All Posts – Page 86 – Smug Film (1/7/13

How to Make a Kids’ Movie

Sanders and DeBlois know badass.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
Written by Will Davies, Chris Sanders, and Dean DeBlois
98 min.

You know that moment in Ratatouille when a single bite of Remy’s “peasant dish” confit byaldi delivers an almost spiritually transformative experience to the soul-dead critic Anton Ego? That happened to me when I first watched How To Train Your Dragon. I’m a perpetually grumpy 24-year-old undergraduate STEM major, and it takes a pretty special movie to penetrate the cold stone that encapsulates my heart, so I was quite surprised when this one, quite effortlessly, did just that. So, you’ll have to forgive me if, over the course of this review, my arguments devolve into fanboyish ranting. I ain’t saying HTTYD is the best thing since The Lion King, but it is the best animated kids’ movie made in the U.S. since at least Wall-E, and is easily one of the best computer animated movies of all time.
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A Rebuttal to ‘The Empress, Quite Literally, Has No Clothes’

Let me just start by saying that I agree with everything Cody says about Lena Dunham. But only because it’s true. Except mostly it isn’t. What I mean is, it’s true of everything of that ilk. The ‘ilk’ I’m referring to is any hip ‘indie’ thing made after 1995. Clerks is the only good movie like this and I suspect it’s because it was made by a fat white nerd with a chip on his shoulder at a time before that was a cool thing to be. Kevin Smith made it cool, so of course everything after it sucks. And if it weren’t for the ‘big word’ chapter cards interspersed throughout it (included just to appeal to the bohemian, intellectual, college crowds) it’d probably be a perfect movie.
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An Interview with John D’Amico of ‘Shot Context’

John D’Amico and some guy with glasses.

John D’Amico’s film blog, Shot Context, is like a film buff’s dream coffee table book. Since 2010, John has cataloged over 1,000 instances in which movies and TV shows have deliberately or unintentionally aped shots, dialogue, or music from ones that have come before. These aren’t your typical comparisons, either—he and his contributors have a knack for spotting ones you never would’ve noticed in a million years. You can get lost for hours browsing this addictive site, and as if all that brain food weren’t enough, he also sporadically posts epic film analyses and essays, such as this one covering the entire cinematic history of the Abraham Lincoln myth.
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Premium Rush is the Best Action Movie You Didn’t See in 2012

Michael Shannon and Gordon-Levitt make a memorable cat and mouse pair.

Premium Rush (2012)
Directed by David Koepp
Written by David Koepp and John Kamps
91 min.

2012 was full of self-serious groaners pretending to be action movies. I’m talking about the ones with oppressively sullen atmospheres and desaturated colors and adults speaking in serious tones about serious consequences. Skyfall and The Bourne Legacy and what have you. The poster child for this recent spate of ‘grown up’ action movies is, of course, The Dark Knight and its sequel—two movies that stupid people argue feature ‘moral complexities’ not found in your average popcorn flick. Give me a break. Personally, I can’t stand when a movie with an inherently fantastical and silly premise carries itself too seriously. And with Man of Steel and Star Trek Into Darkness dominating 2013’s action lineup, it seems like we won’t be out of Nolan’s shadow for a while.
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The Blair Witch Project: Stop Not Liking It

blairwitch

The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Written and Directed by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez
81 min.

Warning: This review contains spoilers. Please have seen this movie before reading.

The Blair Witch Project may be the most effective movie ever made. It’s certainly one of the best. I say ‘effective’ because its goal—to scare the shit out of you—is so cleverly achieved that it boggles the mind.

This movie is effective for the same reason any movie is effective: it’s a clear, soundly constructed story, told creatively by way of great performances, well-crafted shots, and brilliant exposition. Exposition in particular is such a difficult thing, and is so often mishandled, generally leading to the complete and utter unwinding of a movie.
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