I like what Colin and Greg Strause set out to do in Skyline. As aliens invade Los Angeles and start harvesting humans it only focuses on one small group of friends and a concierge who helps them out (David Zayas as Oliver). Arguments regarding how they should proceed are introduced, some wishing to stay put in a high rise apartment, others seeking to make a break for the ocean and escape on a yacht. With no means of communicating with the outside world and discovering the extent of what is happening, they need to employ their best judgment and rapidly decide what must be immediately done.
Before they're transformed into inhuman monsters.
And when the unknown zealously threatens your survival what should you immediately do? Remain hidden in your inconspicuous shelter, cowering behind a bookcase in a corner, or directly engage the unforeseen, if necessary, as you attempt to navigate your way through its treacherous set of destructive circumstances?
On your way to freedom.
Freedom obviously isn't guaranteed but its appeal generates a degree of unquenchable hope in the breasts of its proponents who think the aliens won't scour the high seas as vigilantly as they harvest the city.
Skyline's streamlined specific focus would have been smoother had the group's internal interactions possessed a greater flair.
For what lies beneath.
But I suppose that's the point. When a crushing external force prevents you from accessing your terms of reference, nothing but a suffocated trepidatious version of those terms remains, anxiously clutching the surface.
That's the point I swear.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Grey
A plane crashes in the sub-arctic Alaskan wilderness and its survivors find themselves hunted by a pack of blood thirsty wolves. Who knows why this particular pack decides to suddenly start attacking Liam Neeson (Ottway) and his co-workers (Neeson theorizes that they have crashed too close to their den) but they uncharacteristically do and Joe Carnahan's The Grey unreels in their pursuit.
Thinking they'll be safer in the woods and that a rescue team will never find them, this group of rugged drifters and loners leaves the crash sight and struggles to make their way across a barren stretch of frozen ground amidst brutal winds and freezing temperatures, one of them devoured en route.
After the rest of them make it, the wolves continue to circle and prey and in between confrontations we learn more about their troubled lives. They continue to move forward with the pack at their backs, arguing and conversing along the way.
In the end only one remains, having shockingly persevered longer than his fallen brethren.
Ready to battle the alpha.
Ignoring the logistics of everything that actually takes place in The Grey and focusing on how it recklessly pits a wild and brazen group of freewheeling hard-living workers up against their grizzled natural counterparts in a ludicrous unforgiving clash of human versus animal kind, may make the film more digestible.
In terms of the absurd.
Figuring that Neeson would be given the majority of the lines, I was interested in seeing whether or not his dramatic flexibility was still capable of motivating an entire film, from beginning to end. But my calculations were incorrect and the supporting cast is given plenty of room to manoeuvre, giving Neeson time to sit back and carefully structure his lines with shrewd deliberate nuances whose intermittent interjections and patient intonations carefully unify the supporting cast's dynamics in a thoughtful cohesive heterogeneity.
While the wolves constantly disrupt their unity.
Some of the lines seem like they came straight from an oil rig as well which gives them an endearing authentic quality.
In terms of what to do should your plane crash in a remote location, The Grey offers little practical advice.
Unless wolves begin to insatiably stalk you.
But as far as films celebrating derelict itinerant dispositions go, The Grey's not that bad, and perhaps by making its subject matter foolish, Carnahan tries to lure us into the narrative unconsciously, by harnessing the helpless qualities of our disbelief, thereby making us feel more like the characters in his film.
Thinking they'll be safer in the woods and that a rescue team will never find them, this group of rugged drifters and loners leaves the crash sight and struggles to make their way across a barren stretch of frozen ground amidst brutal winds and freezing temperatures, one of them devoured en route.
After the rest of them make it, the wolves continue to circle and prey and in between confrontations we learn more about their troubled lives. They continue to move forward with the pack at their backs, arguing and conversing along the way.
In the end only one remains, having shockingly persevered longer than his fallen brethren.
Ready to battle the alpha.
Ignoring the logistics of everything that actually takes place in The Grey and focusing on how it recklessly pits a wild and brazen group of freewheeling hard-living workers up against their grizzled natural counterparts in a ludicrous unforgiving clash of human versus animal kind, may make the film more digestible.
In terms of the absurd.
Figuring that Neeson would be given the majority of the lines, I was interested in seeing whether or not his dramatic flexibility was still capable of motivating an entire film, from beginning to end. But my calculations were incorrect and the supporting cast is given plenty of room to manoeuvre, giving Neeson time to sit back and carefully structure his lines with shrewd deliberate nuances whose intermittent interjections and patient intonations carefully unify the supporting cast's dynamics in a thoughtful cohesive heterogeneity.
While the wolves constantly disrupt their unity.
Some of the lines seem like they came straight from an oil rig as well which gives them an endearing authentic quality.
In terms of what to do should your plane crash in a remote location, The Grey offers little practical advice.
Unless wolves begin to insatiably stalk you.
But as far as films celebrating derelict itinerant dispositions go, The Grey's not that bad, and perhaps by making its subject matter foolish, Carnahan tries to lure us into the narrative unconsciously, by harnessing the helpless qualities of our disbelief, thereby making us feel more like the characters in his film.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Super Bowl Pick
A Super Bowl rematch between New England and the New York Giants. This is exciting. I can't see New York beating the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl but if they continue to play the way they have in recent weeks they're going to be tough to beat. I like the progression of New England's post-season trajectory this year, knocking out opponents who have defeated them in the playoffs in recent years, and think the trend will continue. Patriots by 2.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Curse of Frankenstein
Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is at it again in Terence Fisher's The Curse of Frankenstein, a Hammer Films production. Having grown audacious after reanimating a small dog, the Doctor sets his sights on the construction of the perfect human being, to be made up of parts cut away from fitting lifeless specimens. His partner and former tutor Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) contends that his path can only lead to evil but Frankenstein refuses to heed his warning and proceeds unabated. But the local crop of corpses will not supply a top rate brain which leads Victor to wine and dine a revered scientist (Paul Hardtmuth as Professor Bernstein) before murdering him later on in the evening. Krempe discovers what he has done and in the ensuing struggle damages the sought after material. Is this what causes Frankenstein's creation to act childishly and violently or was it the fact that it was brought back to life in the first place that guaranteed its inability to cognitively function?
Having subverted the laws of nature.
Fisher's film doesn't answer this question but does provide those searching to see Peter Cushing play someone besides Grand Moff Tarkin with the chance to watch him at work early on in his career. His performance is convincing enough even though several scenes could have benefited from additional takes, and more crafty editing, and another round of dialogue adjustments, and a keener insight into the logical timing of key events which move the action along. But The Curse of Frankenstein isn't about editing and dialogue and presenting captivating enticing scenes. It's about shooting a readymade script in as little time as possible in order to capitalize on the product, reinvest, and do it all over again and again while cultivating a receptive audience and slowly learning to enhance your constructions as time steadily passes.
And spending most of the budget on the lab, wherein there are many pretty scientific instruments and bubbling beakers and frothing 'fermentations' and a Frankenstein (Christopher Lee).
Desperately seeking life.
Having subverted the laws of nature.
Fisher's film doesn't answer this question but does provide those searching to see Peter Cushing play someone besides Grand Moff Tarkin with the chance to watch him at work early on in his career. His performance is convincing enough even though several scenes could have benefited from additional takes, and more crafty editing, and another round of dialogue adjustments, and a keener insight into the logical timing of key events which move the action along. But The Curse of Frankenstein isn't about editing and dialogue and presenting captivating enticing scenes. It's about shooting a readymade script in as little time as possible in order to capitalize on the product, reinvest, and do it all over again and again while cultivating a receptive audience and slowly learning to enhance your constructions as time steadily passes.
And spending most of the budget on the lab, wherein there are many pretty scientific instruments and bubbling beakers and frothing 'fermentations' and a Frankenstein (Christopher Lee).
