Out today on Monkeybicycle, Admit One, excerpted from my creative non-fiction work on all things movie-related, Girl on Film. I really should confess, though — I do have a movie buddy. I had to give birth to her to make this possible, but I do have one. Problem is, she drags me to things like The Tooth Fairy. Yeesh. About how many years, do you think, until she’s ready for Tarantino?
A little late in posting this one, but here you are … my review of the Toy Story flicks updated in Disney 3D. I fought the temptation to burn my word count on bemoaning the death of hand-drawn animation. Maybe this is a sign that I’ve finally gotten over it and forgiven Pixar. Enjoy! Toy Story & Toy Story 2
Link to Inglourious Basterds Trailer
When I first saw the teaser for Inglourious Basterds – you know, Brad Pitt harping on the methodical killing of Natzees as he paces – my heart sank a little with the thought that QT might have finally lost me given the context of the modern debate on torture and the great reverential preciousness with which one is expected to handle the subject of World War II. What the hell was he doing? It didn’t even seem accurate. The greatest generation was going to have him ceremoniously flailed for this, I thought. And then this trailer surfaced and it finally clicked … I think. It reminded me of the brief exploration in The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay of the works, comic books in this case, relishing in fantastical, surreal ways the demise of Hitler and/or his SS, whether thinly disguised or not so much. That seems to be just what IB is. If it is outlandish enough to remove it from reality – therefore avoiding any need for precious handling or historical accuracy or a moral compass – can we then skip the flailing, enjoy the ride, and perhaps even find a suitable repository for our rage against the injustices in the world past and present? I don’t know. I might have it all wrong. But for now … I’m totally in.
It’s a funny story how I ended up being pointlessly vulgar while criticizing pointless vulgarity in this review for The Ugly Truth and in doing so impressing several friends who didn’t think me capable of such things. A really funny story. Trust me – I’m working on it. In the meantime, read the review that had my mother searching for the asterisks and ampersands on her keyboard while trying to warn relatives about my critique before they could see it for themselves.
