231. On the Road

231. (01 Oct) On the Road (2012, Walter Salles)* 44



Where Kerouac's writing is vibrant and rhythmic, Walter Salles' filmmaking style is the opposite. The structure is episodic and the aesthetic uninspired. Occasionally a scene is amusing or provocative, but not one offers insight or excitement. How odd that some of the most iconic characters in 20th century literature are impossible to engage with on-screen, the issue being that the leads are uniformly bland. Kirsten Dunst and Elisabeth Moss shine in supporting roles.

The Amazing Spiderman (2D)

A reboot to early or a money making scheme used by the studios to cash in on the superhero crazy which seems to be at its pinnacle right now; these are the two things that come to mind when I think about The Amazing Spiderman starring a brand new cast of Andrew Garfield (taking over the honors from Tobey Maguire), Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, and Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben.

Anupama Chopra, one of India’s leading film critics, suggests that we should go into the movie without thinking about the earlier franchise. While that would be the optimal approach to The Amazing Spiderman, I cannot help but compare the two at every level and for that very reason I find this reboot more and more unnecessary.

The angst that Maguire's Peter Parker brought to the franchise was something more relatable. Garfield, while doing justice to the costume, comes across as cockier and not so much of a "loser" as his counterpart from the earlier films. Unfortunately, as a result, the transformation into Spiderman has a much stronger impact and effect on Maguire's Parker than on the one portrayed by Garfield. The same is also visible in the actual transformation. While Maguire goes through a number of issues trying to discover his powers, Garfield almost eases through this process in a small ineffective montage. Spiderman, in both cases, at heart, starts off as a vigilante trying to avenge his uncle's death but it is his realization into a superhero that is once again brought together marvelously in Raimi's version whereas Marc Webb gives The Amazing Spiderman a more comic-bookishness in this new rendition.

The obligatory aspects of the Spiderman story; being bullied in school, death of Uncle Ben, are all present in The Amazing Spiderman. Unfortunately they feel repetitious due to the proximity of the film to Spiderman. The film also lacks memorable dialogues that were omnipresent in the earlier films. Who can forget "With great power comes great responsibility"? Furthermore, with nothing to compare the iconic upside-down wet kiss of Spiderman with Mary Jane, the new feature adds almost no memorable aspects to its story or characters.  

As directors both Raimi and Webb bring completely different visions to the film. While Raimi's version is more story oriented focusing on the numerous emotions of Peter Parker, Webb, besides taking too long to get the story going, is more visual in trying to wow the audience with special effects. Granted there are scenes that are amazing to look at, but I have always found Spiderman to be more about the characters than just the look of the film. We also have to keep in mind the addition of the 3D aspect, which is always pointless in my view, in The Amazing Spiderman; something that was missing earlier, and something I was thankfully able to avoid this time as well.     

The love interests of Peter Parker/Spiderman are different in both the films and that allows for the audience to look at them separately. Although, the fact remains that as love interests both the characters bring about a certain maturity to the story which is comparable. While the universally likeable Emma Stone, Playing Gwen Stacy, might be the best part about the entire film, she is unable to compare herself with the depth and conflict faced by Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson in the earlier films.Mary Jane is a more complex character facing family issues, a want to make a name for herself in acting, and of course discovering love in the most unusual of places. The love triangle in the previous films form an intrinsic part of the story and the on-off relationship between Mary Jane and Peter Parker added an entirely new dimension, something that was missing from this film. It's also pertinent to note that due to the structure of the film, The Amazing Spiderman misses out on the Peter Parker - Harry Osborn friendship aspect which took the dynamics of the previous franchise to a whole new level. 

One thing that superhero films of the past have taught us is that the villain is almost as important as the hero. This is where The Amazing Spiderman gets squashed by a rolled up Daily Bugle. William Dafoe as the Green Goblin had such a strong presence in Spiderman that no matter how hard Rhys Ifans tries to regenerate himself as the Lizard, he falls short in comparison. Furthermore, The Green Goblin has been one of the few iconic villains which are known to non comic book readers, whereas The Lizard is someone relatively unknown to the same people.

The Amazing Spiderman could have worked much better had it been released maybe a decade in the future. Right now, the public that is going to view this film has in most cases already seen Spiderman and its sequels and thus this reboot feels forced, unless Marvel has plans to add Spiderman to its already successful Avengers lineup. Maguire's Parker was much grounded, something I appreciated in Spiderman. Garfield’s Spiderman is a comic-book hero with panache and takes away the innocence that forms an fundamental part of this teenage hero entrusted upon with a superpower unexpectedly.

With news of The Amazing Spiderman being developed into a trilogy, I honestly can say that my interest now lies in seeing Spiderman only as part of Avengers and not as a separate franchise.        

Rating 2.5/5

482. Melancholia

482. (28 Nov) Melancholia (2011, Lars von Trier)* 58

Best of Black Sheep: MELANCHOLIA

Written and Directed by Lars von Trier

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland and Alexander Skarsgard

Justine: The Earth is evil. We don’t need to grieve for it. Nobody will miss it.

Leave it to one of the world’s most infamously melancholic directors, Lars von Trier, to open a film with Earth as we know it coming to an abrupt demise. Dead birds drop from the sky, roots come out from the ground and people sink into the dirt beneath their feet. As disturbing and dark as this grandiose overture is, it is also incredibly beautiful to behold and thus defines the paradox that is Lars von Trier. He gives us nothing but sadness but sees everything, on film anyway, for all its incredible magnificence.