Desperately seeking life.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Careful
Oedipal values. Strict discipline. Polished refinement. Unyielding dedication.
The Alpine village of Tolzbad is stricken with alimentary sentiments whose counterproductive yearnings threaten its cohesive fortitude. Silence and obedience are resolutely inculcated as objective reminders of embryonic resuscitations remain cast off and docile. Dreams serve to lacerate adhesions, while palpating intoxicating allegiances, whose nostalgic loyalties resist ethereal pressures and condemn those seeking both forbidden and propitious pleasures, arduously seek satisfaction.
In the flesh.
The vocal chords of animals must be cut. Hearts punctured after death ensure eternal sleep.
I will do anything for you.
Relinquished yet stilted rebirth.
A comedic sense of terror is dramatically worked into a stifling set of immutable characteristics which maintain a supple lighthearted generosity in Guy Maddin's imaginative Careful.
Multilayered scene after dynamic scene segregates its narrative from the realm of conscious production while providing a template for the remodelling of the expected whose boutique would most likely remain concealed.
Purposefully frustrating or frustrated with a purpose, Careful introduces a disengaged sense of disingenuous perplexity whose recalcitrant creative ethos should be heuristically taken seriously.
The Alpine village of Tolzbad is stricken with alimentary sentiments whose counterproductive yearnings threaten its cohesive fortitude. Silence and obedience are resolutely inculcated as objective reminders of embryonic resuscitations remain cast off and docile. Dreams serve to lacerate adhesions, while palpating intoxicating allegiances, whose nostalgic loyalties resist ethereal pressures and condemn those seeking both forbidden and propitious pleasures, arduously seek satisfaction.
In the flesh.
The vocal chords of animals must be cut. Hearts punctured after death ensure eternal sleep.
I will do anything for you.
Relinquished yet stilted rebirth.
A comedic sense of terror is dramatically worked into a stifling set of immutable characteristics which maintain a supple lighthearted generosity in Guy Maddin's imaginative Careful.
Multilayered scene after dynamic scene segregates its narrative from the realm of conscious production while providing a template for the remodelling of the expected whose boutique would most likely remain concealed.
Purposefully frustrating or frustrated with a purpose, Careful introduces a disengaged sense of disingenuous perplexity whose recalcitrant creative ethos should be heuristically taken seriously.
NFL Conference Championship Picks
Here are some picks for this weekend's upcoming NFL Conference Championship Games:
New England Patriots/Baltimore Ravens: New England annihilated the Broncos last weekend and Brady had a fierce Super Bowl Championship winning look in his eyes. Baltimore defeated the Texans but didn't play that well. In 2009, Joey Flacco and the Ravens went into Foxboro and pulled off the upset, stunning the Patriot's devoted and boisterous fans. Last week New England avenged themselves in regards to their 2005 playoff loss to Denver and are likely revved up to do the same to the Ravens this Sunday. One factor makes me think Baltimore will win. The Patriots looked like they could have defeated anyone last weekend and may have used up all their momentum against an opponent who didn't show up for the game. Baltimore, on the other hand, struggled but still won and may be difficult to beat this weekend if they end up playing their A-game as a consequence. I don't think this will happen and predict that New England is heading back to the Super Bowl on Feb. 5th.
Unfortunately, I don't think they'll be running back into the Giants.
San Francisco 49ers/New York Giants: these teams have already played each other 7 times in the playoffs with San Francisco winning 4 of those games. A Giants win would therefore tie up the series but I don't think they'll be able to get past San Francisco's defence. Manning hasn't thrown that many interceptions this year but once the 49ers shut down the run he'll be forced to throw often and unless he can perform better than Drew Brees did last weekend he may be run into trouble. New York's defence played well last week but didn't stand out this season, letting in 171 more points than that of the 49ers (and 61 more points than New Orleans). They played earlier on in the year with San Francisco coming out on top 27-20. Manning is much more familiar with big game pressure than Alex Smith but with San Francisco's defence at his back, Smith doesn't have to be. It is true that somehow the Miami Heat ended up meeting the Dallas Mavericks again in the NBA Finals last season which was quite surprising in my books. But I don't think the Giants are destined for the Super Bowl this year unless they can shut down Alex Smith's offence and find a way to grind it out.
New England Patriots/Baltimore Ravens: New England annihilated the Broncos last weekend and Brady had a fierce Super Bowl Championship winning look in his eyes. Baltimore defeated the Texans but didn't play that well. In 2009, Joey Flacco and the Ravens went into Foxboro and pulled off the upset, stunning the Patriot's devoted and boisterous fans. Last week New England avenged themselves in regards to their 2005 playoff loss to Denver and are likely revved up to do the same to the Ravens this Sunday. One factor makes me think Baltimore will win. The Patriots looked like they could have defeated anyone last weekend and may have used up all their momentum against an opponent who didn't show up for the game. Baltimore, on the other hand, struggled but still won and may be difficult to beat this weekend if they end up playing their A-game as a consequence. I don't think this will happen and predict that New England is heading back to the Super Bowl on Feb. 5th.
Unfortunately, I don't think they'll be running back into the Giants.
San Francisco 49ers/New York Giants: these teams have already played each other 7 times in the playoffs with San Francisco winning 4 of those games. A Giants win would therefore tie up the series but I don't think they'll be able to get past San Francisco's defence. Manning hasn't thrown that many interceptions this year but once the 49ers shut down the run he'll be forced to throw often and unless he can perform better than Drew Brees did last weekend he may be run into trouble. New York's defence played well last week but didn't stand out this season, letting in 171 more points than that of the 49ers (and 61 more points than New Orleans). They played earlier on in the year with San Francisco coming out on top 27-20. Manning is much more familiar with big game pressure than Alex Smith but with San Francisco's defence at his back, Smith doesn't have to be. It is true that somehow the Miami Heat ended up meeting the Dallas Mavericks again in the NBA Finals last season which was quite surprising in my books. But I don't think the Giants are destined for the Super Bowl this year unless they can shut down Alex Smith's offence and find a way to grind it out.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Can't say I've spent too much time watching the Mission: Impossible films, but as far as thrilling, accelerated, turbulent action movies go, Ghost Protocol is a success, as Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) improvises his way through another set of death defying circumstances, this time without the assistance of IMF.
Split-second decision making is instantaneously necessitated as plans see their counterpoints meticulously materialized through the systematic art of strategic vivisection.
Such decisions are supplied with as much logic as can be rationally fastened to their temporal limitations in order to obtain their furtive objectives.
Such logic need not be brilliantly qualified, but must possess enough cohesive extensions to readily trick its antagonists into falling for its deception.
If these extensions lose their psycho-material appeal, the related temporal limitations become increasingly restrictive.
Requiring an ass kicking.
Hunt and his innovative team still manage to move undetected from Moscow to Dubai to Mumbai with enough resources at their disposal to technologically infiltrate seemingly inextricable defensive infrastructures without being backed up by headquarters.
Agilely keeping an ace in the hole.
Split-second decision making is instantaneously necessitated as plans see their counterpoints meticulously materialized through the systematic art of strategic vivisection.
Such decisions are supplied with as much logic as can be rationally fastened to their temporal limitations in order to obtain their furtive objectives.
Such logic need not be brilliantly qualified, but must possess enough cohesive extensions to readily trick its antagonists into falling for its deception.
If these extensions lose their psycho-material appeal, the related temporal limitations become increasingly restrictive.
Requiring an ass kicking.
Hunt and his innovative team still manage to move undetected from Moscow to Dubai to Mumbai with enough resources at their disposal to technologically infiltrate seemingly inextricable defensive infrastructures without being backed up by headquarters.
Agilely keeping an ace in the hole.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
We Bought a Zoo
What do you do after your partner dies, you quit your job, your son is expelled, and it feels like your thirst for adventure is wantonly drying up?
