Three films a day

#76, 8/17 – Superbad (2007) (tofw)

A pure (or was that puerile?) classic. I liked it just as much as I hoped I would.

The folks in the Apatow Clan (which I’ve also called the Apatow/Robertson Collective to acknowledge that Shauna Robertson has been involved in many—though certainly not all—of these movies, as well) seem to like making two kinds of movies.

1) The sort which makes fun of filmmaking devices and throws in heaping helpings of pure, unabashed absurdity just for the joy of it. Unsurprisingly, these involve either Will Ferrell or John C. Reilly—and sometimes both (e.g. Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and the upcoming Walk Hard).

2) Straight-up, surprisingly kind-hearted comedies which involve, by some sort of obvious necessity, Seth Rogen (e.g. The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and this). Since I know nothing about them it’s probably unwise (and certainly premature) to lump the upcoming Pineapple Express (which I’m looking forward to since it’s directed by David Gordon Green) and Drillbit Taylor into this second pile, but note the obligatory Rogen involvement in each. (Yes, Rogen was also in Anchorman. But the Ferrell/Reilly rule trumps the Rogen rule.)

Full credit to whoever came up with the name McLovin, by the way. They guaranteed that a number of writers would pony up a very obvious appropriation of a certain large corporation’s unbearably bad slogan when referring to this movie. Bravo.

#75, 8/3 – The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) (tofw)

I’d found the The Bourne Identity to be a rousing surprise. Really, I thought Doug Liman’s treatment of the script made for one of the coolest action movies of the last five years. And then it was followed by what I considered a fine, steady sequel which had almost as many positives as the first movie. So even though I went in to the third movie pretty sure I would be satisfied, I was surprised by just how much I actually got into it.

I don’t really know why I’ve enjoyed recent action movies like Casino Royale and this so much, but I really have.

Actually, having thought about it a second, I think it’s pretty simple. Even though, as an audience member I know certain characters are in little or no real danger, this latest breed of action films has made the protagonist really earn most of what they get. And, for better or worse, the feeling that characters are actually in some danger is one which makes an action sequence worthwhile for me. Yeah, I guess I like stressing a little about the characters. And while I’ve never had much worry for Bond or Bourne (What is it with the action hero intiails of JB, anyway? James Bond, Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer…), there were other characters I found myself stressing about.

#74, 8/1 – Cool Hand Luke (1967) (dvd)

Thanks to Superbad, I’ve had “These Eyes” stuck in my head for the last four days. I am dying over here. I’m even listening to it right now because it’s so intractably stuck in my head. No, really. See?
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Now playing: The Guess Who – These Eyes
via FoxyTunes
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Oh, right. But this is about Cool Hand Luke. Which I saw nearly three weeks ago. Ha.

(You gave a promise to me, yeah. And you broke it. And you broke it. Oh no.)

I loved Cool Hand Luke, quite honestly. It’s a classic non-conformist story very humanly done and I really have nothing but positive impressions about the script and the performances. But I can’t think of anything else to say at the moment. And the sad thing is I didn’t have anything else to say three weeks ago, either.

(These eyes. Are cryin’. Theseeyeshaveseenalotof… good lord, just shoot me. Please.)