25 years ago today.
I have no words to describe the horror of that day.
Today is about the 3,042 people who were horribly and viciously murdered by wicked men.
The best thing to do today would be to remember the dead.
Here is a link to the names of the murdered. In your charity, perhaps look at the list and pray for a few of them by name.
Let us never forget.
Never.
Sexuality/Nudity Mature
Violence Mature
Vulgarity Acceptable
Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature
This movie has all the elements that should make it a fun, summer blockbuster. But in this case the movie is less than the sum of its parts.
The End of Oak Street takes place in a suburban community in 1982. It centers around the Platt family. Denise (Anne Hathaway) is an aspiring novelist who is ready to leave her husband and children at the drop of a hat. Greg (Ewan McGregor), is an amiable guy who is delivering pizzas to make ends meet. The teenage daughter Audrey (Maisy Stella) is incredibly smart with big dreams of college. And finally Brian (Christian Convery) is a typical, not-that-bright junior-high kid who has a crush on the new transfer student Jeannette (Jordan Alexa Davis). The cracks in the family are subtle at first but then become more pronounced under stress. And this stress occurs when the entire neighborhood gets mysteriously transported several hundred million years into the past where they must not survive surrounded by prehistoric life.
I will say that the movie does pack within it some genuine thrills. Oak Street makes the dinosaurs genuinely scary and a real threat. The Jurassic series tends to make them more and more cartoonish, but this movie uses them as monsters who inflict gruesome deaths on the residents of Oak Street. The design on the dinosaurs is also much different than what we've seen in the past, comporting to what modern paleontologists think they looked like, feathers and all. Some of the action sequences move with real energy and thrills, with very decent camera work besides. Speaking of the camera work, writer/director David Robert Mitchell seems very enamored of use deep focus shots so that it becomes part of this movie's signature style. The special effects are as good as anything else out there right now. The early scenes where the family begins to realize their threat have some moments of fun, escapist entertainment. The performances are all decent from the main cast, where none of them break the spell.
But even with all of these pieces parts in place, the movie never becomes more than these disparate elements. It apes the feel of 1980's movies, particularly that of Spielberg, but it cannot create the same sense of wonder awe. Go back and watch something that is supposed to be a straightforward monster movie like Jaws and Spielberg fills you with that wonder and awe even as they are looking over Ben Gardner's broken boat. Oak Street has a lot of spectacle, but it never feels weighty enough to dig deep into your heart.
But the real place the movie fails is the writing. This is a shame because with just a little tweaking of the script, the movie could go from mediocre to very good. The main problem is that the movie places Denise at the center of the movie as its main hero and she is incredibly unlikeable. We are meant to sympathize with her domestic dissatisfaction where she already has a bag packed to leave, but can't bring herself to do it when she looks at her children. The movie never gives you a rational reason for her to be this upset. Before the movie begins, Greg lost his job and began delivering pizzas to make ends meet. In one scene he parks in the driveway and begins to take the pizza delivery sign off of his car. When his son asks why he does it since he needs to put it back on again in the morning, Greg says, "It embarrasses your mother." Denise gives no support or sympathy to her husband who is clearly scrapping to provide even though he feels like a failure. They don't give her enough of a reason to resent him. At one point we see him secretly take a drink from a hidden bottle, which might hint at an alcohol issue. But even though this would ground her resentment of him, the movie dismisses it completely.
Greg is a decent guy, but he is fairly ineffectual. He is kind even to his annoying neighbors, even when Denise is strident. He tries to be optimistic for the kids while Denise thinks pessimism is the best way to prepare their children for potential disaster. The movie wants you to side with Denise on this, but she really offers no better alternatives.
The children also make incredibly stupid decisions. Audrey sneaks into the garage and turns on the car so she can listen to "Valerie" by Steve Winwood (this is the first hint that she has same-sex attractions). Not only is she playing music that could attract dinosaurs, she is doing it with the car's headlights turned on, wasting precious battery power. I kept shouting in my head, "TURN OFF THE HEADLIGHTS!" Brian is also very foolish. One night he sees his dog outside runs out with his bow and arrow and tries to catch him. Aubrey sees him and instead of getting her parents, she also runs after him. Everything bad that happens to this family in the rest of the movie is because of that boy's stupidity.
