Creed

I really don’t like boxing movies – except for Rocky, Rocky IV, Rocky Balboa, Raging Bull, The Fighter, Cinderella Man, Million Dollar Baby, The Hurricane, and now Creed.  I must admit that I haven’t seen Ali or Daniel Day Lewis’ The Boxer, so they might be on the list too.  Maybe I do like boxing movies after all.

Creed focuses on the same thing other boxing movies do, pretty much everything except boxing.  Sylvester Stallone understands this better than anyone, which is probably why he’s been so successful with the Rocky franchise, and explains how he can be at the center of a boxing film without lifting a finger.  I mean this with all sincerity – my least favorite part of a boxing movie is the climax, when the coach has to re-open the hero’s eyes so that he/she can keep on fighting.  I prefer the part when Rocky gets to use unconventional training techniques to convey a meaningful life lesson.  I know that you’re probably having a difficult time taking me seriously right now, but it’s the truth.

I don’t have anything to say about Creed that would be much different from any other of the boxing movies on my list.  I should equate boxing movies with comfort food – well comfort food that has a black eye, a split lip, and eats raw eggs.  Let me ask you this though; could a movie where Sylvester Stallone gets to say “Yo Adrian” possibly be bad?

The Hateful Eight

Rob and I went up to Denver to watch The Hateful Eight this past weekend.  It would be convenient to say that I must be outgrowing Quentin Tarantino, but that’s not the truth.  I recently re-watched Pulp Fiction  and found its editing, cinematography, and writing to be just as impressive today as they were twenty years ago. 

I suggest that Tarantino hasn’t improved as he’s gotten older; “If you mean it turns to vinegar, it does. If you mean it gets better with age, it don't”.  Instead of maturing as a writer/director, Tarantino has become increasingly obsessed with graphic (albeit cartoonish) violence.  I really don’t understand why, perhaps it is his response to accusations of being a maker of violent films.  As the great film critic Roger Ebert so astutely pointed out, Pulp Fiction is an effective movie thanks to dialogue which is so disarming that the moments of violence have greater impact.

The Hateful Eight starts out with about one hour of a Quentin Tarantino movie that I want to watch, then quickly and completely deteriorated into a bloodbath – and I’m not using literary flourishes.  The first hour of the film centers around two post-Civil War bounty hunters played by Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell travelling together in a stagecoach along with a prisoner played by Jennifer Jason Leigh.  Russell brings an amalgamation of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday to his character, while Jackson reprises his role as Jules from Pulp Fiction.  So far, so good; we get to hear bounty hunters talking about everyday things – all very Tarantinoesque.  As a blizzard overtakes the travelers they must take shelter at a lodge, where the remaining characters are introduced.  For a time this change of scenery seems promising; unfortunately people start poisoning, stabbing, shooting, and hanging each other; clever dialogue and interesting characters are replaced by violence and blood.

If it weren’t for the existence of Django, I might have understood this drastic departure for Tarantino; this time it just seems like pointless excess.  I can forgive Tarantino for recycling some of his own ideas and themes, but his new-found obsession with blood splatter is annoying at best.  As I’ve contemplated the film, I remain impressed by the cinematography and setting (it was filmed here in Colorado), I really enjoyed the first hour, but overall I was disappointed…  Quentin Tarantino can do so much better than this.

Quentin Tarantino achieved a level of greatness when he allowed his characters to be redeemable; Butch and Jules perform selfless acts in Pulp Fiction… I just ran out of examples.  On the other hand is The Hateful Eight; no one deserves to walk out of that lodge alive, and maybe I shouldn’t have expected to enjoy the experience either.

Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens - Full Review (spoilers included)

It is a great accomplishment that J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan have introduced three new characters that outshine their Original Trilogy counterparts.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens is about the next generation of heroes to occupy the Star Wars universe.  I must admit that for me this was unexpected; I had so much anticipation for Luke, Leia, and Han Solo that I wasn't expecting much from their kids...

I have been affected by the death of Han Solo in a strange way.  As I write that, I recognize that Han Solo is a fictional character, yet unlike so many historical figures of supposed importance, I actually grew up watching and admiring Han Solo.  I may always have consciously grasped that he was merely an actor playing a part, but the impression on a young mind is made with permanency.  The death of Han Solo took place in The Force Awakens for two two reasons:  First, the obvious one, is that Ben Solo's path towards the Dark Side is solidified by the act of murdering his own father.  The second purpose is that the void left in Han Solo's death is filled by Rey; somehow Abrams and Kasdan have created the ultimate Star Wars character - the spirit of Han Solo and the Jedi daughter of Luke Skywalker.

While ultimately it was Abrams and Kasdan who envisioned a bold transition from one generation to the next, much credit must be given to the actors and craftsmen who made the three new main characters come to life.  Daisy Riley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, and the people over at Industrial Light and Magic who brought BB-8 to life made The Force Awakens an incredibly entertaining movie.

If you don't like Star Wars, all I can say is that I feel sorry for you, because the amount of imagination, ingenuity, and sense of wonder on display is simply extraordinary.

P.S.  I like how Abrams snuck some light saber specific lens flares into the main duel... nice.