April Streaming Corner
First Man
People just can’t seem to get over their political nowadays. I didn’t see this movie when it came out. Not because it omitted the planting of the flag. I’m not so entrenched politically that I boycott a movie over such a petty thing, although some reports have suggested it suffered at the box office because of this. The filmmaker portrayed this as a human moment, bringing real news footage of reactions from crowds the world over. I respect that. I don’t think being an American is more important than being a human, so I might have done the exact same thing.
Politics and patriotism put aside, this is a respectable effort of a film, mixing documentary style reporting with dramatic flair. I liked it and moved on with my life soon after. This movie doesn’t stay in the mind too long, nor does it have to. I’d say the most impressive part of the movie is the verisimilitude of the flight sequences. I don’t know how they do it nowadays, but I hope to research out and report my findings to you. If I have to move to Hollywood and make a movie myself, I’ll do it. I don’t even care.
Even more so than Gravity, this movie really makes it appear as if the actors are piloting spacecraft and experiencing every bump and jostle. Without going too far in either direction, this film doesn’t portray Armstrong as a hero or a villain. He is certainly very brave and pioneering, but the movie juxtaposes NASA’s efforts with Gil Scott-Heron’s social critique “Whitey on the Moon”. Neither goes too far. Armstrong is portrayed as a distant husband and father when his work consumes him, but lesser filmmakers would have sensationalized this to show him as neglectful and abusive. Honesty and reality are the goals here, even at the expense of more dramatic…well, drama.
Even Armstrong’s family praised it. Looking at the “Did You Know” section on IMDB is one of my personal hobbies. Neil’s sons said this was the most honest portrayal of his father there could have been. Ryan Gosling, someone who practically embodies restraint in his acting style, does a solid job in the role. He could have known it wouldn’t bring him awards, but that’s fine. Armstrong wasn’t an over-the-top character. Just a quiet, stoic man who looked into the abyss without blinking.
Even the end of the movie hints at the later divorce of Neil and his wife. She smiles and jokes diplomatically with the press before as she goes to quarantine to meet her husband (if this is a spoiler alert to you, you’ve got to read some history) but turns stone-faced when seeing him alone. When she divorced him years later, she cited his proclivity to schedule things without her input or assent. Clearly a trip to the moon and years of workaholic tendencies would fit this description.
Start Trek: The Next Generation
I’m only into season four in my binge watching but wanted to talk about it now. I lost my twin brother years ago to cancer. I’m not looking for sympathy here. He’s in heaven and wouldn’t come back if he could, and my grieving process has long past. I’m just giving some backstory. When alive on this earth, my twin was the Trekky nerd of the family. I often teased him for it, but was a big enough fan of the movies to see them when they came out. Only occasionally did I catch TNG in syndication. I love Patrick Stewart as an actor, more than most actually, but he’s not nearly as entertaining a captain as Kirk (an intergalactic cowboy), albeit a more prudent one.
It’s amazing to even consider the longevity and number of episodes for this show. Most successful hour-long dramas only last 5 years or so, and they make between 12-16 episodes. This show lasted seven seasons and did 26 episodes each. It’s an amazing feat when considering each is a mini-movie with expensive special effects.
Even more impressive is the immense narrative obstacles each one had to overcome. Obstacles I can imagine would have given fits to the writers. As mandated by Gene Roddenberry, there wasn’t allowed to be any conflict within Star Fleet, only from outside it. New races of alien species had to be conceptualized and put onscreen with actors in heavy makeup without appearing hokey or fake. Time travel, while used quite a bit, had to be done sparingly. Political, military, fantastical, and science elements all had to be neatly juggled. Add to all that the fact that the technology was so powerful (one can conjure a cup of tea, Earl Gray, hot, out of manipulated energy) that they had to think of problems which surpassed the technology. The rejection of a creator God is apparent in the dialogue and mythology but there are several races of beings in various episodes powerful enough to be classified as little g-gods, but dim enough to be outsmarted by brilliant humans. It’s a narrative corner imposing enough to give one fits.
It’s no wonder the movies have kept in enough philosophy to keep the hardcore fans happy (I call them the “We’re better than Star Wars and this is why” crowd) but put the action front and center. I personally believe that their run of movies was better than the original crew’s. Generations, First Contact (especially this one), and Insurrection all give Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country a run for their money. I’ll leave Nemesis alone, but will point out the space battle between the two Federation ships and the massive Romulan ship is pretty good, and foreshadows those excellent space battles in the reboot.
TNG (not to ever be confused with TMNT) has its flaws, and yet, it’s a modern classic. There are weaker and stronger episodes, and there some downright amazing episodes. I give mad respect to this show for keeping it up and keeping it fresh for that amount of time, along with satisfying a broad enough audience to make it the #1 syndicated show during its run.
