The Martian is a
simple film. It's terrific as an entertainment, keeping to the one situation,
getting the stranded astronaut home, and building from that, with a variety of
characters. The best thing about it is that it has a sense of wonder about
people's reaction, not the planets, and never tries to pretension itself out of
its b-movie plot roots. Instead its humorous, humane, keeps to the point, and
delivers characters that are naturalistic and who don't always stick to what
should be their type in this kind of story. the stranded astronaut is curious,
resourceful against the odds, but sometimes a dick. But you still like him, in
fact it makes him more likable to see his crabby side. The people trying to
rescue him are trying their best to help but deal with the real world and its
compromises, so their eventual sacrifices and moments of heroism make the story
more emotional. the direction and writing is subtle. It's just one of those
this one works types of films. Everything came together.
Avengers 2
is a cluttered mess if you're gonna be objective about it but is just so damned
entertaining despite its flaws. It has fun action, a good if underused villain,
some terrific character moments and jokes, and some wonderful small character
moments. It's just that it has enough plot for a 3 hour film so things get
compressed and sometimes lose their intended impact. It's probably the most
under-rated blockbuster of the year, and it finally gives us some good Hawkeye
moments. One of the interesting things is that the key emotional relationship
that comes through both films is Hawkeye-Black widow. The superheroes have
their moments but this one seems to be the one that underpins a lot of the
stories, even though a lot is done subtly.
Murnau's Faust is a
masterpiece AND very entertaining. Mephisto wagers with the heavens for the
earth that he can corrupt the most kindest soul, Faust. He succeeds, leading to
some astonishing moments of horror and fantasy, but cannot overcome a prime
emotional connection that Faust makes, which is love. While this could sound
tawdry, it's a beautiful, primal film, with astonishing images such as Mephisto
and his dark wings spreading over the town. It works due to simplicity.
Prehistoric
Women is
indefensible. It's terrible yet oddly compelling. Hammer made it, trying to
switch from British horror to fantasy but they get everything wrong, cluttering
the dumb story scene after dull scene. It's odd that it goes from the real
world to an alternative world and even though this is a fantasy trope, I
couldn't help but compare it in some way to The Matrix but racist and out of its mind awkward on the idea of alternative worlds. It's a film that you should see because of how weird it is.