You move your family to the country after buying yourself a zoo, that's what you do, and do everything in your power to turn its fortunes around.
This is precisely what happens in Cameron Crowe's lively new film We Bought a Zoo, based on the true story of Benjamin Mee's purchase of the Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon, England.
Full of entrepreneurial grit and zoological tenacity, Mr. Mee (Matt Damon) doesn't let minor details like having no experience at all in regards to zoo management get in his way, as he risks his remaining capital and gets to know his dedicated staff.
Will taking care of a wide variety of animal species in the hopes of bringing his zoo up to code so that the public can wonder at their ferocious longevity and provide him with the funds to stay in business enable him to get over his wife's death and develop stronger bonds with his two children?
Will the charms of stunning young feisty zoologist Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) play an integral role in his personal transformation and demand that he learn to let go?
Will prickly zoo inspector Walter Ferris's (John Michael Higgins) dismissive demeanour teach him that the biggest adventure of all is learning how to play by the rules?
And will an escaped grizzly bear function as the catalyst that displaces one means of production for another?
Through the passage of time.
We Bought a Zoo makes me wish I could buy the shit out of a zoo and manage it and take care of all the animals and slug beers with my staff and analyze the porcupines etc.
It's an evocative enlivening testament to the strength of the human spirit which is challenged at every turn and rejuvenated through the art of sociozoology.
You move your family to the country after buying yourself a zoo, that's what you do, and do everything in your power to turn its fortunes around.
This is precisely what happens in Cameron Crowe's lively new film We Bought a Zoo, based on the true story of Benjamin Mee's purchase of the Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon, England.
Full of entrepreneurial grit and zoological tenacity, Mr. Mee (Matt Damon) doesn't let minor details like having no experience at all in regards to zoo management get in his way, as he risks his remaining capital and gets to know his dedicated staff.
Will taking care of a wide variety of animal species in the hopes of bringing his zoo up to code so that the public can wonder at their ferocious longevity and provide him with the funds to stay in business enable him to get over his wife's death and develop stronger bonds with his two children?
Will the charms of stunning young feisty zoologist Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson) play an integral role in his personal transformation and demand that he learn to let go?
Will prickly zoo inspector Walter Ferris's (John Michael Higgins) dismissive demeanour teach him that the biggest adventure of all is learning how to play by the rules?
And will an escaped grizzly bear function as the catalyst that displaces one means of production for another?
Through the passage of time.
We Bought a Zoo makes me wish I could buy the shit out of a zoo and manage it and take care of all the animals and slug beers with my staff and analyze the porcupines etc.
It's an evocative enlivening testament to the strength of the human spirit which is challenged at every turn and rejuvenated through the art of sociozoology.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
NFL Divisional Round Picks
Some picks for the upcoming NFL Divisional Playoff Round:
Green Bay Packers/New York Giants: the Giants almost beat Green Bay earlier on this season meaning they stand a chance against them this Sunday. They suffocated Atlanta last weekend as well, demonstrating that they're making a stand this playoff. But I've never seen anyone as calm and collected as Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the postseason who will be playing in front of their home crowd for the first time. Then again, Eli Manning and the New York Giants were seriously calm and collected when they defeated New England in Super Bowl XLII. Nevertheless, the Giants/Packers matchup reminds me of the Dolphins/Broncos Divisional Round game leading up to the Broncos's Super Bowl XXXIII win. Earlier on that season, the Broncos were something like 12 and 0 when they went into Miami and lost. They then proceeded to stifle the Dolphins 38-3 in the aforementioned Divisional Round game. I don't think Green Bay will beat the Giants by a comparable margin, but I also don't think New York will win. The Packers control the game but New York hangs on long enough to make them sweat.
Baltimore Ravens/Houston Texans: looks like Joey Flacco's all grown up. He won Wildcard games the last three postseasons, one of them versus New England, winning a Divisional Round game in his rookie year as well. And this year he has home field advantage in the second round for the first time. Seems like the stage is set for an appearance in the AFC Championship if his team can continue its winning ways (they beat the Jets, Pittsburgh (twice), Houston, Cincinnati (twice), and San Francisco during the regular season [losing to Tennessee and San Diego]). But I like Houston's chances not only because they had 5 wins on the road this year. It seems to me that this is the year Flacco flounders because he doesn't have as much adversity to overcome and Houston takes advantage of his success to their benefit. I also like that when both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers won their first Wildcard games (in the same year) they both went on to win in the Divisional Round. The Texans handled Cincinnati with ease last weekend and their points for and against are comparable to Baltimore's. If they win (which I think they will) it will be close, if they don't, Flacco will have won another big postseason game.
New England Patriots/Denver Broncos: New England rolled over the Broncos in Week 15 and brought an end to Tebow's 6 game winning streak. The Patriots are likely eagerly seeking revenge for their 2005 Divisional Round loss to Denver. Brady beat Dan Marino's single season passing record this year and only lost 3 games throughout, scoring 204 more points than the Broncos. But something tells me the Broncos's season will not end this Saturday night and that their stalwart defence will make big play after big play to enable Tebow to pull off another stunning victory. Go Broncos!
San Francisco 49ers/New Orleans Saints: New Orleans is obviously ready for the playoffs this year and a formidable offensive force. San Francisco played well during the regular season, winning 13 games and defeating Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Detroit, the Giants, and Pittsburgh along the way. Their defence was the league's best and only allowed 229 points to be scored against them. The NFL's second best offence meets the best defence this Saturday in San Francisco. My gut keeps telling me the 49ers will win and prevent a showdown between Green Bay and the Saints next weekend, but I'm picking New Orleans regardless. Seattle smothered their running attack last year and they must be coming at this game with related strategies in mind.
*Ouch
Green Bay Packers/New York Giants: the Giants almost beat Green Bay earlier on this season meaning they stand a chance against them this Sunday. They suffocated Atlanta last weekend as well, demonstrating that they're making a stand this playoff. But I've never seen anyone as calm and collected as Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the postseason who will be playing in front of their home crowd for the first time. Then again, Eli Manning and the New York Giants were seriously calm and collected when they defeated New England in Super Bowl XLII. Nevertheless, the Giants/Packers matchup reminds me of the Dolphins/Broncos Divisional Round game leading up to the Broncos's Super Bowl XXXIII win. Earlier on that season, the Broncos were something like 12 and 0 when they went into Miami and lost. They then proceeded to stifle the Dolphins 38-3 in the aforementioned Divisional Round game. I don't think Green Bay will beat the Giants by a comparable margin, but I also don't think New York will win. The Packers control the game but New York hangs on long enough to make them sweat.
Baltimore Ravens/Houston Texans: looks like Joey Flacco's all grown up. He won Wildcard games the last three postseasons, one of them versus New England, winning a Divisional Round game in his rookie year as well. And this year he has home field advantage in the second round for the first time. Seems like the stage is set for an appearance in the AFC Championship if his team can continue its winning ways (they beat the Jets, Pittsburgh (twice), Houston, Cincinnati (twice), and San Francisco during the regular season [losing to Tennessee and San Diego]). But I like Houston's chances not only because they had 5 wins on the road this year. It seems to me that this is the year Flacco flounders because he doesn't have as much adversity to overcome and Houston takes advantage of his success to their benefit. I also like that when both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers won their first Wildcard games (in the same year) they both went on to win in the Divisional Round. The Texans handled Cincinnati with ease last weekend and their points for and against are comparable to Baltimore's. If they win (which I think they will) it will be close, if they don't, Flacco will have won another big postseason game.
New England Patriots/Denver Broncos: New England rolled over the Broncos in Week 15 and brought an end to Tebow's 6 game winning streak. The Patriots are likely eagerly seeking revenge for their 2005 Divisional Round loss to Denver. Brady beat Dan Marino's single season passing record this year and only lost 3 games throughout, scoring 204 more points than the Broncos. But something tells me the Broncos's season will not end this Saturday night and that their stalwart defence will make big play after big play to enable Tebow to pull off another stunning victory. Go Broncos!