A stray observation of human history shows allegorical ties between the real world and the world of Star Trek:
It’s obvious that the Federation is America, or western culture, but the other prominent alien species are harder to define, and must be guessed by cultural markers. Romulans and Vulcans represent ancient Rome and Greece. Quick to action and conquest Cardassians are Empirical Japan. Money-grubbing Ferengi are stereotypical Jews (or Hitler’s propagandist view of them anyway). The pallid-faced and collectivist thought Borg are Russian Communists. Honor and combat-crazy Klingons are Chinese. Spock’s “Only Nixon could go to China” line from Undiscovered Country is a hint that smacks you over the head. The empath Betazoids could be women who slow aggressive and headstrong men down when they get too hyped up. “Beta” is the second letter of the Greek alphabet, for goodness sake. Maybe the writers meant to say that although women have typically played second fiddle to men, they really shouldn’t. Clearly Captain Janeway is an outcropping of that thinking.
Watching and enjoying this show in the order it was made makes me pine being able to take back the teasing of my brother for being so into it, but also helps me imagine we are sharing something again. I can’t wait for Stewart to reprise his role as Picard later this year.
Phantom of the Opera: 25th Anniversary at Albert Hall
Even if you don’t like musicals, you should watch this. Even if you don’t like plays, you should watch this. Buy it on your Amazon Prime account and watch it at least once a year. On top of being a wonderful performance, it’ s all we’ve got in movie terms since the Joel Schumaker version was such a clunker. So far as I know, the original (and some say definitive) cast was never filmed. This is a story that transcends standard entertainment. The lyrics, drama, music, and themes all converge to pull at the heart and draw out tears. I have no shame in mentioning I get all choked up when Christine kisses the Phantom and he realizes he can never coerce love from such an angel. Bonus material includes a celebration and performance by the composer, the original cast, and men who wore the mask over the years once Michael Crawford gave up the role.
Even if you think musicals are stupid, you should watch this. It’s almost as good as seeing it live (I’ve not done this yet but intend to plop down the money for this experience once I’ve saved it up).
The Highwaymen
Bonnie and Clyde celebrated these two mass-murderers and glorified their violent lives. This movie vigorously pumps the breaks on that silly practice. Kevin Costner’s character even beats a gas station attendant for presuming to withhold information out of love and reverence for the criminals, spouting lines he may as well have looked at the camera while standing in a pulpit. Bonnie and Clyde’s murders are only shown from far off. Indeed, their faces are only shown right before they are riddled with bullets (if this is a spoiler for you, you’ve got to read some history). This is the right way to portray this horrific story. Go against what Harris and Klebold stated in their manifesto regarding Spielberg directing their movie someday, and abjectly refuse to glorify the perpetrators of crimes against humanity. Instead, praise the (flawed, yes) brave souls who take it upon themselves to bring justice, or at least an end, to such a spree.
Costner and Harrelson play grumpy over-the-hill lawmen as naturally as slipping comfortable house shoes in the morning. Costner has always been limited as an actor. He’s not DeNiro but he’s not Keanu Reeves either. He’s gotten picky with his roles later in life, but carved out a nice little corner of American historical films and mini-series. He probably knows he’ll never reach the heights of his late 80’s-early 90’s success again, and his movie choices show he’s perfectly fine with that. I give the man respect for that.
The movie, while not stellar, witty, or all that original, is still true to its vision and what it aims to be. Worth a couple hours at home on a Friday night.
Round Planet
Dry British humor mixed with nature documentary? Yes, please, thank you, and a second helping, if you don’t mind and there’s enough to go around.
Kung Fu Hustle
Not at all the hit it deserved to be when it was released here in 2004, this slapstick amalgam of Buster Keaton, Bugs Bunny, and mafia movies is a delightful, underrated, underappreciated, and under-the-radar gem. While too violent for kids, it has the hopeful outlook of a dreamer’s heart, along with topical themes of redemption, resurrection, and love looking past flaws and mistakes. Plus, a whole bunch of over-the-top Kung Fu action. Give it a try and I’ll give you your money back if you don’t enjoy it.
The Silence
Good gracious heavens, what a stupid and poorly made movie. I feel sorry for such a talent as Stanley Tucci to be wasted in a movie like this. The no-names rounding out the cast (Miranda Otto notwithstanding) shouldn’t expect to further their careers with this, nor have a comeback (cough, cough, John Corbett, cough). Tucci deserves better, and it’s written all over his face as he “acts” in this dreadful flop. His character counts on a stronger alpha male type for about five minutes, then becomes the stronger alpha type once the other guy dies, and there isn’t even a moment of “Am I up to the task?” rumination.
This is a super-flop, actually. I imagine this is a movie the studio execs knew would flop, and so they sold it to Netflix, who didn’t go all out in putting this one at the top of the “Trending” menu. The only partially saving grace is the genuine creepiness of the creatures. Other than that, the pacing (too awkward to even be called clunky), writing, pacing, dialogue, characterizations, and pacing are as if a fourteen-year-old teenage boy supervised his seven-year-old brother in the making of this film. Ugh. Just watching and devoting more words to it makes me feel icky.
