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Xercks
Reviews
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Hot Sauce and Fairy Dust
Even if you put aside the shaky camera work, the overuse of closeups, the amateur acting and, at times, incoherent editing (this is a first feature, after all), the meaning of this movie is muddled and even troubling.
I think what's going on is an attempt to draw a mythic connection between the primeval forces of nature and how those forces have a potentially devastating but ultimately heroic impact on a community of bayou survivors (or something along those lines). But this meaning doesn't jell with the actions of these particular characters and then just gets laughably literal when the big mythical boars show up on the front porch. (I actually liked the juxtaposed scenes of icebergs crashing into the sea, including the suggestion of primordial creatures embedded in them.)
While the filmmakers were pounding the mythical heartbeat every chance they got, what I kept seeing instead was squalor, alcoholism, prostitution, child abuse, and unsafe use of pyrotechnics, all sprinkled with a liberal-romantic fairy dust that tried to convert this into the Authentic Life Force. Sorry, but that's demeaning to actual people who struggle to overcome the real problems of poverty, however much you wrap it in myth or fable. People of means (raise your hand if you've been to Sundance or Cannes) don't ennoble themselves by mythologizing people who live in squalor and in alcoholic stupor.
Two stars for attempting something profound.
Marple: 4.50 from Paddington (2004)
Near Perfection
Geraldine McEwan brings a mischievous spunk and sparkle to the title role, leading a great cast through a well-paced and deliciously fun adaptation of one of Dame Agatha's best-known stories. As a fan of the earlier BBC Marples, I was somewhat wary of how these could be improved upon. I'm happy to say that the producers don't seem to have set out to make a better version of Joan Hixson. Instead, they have brought a fresh vision to the whole enterprise, based on the idea that Agatha Christie meant to delight us, to entertain us. This production is artful, classy, and exuberant (see the Noel Coward scene), and the actors are intent on having fun with their roles. Are we romanticizing a wee bit the realities of English country life? Absolutely, and the result is near perfection.
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Devolves into Melodrama
**Spoiler Warning** This was a nicely paced, intimate drama until the final boxing match, when it abruptly crash-lands into the realm of pure melodrama. When a character-driven story has to go to such lengths to generate an emotional reaction in the audience, that emotion is unearned. A more interesting denouement of this simple (but adequate) plot would have been to see what became of the main characters after Maggie's fantastic success as a boxer. As it is, we're in hack territory: What should we do now? "I've got it, drop an anvil on her head, and the handkerchiefs will be coming out faster than you can say Academy Award!" 5/10 for the acting, warm characters, and gentle pacing.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001)
Pure Joy
Nicholas Nickleby is often put on the Dickens "B-list" because of the episodic nature of the story and its over-dependence on unrelated and eccentric characters. But if these are weaknesses in the book, the producers of this adaptation have embraced them with joy and turned them into striking assets. Victorian costume drama too often chooses between mannerly drawing room theater and sobering social realism, Dickens tending toward the latter. And while the social themes of Dickens' works are not to be taken lightly, the entertainment value of his stories and of his characters -- especially the baddies -- is often not fully realized on the screen. Thankfully, the producers of this miniseries have followed Dickens' purpose in creating bold and memorable entertainment, while not losing sight of the moral center in the lovely, understated performances of the protagonists. (Make no mistake, though: James D'Arcy in the title role leaves no heart unthrobbed.) Charles Dance is evil incarnate as Ralph Nickleby, and this makes his comeuppance all the more enjoyable.