Like all members of my generation, I only know if things exist if
The Simpsons has made fun of it. I wouldn't have known there
were parts of the world that weren't America if not for that episode
where they go to that country where all the animals live in pouches.
For movies, The Simpsons (and the other, lesser shows like it)
reference a lot of stuff that is, and let's just be honest here,
boring. Last week I checked out a hilariously bad movie called
Frogs that the video case compared to Hitchcock's The
Birds--you know, like how Pearl Harbor is pretty much the
same movie as Saving Private Ryan--but for those of us who've
only seen the references, not the originals, how does a renowned
classic like 1954's Rear Window look to eyes raised on modern
movies?
Confined to his apartment while his broken leg heals, Jimmy Stewart
has taken to amusing himself by watching his neighbors across the way.
One night, he thinks he sees a murder, but without any way to gather
proof, Stewart's friends think he's gone stir-crazy.
So, Rear Window is good. It's a compelling plot with witty
dialogue. Hitchcock's direction is strong on visual storytelling and
in advancing that story one detail at a time.
Now that crap's out of the way, on to what's important: is it humanly
possible to sit through it? Ignore the rubber chickens in my hands,
I'm being serious. I like the original Manchurian Candidate a
lot, but I think the remake is more entertaining, in the sense that
things actually happen.
The more movies I watch, the more importance I place on editing. Back
in the day, editors didn't have our fancy star wipes and jump cuts to
inflame our senses and remind us why life is worth living. Rear
Window's scenes just fade to black all the time. It seems minor,
but it slows the pacing down in a noticeable way.
It's also content to develop its characters in ways that aren't
plot-relevant. This is genuinely interesting, but it's a tradeoff in
terms of keeping things moving, especially with that sluggish editing
and a lack of the trick shots, musical mood stings, and frantic
stylistic hand-waving we take for granted.
Yet this lack of tricks and distraction makes what's there feel oddly
fresh. If it's light on modern style, it's equally light on modern
cliches. I do have a harder time watching older movies. Modern pacing
is a real accomplishment. But when a movie's got as much going for it
as Rear Window, the good stuff shines through without all the
techniques we've drummed up to make it better.
Similar stories:
'Paranormal Activity 3' back as spooky, gripping
'Paranormal Activity 3' back as spooky, gripping
The first Paranormal Activity was shot for $15,000 by writer/director Oren Peli. Worldwide, it grossed about $193 million.
That's amazing. Right there we have the solution to the nation's ongoing economic swoon. We're going to have to overturn the law against human cloning, but extreme measures must be taken to produce an army of Pelis to work around the clock turning 15 grand into 200 million. In no time at all, we'll be looking at so much money the nation will quickly be replaced by a giant Betty Ford center.
-- Local show times, theaters, trailer.
Woody Harrelson goes behind the badge for 'Rampart'
Woody Harrelson goes behind the badge for 'Rampart'
LOS ANGELES - Woody Harrelson wants the windows down. "Do you mind if we go old style on this? I don't like air conditioning." The journalist at the wheel of the Honda Accord jabs a button and the famous passenger gets a face full of Sunset Strip. Harrelson is used to breathing in paradise - he lives in Maui most of the time - but even West Hollywood tastes sweet when you feel like you're smothering. "Yeah," the 50-year-old star said, "that's better already."
'The Devil Inside' an unoriginal waste of time
'The Devil Inside' an unoriginal waste of time
It's not really fair how obvious some mistakes look in retrospect.
If you're trying to prove the strength of your skyscraper's windows by flinging yourself against one, and then it breaks and you plunge hundreds of feet to your doom, well, you can't begrudge a few jokes at your funeral. Likewise when you sign the director's contract with M. Night Shyamalan.
-- Local show times, theaters, trailer.
Don't fret to skip 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'
Don't fret to skip 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'
Before we consider cutting library funding in this time of fiscal crisis, we should step back, as a nation, and remember that without them, we'll be helpless in the face of any timeless horrors that roll into town.
Think about the last time you got attacked by that Cthulhu. What did you do to defeat it? No, not the bazooka filled with poison candy corn. Before that. That's right, you went to the local library. Specifically, the amazingly complete occult section filled with 14th century Italian manuscripts about head vampires and Moby-Dicks (he was a monster, right?). That's where you learned about the bazooka in the first place. Without the public library, right now you'd be gurgling away in the interdimensional stomach acid of a thing that wears its stomach in its third armpit.
That's what I gather from horror movies, anyway, which as far as I know are a series of documentaries filmed in real-time, Highlander -style. And if you need yet more proof of the crucial role our public library system serves
Barbers go hip-hop in Yakima Valley
Barbers go hip-hop in Yakima Valley
YAKIMA -- Customers at Jagz Barber Shop on Summitview Avenue lounge on large black leather couches and play video games on a big-screen TV while waiting for a haircut.
A couple of other customers shoot pool. Sports events flash on two flat-screen TVs and hip-hop music resounds from speakers.
It's a typical afternoon at the shop, where stylish haircuts and a hip-hop theme create a clublike atmosphere.
Print
Email Story
