Monday, July 23, 2007

Good Movie/Bad Movie

On Sunday I saw two limited release films.
The first was the new Danny Boyle science-fiction feature Sunshine



I could talk to you about special effects (they are present and fantastic) or acting (formidable) but really I am just going to express my love for the sounds in this film. Many reviewers will tell you that Sunshine is a feast for the eyes, but this one will tell you that the sounds are "where it is at". Underworld supplies some great electronic blips and scratches here and there that perfectly compliment the bombastic sounds of metal expanding and contracting and... well... human screams.

This is a film to see on the big screen not simply just because it is visually stunning (it is) but for the sound. The explosions in this film rattle the entire theater.

OK, yes, there are plot holes, and not enough exposition... but there is no drippy love story. No exploitative sex. Nothing that generally mars most decent action films.

Sunshine is currently only showing on 10 screens in America. Good luck finding it before it disappears. Cambridge is the only place in New England currently showing it.


OK, now for the Bad Movie.



Oh Steve Buscemi, how I love you. How I wanted to love your latest foray into directing. How you failed me.

Interview is a depsicable film about despicable people. I don't understand how this has been getting good reviews. Alright, I do. Steve Buscemi is in it! We love him! He's swell.

Guys, Steve Buscemi's presence does not a good movie make. Ask Adam Sandler.
I see what he was trying to make: an in-depth character study. Yes, yes. Very nice, sir.
But what I discovered while watching this film is that Steve Buscemi and Sienna Miller are to "character study" what Steve Vai is to "subtle guitar solo".

This is character wank.

Perhaps this film would have been better had I given a shit about either one of the horrid people depicted... but I didn't. Couldn't stand them. They made my skin crawl. And not in an amusing way. In the "boy am I ever glad that that I work here and didn't have to pay for this ticket" way.

Man, I feel guilty even writing bad things about such a beloved guy, I do.

Sorry Steve. Your film blows. No one wants to watch Sienna Miller fake-cry, or you try to have sex with her. Ew.

EW.

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pop*creep recommends:

1.The Gill Aharon Trio
These guys are swell. I saw them play on Saturday at the lily pad in Inman Square (aka "my 'hood"). Yes, Brian Viglione of Dresden Dolls plays drums, and that is their main selling point, but come on. Gill plays the piano in the most innovative way I have seen in the past few years.

2. Let It Blurt by Jim DeRogatis: Yup, good ol' Jim is a total tool, but his biography of Lester Bangs has kept me steadily amused for the past two weeks (what, between two jobs and having a life, I don't get much time to read). Sure, I haven't finished it yet, and it is currently making a somewhat decent couch-coaster for my half-empty can of Coke... but I KNOW I'll finish it. And for me... that's saying something. This is a horrible review,

3. Letting someone else tell you the ending of the last Harry Potter novel. Because really, I don't give a shit, but I know what happens. And I'll save you the $20.

4. Woodchuck hard cider on draft at Charlie's kitchen: Oddly pleasant.

5. Mehron Starblend face makeup: SOOOOOO much easier to use than the greasepaint I've gotten so used to. And it doesn't smudge.

6. 3AM frisbee: I am horrid by day, and worse by night. Much much worse in sprinklers during the wee hours.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

fantastic to hear that you liked "sunshine". i've really been looking forward to checking that one out. and steve's? that makes me sad. i've always loved most of his work (though, that's nothing unique in a person i suppose) with the exception of the shitty sandler roles here and there.