Argo: Propaganda?

After viewing Argo, I took my regular lap around the usual film websites, seeing what critics and fans thought of the film to see differing opinions and if I had missed anything.  From rotten tomatoes and metacritic I saw positive reviews, which I tended to agree with if, although as enthusiastically as some critics.   However, when I headed to the message boards on IMDB I was pleasantly surprised to see plenty of hate.

Some of the hate came from the film’s recent best picture win.  I would agree with most of these posters who were surprised at the win.  I enjoyed the film and thought it was very well done, but I didn’t see it as anything groundbreaking or remarkable, which is what usually comes to mind when I think Best Picture (although that is certainly not always the case).  I didn’t share as much hate as many irate posters, but I could understand the arguments of the more descriptive contributors who managed to include more than one sentence filled with swears and poor spelling.

The hate I could not understand, however, came from people who claimed Argo was a piece of pure propaganda.  Terms like “one-sided” and “conspiracy” were being thrown about quite freely, with arguments ranging from fairly coherent to paranoid.  The User Review on the front page was entitled “Vomit enducing propaganda”, and predictably did not come with a very good rating but instead with some cleverly worded hatred and a shallow review.

Classic Films That Could Be Remade Well

SPOILERS

Let me start by saying that it is always controversial (and usually heresy) to suggest remaking a classic film, because, well, how can you improve on a classic the second time around?  For a film such as The Godfather, which is about as perfect as a film gets, any attempt at a remake nearly as good would be ill-fated.  That is why Hollywood usually remakes foreign films that people won’t see because they hate subtitles and funny accents, or instead take fan favorites such as Total Recall and Red Dawn, strip away all the charm/intelligence, and replace them with shiny objects, explosions, and Chris Hemsworth.  So the point of this list is not to suggest films that Hollywood should bastardize, or to say that the remakes would be undeniably better, but simply to point out classic films that could be remade in a different direction, and still turn out to be solid films.

Oldboy

No, this film isn’t old enough to be a classic, and yes, it is already being remade so this is cheating, but I’ll use this example to ease people into this list and explain more of what my criteria is.

Great Films That I Will Never Watch Again

SPOILERS

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

This is a great film, and I watched it at a time in my life where I could really relate to the protagonist, McMurphy.  I was in high school and maybe I wasn’t dealing with anything truly important in life, but I had the anti-authoritarian spirit in me, and saw bravery in McMurphy’s actions.

I loved the story of how McMurphy battled with Nurse Ratched and the dysfunctional institution.  He didn’t always succeed, and wasn’t always rational or honest, but that just made him more human and his victories more impressive, including his final victory where he inspires Chief to escape.

Four Things Wrong With Heroes

 I recently spent way too much time watching all four seasons of the show Heroes.  The show, while not the worst ever, has plenty of things wrong with it.  I could have talked about the gradual decline in quality of the show, how none of the season endings had a satisfying payoff, how they overused cliffhangers at the end of episodes, or how Claire's high school drama storylines often brought down whole episodes.  Instead, I'm going to focus on four somewhat smaller annoyances that bugged me.

 

How do they know The Haitian is Haitian?

In season 1, Matt Parkman recounts his memories of being kidnapped by the company, and says that he remembers some Haitian guy at the bar.  That Haitian guy was, of course, Rene the Haitian, but it leads to a very important and irritating question.

How the fuck did Matt know that Rene was Haitian?

Rene wasn’t speaking French or Haitian Creole, the official languages of Haiti.  He was not enjoying a dish of diri kole ak pwa with lots of peppers and herbs, as Wikipedia claims is a traditional Haitian dish.    And he wasn’t telling everyone about Wyclef Jean or Jean Baptist, two famous Haitians.  He was sitting at a table, staring, and doing magic stuff.

Community Season 4 Premiere Analysis

Oh, how long I’ve waited for the new Community episode.  No, not just waited.  I fretted, worried, predicted, and dreamed about it, wondering what the Harmon-less season would feel like.  As a general rule of thumb, I think that anytime a network or studio makes significant changes to a show or movie, it can’t be good.  And when they rip out the heart of a show and replace it with two people of their choosing, can that possibly end well?

