The Lint Screen

Tag: Nazis

  • X Marks Spot for Cinematic Gold

    Sometimes a winning franchise needs to go backwards to go forward and give it a shot of adrenalin. Such was the case with the Batman and Star Trek series, and such is the case with the X-Men tales.

    And she has super powers, too?
    X-Men: First Class takes us to the origins of super-powered mutants. Like Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins and 2009’s Star Trek by J.J. Abrams, this prequel is action-packed popcorn-munching good times. And like those two brilliant prequels, this is one of the best in the franchise.

    The story in X-Men: First Class is rich, interesting, well acted and directed (by Matthew Vaughn of Layer Cake and Layer Cake fame). Learn about the early days of Professor X and Magneto, and what drove them apart. Hint: it wasn’t one lending his albums to the other and having them come back scratched (although that might make for a good sequel to this prequel).

    The effects are cool but do not get in the way of a complex and satisfying character-driven story.

    Not being an action comics fan, I didn’t know the beginning story of the mutants, how they came together and fell apart. It’s a classic tale of good and evil (oh, evil– why must you be so evil?). We’ve got Nazis, CIA spooks, Ruskies, JFK, government bureaucrats–– and those aren’t even the mutants!

    For mutated wonders, there’s mind readers, a metal bender, shape shifter, chameleon, flier and fireball spitter, harness-energy-and-then-zap-it-back-at-you wonderdude and more. Plus January Jones, who had some kind of superpower but she doesn’t really need it because, well, she looks like January Jones and that’s strong enough stuff to stop Don Draper in his Florsheims.

    There’s plenty of terrific performances by Kevin Bacon, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and a crew of up and comers who’ll be here soon enough.

    I won’t get into details. Suffice to say this movie has a lot of charisma, energy and charm, and is certainly the best action adventure fare this year.

    See it and believe in the power of fantastical stories again.

  • Julia & Basterds

    Julie & Julia meet Inglourious Basterds. One movie features Nazis, the other Beef Bourguignon. One has sadistic scenes, and to stay engaged with the other can be a sadistic challenge at times.

    The movie falls flatter than a one egg souffle.
    The movie falls flatter than a one egg souffle.
    I’d heard good things about Julie & Julia, and I always liked watching Julia Child on TV cooking some complex recipe mere mortals would never attempt. So, I walked into the theatre with great expectations. Exiting the theatre, my expectations were crushed like a one egg souffle. Julie & Julia didn’t deliver for me.

    Yes, Meryl is phenomenal as Julia, but Meryl is always terrific and this performance is more impersonation than character creation. Stanley Tucci brings a nice performance as Julia’s hubby and Jane Lynch steals every scene as Julia’s sister. But, the story of making a French cookbook for English speaking people is hardly interesting and rarely entertaining.

    NOW, gently fold that story in with another story about a frustrated writer who cooks the entire Child cookbook over a one year span and blogs about it, and well, you have an odd stew of a film.

    Julie is played by Amy Adams, who is usually fun to watch. Her character here is an insecure narcissist in an apron. She’s married to a milquetoasty guy played by Chris Messina who is supportive but frustrated by the blogging project. Wah wah wah.

    The movie written and directed by Nora Ephron, usually a gifted writer. The screenplay was based on two separate books, Julia’s memoirs from 1949 and Julie’s book of recent time recounting her blogging project. But just because the subject matter is common to both, the flavors do not belong together. This movie is like vanilla and vinegar. A disappointment, a bad taste. Pity.

    Now let’s cleanse our palates with a sorbet of Basterds.

    Well, now look what QT's got cooking this time around...
    Now look what QT’s got cooking this time around…

    Like the Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino makes films you have to see for no other reason than to get his unique perspective on whatever the film’s about. This time it’s about Nazis and a history re-write with a band of Jewish American soldiers (Inglourious Basterds) giving the goosesteppers what-for behind enemy lines. Even ol’ Adolf gets his comeuppance.

    Like any Tarantino film, the dialogue is terrific in developing memorable characters as plotlines intertwine like origami figures. Like any Tarantino film, there’s tension built to keep your eyes riveted to the screen, followed by hyper-violence that begs you to look away. Like any Tarantino film, it is a celebration of film genres, movie magic, cinematography and interesting camerawork.

    Yes, it’s chatty at times, but with Tarantino dialogue you won’t mind. Brad Pitt is wonderful as the Tennessee Basterd leader, Lt. Aldo Raine. He lays on a southern accent thick as cold molasses on dog fur. The powerhouse performance comes from Austrian actor Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa. Waltz may be shaking hands with Oscar for this gem.

    While not Tarantino’s best film, the Basterds are worth spending some time with and will give you plenty of images to replay for a long time afterwards.