San Francisco 49ers/New Orleans Saints: New Orleans is obviously ready for the playoffs this year and a formidable offensive force. San Francisco played well during the regular season, winning 13 games and defeating Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Detroit, the Giants, and Pittsburgh along the way. Their defence was the league's best and only allowed 229 points to be scored against them. The NFL's second best offence meets the best defence this Saturday in San Francisco. My gut keeps telling me the 49ers will win and prevent a showdown between Green Bay and the Saints next weekend, but I'm picking New Orleans regardless. Seattle smothered their running attack last year and they must be coming at this game with related strategies in mind.
*Ouch
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
A murderer has avoided detection for decades. A journalist's reputation has been publicly ridiculed. A brilliant young researcher's incredible talent flourishes. A family's dark secrets seek revelation.
Patterns lie hidden within eclectic sources. Technological expertise facilitates their synthesization. The resultant thesis can be investigated with meticulous precision. Alternatives and subterfuges staggeringly structure the aggregate.
David Fincher's version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a sombre subterranean endeavour. Deeply digging into clandestine contrivances frenetically attempting to function without restraint, it descends into the feverish dementia affluently prospering beyond the restrictions of amicability.
And exorcises demons.
Ostracized individuals use their resourcefulness to disentangle an established privileged network from within and bring its mastermind to justice.
Having recreated a foothold within their culture's social fabric, divisions remain which prevent them from socializing on their gains.
Patterns lie hidden within eclectic sources. Technological expertise facilitates their synthesization. The resultant thesis can be investigated with meticulous precision. Alternatives and subterfuges staggeringly structure the aggregate.
David Fincher's version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a sombre subterranean endeavour. Deeply digging into clandestine contrivances frenetically attempting to function without restraint, it descends into the feverish dementia affluently prospering beyond the restrictions of amicability.
And exorcises demons.
Ostracized individuals use their resourcefulness to disentangle an established privileged network from within and bring its mastermind to justice.
Having recreated a foothold within their culture's social fabric, divisions remain which prevent them from socializing on their gains.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Descendants
An Hawaiian lawyer's textbook life is adulterously disrupted after his wife has a boating accident rendering her comatose and their eldest daughter reveals the secrets of her infidelities. Her coma forces him to take an active role in the rearing of their two daughters to whom he has remained patriarchally aloof for most of their lives. His family is incredibly wealthy however his relatives have squandered most of their fortune and hope to sell off 25,000 acres of coastal land holdings in order to continue to support their lavish lifestyles. He is the sole trustee of the family trust which controls the land and has the final say in how it is managed.
Alexander Payne's The Descendants follows him closely as he gets to know his children, seeks to meet his wife's love interest, and decides what to do with his family's inheritance. As much of an exploration of shock as it is an examination of improvisation, the knowledge Matt King (George Clooney) relies upon to ensure his success in the legal realm finds itself curiously deconstructed when confronted with that of the domestic.
As he struggles to comprehend.
Acknowledging that the cookie-cutter approach to living has its share of unforeseen non-transmissible calisthenics, he still finds a means through which to visualize permanence. Less a reflection on the self-absorbed behaviour that results in partners seeking attention elsewhere than a thorough elevation of frugality, void of risk, The Descendants offers scene upon scene of pristine Hawaiian imagery without making them seem beautiful.
Not turning 25,000 acres of coastal land into a resort because you believe some wilderness areas should be protected from commercial development for future generations would be beautiful. Not turning 25,000 acres of coastal land into a resort because you believe its permanence represents your smug superiority is not beautiful.
Alexander Payne's The Descendants follows him closely as he gets to know his children, seeks to meet his wife's love interest, and decides what to do with his family's inheritance. As much of an exploration of shock as it is an examination of improvisation, the knowledge Matt King (George Clooney) relies upon to ensure his success in the legal realm finds itself curiously deconstructed when confronted with that of the domestic.
As he struggles to comprehend.
Acknowledging that the cookie-cutter approach to living has its share of unforeseen non-transmissible calisthenics, he still finds a means through which to visualize permanence. Less a reflection on the self-absorbed behaviour that results in partners seeking attention elsewhere than a thorough elevation of frugality, void of risk, The Descendants offers scene upon scene of pristine Hawaiian imagery without making them seem beautiful.
Not turning 25,000 acres of coastal land into a resort because you believe some wilderness areas should be protected from commercial development for future generations would be beautiful. Not turning 25,000 acres of coastal land into a resort because you believe its permanence represents your smug superiority is not beautiful.
Friday, January 6, 2012
NFL Wildcard Picks
The NFL Wildcard weekend is quickly approaching. Here are my picks:
Cincinnati Bengals/Houston Texans: nice to know that one of these teams will win their first playoff game in quite some time, or ever. Sad that one of them has to lose. The Bengals's last playoff win was in the 1990 Wildcard round against the Houston Oilers. This is the Texans's first playoff appearance and they have no historical facts to draw on. The Bengals played Houston in Week 14 with Houston winning a close one (20-19). The other strong teams Cincinnati played this year were Denver, San Francisco, Tennessee, Baltimore (twice) and Pittsburgh (twice), and they lost every one of these games except one. Houston didn't finish the season well, losing their last three games to Carolina, Tennessee, and Indianapolis, but throughout the year they did beat Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Atlanta, only lost by 7 to New Orleans, and lost to Baltimore as well (Cincinnati won 2 of its last 3). Since Cincinnati lost most of their games this season when playing strong opponents and Houston managed to beat a couple of theirs, and the game is being played in Houston, the smart pick is definitely the Texans, noting that they scored 37 more points than the Bengals this season and allowed 45 fewer (even though they're experiencing a bit of a losing skid). However, something about the fact that the last time Cincinnati won a playoff game it was against another team from Houston makes me think the Bengals will win, and I'm throwing my support behind Cincinnati.
Atlanta Falcons/New York Giants: I like Atlanta in this one. Often upstart teams win the bye one year and lose (Denver vs. Jacksonville [1996], Chicago vs. Carolina [2005]) but then come back the following postseason and win a couple of games (sometimes winning the Super Bowl). I don't think Atlanta will make it to the Super Bowl but they scored more points than the Giants this year and allowed 50 fewer to be scored against them. New York played well this year, almost beating Green Bay, defeating New England, winning 1 of 2 against Philadelphia, and outscoring the Cowboys twice. Atlanta's record is similar with wins against Philadelphia, Detroit, and Tennessee, and a matchup against New Orleans which they only lost by 3. The Giants have a history of losing Wildcard games at home to NFC South opponents, falling to Carolina 23-0 in 2005. This should be a great game and I think Atlanta will win by a slim margin.
Pittsburgh Steelers/Denvers Broncos: if there's one thing Pittsburgh knows how to do in the playoffs it's win. Their record over the course of the last 18 years includes 12 playoff appearances, 4 shots at the Super Bowl (2 wins), 4 Conference Championship losses, and only one Wildcard weekend loss. They're bound to slip up again sometime. Opposing defences have adjusted to Tebow and resolutely shut him down for the last three weeks. It's time for Tebow to regroup, learn from his mistakes, and demonstrate that he has what it takes to win in the NFL playoffs. Look for Denver's defence to make some big plays which give Tebow the opportunity to shine. Denver by 7.
Detroit Lions/New Orleans Saints: last year Seattle reminded everyone that even though the Saints won the Super Bowl two years ago, they're still New Orleans with one of the worst playoff histories of any NFL franchise. But I think that humiliating loss brought an end to New Orleans's curse and after the way they played this season they should be able to handle the Lions. Detroit's a solid team who picked up wins versus Dallas, Chicago, Denver, and San Diego this year, and they've proved that their offence is explosive and knows how to win. But New Orleans has proven that they have one of the best offences on record, they're playing at home, unfathomably lost to the Seahawks last year, and could probably beat Green Bay. It's nice to see the Lions back in the playoffs and I hope they continue to build and make a run at the Super Bowl in the next couple of years, but they'll have to wait until teams like New Orleans have gone the way of Indianapolis if they have to play them first before charging deep into the postseason.
