Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)

In the spirit of taking things lightly for the summer...
Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (2002) is an entertaining and educational look at the band They Might Be Giants.

If you are not already a fan of tmbg I'd suggest you skip this. But if you like the band - anyone from a die-hard fan who owns all their albums, to the (very) casual fan - this is a must.

I should point out that this documentary was made before they started doing albums aimed at children. (When tmbg lost my interest.)

For me, this documentary was a welcomed trip down memory lane. But I also learned a lot. Gigantic - employing interviews with band members, colleagues and fans, as well as concert footage and videos - gives a history of tmbg, including their tumultuous relationships with record companies, their instant fame and influence on MTV, and especially the friendship of John Linnell and John Flansburgh

And then they delve into the depths. Looking at how freakishly dedicated some of their fans actually are. This is entertaining too.

Speaking of freaky fans. About 56 minutes into the film you need to pay close attention. There's concert footage looking out into the crowd... And you can see one especially unfortunate guy who has the eerie and uncanny resemblance to a clean-shaved, yours truly, minus glasses.

Anyway, back to topic. This documentary not only seeks to explain tmbg's quirky sense of humour, they employ it. And this is why Gigantic is perfect for any fan.

Pandorum

Under the category of "They can't ALL be 5-stars...", comes this (modest) recommendation.

I was in the mood for a sci-fi movie that I hadn't seen before. Pandorum is what I found streaming on Netflix.

You've already guessed that this isn't going to be a glowing endorsement. But it was entertaining enough to make The Blog.

Pandorum is about 2 astronauts who groggily awake from their hyper-sleep, isolated on an enormous spacecraft, and have to piece together their identities, mission status, and even mission goal. They wrestle with all these factors and, oh yeah, they're being hunted by super-quick ravenous creatures.

OK, The plot is trite: Amnesia, close-quarters, becoming potential prey... It definitely borrows from a lot of other films.

But what I liked most about Pandorum was just that borrowing. It is some of the best parts of Das Boot, Predator and Rear Window.

It's not the most mind-blowing movie ever. That's safe to say. But if you have Netflix streaming, Rent it.

The Lives of Others

Here's a highly recommended German film. It's 2006's, The Lives of Others.

It's set in 1984 East Berlin -where Politics means keeping an eye on potential dissenters and incarcerating the nonconformists - a meticulous, by-the-book Stasi (East German [GDR] secret police) agent is given a high-level assignment to spy on a local playwright and his lover. And to paraphrase the Netflix synopsis: none of their lives are ever the same again.

This may be the best debut drama by a first-time writer/director since John Singleton's Boyz in the Hood.

But the comparisons stop there. Whereas Singleton uses a sledgehammer in Boyz, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck uses a paint brush in Lives.

I keep reading reviews of this movie that use the term, "deeply nuanced". And I can't come up with a better way to put it.

In a dvd extra, Florian briefly talks a little of the research he did to write the screenplay - a year and a half worth. He talked about the roller coaster ride of personally interviewing people who had their lives ruined by the secret police and the next day interviewing a ex-Stasi agent who, with some pride, recounted his accomplishments.

Florian puts this roller coaster into the movie. I knew it's set in the GDR, but I kept guessing which way the movie would take me. This is why Lives is also listed, aptly, as a thriller.

Not only is this movie well written and direct, I give extra special credit to the acting (subtle, sincere, and effective) and art direction (I've never seen the GDR look so authentic).

I really enjoyed this movie. I think you will too.

The Man Who Skied Down Everest

I just found this old documentary and am really glad I did. I think a lot of different people will like this, for at least one of multiple reasons.

Released in 1975, The Man Who Skied Down Everest, tells the story of a world-class Japanese alpine skier, Yuichiro Miura, who got the bright idea to, you guessed it, ski the tallest mountain in the world.

So in 1970, he and a huge crew try to first climb one of the most dangerous peaks, then film as he tries to ski down eight thousand feet - on a slope of 40-45 degrees! (Ask anyone who skis the degree of difficulty of that kind of angle!) To add to the insanity...

No, I'm not going to spoil it. But it truly is crazy!

This is fun to watch for many reasons. It's old, so you can laugh at the outdated fashions. It's narrated using Miura's own diary, and he uses that cool, very-Japanese kind of poetry in his writing. It's touching and sad at points. It's adventurous and harrowing, to say the least - no one's ever tried this before (or since!).

Trivia: this was the first sports movie to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Rent this and I'd bet you'll re-watch at least some parts before you return it.

The Tourist

OK, This movie is very mainstream. But it got very mixed reviews. I think it deserves better than that.

It's called The Tourist (2010).

I had no expectations going in. Maybe that's the key. It is a bit cliche: bad guys are bad, Interpol doesn't have a clue to what's going on....

This is not the most suspenseful movie ever, nor the most original or least predictable.

But I don't think it's trying to be.

I think it's more of a light-hearted, easy-to-watch-after-a-really-bad-day-of-work romp of international intrigue - not many brain cells required.

It does have enough of a good story to keep your interest.

I found myself totally engrossed in Johnny Depp's character for 2 reasons. He is the common man - a tourist on vacation: not overly smart, witty, good with his fists, or a knack for getting out of trouble. And Depp plays him perfectly.

Angelina Jolie is pretty good too. She could be better. I think she kinda relies on her looks too much. But hey, they are good looks.

I guess I would classify this under the bad/great movie category. I'd probably be upset if I paid top dollar to see it in the theatre. But now that it's out on DVD. Rent. Relax. Don't think too much. Just enjoy.

Goya's Ghosts

I am recommending Goya's Ghosts, a 2006 drama set around the life of artist Francisco Goya.

Here's what I knew going in: Goya was a Spanish painter. That's it. I was totally unfamiliar with his works, his historical relevance or even time period.

What I liked most about this movie was that it has a very engrossing story and that I learned some stuff too - stuff that I later confirmed to be true.

In Goya's Ghosts Stellan Skarsgard (Pirates of the Caribbean) plays Francisco Goya, chiefly commissioned by the royal family and The Church near the end of the Spanish Inquisition, was skating on thin ice. Goya, it's rumored, was using common whores as models (as ANGELS??!!). Even More alarming to The Church were his drawings of the suffering.

The actual main story in the movie is of the upheaval of Spain: end of the Inquisition, conquest by Napoleon, injustice, civil strife, etc. Goya happens to be caught in the middle and depicts it in his art. Goya had such a remarkable eye for capturing images as is - no bias nor romanticism. And as such he almost becomes the AP photographer of this period.

The best part of the movie is Goya's actual artwork as it's interjected. He was amazing, but I found his drawings of mobs particularly unsettling and oddly beautiful, despite the simplistically.

The acting in this movie is top notch! Natalie Portman (Star Wars Ep I, II & III), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Skarsgard and even Randy Quaid are all great! (Quaid actually playes the violin! For real!)

Goya's Ghosts was directed and co-written by Milos Forman, director of Amadeus (a movie he didn't help write). And similarities abound. The music is good in each (better in Amadeus - go figure!). Both are historical fiction. The main -as well as some supporting - characters of both were actual real people of the same time period. Their interaction with each other is where things get fuzzy. And whether or not the things portrayed in the movie actually happened to these real people....even fuzzier.

Watch this! The story, acting and artwork will keep you enthralled.