205. Across the Universe (2007)
I've just seen a face I can't forget...
Title: Across the Universe
Date Watched: 3/15/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: 7
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8+
Synopsis: Blah blah lovey dovey plot in the 60s provides an excuse to have over-the-top Julie Taymor music videos of Beatles covers.
The Good: Tons of great covers of wonderful Beatles tunes. Taymor shows absolutely no restraint and I love her for it. Whether it's the music, the colors, or whatever, the movie manages to be very emotional without having a particularly good story.
The Bad: The story is an absolute mess.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Cheap Amazon purchase. One of my very first blu-rays, if I remember correctly.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Hells yeah.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Nothing worth noting. I've seen this movie a bunch.
Other Impressions: Across the Universe is almost more like a concept album than a movie. As a movie, it's kind of sucky and I found myself cringing during more than one moment. In fact, almost all of the dialogue sequences are downright awful, the stuff of after school specials. But the second music starts playing, the movie gains confidence, energy, and emotion. I'll roll my eyes at a character and two seconds later, when they start singing, a tear will come to my eye. How does music even do this?
The Beatles nostalgia factor doesn't hurt, I guess, but there's something more to it. Other movies have used covers of Beatles songs without being this effective (I Am Sam, anyone?). We like pointing out people's flaws, particularly in art, and Julie Taymor received a lot of criticism not too long ago for her Spiderman musical that was uniformly considered to be awful. Across the Universe was also panned. It's not a good movie, but it doesn't need to be.
Taymor's not a perfect director, but like many of the best, she does at least one thing better than pretty much anybody else. She pours her heart into her work, fighting off any hint of cynicism, and it shows in every frame. In her first movie, she took what is often considered Shakespeare's worst play and turned it into a fresh and invigorating experience. Here, she takes songs we've all heard a million times and gives us new perspective on them.
In other words, we walk into the theater knowing the words, and we leave with a new understanding of what they mean.
The List
Title: Across the Universe
Date Watched: 3/15/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: 7
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8+
Synopsis: Blah blah lovey dovey plot in the 60s provides an excuse to have over-the-top Julie Taymor music videos of Beatles covers.
The Good: Tons of great covers of wonderful Beatles tunes. Taymor shows absolutely no restraint and I love her for it. Whether it's the music, the colors, or whatever, the movie manages to be very emotional without having a particularly good story.
The Bad: The story is an absolute mess.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Cheap Amazon purchase. One of my very first blu-rays, if I remember correctly.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Hells yeah.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Nothing worth noting. I've seen this movie a bunch.
Other Impressions: Across the Universe is almost more like a concept album than a movie. As a movie, it's kind of sucky and I found myself cringing during more than one moment. In fact, almost all of the dialogue sequences are downright awful, the stuff of after school specials. But the second music starts playing, the movie gains confidence, energy, and emotion. I'll roll my eyes at a character and two seconds later, when they start singing, a tear will come to my eye. How does music even do this?
The Beatles nostalgia factor doesn't hurt, I guess, but there's something more to it. Other movies have used covers of Beatles songs without being this effective (I Am Sam, anyone?). We like pointing out people's flaws, particularly in art, and Julie Taymor received a lot of criticism not too long ago for her Spiderman musical that was uniformly considered to be awful. Across the Universe was also panned. It's not a good movie, but it doesn't need to be.
Taymor's not a perfect director, but like many of the best, she does at least one thing better than pretty much anybody else. She pours her heart into her work, fighting off any hint of cynicism, and it shows in every frame. In her first movie, she took what is often considered Shakespeare's worst play and turned it into a fresh and invigorating experience. Here, she takes songs we've all heard a million times and gives us new perspective on them.
In other words, we walk into the theater knowing the words, and we leave with a new understanding of what they mean.
The List