SPIES, FAKE MOVIES AND NAZIS ON THE MOON
Dec. 13th, 2012 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogI haven’t stopped going to the cinemas. I’m just procrastinating with my amateur movie reviews.
Feel free to ask for a refund.
Skyfall
James Bond returns, and in some ways comes full circle as the reboot series with Daniel Craig basically establishes the original set-up of the Bond films (Bond, M, Moneypenny, and crazed arch villain) in the modern age.
By now you know the premise – Bond is shot during an assignment and uses his presumed death as an excuse for retirement, until MI6 headquarters is blown up by a mysterious cyberterrorist who has a vendetta against M.
The result is not only an exciting Bond film, but also one that’s come the closest ever to depicting Bond as an actual human being, thanks in no small part to Craig’s performance. Credit too to Judi Dench for making M a 3D character in the course of the past six Bond films, and helping define Bond’s character in the process. Also, Javier Bardem makes a good Bond villain (if not a great one).
It’s flawed in a few places, and my teeth grated a bit during the Macau scenes (Macau looking almost nothing like that in real life). But overall Skyfall lives up to the expectations set by Casino Royale in ways Quantum Of Solace didn’t quite achieve. Wherever the franchise goes from here, it has the best possible platform from which to spring.
Argo
Based on the incredible true story of how a CIA agent rescued six Americans trapped in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution by setting up a fake Hollywood film project so they can pretend to be in the country on a location scouting trip.
Unsurprisingly, the film has been criticized for historical inaccuracies, from the opening narration explaining the political situation that led to the revolution, to making it seem like primarily a CIA operation, when in fact the Canadian govt played a much bigger role. That said, anyone who turns to Hollywood for historical accuracy in anything billed as a "true story" gets what they deserve.
Taken on its own merit, Argo works as an unusual caper film with a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction twist. The set-up is strikingly believable, and Ben Affleck (as director) manages to build up a remarkable amount of suspense, considering you already know the outcome. Also, the film does a good job of showing just how dangerous it can be working in the US Embassy in a hostile environment, and how scary it can get when the locals start storming the gates – which also makes it strikingly relevant, given current events.
Iron Sky
It’s not often I go to see a film that opens with a short trailer explaining its groundbreaking origins and financing model. Which is somewhat off-putting, though I confess I went in without knowing it was from the same people who did Star Wreck on YouTube.
Anyway, Iron Sky is pure B-movie silliness – Nazis established a secret moon base in 1945 and are planning to retake the Earth. A US astronaut accidentally discovers the base and also accidentally gives them the technology they need to launch the invasion (an iPhone, of course). The fact that the sub-plot involves the US President (ostensibly Sarah Palin) plotting a re-election strategy with her insane campaign manager (whose first scene is a parody of a certain Hitler-related meme) tells you how seriously you should be taking this film.
Indeed, the whole thing basically comes across as a European idea of what a fan-funded science-fiction B-movie should look like. Critics have savaged it for a variety of reasons, and it is flawed in some ways (a few gaping plot holes, and the satire is a bit ham-handed), but I have to say I liked it a lot. Maybe it’s not as clever as it could have been, but creatively it takes more chances than most films I’ve seen this year.
Also, getting Laibach to do the soundtrack was a masterstroke.
Uber alles,
This is dF
Feel free to ask for a refund.
Skyfall
James Bond returns, and in some ways comes full circle as the reboot series with Daniel Craig basically establishes the original set-up of the Bond films (Bond, M, Moneypenny, and crazed arch villain) in the modern age.
By now you know the premise – Bond is shot during an assignment and uses his presumed death as an excuse for retirement, until MI6 headquarters is blown up by a mysterious cyberterrorist who has a vendetta against M.
The result is not only an exciting Bond film, but also one that’s come the closest ever to depicting Bond as an actual human being, thanks in no small part to Craig’s performance. Credit too to Judi Dench for making M a 3D character in the course of the past six Bond films, and helping define Bond’s character in the process. Also, Javier Bardem makes a good Bond villain (if not a great one).
It’s flawed in a few places, and my teeth grated a bit during the Macau scenes (Macau looking almost nothing like that in real life). But overall Skyfall lives up to the expectations set by Casino Royale in ways Quantum Of Solace didn’t quite achieve. Wherever the franchise goes from here, it has the best possible platform from which to spring.
Argo
Based on the incredible true story of how a CIA agent rescued six Americans trapped in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution by setting up a fake Hollywood film project so they can pretend to be in the country on a location scouting trip.
Unsurprisingly, the film has been criticized for historical inaccuracies, from the opening narration explaining the political situation that led to the revolution, to making it seem like primarily a CIA operation, when in fact the Canadian govt played a much bigger role. That said, anyone who turns to Hollywood for historical accuracy in anything billed as a "true story" gets what they deserve.
Taken on its own merit, Argo works as an unusual caper film with a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction twist. The set-up is strikingly believable, and Ben Affleck (as director) manages to build up a remarkable amount of suspense, considering you already know the outcome. Also, the film does a good job of showing just how dangerous it can be working in the US Embassy in a hostile environment, and how scary it can get when the locals start storming the gates – which also makes it strikingly relevant, given current events.
Iron Sky
It’s not often I go to see a film that opens with a short trailer explaining its groundbreaking origins and financing model. Which is somewhat off-putting, though I confess I went in without knowing it was from the same people who did Star Wreck on YouTube.
Anyway, Iron Sky is pure B-movie silliness – Nazis established a secret moon base in 1945 and are planning to retake the Earth. A US astronaut accidentally discovers the base and also accidentally gives them the technology they need to launch the invasion (an iPhone, of course). The fact that the sub-plot involves the US President (ostensibly Sarah Palin) plotting a re-election strategy with her insane campaign manager (whose first scene is a parody of a certain Hitler-related meme) tells you how seriously you should be taking this film.
Indeed, the whole thing basically comes across as a European idea of what a fan-funded science-fiction B-movie should look like. Critics have savaged it for a variety of reasons, and it is flawed in some ways (a few gaping plot holes, and the satire is a bit ham-handed), but I have to say I liked it a lot. Maybe it’s not as clever as it could have been, but creatively it takes more chances than most films I’ve seen this year.
Also, getting Laibach to do the soundtrack was a masterstroke.
Uber alles,
This is dF