MELANCHOLIA, which von Trier also wrote, tells the story of how a planet of the same name crashes into Earth and destroys mankind. It then rewinds a little to take a closer look at two sisters in the days leading up to the end of the world. First, we get to know Justine (Kirsten Dunst). It is her wedding day, which we all know should be the happiest of her life, but happiness is a constant struggle for Justine. As it becomes clear to her that the end is coming, she becomes less interested in pretending she is in good sorts. Her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), lives a good life with her rich husband (Keifer Sutherland) and passes her time by fussing over details. She is the rock of her family and likely just as depressed as her sister, but incapable of letting that show. As they band together to brave the end, they do great justice to the many faces of misery.

Von Trier, who has dealt with depression for most of his life, not only explores the harsh lows of the disease in MELANCHOLIA, but also its lighter side and, more importantly, its futility. Is fighting against the inevitable the best course of action? Or is it better to just give in to your despair and give up all hope for happiness? Von Trier does not pretend to put forth an answer because there is no one answer that matters. The world will end and every single emotion or thought we’ve ever had will cease to exist. Von Trier seems to understand that this is not damnation but rather liberation - that only when we accept that life is meaningless can we truly be free to create the life we want. That’s pretty optimistic coming from a world renowned downer.

TIFF Review: MELANCHOLIA

Written and Directed by Lars von Trier

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Keifer Sutherland and Alexander Skarsgard

Justine: The Earth is evil. We don’t need to grieve for it. Nobody will miss it.

Leave it to one of the world’s most infamously melancholic directors, Lars von Trier, to open a film with Earth as we know it coming to an abrupt demise. Dead birds drop from the sky, roots come out from the ground and people sink into the dirt beneath their feet. As disturbing and dark as this grandiose overture is, it is also incredibly beautiful to behold and thus defines the paradox that is Lars von Trier. He gives us nothing but sadness but sees everything, on film anyway, for all its incredible magnificence.

MELANCHOLIA, which von Trier also wrote, tells the story of how a planet of the same name crashes into Earth and destroys mankind. It then rewinds a little to take a closer look at two sisters in the days leading up to the end of the world. First, we get to know Justine (Kirsten Dunst). It is her wedding day, which we all know should be the happiest of her life, but happiness is a constant struggle for Justine. As it becomes clear to her that the end is coming, she becomes less interested in pretending she is in good sorts. Her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), lives a good life with her rich husband (Keifer Sutherland) and passes her time by fussing over details. She is the rock of her family and likely just as depressed as her sister, but incapable of letting that show. As they band together to brave the end, they do great justice to the many faces of misery.

Von Trier, who has dealt with depression for most of his life, not only explores the harsh lows of the disease in MELANCHOLIA, but also its lighter side and, more importantly, its futility. Is fighting against the inevitable the best course of action? Or is it better to just give in to your despair and give up all hope for happiness? Von Trier does not pretend to put forth an answer because there is no one answer that matters. The world will end and every single emotion or thought we’ve ever had will cease to exist. Von Trier seems to understand that this is not damnation but rather liberation - that only when we accept that life is meaningless can we truly be free to create the life we want. That’s pretty optimistic coming from a world renowned downer.

ALL GOOD THINGS

Written by Marcus Hinchey and Marc Smerling

Directed by Andrew Jarecki

Starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst and Frank Langella

The trouble with ALL GOOD THINGS starts in the title. We know full well from the very onset of Andrew Jarecki’s first narrative film that the loveliness we are lavished in to begin with will inevitably disappear. After all, the old adage is pretty clear about good things; they must at some point come to an end. And so we watch the happy couple meet, fall in love and run away together, out from under the thumb of an oppressive family and off the road that would lead to nothing but heartache, waiting for the moment where everything turns Fortunately, the turns it takes are unexpected and worse that you would imagine.

If you are familiar with the life of Robert Durst, the millionaire heir to a real estate fortune who stood trial for one murder and was suspected in his life of two others, then you might have a very good idea of what to expect. ALL GOOD THINGS is loosely based on his life and he is portrayed in the film by Ryan Gosling, renamed David Marks. Ideally cast, Gosling is able to play happy yet hesitant and transition smoothly to unnerving and disconcerting without blinking, catching us all as off guard as his co-star, Kirsten Dunst. She plays his wife, Katie Marks, who went missing in the 80’s after their relationship became abusive and she threatened to leave. As solid as Gosling is, he is outdone by Dunst, who is surprisingly subtle and has a strong grasp on how internalized the plight of a battered spouse truly is. As facile as the execution of the film is at times, their performances give it the weight needed to pull it off.

Jarecki is the Oscar-nominated director on CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, a truly disturbing documentary about a family with secrets so dark they should only be shared with those strong enough to face the atrocities man is truly capable of. It would seem a natural fit for him to take on one of the most infamous family dramas in American history but he never gets to the real root of the issues. The ugly truth worked for him before but here, Jarecki is either afraid of it or just not aware of it. Either way, ALL GOOD THINGS comes to its own end, proving that the proverb doesn’t just apply to things that are good.