Wednesday, 12 July 2000

RANTING & RAVING

I've been running around like a lunatic and not paying enough attention to you readers and your mail. So, I've decided to give today's Rant & Rave to you. Soon, this kind of stuff will have its own roughcut.com section, Civilian Voices. But all good things in time, right?

MS. MO writes: "An open letter to Samuel L. Jackson and John Singleton: I have seen all your films and have admired how you have progressed from initially stereotypical African-American roles (like the "crackhead" in Jungle Fever) to everyday people (Rosewood and A Time To Kill) and even heroic characters (The Negotiator and Die Hard 3). So it was that I went to see Shaft with my 16-year-old son. I loved the movie, but was horrified to see that every single Latino character was a criminal drug dealer (even the women). I saw "good" and "bad" white and black characters, but there was not even one "good" Latino in the entire movie (the only "good" Latino character was the junkie snitch who got killed, but the actor was really a "brother" who spoke very bad, very fake Spanish). Shame on you, Samuel L. Jackson and John Singleton! If you are going to represent us, please be fair and get the facts straight. We're not all drug dealers and criminals. By the way, the regional accents of the Latinos characters was obviously that of west-coast Chicanos even though the film was set in New York City (which is predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican). What's up with that? (A disappointed fan)"

PAUL THE D writes: "I live in Milwaukee. We have theaters other than Marcus here, such as General Cinemas, so I assume I will be able to see X-Men this weekend. Now people tell me there is more to life than movies, but I do not believe them. I can't imagine not being able to see such an event movie in the theaters. I don't know all the details, so who is to blame here? Marcus, Fox or both? Either way, that pisses me off. I will have my fingers crossed when I pick up my paper on Friday morning."

THE BIRD FROM SAN FRANCISCO writes: "I am curious as to why I haven't read any articles supporting the amazing decision by Mike Myers to not go forward with the Sprockets movie. Good for him to say that he didn't want to do something that he felt was not up to his standard, and that he didn't want to do it just for money! I can not believe he is being sued by Opie--Ron Howard is losing BIG brownie points in this corner. I think if more movie executives were as brave as Mike Myers, and pulled the plug on pieces of junk, audiences would ultimately benefit. But of course, movies really aren't about the audience, and all about money, right? Bravo, Austin Powers!!"

EDDIE writes: "Now I can't really argue with you because I haven't seen it yet, but you seemed to like the fact that Michael Kamen's score is subtle 'cause X-Men isn't an action movie. Perhaps you are right, I hope you are, but whether this is an action movie or not, don't you think there should be a recognizable theme, if only because it's a comic book movie? I don't consider Batman (the first one at least) an action movie, but without Danny Elfman's score the movie wouldn't be nearly as good.

I know John Ottman was supposed to do the score, but couldn't because (I think) he was off making Urban Legend 2 (.....that sounds like a winner), and I wonder if he would've done a better job cause he knows how to stick to a theme. Kamen's only real theme is that stupid saxophone from the Lethal Weapon movies and that Morgan Creek logo from Robin Hood.

I guess this all goes back to, should someone who knows how to define a movie, and/or its characters through theme and music have been brought on board BECAUSE it's a comic book movie, as opposed to the action movie or drama its trying to be? Wouldn't the music be able to bring out more of the drama?"

HOSEN-PFIEFFER writes: "I saw X-Men this morning and really enjoyed it. The only knowledge I had of the characters was knowing a couple of their names. I never read the comic books and hadn't paid any attention to what the film's plot was. Thank God for a comic book movie that actually has a story and doesn't let the special effects overwhelm it. The biggest problem that critics generally hate is that the story is in servitude to the effects rather than allowing the effects to provide some color. Effects should be secondary, not primary, and thankfully Bryan Singer and his screenwriters understood that.

I really was quite surprised that the movie focuses on the connections the characters have and allowing them to develop rather than force them to jump from setpiece to setpiece with gaudy explosions. It also doesn't get terribly bogged down in too much backstory (which probably would have doubled the running time alone), another problem comic book films have in general.

I read your comments Monday and remembered in particular how you mentioned when Toad appears climbing in the background of one shot. Although I attended a press screening, there were two teenagers there watching the film. I heard them exclaim, 'There's Toad' at that point. Singer's direction grants the audience a certain amount of intelligence, and if those two are any indication, then it will pay off.

I liked the performances and think Anna Paquin may be the rare child actress who goes on to have a successful career and smooth adjustment to adulthood. She has seemed to have good taste in roles and in not doing too much too soon. I really liked the relationship Rogue and Wolverine had and appreciated the emotional level on which it works.

Overall, I really look forward to seeing any future X-Men films if done with the amount of care and skill invested in this one. It's a solid film that should play well during these summer months."

CITY JOE & THE BEARS writes with some minor Patriot spoilers: "Saw The Patriot this weekend and I now have to believe this film is in trouble. It's junk. Looks like the Cinemascore people are no more accurate than the B.O. trackers. They made a syrupy family/patriotism pic that's also an incredibly violent, gruesome and even morbid revenge fantasy. Who was this supposed to please? With all the extreme nastiness visited upon Gibson by the villain any final showdown would have to feel kind of pointless and cheap, and it did.

Spike Lee was right to note how convenient it was for Mel Gibson's SC landowner to somehow not be a slave owner, but it was just another link in the bulls**t chain that made up the character. How about that climax? Mel gifts the bewildered Colonial Army with a winning battle strategy, marches out in front of that army to get fired at first, single handedly shores up the breaking rebel line (flag in hand, natch) and pauses mid-battle to have his every-detail-telegraphed-in-advance meeting with the bad guy. Yuck.

To add insult to injury, this thing actually had a lot going for it, good performances (from just about everybody really), some nice action sequences, it looked great. Devlin and Emmerich have had every opportunity. Are they really just a couple of hacks? This has been a very weak summer so far."

"A Top 5, Gladiator IS The Patriot & The Wind Will Carry Us"