Post by Casablanca on Dec 10, 2009 23:48:04 GMT -5
Will get to everything in a day or two.
"X-Men 5" (Daz)[/color]
I have a notion in my head, a hypothetical, imagined, interview, that if I were to sit down with veteran writer Daz, and, if I were so blunt as to ask him what he thinks of himself as a movie maker, he would correct me, stating that he is not solely a filmmaker, but more-so a storyteller. He does not reduce himself to gimmicky distractions and catchy, bloated fireworks to create a smoke screen, but instead goes back to fine days where a plot was used for its original purpose; to tell a story, not to act as a vehicle for the pretense of “flash in the pan” success through sensory overload. “X5” is testament to that, and it is testament that the art of the “entertainment” genre can have as much heart and complexity as any other genre. It is a very good movie, one I’d say that exceeds its impressive prequel, snot only in quality, but also in design, structure, and clarity. Ironically enough, it is also a sprawling film that is bound to lose some along the way; for those careful enough to make their way through without a road map, however, they’ll find that the destination is far worth the journey, even if they come out without a clue of the difference between the good guys, bad guys, or who’s on who’s side, and at what time.
The film starts with a gallop, and instantly, it shoves aside any formulaic introductions, and hits off with a note which indicates the audience this is aiming to; those who enjoy a well crafted thriller. From there, it dives deeper and deeper in, though hardly, as one may expect, turns into an analytical, clinical experience. Somehow, some magical way, it maintains heart through its abusive narrative structure, one which bombards sub-plots and characters on without mercy, though without shame either; and it is a move which doesn’t insult the intelligence of the reader (on the contrary), and makes you use your mind, where as a lesser film would feed you candy for your eyes and dumb your brain down so as the mysterious plot hole or two glide past. The film is honest, and throughout the many moments a character “reawakens”, I suppose you can say, to realize who they really are, the film intricately is detailed to make everything come together.
Really, there is a lot of build up here. It starts with a bang, and sort of simmers down, only to give a crescendo-ish feeling that it is working its way up to something grand. We expect that moment to be at the party, and while a fight assumes which one can call anti-climatic, or not the “to-do” expected, I call it a nice scene which doesn’t obsess on something which could make one lose interest in the real plot; nor does it droll on and on about scenes of high action to raise one’s blood pressure. It thinks that its core story is much more imagination-grabbing then any punches thrown or mutant powers displayed; and, by gosh, is it correct or what?
The cast was one of the largest I think I have seen in any MR film, and “sprawling”, a term I used earlier, hardly does it justice. There are characters you will forget, and sub-plots that seem to pop up without notice, though mostly everything comes to a meeting point. There may be a character or two, a small scene, which does not, and, thus, one can label as “filler”. They’d be correct in calling it that, but filler can always work two ways. Either it is meaningless twaddle tossed in to blow a film out of proportion, or it is there for development and to give a more emotional impact later on. I will not say what film does, because, quite frankly, there is no set answer- it is either too much, or just enough to give the story the drive it needed. I suspect different people will have different opinions. For this critic, I think it goes, based on my thoughts of the film, without saying.
Technically, Daz has always been a wonderful writer, a very dry writer. His films usually tackle their subject matter with a nice dose of emotional impact, though largely (and considerably more) analytical storytelling, and that is what I like about this film. It displays its story as a subject, one which =has no omniscient narrator, or God-like view. We see the film as it unfolds, and you can swear that, during the reading process, Daz is churning out the pages as you go along, with as much excitement and glee as the reader. Remembering, of course, that he is not churning them out at such a pace makes it even more special, as here is a writer who has managed to put himself into his work, his emotions, anyway; and not create a film in order to “do anything”, it is for all extensive purposes, a film by Daz, made because it is the story he wanted to tell.
The movie is rarely uneven, and does a pretty good job of running fluently, for what it carries. It’s as strong film that can haul quite a load, and while it may drop an ounce or two occasionally, it always turns back and picks it up. Only scarcely does the film feel segmented, like an extended television show; and it does don on me that Daz really does have a promising future in television, but for a movie, a bit too much of that can go the wrong way. Here, it does not. As I said, it is not too much, nor is it too little, but only slightly higher then I expected. Much of this attributed to the one or two characters that seem placed for unusual reasons; I suppose I cannot complain about this, while praising the filler. That would be contradictory, and thus, take from this paragraph what you want.
A final note I feel determined to mention is the dialogue. There are some very nice, very witty lines here. A lot of Gambit’s lines (for example, when Rogue saves him and takes him to the roof), are cheeky and well played. The film knows when to be serious, and when to poke fun, and that sense makes Gambit one of the fore-front characters in the picture, as he really can tone down a scene which otherwise would be a bit too much (such as the meeting with Professor X). It is those little touches which make the film play out better then one may expect, as the cast really does play off of each other well, in fact, every aspect of the film does, almost self-complimentary. The proof of a film which is in total control.
Overall, I think that this is a movie that many people will benefit from seeing, as it really is a movie that, not only is made by a writer who embodies all that storytelling is, but also a nice display of how to focus attention on just the right things. It is one of those movies that proof entertainment can be as thought provoking and intelligent as any intricate thriller, or in this case, that a superhero film can transcend what genre it stereotypically would be placed in. In short, a movie I like to see, with as much hard work and dedication as one can expect from a writer. I don’t think the film will appeal to all, nor will many have the patience to follow its heart run-length, though anyone who sits down and reads it, will (I cannot see how they wouldn’t) appreciate it for how everything fits and how the script is not merely loaded with “junk”, but actually feels like it has a story to tell, and something to say; a deliberate picture. Whether it’s a movie who enjoy a lot, or a movie you shrug at and say “it is well made, anyways”, you are bound to walk away with something; and isn’t that what a movie is supposed to do?
