So this week was fairly uneventful. Not a lot going on as far as new movies go. I saw the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42 and that was it for the new things. I've been fairly disappointed by the amount of good movies that Empire Theatres have decided to pass on so far this year. I can count at least 6-7 that I'm genuinely pissed that we haven't gotten here. But enough of my belly-aching. They're making it up to me this week by bringing in The Place Beyond the Pines, which I am incredibly excited about and has the potential to be one of the better movies coming out this year.
A few weeks ago, the greatest film critic(arguably and in my own personal opinion) passed away. Roger Ebert was one of the only critics I trusted as far as their opinions on movies go. I would read reviews on other sites by the random critics they would have working there but I never knew their names. Roger Ebert was the only name that I could refer back to and trust. He was completely unbiased about his view on movies. He looked at every movie with an open mind and took them all for what they were. If he loved a movie, chances are it was truly a great work of art. If he hated it, it probably wasn't worth your time or money to go watch.
His passing, in some small part, spurred me along to get this blog back up and running again. So, in light of this, I've gone and found his most recent top 10 list that he completed for the 2012 Sight and Sound poll. This is a poll that has been completed by the Sight and Sound magazine since 1972 chronicling the best films chosen by the top film professionals. These films represent the best of the best. To be chosen to be in the top 10 films of a critic who has watched and reviewed thousands of films and has gained worldwide acclaim says something quite endearing of the films chosen. The list that Roger Ebert chose in 2012 were:
Aguirre, Wrath of God - Werner Herzog (1972)
Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola (1979)
Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)
La Dolce Vita - Federico Fellini (1960)
The General - Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton (1926)
Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese (1980)
2001: A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick (1968)
Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu (1953)
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick (2011)
Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Of this prestigious list I've only seen 3 in their entirety. I dare not say which ones for the inevitable mocking of not having seen some of the most iconic, classic movies there are. My soul hates me a little bit for this as well. Regardless, over the next couple of weeks I'm going to make a point of working my way through this list. Even the ones I've seen already. Finding some of the older ones may be a bit of a challenge but I'm sure I'll be able to locate them without too much trouble.
As I work my way through this list I'm going to keep this blog updated. Not necessarily with reviews of these movies. More so my thoughts, feelings and what I feel may have caused these movies to be adored by one of the greatest fans of the film medium.
So that's what I have planned for my immediate future. Now, as for what I've seen this week:
My Weekly Thoughts
42 7/10
In the midst of all this, 42 is a great example of restraint at its best.
The movie started a little rough. It felt like it was going to shove its anti-racial ideals into your face in the first few minutes with Bench Rickey(Harrison Ford) gloriously stating his plans to introduce the worlds first black MLB player. And then another heroic show of anti-racism with a washroom incident and Jackie Robinson(Chadwick Boseman). Thankfully it tones everything back just enough shortly after.
The movie never tries to over shadow it’s main character, Jackie Robinson, with any sort of scene stealing display of prejudice. It shows restraint just like Jackie is told to show in the movie.
Movies like this, dealing with racism, have loads of opportunities to paint an extremely ugly face on the matter. To make the audience feel sympathy for the character through disgust from the extreme actions of others. 42 holds back with this, never over-glorifying any act. In fact, other than one poorly thrown baseball, there is no violence in the movie. The worst of the racism shown in the movie is just there to fuel Jackie. To push him to his brink. It’s not there for us for shock value. While this was happening I wasn't hating the person dishing this out. I wasn't a fan of him either, but that wasn't the point of his racist behavior. During this tirade I was focusing on Jackie and his response. It’s there for him and his development and Boseman plays this perfectly.
My only problem with the movie is with the most seasoned actor there, Harrison Ford. While he does have a few good moments, I really felt that he overacted trying to play a gruff old man. He’s old. He’s gruff. I felt like he needed to tone it down a bit and just act a little more naturally. Now I don’t know much about baseball or the character he was playing, so that may have been a great portrayal of that person, but in my opinion his performance was more of a distraction from the beautiful restraint shown in the rest of the film.
So once again, thanks for reading this week. I was going to add another section about some movies news that got me excited this week but I feel I've rambled on long enough. I may do a separate post regarding that stuff later this week. Maybe not. But I will be updating with my thoughts on Roger Eberts top 10 soon.
Until then, cheers!
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