Wow,
It's not until I have to spend a few days sitting at home doing nothing that I realize how much I hate doing exactly that. I hurt my back playing squash, and in the interest of taking it easy, I spent yesterday, and now, apparently, today, mostly lying on the couch watching movies. That might sound like fun, but what I really want to do is be on the squash courts doing drills, or walking around enjoying the weather. Maybe even just getting out for a coffee while reading. Anything to avoid having to lie around inside.
Watching movies isn't that bad. I've gotten a chance to watch some of the titles I'd stowed away but never gotten around to watching, and I guess now, since I desperately need a break from lying down, I'll write about those movies.
The first movie I saw was Hero. Everyone I've talked to has raved about Hero. They're told me how great the fight scenes are, and what a cool story it is. I guess I get to be a trend-setter among my group of friends here, because I thought the movie was pretty weak.
The movie definitely has its good parts. The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed, and justly so - they're the focal point of the movie. The use of color throughout the movie is very well done, and the backdrops are breathtaking. It's too bad that that isn't enough by itself for me to love a movie.
Why? Because that's all this movie is. The plot of the movie really feels like it exists solely to provide a premise for the fight scenes to exist. The characters are so distant and removed that it is extremely difficult to relate with them. Maybe that's a trend in these style of movies, but Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had me empathizing far more with the characters than Hero ever did.
So, what do you do? You go see the movie. It's worth it, if only for the aethetics. Just don't go expecting an intricate plot along the lines of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I've seen three modern imported martial-arts films now (I don't know how else to classify this genre), and I'm still most attached to Iron Monkey (the release that Quentin Tarantino brought across - the old school version sucks). I guess its the fact that Iron Monkey is campy and knows it. The fight scenes are still great, and the fact that the movie doesn't seem to be taking itself seriously makes it easier for me to enjoy the surreal qualities of the fight scenes. Iron Monkey will never provoke thought like Crouching Tiger did, but, it doesn't make me cringe everytime I see the ending coming along either. Definitely a movie I can watch multiple times.
I was looking online for review and interpretations of The House of Flying Daggers, because that's the next movie on my list to watch, and I'm worried that I'm going to be investing the same amount of time as Hero for the same amount of payoff. This review struck me the most:
"House of Flying Daggers" is better than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" because "Daggers" is more action-packed, with more realistic fighting, less wimpy ballet wire work ("Crouching Tiger's" biggest weakness), and a less convoluted story to try to decipher.
"House of Flying Daggers" is non-stop FUN movie entertainment!
Should I immediately discount this person's opinion? I don't know. They used the term non-stop FUN movie entertainment, so that sets off my lowest common denominator alarm. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon stood on its own for more reasons than just its fight scenes, and I didn't think it had a very convoluted plot. In fact, wasn't most of it spelled out? The only thing convoluted was the love interest. Maybe not, I don't know. Anyhow, this is really just a good example of the fact that half the reviews you read should be taken with a grain of salt, and the other half (this one as well) should be printed out and used to wipe your ass with.
The next movie I watched was Adaptation. Holy cow this movie is great. Do you ever see a movie that you think is totally garbage, but you read reviews telling you that you're wrong, or your friends call you an idiot for not seeing the bigger picture? Okay, well, Adaptation is a lot like that, except that, it turns out, your friend is an idiot for thinking that there is a bigger picture. And then it turns out you're both idiots.
Adaptation works on a ton of different levels, and it's really easy to spend the whole time wondering if you really get the movie, or if you're a fool for thinking that there really is something to get, and that Andy Kauffman is laughing at you the whole time. There's really no way to know for sure, and all you can do is enjoy the movie, and try to decipher everything that you're seeing.
Watching the movie reminded me of Mulholland Drive. If you haven't seen that movie, and like trying to wrap your head around orthogonal concepts and ideas, it's an interesting choice. You'll spend the entire week after watching the movie trying to figure out exactly what you've just watched. Adaptation provides your head with a few more outs than Mulholland Drive does, and has a plot that actually makes sense on the most basic level - you don't have to think about it too much if you don't want to.
There's already been a bunch of analyses done on this great movie, and even then, reading them isn't going to make any sense if you haven't seen the movie. If you like movies that require thinking, and don't spell out everything for you, this is a great one to check out.
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