part of the fun in reviewing movies is knowing that this art form is so far beyond me. i could never do this. write a screenplay, maybe, but to orchestrate the production? to instruct the actors, architect the sets, navigate the lights and cameras, then glue it all together from mountains of footage - my god, i know without a doubt that i would lose myself in the maelstrom of details. no, i am content to consume and to write.…
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Beethoven's 2nd 1993
every character is horny, existentially obsessed with their sexual and romantic solitude. the dog saves someone from an attempted rape by destroying a house, and then the dog wins a hamburger eating contest. suburban america is a mistake that we'll pay for the rest of our lives.
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Watership Down 1978
did not live up to its reputation: it's not that violent and it's not even sad. i probably would have hated it as a kid because all the rabbits are ugly, not because i was disturbed by rabbit gore. some neat animation though, especially in how each rabbit's personality is expressed through movement and physicality. somebody spent a lot of time watching how rabbits run and behave, that much is clear
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Lessons of Darkness 1992
holy SHIT this is a Herzog home run, a certified Werner banger. he barely even speaks, because he doesn't have to. the footage is unreal, a completely alien landscape where the only substance is oil. the sky is black, the ground nothing but pitch, there are lakes and rivers of pure crude dotted by towering plumes of fire. a humbling glimpse of our wretched economy.
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Restrepo 2010
imagine making a documentary on the war in afghanistan that doesn't even dare to ask the question of why we're there in the first place.
there's some high quality footage in here - i was particularly interested in the interactions with local villagers. it's hard to believe the absurdity of these exchanges. it was illuminating to see just how poorly the captain negotiates with the elders. this guy is clearly making promises up on the spot and it's wild.
but…
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Starship Troopers 1997
When I first watched this, my teenage pea brain could not consider that this film wasn't meant to be taken literally. It's fun to revisit a movie like this and laugh at what a dumbass I was, but that's the thing about satire, right? Either it's too obvious and treats the audience like an idiot, or it's too subtle and easily mistaken for the real thing. Which is not to say this movie is subtle, just that we should never…