Cincinnati Bengals/Houston Texans: nice to know that one of these teams will win their first playoff game in quite some time, or ever. Sad that one of them has to lose. The Bengals's last playoff win was in the 1990 Wildcard round against the Houston Oilers. This is the Texans's first playoff appearance and they have no historical facts to draw on. The Bengals played Houston in Week 14 with Houston winning a close one (20-19). The other strong teams Cincinnati played this year were Denver, San Francisco, Tennessee, Baltimore (twice) and Pittsburgh (twice), and they lost every one of these games except one. Houston didn't finish the season well, losing their last three games to Carolina, Tennessee, and Indianapolis, but throughout the year they did beat Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Atlanta, only lost by 7 to New Orleans, and lost to Baltimore as well (Cincinnati won 2 of its last 3). Since Cincinnati lost most of their games this season when playing strong opponents and Houston managed to beat a couple of theirs, and the game is being played in Houston, the smart pick is definitely the Texans, noting that they scored 37 more points than the Bengals this season and allowed 45 fewer (even though they're experiencing a bit of a losing skid). However, something about the fact that the last time Cincinnati won a playoff game it was against another team from Houston makes me think the Bengals will win, and I'm throwing my support behind Cincinnati.
Atlanta Falcons/New York Giants: I like Atlanta in this one. Often upstart teams win the bye one year and lose (Denver vs. Jacksonville [1996], Chicago vs. Carolina [2005]) but then come back the following postseason and win a couple of games (sometimes winning the Super Bowl). I don't think Atlanta will make it to the Super Bowl but they scored more points than the Giants this year and allowed 50 fewer to be scored against them. New York played well this year, almost beating Green Bay, defeating New England, winning 1 of 2 against Philadelphia, and outscoring the Cowboys twice. Atlanta's record is similar with wins against Philadelphia, Detroit, and Tennessee, and a matchup against New Orleans which they only lost by 3. The Giants have a history of losing Wildcard games at home to NFC South opponents, falling to Carolina 23-0 in 2005. This should be a great game and I think Atlanta will win by a slim margin.
Pittsburgh Steelers/Denvers Broncos: if there's one thing Pittsburgh knows how to do in the playoffs it's win. Their record over the course of the last 18 years includes 12 playoff appearances, 4 shots at the Super Bowl (2 wins), 4 Conference Championship losses, and only one Wildcard weekend loss. They're bound to slip up again sometime. Opposing defences have adjusted to Tebow and resolutely shut him down for the last three weeks. It's time for Tebow to regroup, learn from his mistakes, and demonstrate that he has what it takes to win in the NFL playoffs. Look for Denver's defence to make some big plays which give Tebow the opportunity to shine. Denver by 7.
Detroit Lions/New Orleans Saints: last year Seattle reminded everyone that even though the Saints won the Super Bowl two years ago, they're still New Orleans with one of the worst playoff histories of any NFL franchise. But I think that humiliating loss brought an end to New Orleans's curse and after the way they played this season they should be able to handle the Lions. Detroit's a solid team who picked up wins versus Dallas, Chicago, Denver, and San Diego this year, and they've proved that their offence is explosive and knows how to win. But New Orleans has proven that they have one of the best offences on record, they're playing at home, unfathomably lost to the Seahawks last year, and could probably beat Green Bay. It's nice to see the Lions back in the playoffs and I hope they continue to build and make a run at the Super Bowl in the next couple of years, but they'll have to wait until teams like New Orleans have gone the way of Indianapolis if they have to play them first before charging deep into the postseason.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Can't believe the Broncos replace quarterback Kyle Orton with Tim Tebow and then end up playing the Kansas City Chiefs for their last game of the regular season for whom Orton now plays. Denver has to win to make the playoffs unless Oakland loses to San Diego and no opposing quarterback knows their team's secrets better than Kyle Orton. Denver has lost their last two games while Kansas City managed to beat Green Bay two weeks ago.
Meaning the pressure's on.
And Denver's heading back to the playoffs.
Meaning the pressure's on.
And Denver's heading back to the playoffs.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
War Horse
Trudging through the war torn European countryside, using skills learned from a forgiving instructor to survive, a horse alertly struggles through World War I, making the most of his talents as he's haplessly acquired by different armies. Functioning as a valuable fortuitous representative of pluck, he resignedly forgoes his wild instincts until circumstances demand their acceleration. As a consequence, he becomes inextricably entangled with imperialist hostilities, an indelible illustration of apocalyptic freedom. External forces most then intervene to secure his release, employing logic and chance to facilitate its realization.
Steven Spielberg's War Horse successfully depicts the brutality of war without glorifying its retributive catharsis (without accenting the accompanying felicity that results from crushing jingoistic calamities). Simplified scenes exemplifying sincere trust or pastoral serenity (the French grandfather [Niels Arestrup] and granddaughter [Celine Buckens]) are juxtaposed with militaristic might to highlight the sharp distinction maintained between these domains. The concept of order is resultantly polarized as well since war represents an extreme form of total mobilization (organization) (you will be shot if you don't follow orders) while the trust built into an idyllic existence organizes necessity (you must work to continuously reproduce your quality of life) in relation to the imagination (it's still possible to enjoy yourself once the work is complete). One approach necessarily tethers fantasy to a definite specific goal while the other leaves it free to roam and discover/create concrete or abstract objects.
The discovery of these concrete or abstract objects may or may not relate directly to your work at hand but in War Horse's opening moments they certainly do. Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) decides to outbid his landlord for a riding horse which he cannot afford. In order to make the payments, the horse must plow a rocky field that the village has dismissed as unmanageable. Ted's son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) teaches the horse to pull a plow and the land is thereby tilled. Thus, Ted's imagination allows him to believe that he can procure something which can then assist him in earning his living while also providing him with the means to pursue other interests (in his case, drinking, in his son's, horse riding). Unfortunately, a storm ruins his crops forcing him to sell his horse to the military.
And his son signs up for war.
Steven Spielberg's War Horse successfully depicts the brutality of war without glorifying its retributive catharsis (without accenting the accompanying felicity that results from crushing jingoistic calamities). Simplified scenes exemplifying sincere trust or pastoral serenity (the French grandfather [Niels Arestrup] and granddaughter [Celine Buckens]) are juxtaposed with militaristic might to highlight the sharp distinction maintained between these domains. The concept of order is resultantly polarized as well since war represents an extreme form of total mobilization (organization) (you will be shot if you don't follow orders) while the trust built into an idyllic existence organizes necessity (you must work to continuously reproduce your quality of life) in relation to the imagination (it's still possible to enjoy yourself once the work is complete). One approach necessarily tethers fantasy to a definite specific goal while the other leaves it free to roam and discover/create concrete or abstract objects.
The discovery of these concrete or abstract objects may or may not relate directly to your work at hand but in War Horse's opening moments they certainly do. Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan) decides to outbid his landlord for a riding horse which he cannot afford. In order to make the payments, the horse must plow a rocky field that the village has dismissed as unmanageable. Ted's son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) teaches the horse to pull a plow and the land is thereby tilled. Thus, Ted's imagination allows him to believe that he can procure something which can then assist him in earning his living while also providing him with the means to pursue other interests (in his case, drinking, in his son's, horse riding). Unfortunately, a storm ruins his crops forcing him to sell his horse to the military.
And his son signs up for war.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
An adventure accidentally presents itself as commodities are exchanged. A secret lies deep within unconscious depths hidden beneath years of unchecked alcohol consumption. A helpful dog continuously discovers solutions to associated problems. And innocent Tintin proceeds unrelentingly.
