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June 28, 2007
LIVE FREE, THANK YOU
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD hits all the right buttons. It’s uncomplicated, unironic, and thankfully lacking the gravitas of DIE HARD 2. It also doesn’t waste a lot of time with needless exposition or motivation, and hops into a loud, energetic, unrealistic experience that fits the ethos of the genre. The ending is a little bit of a letdown (as is the moment of the ubiquitous catch phrase), but the fact that the film operates on a TRUE LIES level of entertainment without feeling a need to offer a running commentary on its improbability and anachronism is refreshing. Justin Long is funny without pandering to lurid anti-sensibilities of bad screenwriting, and it seems reasonable that he would play sidekick on this mission. I’ve always liked the kid, whether in those clever Macintosh commercials, the otherwise awful ACCEPTED, or as the precocious Warren Cheswick in ED.
Much is being made about the evolution/devolution of McClane from a street-smart, wisecracking ordinary Joe into an unkillable, wisecracking angel of death. But I think it’s a logical move: think about it, if you survived the events of the first three films, don’t you think your skills would improve with each new adventure to the point where you could hang onto the rear view mirror of a car while its falling down an elevator shaft rising with flames and escaped relatively unscathed? Either way, the film shouldn’t disappoint fans of the franchise (I’m three for four) or those looking for a decent way to spend two hours in a movie theater.
If you read this today (Thursday), you can get John Piper books for five books each on his website. I recommend the book he edited about Jonathan Edwards.
I’m growing pretty tired of Michael Moore’s act. Generally all acts of leftist corporate rabble-rousing tend to inspire me on some scale, and his ROGER & ME and underrated THE BIG ONE were some of the best. I don’t like Big Health any more than he does, but his theatrics are growing old, and he is clearly becoming obsessed with his own image (in his earlier films, it was his naïve curiosity and basic good-time-Charlie decency that made him interesting and likeable. Well, twenty years later, he’s still playing that sap even though he’s now a global figure with a clear agenda.
But what bothers me isn’t his message, or even his choice of subject, but that he went on Oprah and crowed about how this wasn’t a political issue. Watch the first image of this trailer and tell me he hasn’t linked Big Health with G.W. Bush and thus with capitalism. He realizes that incendiary politics sells (as it did for his FAHRENHEIT 9/11), and that’s the way he’s marketing this movie. Last year, I admired Al Gore for refusing to play these games with AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, and now I’m pissed at Moore for going the other way. It’s impossible for Moore to remove his politic hell-fire and opportunistic muckraking from the message he wants to send.
On THE DAILY SHOW last night, Moore acted (I saw act because that’s what he is, an act) upset because Larry King bumped him for Paris Hilton. Why? They’re basically in the same boat: both are larger than life media figures famous for their exposure. Both remain prominent for their excess. What bothers me is that Moore’s outrage at King was based on his feeling that he’s some kind of expert on Health Care, and not a guy who made a self-starring documentary about it. You may argue that his sudden stardom makes his presence necessary for these movies to be seen, but everything about his persona suggests he’s a guy who loves the spotlight and the controversy he causes.
I welcome your arguments about Moore, but please be clear that I’m not defending Big Health or criticizing Socialized Medicine. Obviously, I have general political leanings away from the latter, but I’m not informed enough to comment on either.
Since people accuse me of being too negative, here are the top 5 songs on my Top 25 Songs on Itunes (All of them are from my workout mix)
1. Neutral Milk Hotel - THE KING OF CARROT FLOWERS, PART TWO AND THREE – I do not find this song sacrilegious, just awesome.
2. John Lennon - INSTANT KARMA – I’m getting a little tired of it, mainly because I listen to it while I run, but it has one of the most infectious beats ever.
3. Belle & Sebastian – DEAR CATASTROPHE WAITRESS – A song I love by a band I’ve never truly loved. I love the way it tells a story without telling a story.
4. Bobby Bare Jr. – DEMON VALLEY – I picked this as my favorite song of 2006. I still love it.
5. Sparklehorse – IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE – I know nothing about Sparklehorse, but I heard this song on a trailer for the (awful) DAWN OF THE DEAD remake and fell in love with it.
| By Andytown | 01:13 PM
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Comments
THE ONION AV CLUB nailed another problem with Moore, even though its overall review is positive. As for its contention that Moore boils everything down to a bite-sized nugget . . . this is all part of the problem. In making them bite-sized, he simplifies them but presents them as uncomplicated factoids.
The whole review is here. Here's the portion that struck me:
The problem with Sicko—one endemic to Moore documentaries in general—is that it never confronts any challenges to its position, which can make it seem like the crudest sort of agitprop. Somebody has to pay for all this free coverage, after all, and it wouldn't necessarily weaken Moore's case to be honest about the higher tax burden, or admit that national health-care systems, even the best ones, have their own hassles and red tape. Still, few citizens in France or Britain would likely opt to rescind their universal coverage for a system more like America's, no matter their place on the political spectrum. Here's an issue that transcends politics and speaks to basic human need and collective responsibility; perhaps we need Moore's cudgel to make the case bluntly.
Posted by: andytown at June 28, 2007 01:18 PM
sorry, its here:
http://www.avclub.com/content/cinema/sicko
Posted by: andytown at June 28, 2007 01:18 PM
typo alert:
"five books each" har har har - "five bucks each"
this is the most comments I've ever had, and they're all by me :(
Posted by: andytown at June 28, 2007 01:19 PM
YaY for CATASTROPHE WAITRESS!!! A friend of mine made me a mix CD once, and that song was on it. It also found it's way to my workout tunes! Good call!
Posted by: Sarah Beth at June 28, 2007 03:20 PM