Things I Learned From Movie X: Heaven's Gate

After maintaining a more or less exclusively modern focus for much of the history of Things I Learned From Movie X, I decided to change it up a little and instead write about a classic - well, old - film in the shape of Michael Cimino's legendary fiasco, Heaven's Gate, a film which had such grandiose ambitions, and so little control being exercised over them, that it bankrupted its studio and played a major part in ending the auteurist-driven New Hollywood era of the '60s and '70s.

This was the second time that I had seen Heaven's Gate and I have to say that I liked it a lot more than I did the first time. Don't get me wrong, I still thought it was interminably tedious and dire in so many respects, but I could better appreciate the visual beauty of the piece, the sheer scope of it (I mean, that shot at the top of the post might look passe in our "you can do anything with CGI" age, but to actually construct that town and bring all those extras in for the purpose of that one shot is nothing short of astonishing) and the all-consuming ambition that drove the production, and drove it off the rails. I'm absolutely fascinated by Heaven's Gate, and even though I don't actually like it at all, I'm glad that I rewatched it and got to experience this beautiful, frustrating film again.

Film Review: The Avengers (2012)

Over the past four years, Marvel Studios have slowly been putting together the pieces to form The Avengers, a film version of the comic series that brings some of the studio's most powerful heroes together. The ambition of the project cannot be overstated: over five films, the studio have constructed an approximation of their comic universe that remained faithful to its origins without ever producing films that were only aimed at the converted, even if sometimes, as in the case of The Incredible Hulk, only the converted showed up. Considering the risk involved - the very real possibility that, had any of the films faltered badly in the early going, the whole thing could have fallen apart - the build-up to The Avengers alone is something quite remarkable, maybe unprecedented.

Film Review: Mirror Mirror (2012)

For years now, largely in the wake of the success of the Shrek franchise, Hollywood studios have been trying to find new ways of updating fairytales for modern audiences, offering ironic and vaguely post-modern versions of timeless stories. It's not hard to see the appeal for the studios: pretty much everyone knows the story of Snow White, Cinderella or Jack and the Beanstalk, the stories are all in the public domain so multiple studios can makes films based on the same source material without having to worry about pesky legal issues, and, unless there is a vocal contingent of Brothers Grimm fanboys and girls out there that I am not aware of, no one is likely to kick up a fuss if film-makers decide to mess with the established formula. After all, the appeal for audiences lies in seeing how an old story can be spun in a new way, much as the original stories were told and re-interpreted countless times over the centuries.

Film Review: Red State (2011)

Growing up, Kevin Smith was a very important figure in my development as a film lover. His debut, Clerks, was one of the first films I had ever seen that seemed to say that just about anyone could make a film, no matter how limited their resources or knowledge of film-making. For myself and many others, Smith's lack of pretensions, both in his art and in his persona, made him one of the most accessible figures in modern film-making. There was, and remains, something incredibly inspiring about his story, about the idea that a convenience store clerk from New Jersey can make a film that speaks to a large number of people, then turn that goodwill into a career doing what he loves: making movies.

Film Review: Carnage (2011)

To say that Carnage is a minor work in the oeuvre of its director, Roman Polanski, is a statement that I feel needs a little qualification. After all, when we're talking about the man who made Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown, it's arguable that pretty much every film he's made since could be considered minor by comparison. Yet even with that qualifier, Carnage remains a  fairly trifling enterprise, despite - or possibly as a result of - the tremendous pedigree of its director and cast.

Film Review: 21 Jump Street (2012)

Much as James Bobin's The Muppets sought to make its characters relevant again by trumpeting their irrelevance, 21 Jump Street takes what should be its greatest weakness - that it is an update of a barely-remembered TV series based around an incredibly dumb premise (albeit one that isn't so dumb that real police departments haven't used it in real life) - and turns it into probably its greatest strength. Rather than taking the idea of sending young-looking Police Officers undercover as high school students even remotely seriously, the film's script, co-written by star Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) seeks to undermine it mercilessly and frequently, using the disconnect between the stupidity of the central premise and how important the characters think it is to great effect.

Shot/Reverse Shot: Episode 5 - Returns

Having pretty much overcome the severe flu/sexiness that plagued the previous edition of Shot/Reverse Shot, this week I was able to talk freely and at length with Joe about the theme of "Returns", which was doubly appropriate since it was the theme of the legendary Lostcast that we had failed to record back in November. To that end, we talked about sequels - both those made for purely commercial reasons and those made due to a love of the material, films about people returning to somewhere and whether their are any film-makers that we feel are due a return to form. It's a pretty fast and free-wheeling episode that finds us getting into a decent groove, which makes me think that, just like an HBO drama, things only get real for SRS after at least four episodes.

You can stream the episode using the link below, download an MP3 of it from the SRS podbean page, or subscribe to it on iTunes. Listen, rate and review, thanks.