Three clues have been placed within the masts of three model ships which represent a sunken vessel known as the Unicorn. A resourceful scoundrel seeks to decipher these clues in order to harvest a bountiful treasure. Tintin (Jamie Bell) is kidnapped and forced to take part in his quest. After cleverly escaping his captor's clutches, he meets a saucy Sea Captain (Andy Serkis) with whom he was born to encapsulate.
Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin youthfully and energetically galvanizes this filmic variation of the Tintin franchise. Fast paced deliberate inquisitive action meets dedicated trustworthy crafty redemption as comic interjections intermittently lighten the tension and purpose unites difference in the bonds of collaborative friendship. Travel is a necessity. Responses must be made according to specific temporal restrictions. The competition is ruthless and eager to displease. And historical antagonisms have been built into the dynamic so that contemporary animosities take on a legendary character.
It's very athletic.
Amiable and fun and full of life and nimble energy, The Adventures of Tintin is an enlivening family friendly film which pleasantly cushions the holiday season.
Three clues have been placed within the masts of three model ships which represent a sunken vessel known as the Unicorn. A resourceful scoundrel seeks to decipher these clues in order to harvest a bountiful treasure. Tintin (Jamie Bell) is kidnapped and forced to take part in his quest. After cleverly escaping his captor's clutches, he meets a saucy Sea Captain (Andy Serkis) with whom he was born to encapsulate.
Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin youthfully and energetically galvanizes this filmic variation of the Tintin franchise. Fast paced deliberate inquisitive action meets dedicated trustworthy crafty redemption as comic interjections intermittently lighten the tension and purpose unites difference in the bonds of collaborative friendship. Travel is a necessity. Responses must be made according to specific temporal restrictions. The competition is ruthless and eager to displease. And historical antagonisms have been built into the dynamic so that contemporary animosities take on a legendary character.
It's very athletic.
Amiable and fun and full of life and nimble energy, The Adventures of Tintin is an enlivening family friendly film which pleasantly cushions the holiday season.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Concentration
I've noticed one of the problems I'm having engaging in French conversations which is kind of funny when I think about it. The problem is that I haven't spent much time immersed in environments where French is the most prominent language of communication so when I find myself within them (with native French speakers as opposed to those for whom French is a second language whom I have an easier time understanding) I have to concentrate intensely to differentiate the words. When I concentrate intensely I have this stern inhospitable look on my face which isn't very comforting. Hence, while someone's saying something like "I saw this great film" or "my friend and I went to the park this afternoon" I'm looking at them as if I'm trying to discern what an esoteric genius is saying about Fredric Jameson during an abstruse lecture. Problematic to be sure.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Wasn't as impressed with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows as I was with Guy Ritchie's first instalment. Holmes's (Robert Downey Jr.) remarkable wit and resilient problem solving skills are once again prominently on display and his whimsical interactions with Dr. Watson (Jude Law) continue to entertain. The fast paced reactive comedic drama moves the plot along with picturesque pinpoint precision. An erudite athletic warrior who constantly goes out of his way to massage his own ego still seeks to prevent the masters of war from obtaining their goals. And the meticulous attention to detail worked into his split second evaluations commands a heightened degree of respect as the concept of awareness receives a veraciously sharp intrepid exposition.
But these elements aren't tied together particularly well.
Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) struggles to maintain Holmes's level of acute alacrity. Some of the novelties which worked well in the first film such as Holmes's pugilistic propensities take up too much time in Game of Shadows to the detriment of his observational acumen. While the dialogue energetically motivates the action while hypothesizing/researching/analyzing/synthesizing the script seems like it was written with an equal degree of haste and more care could have been taken to include harmonious linguistic formulations (some incredible synergies would have resulted had these been in place)(linguistic formulations whose appealing character could have matched the intellectual intensity of the action). Having Holmes attempt to halt the escalation of a major European war places him in a position too grandiose for the execution of a successful first sequel (it's too over the top). And the female characters become static cardboard cutouts as the action progresses, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) having been poisoned in the opening moments.
While exciting enough and possessing a rationalized frenetic frequency, Game of Shadows attempts to move beyond the constructs of its predecessor too quickly while relying on them too strictly, and comes across as rash rather than bold, violently crashing into the sun.
But these elements aren't tied together particularly well.
Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) struggles to maintain Holmes's level of acute alacrity. Some of the novelties which worked well in the first film such as Holmes's pugilistic propensities take up too much time in Game of Shadows to the detriment of his observational acumen. While the dialogue energetically motivates the action while hypothesizing/researching/analyzing/synthesizing the script seems like it was written with an equal degree of haste and more care could have been taken to include harmonious linguistic formulations (some incredible synergies would have resulted had these been in place)(linguistic formulations whose appealing character could have matched the intellectual intensity of the action). Having Holmes attempt to halt the escalation of a major European war places him in a position too grandiose for the execution of a successful first sequel (it's too over the top). And the female characters become static cardboard cutouts as the action progresses, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) having been poisoned in the opening moments.
While exciting enough and possessing a rationalized frenetic frequency, Game of Shadows attempts to move beyond the constructs of its predecessor too quickly while relying on them too strictly, and comes across as rash rather than bold, violently crashing into the sun.
Hugo
Time requires maintenance. Each ticking tock must be delicately managed in order to ensure punctual consistency and historical longevity. This is no easy task, and cataclysmic events can disrupt its narrative flow, as can the resurrection of the unforeseen, the one terrorizing established norms and constructs in the maniacal hopes of strengthening their resolve (the masters of war), the other invigorating traditional forms with revitalized content which in turn can redesign them if the insertion of difference is compelling enough to transmit a reconstituted concrete variability (inception) while (eventually) finding a receptive influential audience (innovative exoteric visionaries). Time will continue to pass regardless but its acknowledgement and associated terms of reference (habitual action X producing results D reinforced by the creation of pattern H) will need a cultural catalyst, from which things can begin anew.
We see both sides of this matrix at work in Martin Scorsese's exceptional new film Hugo, which examines the relationship between an orphan and an elderly toymaker. The orphan Hugo (Asa Butterfield) lives in the walls of a Parisian train station where he diligently keeps its various clocks running on time. From these walls, he eyes George Méliès's (Ben Kingsley) toyshop in the hopes of obtaining parts which will help him fix an automaton which was acquired by his father (Jude Law) before his untimely death. Inspector Gustav (Sacha Baron Cohen) monitors the station's passageways with a strong desire to uphold law and order (and send orphans to the orphanage). Monsieur Labisse (Christopher Lee) operates a dusty bookshop from which he encourages a love of lifelong learning.
Time was disrupted within Hugo's narrative by the introduction of film making to the Parisian artistic scene. Infatuated with the medium, a magician builds his own camera in order to share the dreamscapes of his imaginings. Having cultivated an audience, he continues to create profusely thereby compartmentalizing various tenants of his vision. But World War I annihilates many markets successfully established in France and beyond, and in its aftermath his audience fails to rematerialize and his films must be sold and melted down.
Time passes and due to the serendipitous reverberations of two curious youths an historical echo increases its volume. Hugo and his friend Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) discover a mystery whose clues lead them to volumes housed in a local library. From these volumes, clues transform into probabilities and an unconscious cultural qualifier approaches remanifestation. An automaton whose ability to produce felicitous active images is brought back to life through the ingenuity of friendship, and returned to its creator.
And an innovative exoteric visionary's legacy is recognized and celebrated, having been resurrected from the ashes of the masters of war. One of time's great disruptions is rediscovered and catalogued in order to ensure its historical longevity.
