Only God Forgives The Wolverine...

Only God Forgives...

I was a huge fan of Drive. In fact, I thought it was truly screwed when it came to the Academy Awards and it thrust Ryan Gosling into that "what's this guy have to do to get a nomination around here?" category. Only Half Nelson -- so don't get yourself into a Gary Oldman quagmire over this one... the guy is supremely under-nominated.

Yes, it was a violent. And those of you who know me well know that I abhor violence and that it is -- besides the presence of Andie MacDowell -- one of the surefire ways to keep me from seeing a film. I'll admit to having seen half of Django with eyes shielded, half of Inglorious under similar constraints and as I've said time and again "I will never see Saw."  Thus, I don't even know what happened with Albert Brooks and that fork in Drive -- I just know that it was really, really bad.


However, in Drive there was a subtle excellence in a small crime film that got out of hand quickly all while having a sweet little Gosling/Mulligan love story. They were an excellent pairing and it was a great way for Carey and Ryan to capitalize on their other performances of that same year Shame for the CM and the one-two punch of Ides of March (which I consider a bit lackluster) and Crazy Stupid Love (a champ of a film) for the RG. All this coupled with the soundtrack by College and you had a great film on your hands.

Drive was the start of a great new pairing of director and star -- just the kind of relationship a down-home artistic actor like Ryan Gosling thrives in.

As Place Beyond the Pines rolled into town -- this time on two wheels -- I was under the false impression this was the latest from Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn, only to be swiftly corrected that Pines was the work of Mr. Derk "Blue Valentine" Cianfrance. My mistake -- months ago though it was when I made it -- briefly.


No, the follow-up picture for Mr. Refn is the now highly controversial (whatever that means in this day and age) Only God Forgives. I defiantly rented the sucker through iTunes last week to give it a view under all the heated criticism and Razzie predictions. I was hoping it would prove to be a film others relished in despising but I -- this great other mind -- would enjoy. I could not have been more wrong.

Those of you who read this blog and who talk to me about movies know that it's very difficult for me to point out films that I just plain hate. Quite hard. I look for the saving graces, failed attempts, and the "what they were going fors" in nearly every thing I lay my eyes on. With Only God Forgives, I'm at a loss on every level. I wasn't annoyed. I wasn't "grossed out." I wasn't offended. Yeah... they lop people's bodies to pieces in a glorified way that's almost as annoying as an Alex Garland Beach follow-up -- I'm looking at you, Tesseract! And I know we're in Asia (which is why I lumped this one with Wolverine), but what is with all the swords and silence? It was my impression that among the many things the Western World got from their ventures to the East was gun powder. Is just shooting people too much to ask from an action film?

There's a moment deep into Mike Nichols' The Birdcage where Nathan Lane is in "convincing" drag and breaks character with a great, "What?" showing just how flummoxed and caught off-guard he is. The tone of that single-syllable "What?" is my review of Only God Forgives.

Nevertheless, I'm happy to see Kristin Scott Thomas working. Anything that gets her on the screen is to be lauded. The lady is superb and should be in everything. Hire her today. (Don't use OGF as part of her audition reel when casting).

Rent Place Beyond the Pines -- still one of the year's finest films. And I'm certain this was just a blip for Mr. Refn; thee man has talent and I hope his next Gosling pic is a slam dunk.

THE WOLVERINE...

Oh how I waited for them to make this Wolverine story as opposed to whatever the hell that last X-Men Origins debacle was. Before righting the ship, Marvel made some missteps in there... like The Hulk, X-Men 3, The Hulk, and I almost want to say Thor (I'm in the minority and promised I'd watch it again before rendering my final verdict).


This Wolverine -- The Wolverine -- is quite good. I don't know what the movie going experience would be like for someone unaware of the Bryan Singer films -- it relies heavily on their back story -- and has a great end-credit scene leading us into Singer's neXt installment, Days of Future Past. But it is great. For those who would detract or claim that it is my Jackman blindness that's responsible for my using the word great -- let me offer this:

The Wolverine is an X-Man -- whether he likes it or not. He's also a solider -- whether he likes it or not. He also has an incredible history -- whether he likes it or not. He is the only character from the X world about whom a singular story can be effectively made -- until that great day when someone makes the Magneto movie and I have to be carted away to place with standard issue terrycloth robes and free cigarettes.

