On weekends, I like to write while watching movies. You’d think it would be distracting and it can be, but it can also fire your imagination and keep you locked in a subconscious, creative state that’s very conducive to coming up with things. I keep the volume low-ish, turn the subtitles on, and pause it if a particularly good scene is screwing with my focus. I normally get through about two movies a day. This weekend I watched four. Here’s what they were…
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE–I have a concept for evaluating art called “functional perfection.” It’s a way of saying “nothing is perfect, but this is close enough that its flaws are negligible. This thing has no important flaws.” “10 Cloverfield Lane” is functionally perfect. Every step of the plot, every performance, every shot choice, lands with full force. I have no significant criticism of it on any level. I would change nothing. While watching it, I wrote one of my favorite scenes that I’ve ever created, and I doubt it was a coincidence. Art of this quality gives off good energy.
(SPOILERS) A lot of people nay-sayed the ending, accusing JJ Abrams of forcing a spectacular finale to keep the movie in line with the “Cloverfield” metaverse (whatever that is). That’s a fair criticism, but I disagreed when I saw it the first time and I disagree now. Could you have earned some cool points by never showing the aliens? Maybe. But it would’ve also felt cheap, maybe even smug. And part of what I love about this film is how generous it is, how much it gives the audience. Showing the aliens isn’t a concession, it’s a gift. And there’s a bravery in not hiding behind the old “it’s whatever yoooOOOOuuuu think it is!!” trick.
HALLOWEEN (2018)–I loved this movie when it came out in theaters. Watching it at home, my opinion has regressed towards the mean a little. The plot in the broad strokes is good, but the finer points of execution are clumsy. A lot of the scenes between the characters make me cringe and have no flow, no natural rhythm of conversation (the podcasters are particularly bad, NO one interviews people like this). The teenage victims don’t stand out even though the script tries so hard to make them. The writers try admirably to dodge stock tropes, but their efforts end up feeling distracting and tonally off. The best characters–Laurie, her daughter, and her granddaughter–are the ones they play straight.
On the other hand, it also throws a couple flat-out classic scenes into the canon. The gas station showdown where Michael reclaims his mask is legendary. The motion sensor sequence still gives me chills. And the final confrontation at Laurie’s house/compound is great stuff, albeit a little too cute for its own good. What I most appreciate about “Halloween 2018” is that it reclaims the pathos and empathy that defined the original but was foregone by many of its sequels and the slasher genre in general. These movies aren’t about the killer, they’re about the victims.
I hate Rob Zombie’s movies, and his “Halloween” remakes in particular, because they consistently demonstrate more empathy and interest in the killers than the victims. The way he writes human beings makes me feel deeply sorry for him. I can’t imagine going through life if you perceive people that way.
GETÂ OUT–Gets better with every viewing, but the mountain of cringe in the first half is still nigh on impossible for me to sit through (which is what they were going for). It’s strange how we react in movies. Violence, blood, gore, betrayal, I don’t bat an eye at that stuff, but an old white guy going out of his way to tell the protagonist he would’ve voted for Obama a third time makes me want to crawl over the back of the couch.
I had some issues with this movie when I saw it in theaters, but on rewatch, many of them have dissipated. (SPOILER) I didn’t quite buy the internal logic of the villainous cult at the center of the movie, it seemed like they would’ve created a different system to lure their prey, one that required less effort. I still feel that, but less so. I also didn’t like the character of Rod the first time, it felt like he was from a different movie. This time, I kinda took to him. “Get Out” is not a comedy (as Jordan Peele once pointed out, it’s more like a documentary), but it does have a ghoulish humor at the center of it, and Rod helps accentuate that. Plus, he is funny. His scenes with the police drag horribly, but his presence at the end is wonderful.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN–There’s nothing left to say about this one, but I’d like to point out something that I think a lot of movies miss: musical restraint. I believe 90 percent of movies have 30-40 percent too much music in them. This happens because filmmakers are insecure and want to make sure you get what they’re going for. “No Country” has the confidence to run silent. The scenes play out as they must, and the Coens feel no particular need to whack you over the head with how to feel about them.
You would not believe how much trouble I have getting people in the industry to learn this lesson. Music can be an incredible, emotive tool, but too often it’s a crutch, rushing to tell you what you were already figuring out and cluttering the rhythms of dialog and action. Watch “No Country” and use less music, people. Your movie will be better as a result.