We see both sides of this matrix at work in Martin Scorsese's exceptional new film Hugo, which examines the relationship between an orphan and an elderly toymaker. The orphan Hugo (Asa Butterfield) lives in the walls of a Parisian train station where he diligently keeps its various clocks running on time. From these walls, he eyes George Méliès's (Ben Kingsley) toyshop in the hopes of obtaining parts which will help him fix an automaton which was acquired by his father (Jude Law) before his untimely death. Inspector Gustav (Sacha Baron Cohen) monitors the station's passageways with a strong desire to uphold law and order (and send orphans to the orphanage). Monsieur Labisse (Christopher Lee) operates a dusty bookshop from which he encourages a love of lifelong learning.
Time was disrupted within Hugo's narrative by the introduction of film making to the Parisian artistic scene. Infatuated with the medium, a magician builds his own camera in order to share the dreamscapes of his imaginings. Having cultivated an audience, he continues to create profusely thereby compartmentalizing various tenants of his vision. But World War I annihilates many markets successfully established in France and beyond, and in its aftermath his audience fails to rematerialize and his films must be sold and melted down.
Time passes and due to the serendipitous reverberations of two curious youths an historical echo increases its volume. Hugo and his friend Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) discover a mystery whose clues lead them to volumes housed in a local library. From these volumes, clues transform into probabilities and an unconscious cultural qualifier approaches remanifestation. An automaton whose ability to produce felicitous active images is brought back to life through the ingenuity of friendship, and returned to its creator.
And an innovative exoteric visionary's legacy is recognized and celebrated, having been resurrected from the ashes of the masters of war. One of time's great disruptions is rediscovered and catalogued in order to ensure its historical longevity.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
J. Edgar
Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar situates a cunning politico-ethical land mine deep within the socio-American filmic vortex which combusts a manufactured traditional market by highlighting the contribution of gay Americans to the creation of some of their most revered institutions.
According to this film, there is no doubt that J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) loved his country (or his conception of his country). His opposition to radical elements and disgust with the ways in which the media glorified gangsters is relentless as he pursues the incarceration of outlaws while demanding nothing but refined conduct from his employees. As director of the FBI, he significantly expands its agency through the acquisition of legal and economic resources while patiently and obsessively focusing on the cultivation of its public reputation. Deeply and resolutely committed to the idea that public figures must comport themselves with the utmost integrity, he sharply manages both the conduct of his agents and the public perceptions of the conduct of his agents while placing himself in the forefront whenever possible. Paranoid and power mad and willing to take down those whose popularity risks rivalling his own, he delicately balances the relationship between democratic efficiency and bureaucratic autocracy throughout the course of his lengthy career, agilely avoiding the sword of Damocles.
But there's one problem.
He has no interest in women and loves Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer) who has been by his side for the majority of his career. His private life has been defined by the politico-ethical foundations of his public pursuits as undesirable, which encourages a significant degree of anxiety. This extra layer of anxiety adds additional pressure to his institutional position which already demands a heightened degree of caution.
Hence, paranoia.
But he still skillfully utilizes his considerable gifts to survive within a heteronormative domain wherein he succeeds in accomplishing remarkable feats, even though his memory of such feats may be somewhat exaggerated.
It can be argued that his achievements were the results of his repression and that he wouldn't have been able to survive in a cutthroat competitive professional climate without having had the added bonus of developing exceptional survival instincts through the art of concealment in his youth.
But who in their right mind wants to nurture a public sphere which necessitates the dissimulation of strengths when their cultivation could increase the intensity of said sphere's productive tendencies by enabling its representatives to energize their freedoms? There's no telling what else J. Edgar could have been able to accomplish had he been nurtured in an environment where sexual difference was respected and he didn't have to consistently expend psychological resources to distract attention away from the most beautiful parts of his personality.
According to this film, there is no doubt that J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) loved his country (or his conception of his country). His opposition to radical elements and disgust with the ways in which the media glorified gangsters is relentless as he pursues the incarceration of outlaws while demanding nothing but refined conduct from his employees. As director of the FBI, he significantly expands its agency through the acquisition of legal and economic resources while patiently and obsessively focusing on the cultivation of its public reputation. Deeply and resolutely committed to the idea that public figures must comport themselves with the utmost integrity, he sharply manages both the conduct of his agents and the public perceptions of the conduct of his agents while placing himself in the forefront whenever possible. Paranoid and power mad and willing to take down those whose popularity risks rivalling his own, he delicately balances the relationship between democratic efficiency and bureaucratic autocracy throughout the course of his lengthy career, agilely avoiding the sword of Damocles.
But there's one problem.
He has no interest in women and loves Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer) who has been by his side for the majority of his career. His private life has been defined by the politico-ethical foundations of his public pursuits as undesirable, which encourages a significant degree of anxiety. This extra layer of anxiety adds additional pressure to his institutional position which already demands a heightened degree of caution.
Hence, paranoia.
But he still skillfully utilizes his considerable gifts to survive within a heteronormative domain wherein he succeeds in accomplishing remarkable feats, even though his memory of such feats may be somewhat exaggerated.
It can be argued that his achievements were the results of his repression and that he wouldn't have been able to survive in a cutthroat competitive professional climate without having had the added bonus of developing exceptional survival instincts through the art of concealment in his youth.
But who in their right mind wants to nurture a public sphere which necessitates the dissimulation of strengths when their cultivation could increase the intensity of said sphere's productive tendencies by enabling its representatives to energize their freedoms? There's no telling what else J. Edgar could have been able to accomplish had he been nurtured in an environment where sexual difference was respected and he didn't have to consistently expend psychological resources to distract attention away from the most beautiful parts of his personality.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Rum Diary
An outlet exists for the transmitting of information in Puerto Rico, a newspaper, thoroughly saturated with colonialist prejudices, at which a journalist interested in reaching out to the people finds employment. When not engaging in the act of writing, the adventurous observer explores his surroundings making friends, experiencing difficulties, encountering the well-to-do, and cultivating his desire. The love interest in question's disposition is strong and free, committed and versatile and capable of viscerally understanding the repressed needs of an impoverished body politic, to which she responds charismatically. The well-to-do see land on which hotels can be built regardless of the fact that people already live there. Difficulties arise based on socio-political differences which necessitate miscalculations in regards to the motivations of representatives of the dominant group on the part of the oppressed. Friends possess grassroots contacts, cultural leverage, and corresponding instinctual insights. From these particularities a story takes shape into which an historical approach coalesces with the habitualizations of the new to generate a point of divergence. But in order for this point to be transmitted ruptures within the traditional order of things must be accepted by the powers that be whose interests are lined up to the contrary. With nothing but conviction and a creative solution Kemp (Johnny Depp) attempts to take control of the means of production in order to nurture the needs of the many (and expose the will of the few).
The Rum Diary is an effective examination of the ways in which a talented writer lives in the moment in order to utilize its strengths in the expression of his art, blurring the line between reality and fiction. Accentuating the difficulties associated with establishing an enduring point of reference while using both rigid oppositions and malleable characterizations to motivate the action, it functions as both a playful poetic capriciously altruistic romance and a harsh stubborn warning as it investigates the relationship between young and old professionals. A remarkably sober structure for a film wherein the major characters regularly abuse substances, its pacing successfully introduces episodic crescendos, comic staccatos, and tragic climactic allegros. Nice to see more of a focus on Hunter S. Thompson the writer within, as his stand-in intuitively stumbles from one scoop to the next.
The Rum Diary is an effective examination of the ways in which a talented writer lives in the moment in order to utilize its strengths in the expression of his art, blurring the line between reality and fiction. Accentuating the difficulties associated with establishing an enduring point of reference while using both rigid oppositions and malleable characterizations to motivate the action, it functions as both a playful poetic capriciously altruistic romance and a harsh stubborn warning as it investigates the relationship between young and old professionals. A remarkably sober structure for a film wherein the major characters regularly abuse substances, its pacing successfully introduces episodic crescendos, comic staccatos, and tragic climactic allegros. Nice to see more of a focus on Hunter S. Thompson the writer within, as his stand-in intuitively stumbles from one scoop to the next.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Justice for Sergei
Justice for Sergei is a powerful documentary which succinctly discusses incredibly distressing subject matter.