Speaking his bow and arrow, we see him walking the neighborhood with it at the beginning of the film. We think we are getting a set-up/payoff here, but there is none. When he sees his crush, he goes to shoot the dinosaur attacking her, but fails miserably. Instead Aubrey saves her with her knife skills, thus starting an attraction between them both. So I guess the point was to subvert expectations, but this trope got old back in 2017.
There are also moments that are so contrived that they make no sense. In one scene, a gigantic snake comes in through a second-story window and slowly makes his way downstairs and sneaks up on Denise. In doing so, the snake passes up three potential victims. There is no reason for this to be done except to create artificial tension. Besides this, the scene provides nothing to the plot. It could be completely removed from the film and it would make no difference to the story in any way.
And while the movie highlights the marital problems, it does show how marriage can be a blessing in times of crisis. There is one touching scene where Denise and Greg are huddled-down in danger and you can see their bond grow closer because they need each other. There is also an incredibly odd and off-putting scene where the two share a laugh while watching two giant dinosaurs mate along the side of a house. I suppose that is something positive to take in terms of the value of marriage, but it seems buried underneath everything else.
The real problem with the writing, though, is the ending. I will not spoil it here, though I may have to write an entirely separate post about it. But the characters make a decision that, on the surface, seems to hit all of the correct emotional notes. But the moment you start to think about it with any real application of morality, the implications get more and more morally confused to the point where you wonder whether the decision may actually have been evil. Because it deals with time travel, there is a lot of intentional ambiguity, but instead of giving you the proper catharsis, it instead leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
What is so frustrating about The End of Oak Street is that it has all of the ingredients of an incredibly fun sci-fi family film. But it fell apart at the writing stage, which is the stage where most of the flaws are most easily fixed. Instead, we got this creative-concept film hampered by unlikeable and unintelligent characters. Perhaps if we could go back in time, we could fix those problems and therefore we would hope that this wouldn't be the end of Oak Street.
This is a continuation of this series started here and continued here and here.
You can go there to see numbers 50-11. You can also check it out to remember the ground rules and criteria for choosing. A brief recap:
1. A moment can be only about 2 minutes (unless it is an unbroken shot).
2. Only one moment per movie.
3. All the context matters.
4. The subjective element of beauty is real.
5. Beauty only.
So, with those in mind, I will now share #30-21 of the most beautiful moments in cinema.
I will provide Youtube links to the videos rather than embed them here. I would imagine that because this is critical commentary it qualifies for fair use, but I'd rather not take that chance.
You can click any of the links below to see the clips (most of them should be timestamped to begin at the moment referred.
SPOILERS FOR ALL THE MOVIES BELOW
10. Schindler's List - "The Schindler Jews Today"
Tied with The Passion of the Christ, I think that this is the greatest movie ever made. It is immersive and transportive in its hope and horror all mixed into one. It amazes me that Steven Spielberg did almost no visual prep for this movie and instead decided to film each scene intuitively. This speaks to his mastery of the art.
There are so many amazing moments in this film, but this one is the most beautiful, because it breaks out of the movie and becomes real. It is a wonderful incarnational moment. While you spent that last three hours watching these characters go through the nightmare of the Holocaust, you still have the distance of watching actors perform characters. But in that slow dissolve, Spielberg awakens you to the truth: this is not fiction. When you see the real-life survivors standing in the place of their actor counterparts, in living color, the full weight and reality hits you like a ton of bricks. And yet in the midst of this heartbreak, there is this amazing beauty. That is the magic of this movie is that Spielberg crafts beauty out of tragedy in a way I did not think possible. Seeing the "Schindler Jews" alive and together, joined arm-in-arm, you feel the affirmation of the value in each human life.
9. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story - "Last Shot"
I will admit that part of the reason this movie is so high up on my list is probably because I am huge Bruce Lee fan. But when I think of how a movie should end, I rarely find a better example than this. First of all, we need to talk about that score by Randy Edelman, which I think is one of the most underrated scores in film along with his one for The Last of the Mohicans. It is so good that movie trailers sampled it for years afterwards to get a strong emotional punch. The visual is stunning, with Bruce standing there outlined by the fiery sun as he shows off his skill. But what puts it all together is that final voice over. The movie is about the life of Bruce Lee and it is clear in this moment that we will not see the moment he died. But rather than this being a disappointment, the movie uses this emotion to sling-shot us in another direction. The final line is perfect: "All these years later people still wonder about the way he died. I prefer to remember the way he lived."
8. Titanic - "Jack at the Lifeboat"
Sometimes I think people dismiss the phenomenon of Titanic like some kind of mass, pop culture psychosis. Everyone was expecting it to be a gigantic bomb and instead it became the most successful film of all time. And a lot of that is due to the masterful direction by James Cameron. Known mostly for his action films until this point, Cameron created some of cinemas most romantic shots ever. And the best on is the one I selected. It is a scene charged with tragedy so the emotions are already high. Jack tells Rose to get on the lifeboat and then confirms with her fiancé that he will be left behind. One of the things that this scene needs to do is give Rose a compelling enough reason to jump off of the lifeboat and back onto the sinking ship. If Cameron did not get this moment exactly right, then the rest of the movie would not work. The audience would lose all connection to her and condemn her as a moron who threw away her chance at life.
So Cameron gives us Rose's POV on Jack. DiCaprio's performance is perfect here. He has to play the conflicting emotions in him. He has to appear strong and encouraging to her as she leaves, but his heart is broken as he looks at her for what he thinks is the last time. And then we have the use of the flare. It illumines Rose's face as a moment of emotional epiphany as it comes down and halos Jack's look of love. In that moment, even if it makes no rational sense, Cameron has set up the powerful emotional logic that moves her to jump on to Titanic. The moment is so beautiful that we believe why Rose would risk everything to come back.
7. Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - "Luke vs. Vader"
This moment effected me more deeply than I realized when I was a child. This was the culmination of the entire saga. Before this moment, I love the use of light and shadow. Some might find it a bit on-the-nose, but it works perfectly. For the final time, Vader is the monster in the dark looking to devour the hero. And it is not simply a matter of hurting him, Vader is trying to corrupt him. James Earl Jones' vocal performance is amazing as he goads Luke, especially with the revelation about his sister, knowing that Luke failed to hide this secret.
The scene builds slowly, but then explodes with Luke shouting, "Never!" with his lightsaber raised in battle. We then have, what I think, is the most powerful shot in the entire series. The camera pans along with the pair as they fight. Because of the popularity of "Duel of the Fates" and "Battle of the Heroes" people forget that this was at one time the only use of choral music in Star Wars. And because of that uniqueness, it makes it stand out. It communicates something almost religious in its significance.
I used to hate the fact that the action was obscured by the broken platform and stairs. But now I can see the significance. This battle between the light side and the dark side has left great destruction in its wake. They are battling through the wastelands they have created. It is reminding us that the cycle of violence could continue on if Luke chooses violence like he is now. And at the end, the camera clearly puts Luke in the superior position to Vader. But then comes the wordless moment of empathy.
I love how the blocking of the shot mirrors The Empire Strikes Back. Vader cut off Luke's hand and hovered over him, pressing his advantage physically and psychologically. And now the role is reversed, and Luke returns that pain with mercy. I love how he throws away his lightsaber. As a kid, I couldn't believe that he would do that. But that speaks to the power of this moment. Luke is giving up any hope of survival at this moment. Even though it was years later that Lucas wrote Obi-Wan's line, "This weapon is your life," it still fits here. Luke is laying down his life. And the camera very subtly is just below Luke's eye-line to show us that he stands tall, even in the face of death.
That is heroism.
6. Somewhere in Time - "Last Shot"
I stand by my assertion that this is the most romantic movie ever made. A box office disappointment, it eventually found a devoted following among people like me. Like some of the greatest romances, this is heavy in the tragedy. Richard falls in love with a portrait of Elise from 1912. He goes back in time and the two find the most blissful romantic happiness, only for it to be snatched away completely. The last montage of the movie follows Richard walking like a zombie through the ruins of his life now that he has lost her. In his depression, he stops eating and the hotel staff tries to save him.
