My friend and i are pretty much in agreement. Every other movie nominated for the Oscar is better than Argo.
One movie worse than Argo is Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike.
It's even worse than the first one. No, i take that back... it's a
little better, a little less disjointed and soulless. I have sympathy
for the people working on the movie. They're trying, they really are,
to make a coherent film out of this mess and on a small budget. They're
troopers. Who can hate on Larisa Oleynik? It's just a baffling
experience at first because every single cast member from the first one has been replaced.
Most of the new actors look radically different from their
predecessors, and it was a weird challenge just to figure out who the
hell everyone is supposed to be.
I could snipe forever at all the corny bits, or mention the things they
got right, but that would get boring. Instead, i just want to reiterate
my broad indictment of these movies that i probably mentioned last year
after i saw the first one. These films fail utterly if their purpose
is to spread Ayn Rand's philosophy to the masses. Since they die a
quick death at the theaters and are kept alive by DVD sales, i would
imagine that there are lots of dedicated Objectivist right-wingers
purchasing these movies and trying to expose their family members to the
"message" without having to ask them to read a gigantic novel. First The Passion, and now this?
But these movies are impossible for the uninitiated to properly enjoy,
because in Ayn Rand's insane world, every normal character archetype is
reversed. Normal working-class joes are greedy bums. Soft-spoken
preachers are vile parasites. The spunky working girl is a clueless
dupe. Politicians who want to help the poor are insidious charlatans.
Old women are prattling fiends. Children are little worthless
animals... the only good guys are the ruthless capitalists who only
focus on work and talk to one another about how much they fucking can't
stand everyone else while cheating on their wives and drinking Scotch.
Visually, emotionally, it just feels utterly wrong.
It does not translate into our pop culture language. Especially when
many of the actors playing the villains are just as charismatic, or in
some cases, MORE charismatic than the actors playing the heroes. One
character who is supposed to be the ultimate sniveling, weak-willed,
bureaucratic sycophant is played by a tall, handsome, silver-haired man
who projects charm. Meanwhile, the heroic genius steel magnate is
played by a gravelly-voiced actor who looks like he ought to be busting
kneecaps in a gangster film. It is... just.... bizarre.
Utter confusion is guaranteed for for any wife or husband or sibling or
friend forced to sit through these movies. I wish i could hear more of
the conversations that take place after these awkward viewings....
"Don't you see? This movie explains everything wrong with the country
today! The government totally turned its back on capitalism.
Capitalists and industrial leaders were expelled, shunned, made pariahs,
and kept from having any impact on government policy. Rich people were
enslaved and not allowed to make money, while the unions grew out of
control, and the lazy lower classes glutted themselves with needlessly
high wages and benefits. That's why all innovation was stifled and why
we've seen a tremendous lack of progress -- especially in the tech
world. Also, physically gifted, attractive, dashing people became
objects of hatred and ridicule to make way for the worship of the
mundane and mediocre. At every level of society, the intelligent and
beautiful have been snubbed and cast aside, leaving the weak and ugly to
run the world, don't you see?"
"Except, honey, didn't the exact opposite of all that actually happen?"
"Raaargh, you need to read the book! Then you'll see!"
"Does this Ayn Rand person at least promote Christianity? And family values?"
"Uhh... no, she was an atheist who hated all religion. And she loved
abortion, couldn't stand kids, really. And she didn't believe in
marriage, and was a huge amphetamine addict..."
"Honey, why do you like this person again? She sounds like a..."
"BECAUSE FUCK THE LIBERALS THAT'S WHY."
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4 comments:
Its not unchecked capitalism that's the problem so much as its the elite interests that's in control. The bankers that got the country into this mess to begin with. Considering all the stimulus did was bailout the banks with no real economic growth, its a sign that both the GOP and Democrats are only interested in maintaining the status quo.
And for the record, I personally think Cloud Atlas, Zero Dark Thirty or the Avengers should have taken Best Picture. I liked Argo, but...
...it was overrated. It described an interesting chapter in history, but brought nothing to the table except a lot of bogus tension. Most movies only use the cliched "OMG, if they had been one second later, all would have been lost!" gimmick, but that was the last 30% of the film.
I've yet to see Cloud Atlas, so my pick for best movie would be Life of Pi.
Coincidentally, I haven't seen Life of Pi either.
Cloud Atlas is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now actually, so if you get the chance, do give it a try.
Oh, i plan to. I'm kicking myself for not seeing it in the theater when i had the chance.
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