The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Clockworks Fincher understands cinematic narrative construction and has the craft to match. I fell under his spell during “Fight Club”. The idea there was to play a game with inner narrative. It was, I think when Pitt first found his way into full collaboration with a director’s adventure with the shifting of watcher and writer.… Continue reading The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Australia (2008)

The Story There’s plenty of space for others to comment on how wrong the shape of this is, and whether Nichole is too wooden. Talk like that is boring to me. I enjoyed it in spite of it working hard against success. One reason is that I know cattle drive westerns well. Its not only… Continue reading Australia (2008)

Assassination of a High School President (2008)

Mortarboards I fell into “Brick” quite by accident. It was an accident that I discovered it, and knowing nothing about it, I found myself swirling in the story without defenses. That is why I am open to similar experiences. This actually tries much the same thing: conventional noir embossed on a comically exaggerated high school… Continue reading Assassination of a High School President (2008)

Rambo (2008)

Arrows I suppose it makes economic sense to design a film this way. It has one scene only: the shootout at the end. This is what the target audience comes to see. Everything else is setup and justification. The Asians are baddy bad bad. The mercenaries are only in need of a disciplined superior. The… Continue reading Rambo (2008)

Kagbeni (2008)

Open Fist This is a Nepali movie, loosely based on the 1902 horror short story The Monkey’s Paw. The name is a district in Nepal; the film is the director’s first. The reason for a Nepalese film to be made is the same in Nepal as anywhere in the developing world. Films validate a people,… Continue reading Kagbeni (2008)

Action Boys (2008)

Dorm Room Trifles I saw this at the Melbourne International Film Festival. It was fantastic in large part because it was new. I saw it paired with “Theater of War,”, whose idea was that little people enable unhealthy societies. That film presumed that structure in film and theater was what powered narrative in individuals and… Continue reading Action Boys (2008)