"X-Men 5" (Daz)
I have a notion in my head, a hypothetical, imagined, interview, that if I were to sit down with veteran writer Daz, and, if I were so blunt as to ask him what he thinks of himself as a movie maker, he would correct me, stating that he is not solely a filmmaker, but more-so a storyteller. He does not reduce himself to gimmicky distractions and catchy, bloated fireworks to create a smoke screen, but instead goes back to fine days where a plot was used for its original purpose; to tell a story, not to act as a vehicle for the pretense of “flash in the pan” success through sensory overload. “X5” is testament to that, and it is testament that the art of the “entertainment” genre can have as much heart and complexity as any other genre. It is a very good movie, one I’d say that exceeds its impressive prequel, snot only in quality, but also in design, structure, and clarity. Ironically enough, it is also a sprawling film that is bound to lose some along the way; for those careful enough to make their way through without a road map, however, they’ll find that the destination is far worth the journey, even if they come out without a clue of the difference between the good guys, bad guys, or who’s on who’s side, and at what time.
The film starts with a gallop, and instantly, it shoves aside any formulaic introductions, and hits off with a note which indicates the audience this is aiming to; those who enjoy a well crafted thriller. From there, it dives deeper and deeper in, though hardly, as one may expect, turns into an analytical, clinical experience. Somehow, some magical way, it maintains heart through its abusive narrative structure, one which bombards sub-plots and characters on without mercy, though without shame either; and it is a move which doesn’t insult the intelligence of the reader (on the contrary), and makes you use your mind, where as a lesser film would feed you candy for your eyes and dumb your brain down so as the mysterious plot hole or two glide past. The film is honest, and throughout the many moments a character “reawakens”, I suppose you can say, to realize who they really are, the film intricately is detailed to make everything come together.
Really, there is a lot of build up here. It starts with a bang, and sort of simmers down, only to give a crescendo-ish feeling that it is working its way up to something grand. We expect that moment to be at the party, and while a fight assumes which one can call anti-climatic, or not the “to-do” expected, I call it a nice scene which doesn’t obsess on something which could make one lose interest in the real plot; nor does it droll on and on about scenes of high action to raise one’s blood pressure. It thinks that its core story is much more imagination-grabbing then any punches thrown or mutant powers displayed; and, by gosh, is it correct or what?
The cast was one of the largest I think I have seen in any MR film, and “sprawling”, a term I used earlier, hardly does it justice. There are characters you will forget, and sub-plots that seem to pop up without notice, though mostly everything comes to a meeting point. There may be a character or two, a small scene, which does not, and, thus, one can label as “filler”. They’d be correct in calling it that, but filler can always work two ways. Either it is meaningless twaddle tossed in to blow a film out of proportion, or it is there for development and to give a more emotional impact later on. I will not say what film does, because, quite frankly, there is no set answer- it is either too much, or just enough to give the story the drive it needed. I suspect different people will have different opinions. For this critic, I think it goes, based on my thoughts of the film, without saying.
Technically, Daz has always been a wonderful writer, a very dry writer. His films usually tackle their subject matter with a nice dose of emotional impact, though largely (and considerably more) analytical storytelling, and that is what I like about this film. It displays its story as a subject, one which =has no omniscient narrator, or God-like view. We see the film as it unfolds, and you can swear that, during the reading process, Daz is churning out the pages as you go along, with as much excitement and glee as the reader. Remembering, of course, that he is not churning them out at such a pace makes it even more special, as here is a writer who has managed to put himself into his work, his emotions, anyway; and not create a film in order to “do anything”, it is for all extensive purposes, a film by Daz, made because it is the story he wanted to tell.
The movie is rarely uneven, and does a pretty good job of running fluently, for what it carries. It’s as strong film that can haul quite a load, and while it may drop an ounce or two occasionally, it always turns back and picks it up. Only scarcely does the film feel segmented, like an extended television show; and it does don on me that Daz really does have a promising future in television, but for a movie, a bit too much of that can go the wrong way. Here, it does not. As I said, it is not too much, nor is it too little, but only slightly higher then I expected. Much of this attributed to the one or two characters that seem placed for unusual reasons; I suppose I cannot complain about this, while praising the filler. That would be contradictory, and thus, take from this paragraph what you want.
A final note I feel determined to mention is the dialogue. There are some very nice, very witty lines here. A lot of Gambit’s lines (for example, when Rogue saves him and takes him to the roof), are cheeky and well played. The film knows when to be serious, and when to poke fun, and that sense makes Gambit one of the fore-front characters in the picture, as he really can tone down a scene which otherwise would be a bit too much (such as the meeting with Professor X). It is those little touches which make the film play out better then one may expect, as the cast really does play off of each other well, in fact, every aspect of the film does, almost self-complimentary. The proof of a film which is in total control.
Overall, I think that this is a movie that many people will benefit from seeing, as it really is a movie that, not only is made by a writer who embodies all that storytelling is, but also a nice display of how to focus attention on just the right things. It is one of those movies that proof entertainment can be as thought provoking and intelligent as any intricate thriller, or in this case, that a superhero film can transcend what genre it stereotypically would be placed in. In short, a movie I like to see, with as much hard work and dedication as one can expect from a writer. I don’t think the film will appeal to all, nor will many have the patience to follow its heart run-length, though anyone who sits down and reads it, will (I cannot see how they wouldn’t) appreciate it for how everything fits and how the script is not merely loaded with “junk”, but actually feels like it has a story to tell, and something to say; a deliberate picture. Whether it’s a movie who enjoy a lot, or a movie you shrug at and say “it is well made, anyways”, you are bound to walk away with something; and isn’t that what a movie is supposed to do?
Long time, no see! How've you been, man!?!
