fall preview
Normally, I'd name a list of movies that I'm looking forward to, and my reasons for each. But looking over the season's slate, I realized that I'm much more certain of what I will not be seeing, and why. So, I give you
The most notable Fall/Winter movies I’m least interested in seeing:
Defiance - It’s World War II, and Daniel Craig and a bunch of refugees take to the woods. Another glossy, rote drama (and sporting that guarantee of boredom, Based on a True Story) from Ed Zwick, who last visited upon moviegoers The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond. Like those, sure to be full of earnest speeches and neat, timely sacrifices. How do these kinds of movies escape from television?
Revolutionary Road - Leo and Kate, together again! Only this time, it’s their marriage that’s sinking. Based on an acclaimed 1961 novel, which I read last year in anticipation of the movie and- despite it being well-written -detested. As a movie, it will serve to trot out tired suppositions of the boomer generation, suppositions now themselves institutionalized and suspect: namely, that widespread access to birth control and the abandoning of marital obligation have resulted in greater freedom and happiness. (It also reveals, shocker!, that you can be good-looking and still unhappy; yep, it’s basically Mad Men: The Movie). Wow, people used to be so repressed! Aren’t we sophisticated now?
W - Oliver Stone mines the headlines, and lots of recognizable actors get to impersonate administration figures. I’ve had more than my fill of these people in real life; why on earth would I want to pay money to see them blown up to larger-than-life?
These are the films which, according to their profiles and the attention they're likely to receive, warrant my strongest objections. My milder ones are too numerous to list.
The most notable Fall/Winter movies I’m least interested in seeing:
Defiance - It’s World War II, and Daniel Craig and a bunch of refugees take to the woods. Another glossy, rote drama (and sporting that guarantee of boredom, Based on a True Story) from Ed Zwick, who last visited upon moviegoers The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond. Like those, sure to be full of earnest speeches and neat, timely sacrifices. How do these kinds of movies escape from television?
Revolutionary Road - Leo and Kate, together again! Only this time, it’s their marriage that’s sinking. Based on an acclaimed 1961 novel, which I read last year in anticipation of the movie and- despite it being well-written -detested. As a movie, it will serve to trot out tired suppositions of the boomer generation, suppositions now themselves institutionalized and suspect: namely, that widespread access to birth control and the abandoning of marital obligation have resulted in greater freedom and happiness. (It also reveals, shocker!, that you can be good-looking and still unhappy; yep, it’s basically Mad Men: The Movie). Wow, people used to be so repressed! Aren’t we sophisticated now?
W - Oliver Stone mines the headlines, and lots of recognizable actors get to impersonate administration figures. I’ve had more than my fill of these people in real life; why on earth would I want to pay money to see them blown up to larger-than-life?
These are the films which, according to their profiles and the attention they're likely to receive, warrant my strongest objections. My milder ones are too numerous to list.