Sergei Magnitsky worked as a tax lawyer for Heritage Capital Management, a privately owned investment management firm formerly operating in Russia. From what I gathered, HCM was operating 3 Russian investment companies. These businesses had made profits of around 973 million and paid something like 230 million in taxes. One day, the police raided HCM's Russian offices and commandeered all of the documents proving they owned these organizations.
No reason was provided to explain the raid and employees who protested were beaten.
Around the same time, court proceedings were being held of which HCM had no knowledge during which ownership of the three companies was transferred to someone else who had previously been convicted for murder. The proceedings fined the companies 973 million thereby nullifying their most recent profits. As a consequence, the new owner of the companies was able to apply for a tax refund for which they applied and received 230 million.
When HCM protested stating that they owned the companies in question they were told to prove ownership by producing the documents then held by the police and therefore inaccessible.
Sergei uncovered this information (the largest tax fraud in Russian history) and consequently tried to have those responsible exposed. He was then arrested. He continued to try and illuminate the corruption in court and was ignored. He became sick while in a detention centre and was then sent to another with poorer facilities.
It is thought that the collusive individuals who put this plan into action, many of them government officials, tried to convince the incarcerated Sergei to change his testimony in order to draw attention away from their misdeeds.
Sergei refused, maintaining both his integrity and respect for the law.
He died shortly thereafter and no one was permitted to examine the body.
Many of the government officials involved in this fiasco and their cronies have since been promoted.
An investigation into the matter was called by President Dmitry Medvedev and after its first year no one had yet to be held accountable.
Sergei is described as a dedicated workaholic who devoted his life to his family and uprightly upholding the law.
His tragic death represents what happens when ethics confronts a thoroughly corrupt oligarchic body politic bent on using its judicial influence to obtain economic leverage from which it can nefariously continue to conduct its private business under the cloak of governmental justice.
Thoroughly revolting and reminiscent of Caligula, local, national, and international pressure can still bring about justice for Sergei if a committed campaign is sustained over time.
You can watch the film here.
Sergei Magnitsky worked as a tax lawyer for Heritage Capital Management, a privately owned investment management firm formerly operating in Russia. From what I gathered, HCM was operating 3 Russian investment companies. These businesses had made profits of around 973 million and paid something like 230 million in taxes. One day, the police raided HCM's Russian offices and commandeered all of the documents proving they owned these organizations.
No reason was provided to explain the raid and employees who protested were beaten.
Around the same time, court proceedings were being held of which HCM had no knowledge during which ownership of the three companies was transferred to someone else who had previously been convicted for murder. The proceedings fined the companies 973 million thereby nullifying their most recent profits. As a consequence, the new owner of the companies was able to apply for a tax refund for which they applied and received 230 million.
When HCM protested stating that they owned the companies in question they were told to prove ownership by producing the documents then held by the police and therefore inaccessible.
Sergei uncovered this information (the largest tax fraud in Russian history) and consequently tried to have those responsible exposed. He was then arrested. He continued to try and illuminate the corruption in court and was ignored. He became sick while in a detention centre and was then sent to another with poorer facilities.
It is thought that the collusive individuals who put this plan into action, many of them government officials, tried to convince the incarcerated Sergei to change his testimony in order to draw attention away from their misdeeds.
Sergei refused, maintaining both his integrity and respect for the law.
He died shortly thereafter and no one was permitted to examine the body.
Many of the government officials involved in this fiasco and their cronies have since been promoted.
An investigation into the matter was called by President Dmitry Medvedev and after its first year no one had yet to be held accountable.
Sergei is described as a dedicated workaholic who devoted his life to his family and uprightly upholding the law.
His tragic death represents what happens when ethics confronts a thoroughly corrupt oligarchic body politic bent on using its judicial influence to obtain economic leverage from which it can nefariously continue to conduct its private business under the cloak of governmental justice.
Thoroughly revolting and reminiscent of Caligula, local, national, and international pressure can still bring about justice for Sergei if a committed campaign is sustained over time.
You can watch the film here.
When China Met Africa
Mark and Nick Francis's When China Met Africa presents a modest portrait of Chinese investment in Zambia and follows the lives of three individuals trying to secure a place for themselves within its economic dynamic.
Mr. Liu grew tired of struggling to make ends meet in China and moved to Zambia in search of opportunity. He's done well for himself and his family and has recently purchased his fourth farm.
Mr. Li manages the construction of Zambia's longest road for a multinational Chinese business and runs into trouble after government funding dries up.
At the same time, Zambia's Trade Minister travels to China in order to secure finances to encourage his county's economic development.
External narration and constant statistics do not support the film's construction as it simply presents brief insights into the daily activities of these men and the ways in which they conduct their affairs.
Zambia is meant to stand in for Africa in order to demonstrate how Chinese investments are changing its economic landscapes but I hesitate to draw strict parallels between its experience and that of other countries insofar as Africa is an extremely diverse continent whose multidimensional politico-economic markets resist such characterizations.
The film may have been more appropriately titled When China Met Zambia.
Mr. Li's attitude is stoic and wise as he encounters setbacks and delays and his stable and calm disposition no doubt have facilitated his capacity to endure.
The influence of capital is examined at local, national, and international levels as Mr. Liu must pay his workers, funds must be secured to encourage infrastructure development, and that development encounters difficulties trying to ensure its structural integrity (which corresponds to Mike Holmes's comments regarding home building on Canadian Reserves).
While When China Met Africa provides an explicit grassroots examination of Chinese investment in Zambia and its related projects at micro and macro levels, its lack of accompanying statistics leaves you hungry for more information (nice).
The film also functions as a strong investigation of the ways in which English functions as a prominent international language of communication as the international characters negotiate, manage, and interrelate in different English dialects.
The ways in which business is conducted on the ground are eye opening in regards to the negative environmental effects of deregulation.
Mr. Liu grew tired of struggling to make ends meet in China and moved to Zambia in search of opportunity. He's done well for himself and his family and has recently purchased his fourth farm.
Mr. Li manages the construction of Zambia's longest road for a multinational Chinese business and runs into trouble after government funding dries up.
At the same time, Zambia's Trade Minister travels to China in order to secure finances to encourage his county's economic development.
External narration and constant statistics do not support the film's construction as it simply presents brief insights into the daily activities of these men and the ways in which they conduct their affairs.
Zambia is meant to stand in for Africa in order to demonstrate how Chinese investments are changing its economic landscapes but I hesitate to draw strict parallels between its experience and that of other countries insofar as Africa is an extremely diverse continent whose multidimensional politico-economic markets resist such characterizations.
The film may have been more appropriately titled When China Met Zambia.
Mr. Li's attitude is stoic and wise as he encounters setbacks and delays and his stable and calm disposition no doubt have facilitated his capacity to endure.
The influence of capital is examined at local, national, and international levels as Mr. Liu must pay his workers, funds must be secured to encourage infrastructure development, and that development encounters difficulties trying to ensure its structural integrity (which corresponds to Mike Holmes's comments regarding home building on Canadian Reserves).
While When China Met Africa provides an explicit grassroots examination of Chinese investment in Zambia and its related projects at micro and macro levels, its lack of accompanying statistics leaves you hungry for more information (nice).
The film also functions as a strong investigation of the ways in which English functions as a prominent international language of communication as the international characters negotiate, manage, and interrelate in different English dialects.
The ways in which business is conducted on the ground are eye opening in regards to the negative environmental effects of deregulation.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wheat Board Transitions
Call me impractical, but as the Canadian Wheat Board is unfortunately dismantled, shouldn't some kind of fund be created to help farmers with no marketing experience learn to effectively market their grain, and to help them cope with this serious disruption?
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