Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[flippyshark]

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed being John Malkovich, and I want to see lots more of that amazing puppetry!

[Strangler Lewis]

For me, like all Charlie Kauffman films, "Being John Malkovich" wore out its welcome in the ending.

As for Jim Carrey playing Curly, he's got a tough road to hoe to make me forget Michael Chiklis. I admired his Curly immensely.

[Strangler Lewis]

For me, like all Charlie Kauffman films, "Being John Malkovich" wore out its welcome in the ending.

As for Jim Carrey playing Curly, he's got a tough road to hoe to make me forget Michael Chiklis. I admired his Curly immensely.

[Not Afraid]

I loved BJM. I tend to enjoy Kaufman's style.

[innerSpaceman]

I like the set-ups. Like BJM, but not all the way thru. The orchid one was good, too ... but again, not thru to the end.

I haven't seen his latest. Heard it was grueling, tho interesting. It's something I would Netflix, but am too lazy too look up. Title, anyone?

[Strangler Lewis]

On a related note, the trailer for Spike Jonze's version of "Where the Wild Things Are" came out. The island stuff looks cool, but the added back story looks totally wrong.

[CoasterMatt]

I can't wait to see the Three Stooges.

I think they made good choices for the cast.

[CoasterMatt]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

On a related note, the trailer for Spike Jonze's version of "Where the Wild Things Are" came out. The island stuff looks cool, but the added back story looks totally wrong.

The look of it reminded me of "The Never Ending Story" - which I have now watched 3 times in the last 2 days. The only negative I felt about the trailer was the lame music.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I haven't seen his latest. Heard it was grueling, tho interesting. It's something I would Netflix, but am too lazy too look up. Title, anyone?

Kaufman's latest was also his directorial debut, Synecdoche NY. It... yeah. It was possibly the most horrific thing I've ever seen. I don't mean it was a bad movie. Though it may have been that. But it was the most brutal absurdist depiction of mortality and failure I've ever seen. There were flashes of brilliance, but I don't think I could watch it again soon. Maybe ever.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

iSm, I found my review for you.

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

Synecdoche, NY
I'm a big fan of Charlie Kaufman, so I was excited to hear he was going to try his hand at directing. We'd get The Full Kaufman Experience!

As it turns out, we may not actually want the Full Kaufman Experience.

Synecdoche is the unfurling of a dream state. Or a descent into madness. Or an abstract metaphor of the devolution of the human body. Possibly all three. Possibly none.

Like a Derren film, or a Lynch one, I think you're meant to sit back and let it absorb into your pores, into your brain, into your consciousness. And so I didn't spend too much time trying to discern exactly what was happening. (I really don't think it's the point, and moreso, I don't even think it's possible.) I just let it float over me, and into me. And that experience was the bleakest, most uncomfortable one I've ever had in a movie theater. It bores into all of the least-appealing parts of humanity. And so many of them are universal. That, or Kaufman and I have the same insecurities and nightmares.

It is a horrible film. Not that the performances were bad, or anything in particular. In fact, I can't be certain, but I think it really was quite remarkable. What I mean is that it is marked by the arousal of horror. And not in an "eek, the killer is right behind you!" kind of way. In a way that says slowly, clearly, and unequivocally: everything in this life is ****, and you're never going to make of yourself what you want to. And quite honestly, it may be the truth, but I really don't need to hear it if I'm going to live a life of anything aside from self-centered regret.

Should you see it? That's an excellent question, and I don't have the answer for you. Is it brilliant? Quite possibly. Are you up for it? You might be. And then again, you really, really, really might not be.