that sounds interesting.
I am not embarrassed to admit, I'm pretty big fan of US/Hollywood movies. Of course not ALL kinds, but that some of the most remarkable films are from there, and lightyears ahead of many "cult films". But lately been wondering where are the good hollywood films now? I may be slightly embarrassed to admit, I actually went to cinema to check out World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles. I tend to like sci-fi, and action is good genre as well, but how fucking lame they can get? G.I.Joe? What a load of bullshit. I couldn't even watch it in one session. Fast & Furious series? Erotic story for teenage fags willing to sniff some Vin Diesels jockstraps?... pff..
With World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, it is more like charity-funded propaganda film of equality. You got the mandatory negroes saving the world. You got the mexican civilian saving the marines from alien attack. You got the tough bitch woman side-kick acting rough and so on. Whole crew of the film is like still shot of Watchtower pages, if you know what I mean? All genders, ages and races represented well. You got the sobstories and massive emotional hymns playing on background when patriots sacrifice themselves to save planet from aliens. And I guess it was described somewhere, that it is pretty much one-dimensional war movie, where simply out of political correctness, the enemy is hostile aliens. If they would have chosen some nation as opposing force, they could have actually offended someone. So lets choose enemy, what anyone can dislike and have sympathy for the colorful bunch representing "all of us" fighting for common cause. Oh please...
So, after being so severely violated by this cinema experience, on my way to the car, I walked straight from movies to video rental on same street and grabbed Machete and watched that home. It is good. It is pretty much what you expect, but in this kind of tribute-to-the-grindhouse-roughies style, exaggerating the qualities that films have had and made pretty well working flick. If you're going to make plain brains-off action film, this is the way to do it.
But still, I came into conclusion, that why the hell should I pay or want to watch some new utter BS blockbusters, when there are endless amount of top films what can be either re-watched or watched for the first time. So, decided to check out:
DEER HUNTER. I'm sure this is film that most people know. Voted among best 100 films in the world, I guess, and I've had the dvd sitting on my shelves for years, waiting the moment when I want to re-watch it. And even if I did remember few moments from here and there, the genius quality of the film reveals itself much better now, than for teenage boy. Purely from perspective of appreciation of simple frames. Film is filled with moments, what would simply make perfect photographs. It is not afraid to being little "disconnected", where scenes move from one to another quite abruptly. Vietnam war is covered in handful of sequences, which happen quite far from eachother, and no explanation needed to fill the gaps. Director doesn't need to consider audience utterly brainless, but trusts they will fill the gaps by themselves.
Alienation the characters feel back in their hometown, is so much more pessimistic and you can't really consider too happy ending either. No world saved. No heroic deeds done.
Tension of the russian roulette scenes is pretty intense, unlike the foolishness described in movies above. Now when you think: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, and bunch of others.. In 3 hours war movie, where it's perhaps 2+ hours of small town drama. It may not sound tempting for all, but after being watched, one would say it's pretty safe to stick on the times when movies were movies. Even re-watching the same thing, is more fruitful than checking out what plays now in local cinemas...
