Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Day 68: Matt Damon!

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (2004)
Directed by Trey Parker
Starring the voices of: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristen Miller, Masasa, Daran Norris, Maurice LaMarche, Phil Hendrie

Team America is an elite fighting force protecting the world from Terrorists.  But when one of their own is killed on their latest mission, the search is on for a replacement.  Enter Gary Johnston (Parker), cracker-jack Broadway actor who regularly tears the house down in the hit show "LEASE" (featuring that catchy tune, "Everyone Has AIDS").  Backstage, Gary is approached by Spottswoode (Norris), who believes Gary's acting talent can help Team America go undercover and infiltrate the Terrorist organization.  Little do they know that the Terrorists are being backed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il (also Parker), in an effort to rain chaos upon the world.

This is a film by the creators of South Park, so you know going in that it's not going to be for everyone.  Of course, it looks like a film for everyone, what with the Thunderbirds-style puppets that are used, but that's part of the game.  Be aware going in that you will be treated to an almost non-stop torrent of swearing, toilet humor, brutal violence and a puppet sex scene so graphic that, if it were done with real people, would probably be illegal.  Strange, considering puppets have no genitalia.

But the thing about all of this is, it's absolutely hilarious.  The fact that they're using puppets makes the over-the-top nature of the film that much funnier.  And Parker and company dont' shy away from the fact that they're using puppets.  During the first five minutes, I was actually amazed at the amount of detail they were able to achieve.  Of course, there are certain things that puppets can't do: namely, have a realistic fight scene.  However, it does make the "Bullet-Time" effect a helluva lot cheaper to shoot.

Now you would also expect this film to be a sort of jingoistic, ultra right-wing Fox News editorial piece - especially considering its epic theme song (NSFW) - but it's really not.  In fact, it's really hard to put a finger on the film's political leanings.  Yes, Team America are an arrogant bunch who cause a lot of collateral damage (like blowing up the Eiffel Tower and the Giza Pyramids, for starters) in their quest to spread freedom and democracy.  But their actions bring the scorn of Alec Baldwin (La Marche) and his Film Actors Guild (figure out their unfortunate acronym for yourself), a group of left-wing pacifists which include Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and Matt Damon (whose only line is "Matt Damon!").  Even Team America's hideout is suicide-bombed by Michael Moore.  And yet, after all this, there's still the task of stopping Kim Jong-Il from taking over the world.  And that may be the film's point: You may not like America - you may even hate America - but even though they seem like violent jerks, they still are the only ones willing to fight against the kinds of megalomaniacs you just can't reason with.

Or maybe the film's point was to blow stuff up, make fun of self-important celebrities and show graphic puppet sex.  You be the judge.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Day 67: We Must Not Confuse Dissent With Disloyalty

GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK (2005)
Directed by George Clooney
Starring: David Strathairn, George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey, Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Alex Borstein, Frank Langella

It is the mid-1950's, and the host of CBS's See It Now, Edward R. Murrow (Strathairn), usually content to interview celebrities, is concerned about the growing threat that Senator Joseph McCarthy poses due to his Communist witch-hunt.  Murrow and his producer Fred Friendly (Clooney) decide to go against the Network's (and sponsors') wishes, and rush to the defense of Air Force Lieutenant Milo Radulovich, who had been discharged seemingly without reason.  The Air Force says it was because of his "Communist leanings," but there is no evidence to support the accusation.  Murrow and his team give Lt. Radulovich a platform to defend himself.  He also covers the Senate hearing of another suspected Communist, Annie Lee Moss, a small, aging black woman who happened to work at the Pentagon.  However, after coming to the defense of these people, Senator McCarthy and his lawyer Roy Cohn begin targeting Murrow and CBS.

Good Night, and Good Luck is very much a lesson on how to do a period piece right.  Everything about this film conveys the feeling of the mid-50's: it's shot in black-and white, everybody smokes, the soundtrack is all smooth, big-band jazz.  One of the best choices in the film was the decision to use archival footage of Senator McCarthy, Roy Cohn, Milo Radulovich and others, rather than try to re-create the scenes with actors.  It works quite well not only as a period piece, but as a history lesson.  Anyone interested in the "Red Scare" of the 50's and of the McCarthy witch-hunts and the House Un-American Activities Committee can get a wealth of information from this film.

However, there is one part where it doesn't work so well.  Clooney is so interested in getting the look, the feel and the message right, he neglects to inject any kind of emotional anchor into the film.  Yes, it is (for the most part) historically accurate, but there's no real emotion.  We watch what Ed Murrow and his team do, but we don't really know why they do it.  We know they feel it's the "right thing to do," but they just do it, and don't explain why.  There's very little motive to what anyone does.  Everyone just sort of does what the script tells them to do, and the effect is pretty lifeless.

But if you just focus on the film as a time capsule, it works very well.  Also, the attention to detail is pretty amazing.  This is the sort of film that directors like to watch.  The public at large may not cotton onto all the politics and lengthy speeches, but the film works equally well if you're interested in either history or cinema.

And we're back.

Sorry for the lengthy delay, everyone, but a lot of interesting things have been happening lately.

First of all, the final film of my "3-hours-or-more" series (which was to be Malcolm X)  was supposed to be shipped by Netflix, but there was apparently a "short wait" for it.  So they sent me Munich which, at 2 hours and 49 minutes didn't quite meet my criteria.  But in the spirit of just getting something done, I tried to watch it anyway.  And the disc was too damaged to play properly.  Yeah.

So I sent it back, hoping that Malcolm X had finally come in, but it hadn't.  So they sent me Goodnight and Good Luck.  At this point, I had abandoned by hopes of actually finishing my previous set list, so I popped this very succinct film into my DVD player and watched it. 

Still no Malcolm X though.  In fact, unless I find a copy in the library (which has been a fruitless search, so far), I think I can give up on that one.

So there are more reviews coming up, because I just realized I have 34 more movies to watch in about a 12 week span.  It's do-able, but it won't be easy. 

So Up and At Them.