Monday, November 10, 2008

Comment

A while back I posted an essay I wrote several years ago about portrayals of various groups in Disney animation (in hindsight probably a bad idea as I am an animation student who would like to work at some point). But earlier today there was a comment left on that posting with some wonderful analysis, giving a different perspective, and pointing out a number of things I hadn't taken into account.

Here is the original essay and the comment
. Thanks for taking the time to comment, Bre'Ana. It certainly got me thinking.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Your Name Here

Sorry it's been so long since I've put up a real review, I've been extremely busy. I've got about a dozen movies I've seen and still need to write about. So stay tuned.

Your Name Here was the first movie I saw at the Savannah Film Fest this year. It can probably be best described as a slightly more accessible version of David Lynch-esque warping of realities. It stars Bill Pullman as William J. Frick, a character based on Phillip K. Dick- famed science fiction author. It was so much a deep exploration of philosophical ideas, as an adventure into a truly troubled mind.

Pullman is fantastic in this role. He flips around between worlds he's created, not knowing what's real and what's not. As an audience we are kept in the dark through most of it. But we are consistently drawn into his mind, as he alternates between apathy and hypersensitivity. Pullman is convincing in all of these.

Your Name Here focuses primarily on a cult that Frick is allegedly creating with the publication of his newest book. Everybody wants to know what he's going to say, and use it for their own means. The only problem is that he has no idea what any of them are talking about. Living in one of his stories there's even a government conspiracy about a new drug that will maintain a grasp over the populace (this could very easily be referencing Dick's A Scanner Darkly).

The problem this this movie is that it never really convinces us of these realities. We never believe this is anything but inside his head, and that makes the events a little less interesting. Even if we knew these scenes weren't real, we never believe Frick sees them as real either. It's like he knows it's all in his mind.

This movie may not appeal to everyone. If you like bizarre sci-movies, then see it. But pay attention, because you may not understand it otherwise. Actually, even if you pay attention you may not understand it. I don't think we're meant to.

3/5

Michael Chricton

1942-2008

This was especially tragic to me, as his books and movies have had a considerable personal influence on me.