When I get to the end of the year and see the same films popping up again and again in the listings I’m always left wondering if the person is liking a film because they were told to by the studios or other people or because it’s by a certain filmmaker and there for its treated differently.
I ask this because so many people I know rate films at a certain level simply because of who the director is. I always try to take a film on it’s own terms.
Recently I disliked Todd Haynes MAY DECEMBER. Friends who loved it said to me “How could you not love it it’s Haynes?” easy I think it’s a bad film. I love Haynes' work but sometimes he stumbles. Same thing for KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON. I find it laughably awful thanks to way too self important direction and silly voiced performances from DiCaprio and DeNiro. Just because it’s Scorsese doesn’t mean it’s good. Any more than Uwe Boll’s TUNNEL RATS Is bad because he directed it.
Films should be taken on their own terms and not taken to mean something or be better because a certain person made it.
(The truth is I actually think part of it is that a large number of writers don't go off from the big films. They only watch what the studios and other writers set up and they don't go exploring but that's another story)
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My second piece on Kore-eda’s MONSTER is being delayed. I’m having trouble focusing on the film as a whole and instead focusing on the deeply affecting final section. My thoughts are all over the place.
I mention this because I mentioned the piece to several people and I may have talked the piece out instead of writing it out.
I'll keep working on it- and you go see it when it opens wider Friday.
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Watching COCO on one of the Disney stations I was suddenly fully aware about how by rote some of the animation was. The character movement of so many of the films came crashing in and I realized how it's all the exact same motions with different bodies. I'm sure other studios do it but they don't crank out as much product as Disney so I never noticed.
Yes Ghibli has a style but that's because its only a few directors. Disney has multiples and the animation is all rubber stamped.
Ugh
Clearly Disney is forcing the repetition as a cost saving instead of allowing the characters free range of motion
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My piece on the Lamb Chop red carpet piece will post soon. It hasn't gone up purely due to technical issues with the photos.
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My third trip to THE BOY AND THE HERON amazed me. The film now seems part of my being with my remembering lines of dialogue. It's glorious. So much more is tying together. If you see it and don't like it try it again
Also I want to know how the death of Isao Takahata affected Miyazaki and is reflected in THE BOY AND THE HERON. While I know this could have been a Takahata film- since I saw the film the other night I see it as conversation between the directors. Look at the discussions about keeping the world going, lost loved ones and going on with life. The film is, among other things, a celebration life and loved ones lost
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