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| Blame! it on the rain, that was falling, falling! |
Some
movie watching occurred over the weekend (when I wasn’t ripping and replacing
sprinklers). Here’s the details:
Blame!
Uneven,
but with a great premise, and some interesting world-building, Blame!, based on the manga, is a
post-apocalyptic world where technology has run amok. An “infection” caused automated systems to
spiral out of control and humanity is now on the brink of extinction thanks to
their own advances. Giant, mostly benign
Builders continually reshape the world with no rhyme or reason, while Safeguards
actively hunt and destroy humans. A
small village of humans, somehow protected from the Safeguards, is running out
of food. When a small team of young
villagers ventures out to try to find a solution, they meet Killy the Wanderer
(great name) who is seeking the “net terminal genes” which may unlock the
system and save humanity.
The
biggest problems with this adaptation is that world-building is done by
characters who should already be aware of the world they live in. They should all know that the Builders are
generally benign, and yet when one appears, a character freaks out and aims his
weapon at it, only to be told off by another.
This occurs with such annoying regularity, that it detracts from the greater
plot. The dialogue needs an editor, and
some of the voice-over actors should be told to calm down—anger/yelling isn’t
the only emotion available. There are also too many characters, probably better developed in the manga, but with the limited scope and time of the film, suffer from becoming mostly cardboard.
I
burst out loud with laughter at the end which was unfortunately directly stolen
from another, better, classic post-apocalyptic film. Overall, Blame!
is a fun bit of eye-candy, with a lot of potential that suffers from
mediocre execution.
La La Land
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| You can dance to it, but it's not catchy. |
Aside
from some great outfits, including Ryan Gosling’s shoes, and some really fun
musical numbers (though none that are catchy enough you’re humming them days
later), there really isn’t much to this film.
Damien Chazelle creates a beautiful update of the stock musical boy-meets-girl
and they both have big dreams—AND YOU SHOULD TOO! Lines like Mia’s “I hate jazz.” so that
Sebastian has to school her (and us) on just how great jazz is, are forced and
awkward. Honestly, who actively “hates”
jazz? It’s like saying, “I hate music.” Fortunately, there aren’t too many of those,
and the lessons of having to work hard for your dreams—sometimes with
compromise—are repeatedly underlines.
Overall, the movie is enjoyable as a beautifully shot, amazingly staged
film, but that’s also where it end as a piece of cinema. You won’t regret watching it, but you’ll be
just fine if you don’t.
The Decoy Bride
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| If only he had a time machine . . . |
This
little known rom-com stars David Tennet, Kelly Macdonald and Alice Eve, with
most of the classic tropes, but just enough reality thrown in to not prove
annoying. Katie (Macdonald) a writer
frustrated with her life, returns home to the fictional island of Hegg in the
Scottish Hebrides. At the same time,
world-famous actress Lara Tyler (Eve) and suddenly-famous writer James (Tennet)
are trying to find a paparazzi-free place to get married. Tyler sends her team to Hegg, which famously “inspired”
James’ book. Romantic comedy hijinks
ensue. What sets The Decoy Bride apart from most other rom-coms is its cast of
supporting characters. Hegg, as its own
island world where everyone knows everyone else, is idyllic offering equal
measures of eccentric and silly that are quite endearing. Some of the more annoying rom-com tropes are
turned on their heads, but not enough to take the film off the well-beaten
path. Also, writers may well enjoy some
of the funnier moments Katie and James endure.
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