Are You Out of Your Vulcan Mind!?
June 14th – June 20th
The Box — After liking Donnie Darko but not Southland Tales, I wasn’t sure where this one would take me. But I ended up really liking it. Like those previous two from director Richard Kelly, this one is imaginative, weird, and mysterious. It seems to say something about free will. But then it seems to say something about determinism. It seems to describe god. Or an alien god. Or no god at all. It’s confounding, to be sure. A lot of that surely comes from Richard Matheson. The film is based on his short story “Button, Button.” But Kelly takes the movie a little farther.
A lot of people were disappointed in the aftermath of Donnie Darko. That movie sparked a lot of interesting interpretations. All of Kelly’s movies challenge viewers to try and figure things out. That investigation can be a lot of the fun in watching enigmatic movies like his, even when there is no obvious (or correct) answer. It provides motivation for multiple viewings. But things are ruined a little when the director provides too much information, as Kelly may have done with the commentary track and supplemental materials on the Darko DVD.
I don’t want a definitive answer from the director. I don’t want too much information. I want the film to exist as the strongest piece of evidence for various interpretations. A few pages from the Human Resource Exploitation Manual seen in The Box is available online. It adds a level of interactivity to the film, but I don’t think it improves anything. And any more information would diminish the nice mysterious nature of the film. Aside from broader ideas about the source material or tone or something, I kind of want the director to make the film and then step away. Leave the interpretation to us!
Pink Flamingos — A test of endurance. But one I’m glad I can cross off the list. The name of the film implies a kitschy quality. And the film itself teeters between a disgust for the freakish, a genuine respect for the freakish, and exploitation of the freakish. It’s a strange, strange movie. And one of the scariest horror movies I’ve seen in a while. That Divine reminds me of John Wayne Gacy will only amplify my impending nightmares.
Star Trek — Prior to catching J.J. Abrams reboot of the classic TV & movie series last summer, I hadn’t been much of a Star Trek fan. I’d watched Deep Space Nine for a season or so. But other than that, I’d only seen a handful of episodes and if I’d seen any of the movies, then I sure didn’t remember them. But I went into this reboot with a basic understanding of what was going on in the Star Trek world, as well as some of the most famous character behaviors and lines of dialogue. And to be honest, I wasn’t all that excited about going into this movie last summer. I had never got excited about Star Trek before, how was this going to be any different?
But I have to say after catching it again, I really like it. It’s just a wonderful movie to pop into the Blu-ray player and have fun with. One of the better blockbuster/popcorn movies we’ve seen in the last several years. I think it looks dazzling. Sure, there are just way too many lens flares. But the movie just looks really good to me. The integration of sets and special effects and make-up actually impressed the hell out of me. Sure it’s a big budget film. But I was still impressed.
The story is a bit convoluted at times. The way they get around the reboot through an alternative reality is somewhat clever. But somehow the script remains fairly strong. As far as performances, I believe I had somewhat dismissed Chris Pine the first time around. But upon this viewing, I found his performance to be quite impressive. He gives us a little bit of the original Kirk while still bringing his own stuff to it. I think the rest of the cast fills out strongly. This might just have to be one that I add to my Blu-ray collection.
I don’t think Matheson would take any of the credit or blame (as the case may be) for possible explanations of THE BOX, since his story occupied so little of the film’s running time, and did not itself address the origins of the box. But one is, of course, free to speculate, as Kelly did. If you’re interested in the previous adaptation on THE TWILIGHT ZONE, and Matheson’s reaction to that, check out my forthcoming book RICHARD MATHESON ON SCREEN.
FYI, RICHARD MATHESON ON SCREEN is tentatively due out in early October. Of course, you can always pre-order it.
http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-4216-4