One of the advantages of being older is you are able to reach back farther for your thematic cultural referents for headlines.
Source Code wasn’t bad at all; review here. Rubber isn’t nearly as good or as smart as you may have heard, as I get into here, and as usual, I dare you to spend money to find out which of us is right. Hop is utterly ghastly and if you have young children I feel very bad for you because there’s almost no way you’ll be able to avoid it, and I commiserate with you, virtually, here.
When first announced, ‘Hop’ reminded me of ‘Drop Dead Fred’. Is it even worse?
I’d say so.
Stopped reading your “Source Code” review in the middle of the 2nd graph. Too spoilerish. Skipped to the last sentence, that’ll do.
“Moon” was terrific. Will make it a point to catch the new one. Also glad to know to avoid “Hop”.
As for “Drop Dead Fred,” did you ever notice how much the lead singer from The Arcade Fire resembles Rik Mayall?
I like the French accent on display in the Rubber review Mr Kenny! It was like I was right there in a café in the centre of Paris having an over earnest filmmaker talking about the nature of consciousness in between taking drags on a cigarette! 🙂
But Karina Longworth’s review of ‘Rubber’ is a rave!
@ Noam Sane: I generally try to keep things spoiler-free in my reviews, so if you thought I was giving too much away, sorry. But honest, there really is a lot more beyond the set-up I was describing, so…
@ Colin R: Merci.
@ I.B.: Yes, I saw that. Pretty funny, but also in its way a kind of object lesson in the ultimate futility of trying to take other reviewers to task. For anything. There’s just no percentage in it. Except for invoking that immortal Christgau “I‑dare-you-to-spend-money…” line.
Wings Hauser might be the coolest goddamn name ever.
And I’m pretty much with you on RUBBER, which I caught at an advance screening last week. Put me in mind of Gus Van Sant’s GERRY, but nowhere near as harrowing, funny, or sad.
Speaking of Wings Hauser, I recently saw Tough Guys Don’t Dance. A pretty inept… Thing, but Hauser was having a great time.
Gotta love Wings in Gary Sherman’s great VICE SQUAD, especially since he does double duty, “singing” the theme song, “Neon Slime.”
I saw Rubber a couple weeks ago at an IFC thing with the director. Rarely does a filmmaker’s attitude towards his own film really matter to my enjoyment, but in this case Quentin’s low key laid back dry humor in person made his film equivalent a lot more inviting than it otherwise would have been. Guess he just has to schlep to ever theater playing it.
Dug SOURCE CODE. But there is a reference in Chris Bacon’s score to another movie score near the end that is only used once (and played on something like a zither or balalaika or dulcimer) that is driving me absolutely crazy.
“I like the French accent on display in the Rubber review Mr Kenny!”
+1
My favourite (incidental) part of Source Code is the casting of Scott Bakula as Gyllenhaal’s father (via voice-over only). THe original Quantum Leaper has sired.…well, you know.
Kevyn: Cool. Do James Darren and Robert Colbert have cameos, too? 🙂
Rubber was a bit baffling to me. I can’t understand expending the effort to make a film that constantly undermines itself in such an inept manner only to come to…I don’t really know what. A straight forward “no reason” killer tire movie could have served fine as satire. I did laugh a bit when the spectators devoured the turkey but then the movie just felt the need to put a button on it in case you didn’t get that they were animals. Couldn’t leave anything uncommented upon, guess that says something about the modern viewers psyche or that the filmmaker doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone. It’s like he ran by a classroom and overheard someone mention “film as film criticism” and ran with it. I bet Hobo with a Shotgun at least has the strength of it’s convictions. Which was the other choice for last nights viewing. Thankfully we decided to watch The Great Muppet Caper, a movie that’s not only joyous but knows how to break the 4th wall…it was my first time. I need more Muppets in my life.