The final scene we have Richard's POV as he dies and his spirit hovers over his body. But then the room fills with heavenly light. The ending to Titanic borrows heavily from this moment (whether intentional or not) to show that Heaven is a place of love. Unlike Titanic, director Jeannot Szwarc did not have a big special effects budget for this moment. Instead, he uses the brightness of the light and the whiteness of the scene to simulate heaven.
The reason that this works is that we have unparalleled musical theme by James Barry as Elise stands in the distance with her hand outstretched. It is a moment of a love and longing. It turns this moment of death from a tragedy to a triumph. He isn't losing his life, he's coming home. And the shot holds so long with that slow push in to make us feel that longing. We are there with Richard as we run happily towards Elise, our hearts bursting with love. And then when he shows up, he is dressed as he was back in 1912. The shot parallels their first meeting, recapturing that joy of first romance. And the shot holds as they take each other's hands. I have seen this movie dozens and dozens of times and it always gets me.
I'm fond of beginning this post-summer report by citing Michael Crichton who once said that no one can actually predict a movie's box office, even though studios pay millions of dollars for people to do exactly that. In the end, there is always an X-Factor that cannot be seen in advance.
And this is especially true for me predicting this past summer's box office.
Now that the Summer movie season has ended, it is time to look ahead to Fall and Winter.
The big blockbusters have mostly finished for the year. Now we start getting into the time when either we have lower-budget fare or a place to dump movies that studios have low confidence in. This is also the time when we start to see the movies that studios will push hard for awards.
Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).
SEPTEMBER
September 4th
By Any Means
Onslaught
This looks like a much darker version of Universal Soldier, but I might wait for streaming. (**)
September 11th
Runner
It's very interesting that Angel Studios is branching into different genres like action. This one has my curiosity at the very least (***)
The Uprising
I like Andrew Garfield and they are playing this up like a new Braveheart, but my instict tells men that this movie is going to be more depressing than inspiring. (**)
Practical Magic 2
I didn't see the first one. (*)
September 18th
Resident Evil
While the movie looks well-made, I am just not into horror movies. (*)
The Weight
An intersting premise, but not enough to catch my interest (**)
September 25th
Heart of the Beast
This could be an exciting and touching man's best friend story that might be worth it on the big screen. (***)
Forgotten Island
The trailers just aren't grabbing me. It's like it's trying to hard to be quirky and cool. (*)
OCTOBER
October 2nd
Verity
This has the makings of an interesting psychological thriller, but I would need to see more before taking an interest. I'm worried that it is going devolve into utter pretension. (**)
Digger
I love Tom Cruise, but this movie looks truly awful. It wants to be the new Dr. Strangelove. but it just looks horribly dark and mean-spirited. But Cruise is trying to break form so he can finally win an Oscar. (*)
October 9th
Other Mommy
I will admit that this trailer gave me a good jump scare. I wish it well, but I don't see horror movies in the theater (*)
The Social Reckoning
While The Social Network was interesting, I get the feeling that this movie is going to be horrible preachy and have none of the insights of the first movie. (*)
October 16th
Street Fighter
Honestly, I have to credit One Piece for opening me up to this movie. The cartoonish, over-the-top style would usually be a big turn-off. But One Piece showed me that if you have a big enough heart, this can absolutely work. I am hopeful. (***)
Whalefall
An interesting premise, but not enough for a feature, but more of a Twilight Zone episode (**)
Poetic License
Maude Apatow is moving into directing like her father Judd. I am curious, but this might be a streaming watch. . (*)
Sense and Sensibility
If this is anything like the 1999 Pride and Prejudice, I might want to see this. (***)
October 23rd
Wicker
This movie looks gross and awful. How did this get made? (*)
Clayface
When Fox decided to turn New Mutants into a horror movie, I thought it was a terrible idea. I mostly feel the same way about Clayface. I don's see how this builds the brand. (**)
Klara and the Sun
I like the sci-fi prmise, very Pinochio-esque. But I have the feeling is more about disillusionment than enlightenment.
