Frame of Reference

Synecdoche NY was unfortunately a bit of a let down. It all the pieces that I expect from a great Charlie Kaufman film, but it didn’t really do anything with them. I suppose artistically speaking it was quite something, but it wasn’t really what I was looking for. I think I was looking for something with a bit of closure, even the the usual Charlie Kaufman sense where not everyone (or not anyone) ends up any better in the end than when they started. What Synecdoche ultimately offers is a plot that slowly and methodically unravels until all that is left is pure metaphor. And the metaphor itself is good and something I can relate to as a creative person. I guess I was just expecting more. Probably the strangest thing about the movie was the very end. It had a very abrupt ending, even for a Kaufman film and the entire audience just kind of sat there during the credit crawl, not something you see much these days. It was as if everyone in the room at that moment was grasping for that last straw that never came or like me, were sitting there combining the base elements that had been revealed at the culmination of the crucible that was the film; rolling them around in their head to find not necessarily satisfaction, but understanding. As I said, it was certainly a decent film, but it is the toughest Kaufman film to watch and a departure from the watchably esoteric films he has written previously.

On the complete flip side from Synecdoche, I saw Zack and Mirri Make a Porno this past weekend, Kevin Smith’s return to irreverent comedy and no, I don’t count Clerks 2 because it doesn’t actually exist … in my mind at least. Zack and Mirri is the movie Kevin Smith should have made instead of Dogma, Jersey Girl, and Clerks 2; Jay and Silent Bob gets a pass for being completely absurd. This is the kind of film that made me love Kevin Smith movies, this is on par with Chasing Amy. Now grant you, the plot is entirely predictable, and much of the humor terribly low brow, but this is Smith’s element, making low brow verbose and theatrical like some potty mouthed New Jersey Shakespeare. Zack and Mirri is the formulaic “feel good” comedy for people of my generation and it doesn’t fail to deliver. If you like this sort of thing, then you should see it. If you’ve been waiting for Kevin Smith to get is act together, he has. If you want to see the best use of a Pixies song in a movie since Fight Club, here it is.

I’m probably going to end up dumping Rocknrolla off my “to see” list in the theatre and just catch it on DvD at this point, same with What Just Happened. Considering the relatively watered down fair at the movies this season along with the fact that I’ve been mildly disappointed with almost everything I’ve seen this year, I just don’t think I have it in me to sit through another film that doesn’t live up to my expectations. I’d rather stay home and watch Stranger Than Fiction for the 10th time. I suppose there’s still Slumdog Millionaire, which purportedly has Oscar buzz, and the David Fincher film with the really long name about the guy who grows younger, but other than that I just can’t see making an effort anymore. December’s got a couple big movies in it, The Day The Earth Stood Still, for one and Yes Man for the other … ok, ok I guess I’m somewhat interested in Australia despite Bahz Luhrman’s utter pretentiousness. Yes Man though, while it looks like a typical Jim Carrey vehicle, has a chance to transcend the screwball comedy genre and at least be half as meaningful as Stranger Than Fiction … that and Zooey Deschannel is in it and well, that’s all I need to know.

Until then, I’m done with movies this year though. Maybe I should shift my focus back to dating, the only other area of my life that has been more disappointing so far this year. I would say I need a vacation right about now, but I’ve already taken one recently and it didn’t take. I just need a new outlook on life, but I think I’ve been saying that for quite a while now. Meh … I don’t want to get into it now anyway. Maybe next time.

All My Eggs

Movie season (my classification for the time between September each year and the Oscars) has been disappointing so far this year. Last year saw a number of good films and a few brilliant ones, but this year has yet to really make me take notice. Flash of Genius was the only real contender for a decent film early in the season and while the performances were solid it fell short due to the outright absurdity of the character. In a movie about a guy fighting for ideals and recognition, if you find yourself saying “just take the money already” you know there’s something wrong and it wasn’t Greg Kinnear’s acting. The premise, however it true it may have been, just wasn’t relatable and left me wishing the movie would just end long before it actually did.

Choke was good, but it wasn’t anything transcendant. Certainly the type of decent movie I expect to see during this season, but it wasn’t one of those that’s going to stick with you; it wasn’t Darjeeling Limited, Stranger Than Fiction, or Eternal Sunshine. Everything else that’s come out has been the usual mix of late year popcorn flicks and souped up dramas. There’s a time and a place for cop films and thrillers and this may well be it, but it’s not what I’m looking for and it’s rare that something like that will grab me the way a more subtle and expected film will.

What Just Happened looks to be an entertaining film, although this perception is colored mainly by my worship of all things Bruce Willis. Zack and Mirri should hail Kevin Smiths return to decent comedic cinema, but is more or less a popcorn flick and I doubt it will grab the way something like Chasing Amy did. The Road looks to have been pushed to a 2009 release, taking it out of Oscar contention for this year when it (according the The Onion AV Club) looked to have good potential for awards season. The Soloist, while it appears to be a paint by numbers prestige format film, has a good cast but has also been pushed to 2009. I’m not even close to making Oscar predictions this early in the year, but I can already tell you that Sean Penn is going to win Best Actor for Milk. Part of this is because it honestly looks like a magnificent performance and the rest is all politics. While I think he’ll deserve it, his getting the award for that role will be hollywood backlash for the recent political gay-bashing in California. Slumdog Millionaire may be worthwhile. Danny Boyle is an interesting director and it’s an interesting subject matter, I just wish I had located an actualy trailer and not just a clip. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button looks … well odd, but it’s based on a Fitzgerald story and is being directed by David Fincher. Not to mention it’s Fincher directing Pitt, which has worked well in the past. It’s certainly a higher profile film, but it’s on the list. Oh, and I guess I should mention RocknRolla if only because we all hope that Guy Ritchie will start making good movies again at some point in time and this may actually be it.

But all of that is beside the point. Sure, there may be some decent films in there, but nothing with that independent charm I find so irresistable, nothing except Charlie Kaufman’s Synechdoche, NY. It’s playing near here tonight and I’m going to see it. I’m putting all my eggs in one basket for this film, because out of everything coming out this movie season it has the most potential to really grab me. The fact of the matter is that it’s both written and directed by Charlie Kaufman and the man has never let me down before … maybe slightly with Adaptation, but that was a very different film from Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine. I feel like Kaufman is on his home turf in this film and while his almost elitist, artistic academia towards his subjects may bore some critics, it’s the kind of thing I crave.

So yeah, movie season this year is disappointing and at a time where I really need the shock of a brilliant film, I only have one choice. I can only hope it lives up to my expectations.