Escape From the Snyder-verse!
“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today!”
I haven’t left the house in two days (psyche, I walked to the bar last night) cuz it is dangerously cold outside and I’m not the kind of guy who thinks his car can get anywhere. I didn’t grow up in whatever stupid state that had a lot of snow and I’ll never tell you that 14℉ isn’t what ‘real cold’ feel like. That being said, if you have a theater in WALKING distance, going to see a movie can be a fun snowday activity. You get your lil romp in, throw some snowballs, grab a mocha, then cozy up for a couple hours of storytelling. What an afternoon! But seriously, friends, safety first.
I’ve got two reviews for y’all this week. I did indeed sit thru REBEL MOON and also managed to beat the snow for a screening of THE BOOK OF CLARENCE. As always, here’s my Handy Dandy Spreadsheet for the week, January 17-23…
No matter how popular it may be, or how easy he makes it sometimes, I just can’t hate Zack Snyder. His 2004 debut/remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD is a genuinely kickass movie and a cornerstone of the zombie-mania that dominated horror for the next two decades. And while I’m not here to tell you that 300 or WATCHMEN are incredible films, as someone who has read A LOT of comic books (superheroes especially) those two movies do make it abundantly clear that Zack Snyder has too. He understood the source materials, was passionate about representing them accurately and, ultimately, the films’ shortcomings (#hottake) derive more from the texts themselves than any of Zack’s choices. (I mean, Frank Miller and Alan Moore haven’t exactly evolved into likable old men.) And it’s because Snyder has read so many comic books, or so I choose to believe, that he works so hard to create universes, rather than just movies. He packs his narratives full of lore because he wants to tell epic sagas, not just superhero stories.
And I loved his JUSTICE LEAGUE cut, okay? Zack understands those characters in a way that Joss Whedon never could and Marvel consistently chooses not to explore with its own. It is by no means a Great Film™ but it is an incredibly ambitious one, a DeMille-esque epic suited to the scale of its subjects and I love it shamelessly.
Which is why, even after all the hate I saw online, I was willing to give REBEL MOON: PART ONE - A CHILD OF FIRE a chance. Another thing I’ve read a lot of is space operas and am an automatic sucker for anything prominently featuring spaceships. There are plenty of accusations out there that the film is a Star Wars ripoff, which is hilarious because Snyder openly admits he originally pitched it as a story inside of that universe. That didn’t pan out, mostly cuz he wanted it to be super violent, but he eventually made the movie anyway. It’s a space opera, stop thinking so hard. Just enjoy the pew-pew, people! Which I was all game to do, EXCEPT…
He also openly admits that Netflix made him chop it down into a shorter, family-friendlier film and that we’re getting the version he REALLY wanted to make later this summer. Which is, honestly, exhausting. What I watched did indeed feel unfinished, the pacing all wrong because the fun stuff has so obviously been excised.
And, I mean… What the hell, Zack? Why does this keep happening, Zack? Just make the right movie the first goddamn time, ZACK! I bet Elon would give you all the money you ever wanted. Ugh, nevermind, forget I said that.
While I haven’t read a ton of the classic works on the subject, I’ve always been a fan of cynical/comical takes on bible stories. For the same reason we keep repackaging Shakspeare’s stories, Weber & Rice’s JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Monty Python’s LIFE OF BRIAN, even Cecil B DeMille’s THE TEN COMMANDMENTS are all great examples of modern culture reexamining its own mythology. There’s benefit to taking a closer look at our origin stories and feeling out if they’re still relevant, if their struggles are still our struggles. Sins of the father, etc.
So, I was pretty excited about THE BOOK OF CLARENCE. LaKeith Stanfield rarely disappoints and his last film with this director, THE HARDER THEY FALL, got some pretty good buzz. While the idea of contextualizing the Christ story thru struggles of young black men may not be entirely new, I can’t think of the last time I saw it in a major motion picture. Especially one that presents such a cynical sense of humor.
And there’s plenty of fun, funny, and even downright subversive material to be mined here. A pile of great performances and likable characters, a great gladiator fight sequence, and an infectious love affair between camera and landscape. But every time the film tees up a question, a satisfying answer fails to materialize and, ultimately, the film’s uneven pacing and unclear path to its final act undermine its success. The route it takes from quirky comedy to emotional epistle, the sudden transition from cultural comedy to religious tragedy, just didn’t work for me.
The soundtrack was pretty good tho, also penned and performed by writer/director, Jeymes Samuel. Even if this movie didn’t totally click, I think he’s a talent worth keeping an eye on. Also, while it does feel a bit problematic to highlight a white actor in an otherwise almost entirely black cast, Benedict Cumberbatch has a recurring cameo that evolves into a truly killer gag.
Another week presents another host of opportunities to get out there and hit the cinemas! Here’s my TOP 5 PICKS from this week’s Handy Dandy Spreadsheet, in no particular order:
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT @ The Clinton - A surprisingly fun and charming watch, even for the most casual Beatle-maniac
SLC PUNK @ the CineMagic - I saw this film first at 15, then gain at 25 and had COMPLETELY DIFFERENT emotional reactions each time, plus Matthew Lilliard can get it!
SHOWGIRLS @ Tomorrow Theater - Paired with a Violet Hex hosted Bingo game, this movie is one of the most ridiculously awful and most hilariously fun movies ever made
THE THING @ the Academy - Talk about seasonally appropriate, amirite!?
THE ZONE OF INTEREST @ the Hollywood - It’s hard to feel excited about a holocaust film, but I think ‘complicity’ is a word we could all sit with a bit more (also playing at Cinema 21)
Special Shoutout: Portland standup superstar, Tory Ward, is moving away! She has always struck me as one of the funniest comics in town and we are a poorer city without her. But, of course I wish her all the best of luck in her new adventure and her GOING AWAY SHOW @ the Clinton is sure to be a killer. Feat: Julia Corral, Shain Brenden, Seth Allen, Adam Pasi, Bryan Bixby & James Bosquez.
Point of Business: Over the next couple weeks I’m going to experiment with specific days of the week to release these issues, as I’m trying to stay ahead of our local theater’s announcement schedules. More than once I’ve found myself publishing an issue only for the Academy or Cinemark to drop something awesome a day or two later. I’m not slacking off, just trying to find that scheduling sweetspot, all in service of creating the perfect Handy Dandy Spreadsheet each week.
Rest assured, friends, my time and energy are still very much focused on getting you and yours to GO SEE A MOVIE!
Asa