Hey folks, Harry here - and we're starting off another year of film and here's Massawyrm with the films you're all chomping for. Here ya go...
Hola all. Massawyrm here. What the hell is going on here? You know, January and February are traditionally the studio dump months, the months when they very quietly drop their tragic misfires and massive failures in hopes of blaming their poor box office on the dwindling after Christmas totals rather than admitting that they made a total crapper. And despite the fact that a few Oscar titles slip in there in hopes of being fresh in the minds of academy voters, the bulk of the Pre-Valentines day offerings are a steady stream of drek unfit for consumption. But occasionally, a studio lacks faith in a truly good film, something really worth a look that could have solid box office if held for just a little longer or released just a little sooner. And then something like this January happens. And we get several good movies. I mean, this is the month most critics want to crawl in a hole and asphyxiate themselves with all the cellophane they pulled off of their Christmas DVDs, and instead there are good films playing. Oh sure, there are still movies like Bloodrayne and Grandma’s Boy out there to pollute the collective unconscious – hell, Bloodrayne alone is enough suck for one January. But there’s stuff worth leaving the house for.
Tristan and Isolde
Such is the case with the new Kevin Reynolds (Count of Monte Cristo, 187, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) film Tristan and Isolde. Set in Britannia after the pullout and collapse of the Roman Empire, Tristan and Isolde is a tragic love story about two lovers from warring tribes who seem destined never to be together. Based upon a classic work of medieval fiction, which may or may not have inspired the Lancelot/Guenevere romance from Arthurian legend, it is a deeply romantic film that easily won me over.
Simply put, this is the romantic film of the year to send little geek girl hearts aflutter. Nothing will moisten their panties this year like Tristan and Isolde will. And you know the girls I’m talking about – the kind who have their Lady of Shallot poster tacked up next to their bookshelf groaning from the weight of their Mercedes Lackey collection. Those girls. And if you have ever had any intentions on bedding one of these fair little creatures, Tristan and Isolde is the movie to take them to. Hell, chalk up pretty much every girl who simply “really liked” Lord of the Rings and you’ve got a fair shot. Definitely not for the cynical, Tristan and Isolde takes the time to flesh out the romance between our title characters (played by James Franco and Sophia Myles respectively) and unlike most romances foisted upon us these days allows us to understand the subtleties that drive these two to love one another, other than the fact that they are the prettiest people in the cast. But don’t in any way mistake that to mean that this is some dull sleeper of a Merchant Ivory period film. Quite the opposite. Because when Tristan and Isolde aren’t falling in love, everyone else is busy hacking limbs off of people and avenging the dead. And somehow, Kevin Reynolds manages to strike a delicate balance of mood that allows the women to swoon and the men to be heavily entertained, without ever turning off the other.
It’s a sweet film about innocent love and the trappings of the world that strive to prevent that love. But it’s also a film full of swordplay, treachery, guile and greed, a film that at times is a very edge of your seat but downshifts smoothly into sweet and disarming.
If this film has any flaw, it is that it was shot too claustrophobically, and with the small cast tends to lend to the notion that this was fairly low budget. What could have easily been an epic seems to be slightly smaller than it should be, with the largest battle scenes ranging from thirty to fifty people. But the performances are so spot on and the story so involving, that this becomes something of a minor gripe rather than a fatal flaw. Hell, I’ve never been the world’s biggest James Franco fan, but he certainly sold me here. One of the best performances of his career. And backing him up is one of my all time deep fried favorites, Rufus Sewell (Dark City, Hamlet) in another wonderful performance. The lovely Sophia Myles rounds out the cast as the very heart and pain of film as Isolde, giving a performance that actually allowed me to forgive the fact that her other Big Screen work includes Thunderbirds, From Hell and, oh dear god bless her little heart, Underworld. I’m dying to see more work out of her.
What Fox is thinking releasing this now rather than on Valentines day is beyond me. This is easily the most romantic film I’ve seen in a long while, a film that actually, honestly, made me come home, light up candles and pounce on my wife when she got home. While I absolutely loved last year’s Pride and Prejudice, this movie is far and away more painfully romantic. If you have any hopes whatsoever on getting some play this weekend, Tristan and Isolde is your best bet. After all, it is cheaper than Ruffies, and people get beheaded. Highly Recommended.
Glory Road
You know, if there’s one thing Disney still does well, it is that they make really good sports movies. Miracle has become one of my all time favorite sports films and became a staple of my in-store viewing at work. And of course Remember the Titans, haters be damned, is an amazingly popular film, and one I find I can’t change the channel from whenever I run across it – Saturday night commercials or not. It’s a solid film with a lot of heart. So when the trailers for Glory Road started cropping up, invoking Remember the Titans left and right, I was both interested and worried. Frankly, Glory Road looked like a pathetic sequel and a desperate grab for the oft neglected “Integration Dollar” as marketing people probably call it.
Wow. Another True story about how we integrated sports in this country. Amazing.
Well, actually, it’s pretty damned good. In fact, if there’s anything wrong with this movie at all, it’s that Disney spent way too much time trying to convince us that we were going to see Remember the Titans 2: Still Integratin’. Because it’s not, not by a long shot. While it certainly does have its endearing moments and one scene stolen right out of Remember the Titans (in which black and white music is played interrupting one another until we reach the conclusion that yes, Motown and the Philadelphia sound Rocks) it is a much grittier, darker story not about leading by example but rather by showing up and saying STFU. While the Remember the Titans boys were facing being turned away from restaurants and getting rocks through their windows, the Glory Road boys are getting jumped in the bathrooms and having “Die Nigger” scrawled on their hotel room walls. This movie doesn’t spend too much time playing nice, but does a fantastic job of taking us to understanding what was going through the mind of Coach Don Haskins when he made the historic and controversial decision to bench all of his white players and not only start, but only play black players against all white Kentucky in the last game of the 1966 NCAA finals. And the movie is good. Really good.
The performances are entirely solid, with Josh Lucas delivering a “Dear god son, where the hell of you been” performance that washes him clean of all of his ‘scumbag’ roles he most often plays. Forget Stealth, forget The Hulk, forget Sweet Home Alabama – this is a truly passionate performance out of someone who has been solid in even the worst of his movies, but never delivered anything golden. This is his golden role. This is the role people are going to point at the screen and say “That’s the Glory Road Coach.” This one’s gonna stick. It’s really great work, and while not a life changing performance, it’s one that certainly is going to make me pay closer attention when his name pops up. The supporting cast of unknowns all do a fantastic job themselves, delivering a genuinely likable team - but nothing as memorable as the already overly discussed Titans.
It’s just a good movie. If you’re a sports movie fan or simply enjoy civil rights movement films, then this is one I can definitely recommend. If neither of those things is your cup of tea, then I can say that this one doesn’t have anything special that will change your mind on the genres.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. I know I will.
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Massawyrm
