In the Film Quarterly roundtable discussion of Showgirls, author Linda Williams cites J. Hoberman’s essay “Bad
Movies” which mentions how bad movies can be good. That is, movies can be so bad, that they’re good. Hoberman’s judgments of what makes a
movie bad go against what most critics use to judge a movie. “Poor acting and ludicrous dialogue do
not in themselves make an objectively bad movie. Neither does an absurd plot. In fact, to be objectively bad, a film must relentlessly
draw one’s attention away from its absurd plot.” (American Movie Critics, Hoberman, 520)
The cinematography is
awesome and higher quality than other films that are considered “better” than
it.The use of color and
composition within the frame in every shot is calculated and deliberate, and
the lighting and tone of the film are consistent, yet the shot selection is
varied and highly creative.There
is no settling for simple camera movements.Every shot seems to have a lot of thought and artistry
behind it.The depictions of hell
throughout the movie are incredible, more realistic and terrifying than any
other movie in recent memory.
Look at that facial expression
There has been a long
running joke about Keanu’s acting ability and his serious and monotone
delivery.Much has also been said
about him being typecast into one role: the serious, humorless, and dull
character (Speed, The Matrix, Hardball), but that argument is invalid in every
way.Somebody has to play that
role, and by golly does he play it the best.His character in the film, John Constantine, is an
exorcist/demonologist, who deports demons and “half breeds” (half human, half
demon) back to hell, essentially ridding the world of evil forces.This is the perfect role for him, since
being a demonologist requires a stern and rigid character, and no other actor
has this persona naturally like Keanu.I’m a little confused how Keanu has been deemed a “bad” actor, when he
fits his roles perfectly and plays
them to a tee.
“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Some men, you just can’t reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way
he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men.”—The
Captain
Along
with Luke being a war hero in the film also comes the notion that he is a
Christ-like figure.In the scene
where Luke says he can eat 50 eggs, and then does, he is laid out on a table
after completing the task in the exact way that Jesus was crucified on the
cross.
In the
final shot of the film, as Dragline is reminiscing about Luke to his comrades,
the camera pulls back from an intersection of a dusty dirty road in the shape
of a cross, just as the torn picture of Luke and two girls reappears again,
this time pieced back together, with the torn outlines also looking like a
cross. The biblical reference made
here is pretty straight forward, alluding to the fact that Luke had to die for
his sins, but also for the sins of his friends.
“I don’t care if it rains or
freezes long as I got my plastic Jesus sitting on the dashboard of my car. “Going
90 I ain’t scary long as I got the Virgin Mary assuring me that I won’t go to
hell,” Those are the first two lines of song, and are quite beautiful, and
also allude once again to him as a religious figure.
Blood Simple uses the elements of classical noir in a modern
setting so seamlessly that we hardly even recognize it as noir. The detective, the lighting, the
camerawork, the settings, the fatalistic tone to the film are the basic
elements of noir, but the Coen brothers spin and alter these elements in a way
that has hardly ever been seen. We
have a private investigator (M. Emmet Walsh) who is no Humphrey Bogart in the
slightest; he is fat, grungy, and despicable. The woman in the film (Frances McDormand) is no Barbara
Stanwyck either; she isn't strikingly beautiful or charismatic, and she doesn't
play the role of the femme fatale, which is a perfect twist on that overused
element of noir.
The movie reflects certain
situations in people's lives that make them question who they really are,
experiences we all undoubtedly share.The feeling that even a good person can do bad things, that doing what
we think is right can be wrong.That being in the wrong place at the wrong time can be cost us our
lives.We see ourselves in the
characters, as the guy who simply tries to help out a friend but through
something that can only be described as fate, end up spiraling down a path of
destruction and self-doubt.
The way the film was marketed
hurt how the film was received. In
watching the trailer and studying the movie poster of Birth, you can see
why people believed the movie did not live up to expectations and were
disappointed. Studios and
distributors tried to shape the film's horizon of expectations into a sort of
dark psycho-thriller, which badly fell short. Consider the trailer for instance; it gives off the idea
that the film is going to be a fast-paced thrill ride, which it never
becomes. It also builds a great
amount of suspense for those wondering if the boy really is her dead husband,
yet when the film ends there is great disappointment.
#2-Where would you want to go on a dream date with him?
The stairs from Battleship Potemkin. We'd both be dressed as babies, holding hands in a large baby carriage. It would be tragic, yet have a classic editing technique.
#3- Describe your love for him in one word.
Unholy
#4- What's your favorite Jerry mannerism?
The way he blinks. My heart stopped whenever he did it. Every class, I almost died from oxygenated blood loss.
#5- If Jerry asked to marry you, would you say yes? Also, would you vote for him for President?
I wouldn't say "yes", I would say "take me now, my Jer-Bear"' and I would vote for Jerry if he was black. sure, he's black where it counts, but I mean all over.
