Tron and True Grit

It has been just over a week since I watched the new "Tron" There are three thoughts that come immediately to mind when thinking of the movie: 1. It was fun to see the Tron world once again. The sounds, images, effects and costumes are an updated version of the universe created for the first. 2. Plastic, synthetic, animated Jeff Bridges isn't anywhere close to as cool as the real Jeff Bridges. Unfortunately I found this effect to be extremely distracting, and that really kept me from enjoying the movie overall. 3. Why? I know the answer, we've talked about this before. I know that Hollywood makes movie for one reason, which is to make money. It just seems that by now common sense would dictate that a really great sequel will make more money than a mediocre one. If this principle would prevail then both filmmaker and viewer would win. Perhaps it would be impossible to ever build upon the memories that Tron gave us, but it seems as though they could have done a better job this time around.

Jon and I watched the John Wayne version of "True Grit" on Tuesday evening. My understanding is that the Coen Brother's were more concerned with adapting the book rather than remaking the film. There were aspects of the new movie that are significantly different from the 1969 version, but nothing that makes a remake worthwhile. Actually, if anything the new version reaffirms the greatness of the original. This is too bad, since the Coen brothers have made some of the best American movies of our generation. One example has to do with Rooster Cogburn's final showdown in the movie. In the classic film, John Wayne clenches his horse's reins in his teeth and charges four bad guys, a lever action rifle in one hand, pistol in the other. This scene is intact with Jeff Bridges as Cogburn, yet he opts for two pistols as he charges across the field. Let me just say that there is no good explanation for this change. Perhaps the book clearly specifies two pistols. Maybe the Bridges couldn't pull of the stunt. Or, it may be possible that John Wayne copyrighted that technique. If the ride doesn't include that lever action rifle, it's not really "True Grit".

Narnia and Following

I skipped "Prince Caspian" because I was disappointed with "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". Rob heard good things about "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and since I usually pick the movies, so we decided to give the new Narnia another try. This is one of those moments when I could really complain, or I could look on the bright side... Heads; positives, tails; negatives... Aslan is a big puppet, with Liam Neeson's voice. The best part of the book, when Eustace becomes a dragon, is condensed into about three minutes. The special effects all (and I do mean all) look like a Technicolorized version of better effects from better movies. The Dawn Treader itself looks like something Captain Jack Sparrow would give to his kids (if he had any). The entrance Aslan's Country, while artistically interesting, just doesn't come close to matching my imagination. Perhaps it's because thee filmmakers use an effect from "The Abyss" (which was better 21 years ago). The story and characters were all watered-down, and not in a good Sea-voyage kind of way. If I pretend for a minute that the coin had come up heads; the movie does capture moments from the book, and some of its spirit. Too bad the filmmakers don't love the material, or have the talent (or both) to accurately bring this wonderful series to the screen.

A Few weeks ago I watched "Following" on Netflix. I had it in my queue for quite some time, I think "Inception" coming out on video nudged me to take a look. As many of you know, "Memento" is one of my favorite movies, so to see the movie that made "Memento" possible was interesting to me. What I found were all the elements of a great Christopher Nolan film. Shot in black and white with unknown actors and a low budget, Nolan proves that an interesting script and an eye for storytelling is all you need. That being said, the independent nature of this film definitely leaves its mark, the film is somewhat simplistic and rough. Action and photography seem to take a back seat to dialogue and editing (as should it should be) but here those shortcomings stand out and are distracting. One thing that Nolan tried to do was surprise the audience with certain plot points. He employed the non-chronological techniques that would show up again in "Memento". Unfortunately, since "Memento" is a far superior film, I was able to pick up on his cues, and found this movie to be quite predictable. All in all though, it is great to be able to see how Nolan started out, and I sure do hope that he keeps it up.