He's not going to fly around and save the world like Superman. He's not from some other land with troubles we could never fully grasp -- like Thor or... well... Superman. And completely divulging his origin is about as stupid as doing so to Hannibal Lecter -- we all saw how well continually revealing that myth worked out on the big screen -- sister soup? Please.

And Logan/Weapon X/Wolverine is not going head to head with one arch-nemesis like the Bat -- much as people like to think that putting him up against Sabertooth would do just that. They're mistaken, as the "let's pretend it never happened" previous Wolverine movie proves.

A tortured man of honor who has lived through too much history with powers he despises -- which others are constantly trying to either steal or enhance and then exploit. That is Wolverine. And that is what happens in this picture by James Mangold -- who was kind enough to step away from his stream of Oscar worthy films like Copland, Girl, Interrupted..., Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma -- to helm this comic pic. And he did it as the master directors who've worthily and successfully taken the comic challenge have: by relying on the already rich source material -- like Mr. Brannagh, Mr. Wheedon, and Mr. Nolan -- and getting some great writers on board -- in this case, Mark Bomback (if it's exploded in the past 10 years, he wrote some of it) and Scott Frank (Spielberg's often "go-to" who's penned films as wide ranging as Little Man Tate, Minority Report, and Out of Sight).

Unlike the mystery of swords in Only God Forgives, here they worked perfectly. The man has six blades that shoot out of his body when he gets upset -- throw him up against ninjas and the Yakuza -- they're the right villains! Just as Magneto is the perfect guy to freeze Logan and his adamantium skeleton in its tracks. There's a great expression -- often falsely attributed to Connery's character in The Untouchables -- he says something close, but not this -- "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight." Well this guy has knives as a part of his skeleton. So they made it a knife fight and a sword fight. It works. It delivers.

Enjoy The Wolverine.

 

House of Cards Emmy Noms Will Change the Game

There's a lot to be said about movies since Mud.

Bling Ring, Behind the Candelabra, The Heat -- and how Sandy Bullock will never stop being a success. Much to say... but lest we not forget -- I remind me from time to time, too -- that this is an awards driven blog.

We're on the brink of hearing the Emmy nominations. There is an amazing phenomenon that was truly kicked off this year by Netflix's "House of Cards." We all know that by now, this is not news. However, what's interesting when it comes to the world of the Emmys is that Netflix is not a television channel -- it is an entertainment delivery system. So how this sucker is going to play into this year's awards ought to be quite fascinating.

The excellent thing to point out -- right off the bat -- is that the only reason there's an issue that will drastically change the landscape of television should "House of Cards" be nominated for best series and should Spacey, Wright, Mara, and Corey Stoll lock up acting noms (if not more folk than that) -- the only reason it's going to be able to pull this off is because it's a piece of high quality. Ignoring it would make Emmy look stupid.

This is not -- I repeat, this is not the first original web series that could have been all over your Emmy ballot. "Lilyhammer," anyone? But this massive piece of Fincher level quality that the world devoured the second it was released was an entirely different story. "House of Cards" is a force to be reckoned with.

So what does this mean? Does this mean that if something is produced by Netflix that it is a "television movie?" What if it's simul-released in theaters? And here's the biggest stretcheroo of them all -- but a legitimate question nevertheless -- what if I can watch a series on Netflix that isn't yet available in the United States via network television -- why isn't it eligible for awards now?

Used to be you needed American television distribution during the award calendar window and that you hadn't previously been exhibited in the United States via another means -- etc. etc. etc. What does the very existence of a Netflix do to all that?

I frankly find it exciting and hope that Emmy isn't silly enough to simply bestow honorary awards on "House of Cards" and then give its own category -- like Oscar and Tony have done before. This is the new "cable." Full acceptance, Emmy. And voters need to vote on quality, not on whether their jobs will be threatened.

There was a year I like to call 1991... when Beauty and the Beast became the first (and -- in my opinion - LAST) animated film nominated for best picture. It lost. Digital was invented. Lasseter was given an honorary Oscar for Toy Story and a separate category for animated film was created. If you think that wasn't because actors were terrified that they would be replaced with cartoons -- you're insane. That was the lion share of this cocktail. Take a look around at how much is animated now. Look how many voice actors it employs. Take a look at the length of the credits. You think people lost work?

In one year the phrase "web-series" went from being the equivalent of "I could always make earrings in the garage to make ends meet" to being synonymous with "depending on the company, it's better than network." I say embrace it and let the future roll in.

We'll know soon enough.