Maximilian Mastrangelo will be going FUSTIAN solo… Reviews of the eagerly anticipated re-boot of JUDGE DREDD now titled simply, DREDD. The latest production news, a look at this weeks box office, Blu-Ray releases of the week, and Max will reveal his selections of the TOP 6 FILMS DEALING WITH TIME TRAVEL. Don’t miss it!
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Film Fustians, 9/25/126 comments to Film Fustians, 9/25/12Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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My pic for TOP FILM DEALING WITH TIME TRAVEL is the 1985 comedy “Back To The Future” starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Well-written. Funny. Loveable characters. And the perfect time machine, a sports car.(the DeLorean).
I went to see THE MASTER at the Dome. A few comments; no spoilers, I promise!
But first, the coming attractions! Here’s what they’re pushing:
Start with CLOUD ATLAS, the next mystical installment from those MATRIX boys. Mind-blowing stuff! Something about the past and present and future all being connected. Wow! Promises to be even better than Keanu Reeves morphing into some weird conglomeration of Dracula and Jesus.
Then that film about LINCOLN. Apparently Steven Spielberg realized that slavery was wrong, and he made another film to tell us about it. That’s what I got out of the trailer, anyway; preachy bombast and melodrama. I remember when a young Indiana Jones could dismiss the Nazis with a simple “I hate those guys!” That pretty much said it all. An older, grumpier Spielberg has expanded those four little words into a feature-length movie. Is it really as long-winded and ham-fisted as the trailer made it look?
Third, some inane preview about a creepy boy and a creepy girl who quite rightly find each other repulsive, but will end up falling in creepy love. Presumably targeted at the demographic of post-adolescent creeps. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, they called it.
Finally, a trailer for KILLING THEM SOFTLY, about which I remember nothing except some shooting and stuff blowing up.
I watched these trailers with rapt attention. This is not a good thing. On those rare occasions when a trailer comes up for a film that might not stink, I close my eyes and cover my ears and start humming, hoping nobody will notice and call the medics. Trailers are spoilers, and they play at top volume. Got to tune them out. Trailers are no different from those 30-second movies told by bunnies. (You know what I’m talking about? If you want to watch bunnies re-create your favorite films, go to angryalien dot com.)
Anyway, by the time THE MASTER started to roll, I was praying for something to reassure me that not everything out of Hollywood was pretentious drek. I had confidence that PT Anderson could deliver, and he did not let me down.
I won’t say much; you’ve just got to see it. I came out of the Dome thinking about the film, and I’m finding it builds in my mind. Wondering about the characters; where they came from, what they learned, where they are going. These are human beings in all their messy complexity, not heroes and villains. I’m only vaguely familiar with Scientology, and very little of what I saw made me think of Scientology. This is not a hit piece on Scientology any more than THERE WILL BE BLOOD was a hit piece on oil.
Some people will be contrasting PT Anderson films against each other. My immediate reaction is that THE MASTER is, among other things, a more mature take on some of the themes of BOOGIE NIGHTS (which I loved). That is to say, both films are stories of psychologically broken people that fall between the cracks of society. Where do such people go?; What structures do they find that give them the support they need and crave? The focus of THE MASTER is not on the Master himself, but on a disciple. Whether this person is aided by the Master; whether the existence and leadership of the Master is a good thing or an evil thing…you could argue either side of these questions.
The success or failure of the film is decided by whether you’re intrigued by the struggle, not by the outcome. I’m intrigued.
Preview the correct list: http://www.imdb.com/list/yGo506Vju_A/
Or keep track of Max’s Shelf: http://www.imdb.com/list/WKtyYsLEhbc/
Greetings Fustians!
Nice job on the solo show, Max. Of course, one can not help but scratch one’s chin about the reason your Partner In Fustianism was unable to participate this evening (“one”, of course, referring to me, Harold Hill).
Now Max, you have known me for a very long time. You know I am not one to indulge in conspiracy theories. Much like NFL replacement referees, I often have difficulty interpreting the obvious, even as it is occurring in front of me. However, sometimes you take a 2, add another 2, and can’t help but stare at the resulting 4 with a niggling sense of wary suspicion.
Of course, I do not raise this topic lightly. What I am about to disclose my be considered controversial. Nay, perhaps even incendiary. Those with small children may want to cover their eyes from what my fingers, quivering and white with fear, are about to type here, in an effort to protect their precious innocence.
A brief history: in the beginning, there were no Fustians. It then came to pass (I don’t know, last year or so?) that Fustians were released unto the Internet. And the Internet, as it always does, embraced the Fustians with warmth and compassion. Including myself, Harold Hill, in my duly appointed role as Anonymous Internet Commenter.
On one of the early Fustian broadcasts, Mr. Justin Levine made an offhanded, derisive comment about the P.T. Anderson film, “Magnolia”. Being an admirer of this film, I, in my commissioned duty as Anonymous Internet Commenter, chose to compose a polite, carefully worded rebuttal to Mr. Levine’s opinion, defending the film. I did this not knowing of the den of snakes I was unwittingly hurling myself upon.
Mr. Levine read aloud my defense of “Magnolia” during the next show, then proceeded to follow it with an excoriating screed about the film and about me, my family, my ancestors, and any pets I might happen to own. Justin verbally tore several previously non-existent orifices into my flesh, and even attacked you, Max, for making the horrific mistake of being friends with someone such as me … someone who would require a steep deficiency of taste and intelligence necessary to enjoy “Magnolia”.
A jovial back and forth then ensued. Justin and I communicated on Facebook, where we agreed we would hold a debate regarding “Magnolia” on the Fustians show. A tentative date was chosen, and I began the weeks of preparations that would be required to successfully defend Julianne Moore’s performance.
However, as the date of the great debate approached, Justin announced he had received a mysterious new “job”, and would be abdicating his Fustian duties for a temporary reprieve. “No big deal,” I thought at the time. I myself also got a new job, one that consumes a great deal of my free time, and chalked it up to One Of Those Things That Happen.
Fast-forward (“couldn’t Harold have just fast-forwarded this whole bloody thing?” most readers now ask themselves) to September, 2012 A.D. Justin has returned to full-time Fustianing. The new P.T. Anderson film, “The Master”, is about to be released. In my role as official PTA fan boy, I once again contacted the Fustians in regards to sharing opinions on what is sure to be a hotly debated work of art, especially amongst the exalted purveyors of correct film opinion, the Fustians. Once again, Justin and I settled on a date wherein we would have our shouting match … er, I mean, calm and reasoned discourse.
Then, suddenly, on the agreed upon date … Justin is unable to do the show! I admit, a legitimate excuse was proffered …
and yet …
AND YET …
One such as myself cannot help but allow my imagination to construct wild extrapolations. Justin has bobbed and weaved like Joe Frazier and managed to avoid TWO mediated exchanges with me in regards to P.T. Anderson films. Perhaps it is just coincidence? Or is there a chance that something else going on here? Perhaps … just perhaps … Justin harbors a sense of fear in debating me, for in the remoteness of the deepest soul of his consciousness, he knows that I am right, and that PTA is a cinematic master? And that admitting such would betray the essence of his being?
Again, this is all probably just conjecture on my part. Crazy, crazy conjecture.
And so it goes, and so it goes. And the book says, “We may be through with the past, but the past ain’t through with us.”
Perhaps you should cut Justin some slack. After all, he’s a star. He’s a star. He’s a star. He’s a star. He’s a big, bright, shining star.
Tragically, the Fustians did beat me fair and square on the Google-proof movie quiz.
Mike Ackerman