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The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
The emperor is buck naked.
Even in the '70's, this would have been a flop. Disjointed, indulgent, and ... really, really bad. Satire? Satire might work if it's timely, This isn't timely. (If you want satire that has defied and overcome zeitgeist, watch Dr. Strangelove or Network.) This comes off as a film Welles never really intended to release, just milk it to keep his name out there until a worthwhile project came along. Really. It's like he got started, realized how awful it was, and kept "working" on it just to keep his name out there until a better project landed in his lap. I dunno-- which is what it should have been titled. Perhaps he had a clear vision of what he really wanted to say, then it go away from him. I dunno.
While I believe is a fine thing-- well intended, anyhoo-- that Netflix brought it to life, as homage perhaps, I also believe Orson Welles legacy would have been better served by leaving this on the shelf.
The Terror (2018)
What television could be, and what it can do that Hollywood can't.
Superb. If I could find a better word, I'd use it. Hits the mark on every level. This is what can be achieved in a way that Hollywood-- or any facet of "film", indie or otherwise-- simply can't, simply because of time limits. The Terror is told at the pace it deserves. Character is not only developed, we are allowed to observe the slow transformation of character. We know how people were as the story begins, and we are allowed to observe and absorb the changes that take place as circumstances unfold. This is a facet of story telling that is can typically only be fully realized in novels.
Production is as close to perfection as I've ever seen, be it television or "movies." The casting, the performances, the atmosphere, pace, editing and the soundtrack-- which, as has been pointed out in other reviews and is as great a character as any member of the cast-- adds up and comes together
so beautifully that the only word I can find for it is... Perfect.
It appeals and satisfies on all levels, from gut to cerebral, and transcends genre and whatever preconceptions "genre" suggests. Brilliant
Gotta add this: If someone brings up "The Terror", before they say another word, just drop "Mister Hickey" on them. Their reaction ought to be enough to compel you to watch.
Troy: Fall of a City (2018)
The Gods are angry.
How is it nobody can film what is arguably the greatest story of conflict, grief and loss in recorded history? If you'd could sit Homer down in front of this mess, he would rejoice in his blindness and bemoan his ability to hear. Muddled, flat, bereft of tension it just drags and drags... and I watched the whole thing. Shame on me.
You don't care for a single character. You have no sense of time, unless you rely on relativity. It works! I sure felt like I'd been sitting on the couch for ten years. There's no passion. Priam pleaded for the return of his son as if he was bargaining to get his stolen bicycle back.
This turns the Brad Pitt/Orlando Bloom/Eric Bana laugher into a classic.
Only the Brave (2006)
Not bad, but not good, either.
Wooden, disjointed, clichéd. Random flashbacks pop in an out and don't do much to push the story along. Actually, they show up to put the brakes on any kind of momentum building in the main arc of the film. The acting ranges through very good, to "meh", to community theater. The action is limited, and not very convincing. Low budget, yes, but considering the current standards for realism and this movie was made in 2006, it doesn't make it any more appealing to the crowd that watches war movies just for the bang and spatter.
That said, it's a wonderful thing this film was made at all. This segment of American history has spent too long stuck in a dusty corner. The combat record of this unit alone is worth a dozen Saving Private Ryan's. Maybe someday a major studio will quit concocting fictitious accounts of heroism or making rehashes and remakes, and come up with the money and direction this story deserves.