Flipside Movie Emporium

[Danny Baldwin]

I'm so tired of writing about movies with all the year end stuff...so I'll give in and just give some grades...I'll even be super daring and do letter grades instead of the 4-star scale.

Thirteen (Hardwicke, 2003) A

Capturing the Friedmans (Jarecki, 2003) B-

The Secret Lives of Dentists (Rudolph, 2003) D+

Spellbound (Blitz, 2003) C

Girl With A Pearl Earring (Webber, 2003) B+

Jeepers Creepers 2 (Salva, 2003) F

And I also watched Seabiscuit (2003, Ross) a second time, which is in A- territory, for me.
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Danny Baldwin

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[beltmann]

[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

Capturing the Friedmans almost struck me as counterproductive. Even though the intent is to be two-sided, it feels like the makers want us to gain some kind of odd sympathy for them, and I just didn't get into it. I felt more sickened and assured of their guilt than I did open to their humanity, and the closing footage only added to this, because I had made up my mind early. I think, in a sense, Jarecki is digging himself into a deep hole once he finishes discussing Arnold's case. But, most of all, I felt like I was less an observer than I was subject to opinionation. The fact that the case did go to court and they were sentenced makes the emotion in the home videos feel sort of invalid, leading us to, really, not care. But I do have a strong admiration for any of the other elements in it, however.

With The Secret Lives of Dentists, I really felt it was a case of spoiled potential. It has a few make-or-break moments, which, sadly, end up being breaks. I was certainly captivated by the ideas Rudolph presents and the fantasies he creates, but I suppose you could blame the failure on lack of development. He creatres this suburban household unflinchingly, and can be accredited for setup. But the whole movies is just this, merely setup. However, it's too imaginary to be considered realist--this contrast almost makes for a visceral feeling (specifically the "throwing out" his wife vision), which disagrees with the general situation. I am aware that this is the intent, but it's so strikingly offbeat, I can't say that it works. Then, of course, there's the loose symbolism and untied ends. It's a great idea to make the Davis and Scott characters dentists, but this seems to be merely hanging there, leaving us to ponder what should've been shown. There's no room for reflection in context. I can clearly see where you're coming from, but it left me with a deeply negative reaction.

[Note: I edited these messages a tad to add some things.]
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Danny Baldwin

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[matt header]

[Danny Baldwin]

I can see that point of view, but I feel that the true power of the images sweeps us away in it. As for the point--it's obviously to inform those unaware and to shock those experiencing it firsthand--simply because it's so real. It's so personal feeling, we're left wrapped up in every second of it. The Secret Lives of Dentists may have needed a point, but this one has one that is much worthier than most films; it's not just to provoke the plot, but to leave a trail of destruction throughout the aisleways of the theatre. The performances are terrific, but the writing under them will go ignored, thanks to some flashy, but appropriate direction. It's almost bottled itself up, as a picture, so it's clearly a love-it-or-hate-it experience, even if you fell somewhere in between. I loved it. Plain and simple.
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Danny Baldwin

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[juhsstin]

[matt header]

[beltmann]

When it comes to Thirteen, I'm afraid I side with Matt. I didn't feel that I gleaned anything important--in fact, I was mildly irritated by its reliance on standard "troubled teen" tropes--and I certainly didn't feel that it left a trail of any kind. I think Matt is on to something by admitting his age is probably a factor; while I'm older than Matt, I'm also not that far removed from my teenage years, which might account for why the movie held no revelations for me. (Those students of mine who have seen it, however, think it's marvelous.) The story pins an awful lot on simplistic, badly dramatized peer pressure, pushes too many hot-button, after-school-special issues (does the self-mutilation detail add anything?), and relies, I think, too much on puritanical hysteria. By preying on our fears regarding "wild" teens, the movie becomes realism undone: I'd argue that the film would have more relevance if it weren't so keen to traffic in isolated sensationalism. Still, I don't want to overstate my case. I think there's plenty to admire in the movie, including the uniformly terrific acting, the faded, intimate visual style, and the use of music. Overall, I guess I would describe it as merely good.

Mostly, I'm interested in how age, experience, education, and maturity alter and evolve our tastes, affecting our responses to art, especially ones that deal with specific stations-of-life, such as Thirteen and The Secret Lives of Dentists. No doubt I would have liked Hardwicke's film much more than Rudolph's back when I was 15, but I'm twice as old now. Perhaps I've grown out of one type, and into another.

(Does that mean I'm gonna love Cocoon and I'm Going Home some day?)

Eric

[Danny Baldwin]

[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

I'm speaking of the general population. Not film-buffs.
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Danny Baldwin

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[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

Actually, originally I meant people only watch movies according to their tastes, but thiscould become quite interesting...so let's continue.

I almost feel as though people, generally, stick with the movies they've liked over the years, in combination with their taste's evolution. For example: I think I'll always like The Fast and The Furious, but if a third installment was made in twenty years (I hope then I will have outgrown liking them), I wouldn't like it, despite the exact same subject matter and execution.
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Danny Baldwin

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[beltmann]

I think we do retain fondness for the movies that affected us when we were younger. But I think the reasons we continue to like them often shift and evolve--for example, I continue to enjoy Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, but while my teenage taste once loved it as genuine entertainment, I now enjoy it only for nostalgic reasons. It no longer satisfies my tastes.

Then there are other films that can't even slide by on the nostalgia factor. Some of the movies I enjoyed as a teenager I can't stomach now--I think of UHF, One Crazy Summer, Three Amigos, or Enemy Mine. Those are tough, tough to sit through now, and no amount of nostalgia can rescue them.

Eric