NOVEMBER
November 6th
The Cat in the Hat
I get the humor, but it isn't grabbing me (except the joke about Ron). (**)
November 13th
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
I could be wrong about this, but it looks like Johnny Depp is having fun with this role. Adaptation of this story are a dime-a-dozen, but I might want to check this out. (***)
How to Rob a Bank
Everything about this movie looks awful. I find the characters and the premise noxious to the point where I am repelled every time I see the trailer. (*)
November 20th
I Play Rocky
If they do this right, it could be the feel-good movie of the season. This might be the closest thing to seeing Rocky again for the first time. (****)
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
I haven't seen the previous two movies in this franchise, so I'm less likely to see this, especially since we know how it is going to play out. But maybe if the trailers grab me, I'll check it out (**)
November 25th
Focker In-Law
I missed most of the movies in this franchise, but the trailer made me laugh so I might check it out. (***)
Hexed
Something about this seems boring and unoriginal. I'm probably not going to see this. (*)
The Adventures of Cliff Booth
Netflix is releasing this into theaters probably so it can be an Oscar contestant. Normally, I would just wait for Netflix, but I love Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, so I might just get the theatrical experience (****)
DECEMBER
December 4th
Violent Night 2
Didn't see the first. But I'm curious now that Kristen Bell is in it. However, the trailer looks like a parody traile and not a real movie.(*)
December 11th
Zero AD: The Birth of Christ
I know that there are many movies about the Christmas story, but this one has an incredibly interesting cast that I'm willing to check out (even though it was supposed to come out last year). (***)
The Debut
This looks like it is going to devolve into utter pretension. (*)
December 18th
Avengers: Doomsday
There is no way that I am missing out on this on opening night. While I have some reservations, I am hopeful for how they are going to portray Doom and create some real stakes in the MCU again (*****)
Dune: Part Three
Unlike the first one, this feels like the final act of a Three Act Tragedy. I will see it, but I'm not looking forward to it as much as the first two. (****)
December 25th
Jumanji: Open World
While none of these movies have been great, I've enjoyed them enough to want to see this through to the end (***)
Werwulf
Looks like Nosferatu, but again, I don't dig on horror (*)
Thoughts?
I love Hal Jordan.
While he is not my favorite Green Lantern, what Geoff John’s was able to do with him during his legendary run was amazing and some of my favorite comic stories of all time.
So when I heard they were doing a TV show about him and John Stewart, I was excited. But then I saw that Tom King was going to be involved. After witnessing what he has done to some of the greatest heroes of the DC Universe, I became very wary. In fact, I was so wary that I at first decided not to watch the show at all. I am so sick and tired of stories that try to tear down he classic heroes that I love.
But I kept hearing so many conflicting things about that first episode from people saying that it was a travesty that ruined the characters to saying that it was a modern day classic.
Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I bit the bullet. And now I understand why people love it and why they hate it.
And it all comes down to how much you trust the producers of this show.
The story takes primarily the point-of-view of John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). He is the trainee for the older, reckless Green Lantern veteran Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler). To say that the two do not get along is an understatement. Stewart views Hal as an arrogant, bullish, problem to the Green Lantern Corps. Hal treats John like he is a child, often calling him "Junior," and constantly criticizing his lack of experience and street smarts. But things turn when a message tells them to go to a small town in Nebraska where there has just been a mass shooting at a high school football game. Hal suspects aliens are involved and as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he investigates with John in tow. They work in a semi-antagonistic way with Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald), who is married to Billy (Jason Ritter). But Billy's father Will (Garret Dillahunt) runs a militia ranch where he tells Hal and John that he is interested in taking out any alien threat.
That is as far as I will get without spoiling anything. There will be spoilers later on in this review, but I will hold off for now.
There were a lot of things about this show that I enjoyed. The directing was excellent, very atmospheric. People have been comparing this to True Detective, but I would say it had a stronger kinship to No Country for Old Men. There was a strong sense of isolation and alienation. The ring effects are used sparingly, but when they are, they look great. I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed the dialogue. Both Hal and John come off as smart while at the same time having completely differing and polarizing voices. There is a great scene where Hal is interrogating someone he thinks is an alien and the dialogue is deceptively clever.
