Superman, Slate Movies, Shrinking Critics, Good Pirates
A few late night notices:
Jonathan Last at Galley Slaves points to some thoughts about how, in Superman Returns, Superman has been stripped of his American identity. I've already written an article about this (kids, that's what conservative film critics do, okay?), but it won't run for a few more days. It's not something everyone will pick up on in the film, but it's certainly there.
Slate's Summer Movies Week is continuing, and quite nicely. Make sure to read Dave Kehr's entry on geriatric film directors, which manages to offer both a sharp interpretation of 16 Blocks (!!!) and a nice look at the perils of getting old behind the camera. I think my favorite piece in the series so far, though, is Bryan Curtis' nimbly sneering takedown of AFI's list of the The 100 Sappiest, Most Sentimentalized, Saccharine Movies Ever Made That Your Girlfriend Will Love Anyway. Or maybe it was Most Inspirational. Same thing, really.
Former New York Daily News film critic Jami Bernard now has a blog named after her forthcoming book: The Incredible Shrinking Critic. She's a humorist as well as reviewer, and the blog will combine movies with, of all things, weight loss. I'm all for film and funny, and she looks to provide both. And seriously: watch this. "Between projects." Yeah.
And finally, Moriarty is infectiously enthusiastic about Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Ross Douthat wondered who will save our summer? Maybe Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski are the answer. Hey, it's almost a period movie.
posted by Peter @ 6/28/2006 11:21:00 PM
2 Comments:
Are you making fun of the list of 100?
Lately, it seems people everywhere are trashing Wizard of Oz.Maybe it's because they've watched is soooo many times, they've internalized it, and they don't like themselves, either.
There were some good movies, on there, though. Not great art, maybe, but good movies. Probably made before you were born - except Apollo 13 and maybe Braveheart - you must be at least 10 - and perhaps Field of Dreams - a pretty good adaption of the book -
Maybe there should be a category - sentimental favorites that you've watched 20 times or more.
Yes, I generally deplore movies that count as inspiring--they're feel-good for the sake of feeling good, and few of them earn their warm and fuzzies honestly. Mostly, they work by charmless manipulation.
There are movies I like the list (and many I haven't seen due to age and time restraints), but I don't think any of them are good because they're particularly inspiring. The only movies I can think of off the top of my head that are inspiring in a way genuine enough for me not to fault them are the better Pixar films -- Monsters Inc, Incredibles. Those films didn't even make the list. So why make the list? A number of these films are worthy of praise, but not for any inspiration they allegedly provide.
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