Well, as the first episode showed, it can end somewhat well.  While watching last week’s episode, I certainly laughed and enjoyed myself.  There were several great moments.  Troy and Britta’s fountain scene was a hilarious highlight, despite being short.  Whenever Jeff feuds with Leonard during an episode, it’s going to be hilarious.  And the studio audience version sitcom worked really well as a piece of dry, alternative comedy.  But, despite all this, I can’t help feeling disappointed.

Thoughts on the Super Bowl Film Trailers

Iron Man 3

I’ll admit that I hated Iron Man, despised Iron Man 2, and cannot be rational about anything concerning Iron Man 3 because I’m sure it’ll be a piece of crap that people will still like for reasons I can’t understand.  Side note:  I loved The Avengers, proving that it isn’t Robert Downey Jr. or the actual Iron Man character, but instead it’s the awful films.

The Super Bowl spot gives me a glimmer of hope, since it shows Iron Man possibly having to make a tough decision and choosing who lives and who dies.  Maybe they’ll include some actual thought-provoking elements into the storyline or make the character Iron Man a bit more of a real person like in The Avengers rather than the blander version from the first two films.  But probably not.

Based on the extended trailer online and other trailers I’ve seen, I can’t help but think it’ll be more of the same.  Maybe they will actually have a villain with a personality this time (being a Russian who really likes his bird does not count as a personality, Mickey Rourke).  Maybe they won’t pretend the personal issues Iron Man faces and then conveniently overcomes in as unnaturall way possible make the story respectable.  Maybe people won’t see it and will instead demand the same quality film as they saw in The Avengers.  That’s all doubtful though.

And for the record, I’m not excited about Ben Kingsley being in the film.  The franchise had their shots with Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, and Jeff Bridges to create a villain I enjoyed, and they failed miserably with three great actors.

How They Should Make Ghostbusters 3

They should not make another Ghostbusters sequel.  There are constant rumors of this, and some people are eager at a chance to relive their fond Ghostbusters memories, but those people need to just go break out their old VHS of the classic films and stop trying to make a trilogy at the expense of the two films that so many people hold dear.

Let’s be honest, the only reason that the Ghostbusters sequel would be successful is Bill Murray, who has maintained relevancy by being an awesome guy (by using his fame to steal food and play kick ball).  But he seems to have bailed on the project, leaving the other 3 busters.  And do we really want a film with them?

4 Criminally Underappreciated Films

Ink

This indie feature was pointed out to me by my cousin, and I gladly point it out to anyone who wishes to watch an incredible film.  The plot is a little weird, with large portions taking place on an alternate plane of reality, where a disfigured monster, Ink, has captured a child and plans to bring her to demons.  That description doesn’t come close to how great the plot is, but what’s important is that this fantasy storyline runs parallel to the story of a businessman in a depression after the death of his wife, and the storylines play perfectly with each other and manage to bring out strong and vibrant emotions.

I rarely cry in films, but Ink is one of the few that has made me cry (on multiple occasions, actually).  It is simply one of those films that makes such a strong connection between the characters and the audience that you end up truly caring about the characters, and soon their battles become your battles.  Combine this with great visuals and solid performances, and you have a film that is one of my all-time favorites.

Why Did I Enjoy Van Wilder So Much?

I remember when I was younger, and I loved any film I saw.  When I saw “Daredevil” in theaters, I loved it.  “The Nutty Professor 2”?  Big fan.  “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd”?  Genius.  Sometime early in high school, I gained the ability to notice if a film was complete shit.  But that didn’t stop me from still enjoying “Van Wilder”, even after I was busy telling my classmates that their tastes in films were awful and that “Scary Movie 4” was an abomination that they should be ashamed of enjoying.

But why did I enjoy “Van Wilder” so much?  Until I previously rewatched it on tv, I hadn’t seen the film for a few years, but still had fond memories of watching it a few times in high school.  But why?  I couldn’t understand how I could have liked a film that was so awful.