pictures (see above), it's a relief to see some video game-inspired crap like Hitman at this time of year. This looks awful, though very shiny.

Sleuth - Okay, I need to quibble about the poster for a second - "Caine Law Pinter Branagh"? One of these things is not like the other, and it's not Branagh, though he hasn't made a decent movie in about 10 years. This actually looks like it could be a lot of fun, though, as long as Jude Law can somewhat stand up to Michael Caine in prolonged one-on-one scenes.

Margot At The Wedding - I did not expect to want to see a movie starring the unlikely combination of Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Jack Black, but after watching the trailer, I do. Kidman looks stripped-down, like she's committed herself to actually acting again, and Black might pull this off if he doesn't go into hyperdrive too often. I'm not a fan of family dramas, but something like this seems much more interesting to me than Things We Lost In The Fire, if only because it's messier.

The Brave One - Yay, Jodie Foster! If there's anything I really like about the Oscar-bait season, it's that actors like Foster and Del Toro resurface. Neil Jordan is a favorite of mine, and this looks like it will be extremely uncomfortable to watch, but at the same time potentially unpredictable.

Across The Universe - Julie Taymor's Beatles homage looks squirm-inducingly bad. The fact that it's been held for release for quite some time also doesn't bode well. Were no lessons learned from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band?

The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising - It was only a matter of time in this era of fantasy novels onscreen that the Dark Is Rising series would hit. I haven't read the books since I was a kid, but I remember liking them a lot, especially the mythological Celtic stuff. Despite the welcome presences of Christopher Eccleston and Ian McShane, the production looks cheap, and I can't help but feel that this was rushed into production to beat The Golden Compass to the screen.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age - I'm happy that this actually (finally) got made, and even if it doesn't hold up to the original, it should be pretty engrossing (and the Spanish Armada special effects look very cool). Maybe Blanchett will finally get the Oscar that Paltrow stole from her ten years ago!

Beowulf - I am hereby outing myself as a big-ass English major nerd. I love Beowulf. This is not Beowulf. What, Beowulf gets with Grendel's mother now? The hell? I don't care if she's Angelina Jolie, that ain't right. Plus, the 300-ized style looks awful. Does EVERYTHING have to be pillaged these days? Most of the moviegoing public probably doesn't even know a thing about Beowulf, so why not leave it the hell alone, or at least call it something else? It's not going to be another Lord of the Rings.

Southland Tales - After bombing at Cannes a year and a half ago, Richard Kelly's follow-up to Donnie Darko is finally going to be released in November. It's supposed to be totally bizarre and perhaps completely unwatchable. Of course, I'm dying to see it, if only for curiosity's sake and my personal love of The Rock. You heard me.