Movies Update:
I've had the opportunity to see more movies than usual this summer, thanks to a girlfriend who loves going to the movies. Three genres dominate: Superheroes, Horror and Comedy.
I've already talked about Batman Begins, which was a masterpiece in some ways, so what about Fantastic Four?
Well, definitely NOT a masterpiece, but not the total stinkeroo many critics claimed. The FF were one of my first and favorite comics as a kid, so I was really hoping they'd nail the mood of the 1960s FF with this film. They almost do. The tongue-in-cheek dialogue has a definite echo of Stan "The Man" Lee, and the main roles are well cast, especially Michael Chikliss as Ben Grimm. It's the screenplay that slows stuff down. I really like the trend to focus on the emotional and personal aspects of superhero life, but this film focuses too much on that issue. It's pretty much all origin story and little else. The result is more like an afternoon soap opera. We see way too much of the personal in-fighting and emotional conflict, and damn little saving the world. So much so that the villain, Dr. Doom seems less interested in conquering the world than settling the score with his ex-friends. Also Doom is very un-doomy. He looks like Dr. Doom, but sounds like a pissed off hairdresser instead of a mad genius in a metal suit. Yes, the movie is entertaining enough, but it just needed a bit more REAL doom.
PG-13 Horror: My favorite new sub-genre. Creepy little movies with a low gore quotient. I've seen two very good-examples this year, Dark Water and The Skeleton Key. Both star talented young actresses getting stuck in very creepy settings; Jennifer Connelly and a haunted New York apartment in Water and Kate Hudson and a haunted Louisiana mansion in Key. Both films feature excellent actors in supporting roles, creepy, heavily textured atmospheres and Twilight Zone style twist endings. Both are effective, but Water is kind of depressing and Key is slightly silly. Both are good fun for those who like their horror in milder form.
Raunchy Comedy: Saw "The Wedding Crashers" and "The 40 Year-Old Virgin." Both show a trend toward a kinder, gentler rudeness. Both are packed with swear words and sexual, scatalogical humor, but the characters are well-rounded, more real and more sympathetic than in most other films of this type. Both are very funny, with "Virgin" having a slight edge in my book, but both films are at least a HALF HOUR TOO LONG! "Crashers" runs out of steam at the 90 minute mark, but keeps on going, and "Virgin" just could have used a little tightening up.
I'll yak about my Improv experiences of late in the next post.