But my favorite thing about the show so far are the performances. Pierre and Chandler spark off of each other completely. John is a military man, used to taking abuse from superior officers, so he holds discipline while seething inside. Jordan is weary from decades on the job. He resents John as an upstart that he thinks could replace him. Watching them have to work together while dealing with these complicated issues was fascinating.
Having said that, the show has problems, some of which I will address in the spoiler section. One of the issues is a stylistic choice. This is a very HBO-y show: it has a lot of gratuitous language, sex, and it promises some graphic violence. I always find this to be a bit off-putting, especially in this context. The darker tone works for things like Watchmen or Logan. But this is not what I would want in a Green Lantern series. As a teacher, I've noticed how some teens revel in using vulgarity because it is an immature way to feel mature. I get that same vibe from this show.
And while the dialogue is fairly sharp, I'm not sure that it's themes are. It is still early, but Will seems like a thinly veiled knock on people who identify as MAGA. I'm not against stories having a political bent, but I find that when they fall into political allegory, the writing gets very lazy.
The other big problem is that they don't get Hal Jordan right. I'm one of the few people who really like the 2011 Green Lantern movie. It wasn't perfect, but they got a lot right about a young Hal Jordan. And while there is precedent for a more cynical Hal in the comics, this goes against the work that DC has put into the character over the last 15 years. It would be like making a movie with Thanos and having him be a Spider-Man villain who rides in his Thanos Helicopter (see Spidey Super Stories #39). It seems wasteful to tear down a character that they've spent so long building up.
But are they actually tearing Hal down?
This is where the trust factor comes in.
SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE
The episode ends in a flash forward 10 years from the main story where Kerry shows John that Hal has been murdered. IF this actually is Hal, then I have no faith that this story will honor him in any way. I am incredibly dubious that they will right the ship because one of the main people involved in this show is Tom King.
King is famous for taking established DC characters and wiping his nose with them. He wants to write about depression so he makes Mr. Miracle hopelessly depressed. He wants to write about war crimes so he decides to make Adam Strange a war criminal. He wants to write about PTSD so he writes the absolute worst comic every written about Wally West. I think that the evidence is clear that King does not care about the characters as persons but as vehicles for his themes.
And this is not a small thing when you are dealing with characters with whom readers have had a relationship for decades. If you don't trust the producers to care about Hal, then you will assume the worst.
Now, there is a way that all of this can be made right. However, the problem with mystery shows like this is that the fan theories tend to be much better than the actual resolutions. Just look at the response people had to the finale of Stranger Things. But there is a way that this could all turn out great in the end.
Throughout the show, Hal keeps telling John "My gut is never wrong." It is an arrogant statement, but it is one that fits Hal's intuitive nature. In the previews for the upcoming episodes, we are told that the Manhunters will be a major part of the story. It is said of them that they can shapeshift to look human. One of the ways that the show could be redeemed is if the dead "Hal" is really just a Manhunter and Hal has gone into hiding. But that is not the twist that would make this story great.
At the beginning of the show we see that as a child, John and his military father had some kind of obsession with Hal. John's father tried to make him fearless. One of the ways he does this is by shooting apples off of John's head to see if John flinches. As an adult John calls his father to complain about Hal, but his father talks about how they trained for this time. Here is the my theory that would make the show work:
John's father is a Manhunter.
If John's father is a Manhunter, then we see that he has trained his son to be fearless so that he could infiltrate the Green Lantern Corps. And all the outward evidence points to John being the ideal Green Lantern, Hal's gut tells him something is wrong. This would validate Hal's seeming paranoia. And you would not need to make John a villain. This could be thematically strong where he has to stand up to his tyrant father and take possession of the ring not for his father but for himself.
Will they do this?
My guess is that they will not. Like I wrote earlier, it comes down to faith in the producers. And with Tom King on their staff, I have no reason to believe that they will honor Hal. And it is a shame if they think that they need to denigrate Hal to lift up John. John Stewart is a great character all on his own. I don't know why modern movie and TV writers think that in order to build up their own heroes that they have to tear down the ones who came before (e.g. Luke Skywalker).
I am curious enough to still follow this series to the end.
But I'm afraid that this could be a headlong journey into Blackest Night.
