The Filmcake

March 1st – March 7th

Fireproof — So, so bad. Admittedly, I wasn’t surprised by this fact. I went into it knowing that it was going to be awful. The movie seemed like nothing more than some pastor had a sermon (How to Fireproof Your Marriage) that he thought he could turn into a movie in order to sell a book. And like so many Christian “rock” songs, its earnestness is unable to overcome its lack of guiding talent and artful subtlety. It’s predictable, preachy, and a little bit sexist. Surely this movie will be enjoyed by those people that eat up simplistic sermonizing, but one wonders why anyone requires Jesus in order to simply show respect towards another person.

(500) Days of Summer — I do like me some MPDGs. And Zooey Deschanel certainly leads the pack. But MPDGs are usually nothing more than some quirky eye candy. It’s male fantasy. It’s seeing only those parts that you want to see and ignoring the rest. It’s mistaking a fleeting Rene Magritte reference as an honest sign of character.

That being said, Deschanel as MPDG is not a total problem here. The movie is certainly from a man’s–Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)–point of view. The movie is precisely about him remembering what he wants. It’s not about a couple or a relationship; it’s about Tom. And the way the story is presented–in a non-linear fashion–works fine to illustrate the bumpy road of a relationship.

What puts me off about this movie was that one word in the opening credits. “Bitch.” It wasn’t immediate. Perhaps the character truly deserves to be called a bitch. There are bitches in this world after all. But after seeing the entire film, that word just seemed so incongruous. I was fine with the calling-out of the real girl for whom the film was based. It rooted the movie firmly in the personal. It was the bitch part that I had a problem with. It’s not what the movie ultimately ended up being about. For me, it was about Tom coming to terms with this relationship and its demise. Sure, it’s a rough moment when Tom finds out that Summer is engaged. Perhaps, to him, she is a bitch at that moment (in truth, Summer is not a bitch, she’s just not everything Tom wants her to be). The film concludes on a hopeful note with Tom seemingly putting this relationship behind him in favor of new experiences and relationships. In the end, it just makes director Marc Webb and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber seem mean, petty, insufferably immature, and incapable of moving on. It also dampens an otherwise enjoyable movie.

MPDG Zooey and M. Ward with “In The Sun”:

Where The Wild Things Are — I had ranked this movie as my second favorite movie of 2009 after seeing it only once. So going into it again I was worried that I may have somehow overvalued it the first time. Nope. It was just as amazing the second time around. That it didn’t garner a single Academy Award nomination is ridiculous. This movie is like a gigantic hug. It brilliantly captures Max coming to terms with his parents’ divorce and his own bad behavior. It is truly wonderful.

Dead Snow — A nice surprise. I mean, Nazi zombies pretty much guarantees cinematic awesomeness. But this movie was a solid entry into the slasher-zombie genre. It didn’t break any new ground, but it was a solidly enjoyable installment in the genre.

Sleeping Dogs Lie – After being pleasantly surprised with Bobcat Goldthwait’s World’s Greatest Dad, I wanted to check out some of his earlier stuff. Again, Goldthwait delivers. He takes a shocking moment (girl-on-dog love) and twists it into a movie with a heart. The production values here are low at times, but the talent level all around does not leave you disappointed. I still need to see Shakes the Clown and I certainly can’t wait to see what Bobcat has in store next.

October 12th – October 18th

Where The Wild Things Are - Spike Jonze has succeeded in making a nearly pitch-perfect film version of the beloved picture book. It is certainly more a movie about children than it is a children’s movie. Jonze delves into the subconscious of nine-year-old Max (Max Records) and gets down into both the dark and light places of childhood. We are complicated creatures–as kids and as adults. We are vain and mean. We are loving and sweet. We are ugly and jealous. And we are beautiful and giving. These are the Wild Things.

The Wild Things are stunning creations of puppetry and CGI that bring Maurice Sendak’s illustrations to brilliant life. They are both cuddly and frightening. Plush stuffed animals with scary teeth. The puppets were nicely voiced, especially Carol (James Gandolfini) and KW (Lauren Ambrose). Back in the real world, Catherine Keener is wonderful as Max’s mother, Connie. Max’s new kingdom, on the island with the Wild Things, is the boy’s subconscious itself as captured by cinematographer Lance Acord. Instead of Being John Malkovich, this movie could almost be called Being Max Records or even Being Nine Years Old. I think there would be a lot of rewatchability in catching which parts of Max’s real life seep into his dream world.

It is a sometimes dark world, childhood. Often scary. I happen to love when movies take the occasional trip to the dark side. At the same time, I don’t think it at all makes it unwatchable for small children either. Whether or not it can also be classified as a children’s movie, it succeeds for being a well-crafted film. I can’t wait to see it again. Maybe while wearing my own wolf-suit.