Specter of Reason

My thoughts on Midsommar haven't evolved much since I saw it the other day, but they won't go away, either. I've enjoyed having ideas and images from the movie float around in my mind, but I don't think I'll be satisfied until I share my thoughts on them.  <SPOILERS AHEAD> Director Ari Aster has said he was trying to make "a big operatic break-up movie." Midsommar is certainly that. Sentencing your boyfriend to death is perhaps the most operatic break-up imaginable. What makes the movie work so well, for me, is how deeply we are drawn into Dani's plight. It's not that she simply needs to get rid of her manipulative, toxic boyfriend. No, she needs to understand what he has been doing to her. She needs to grow to the point where she is emotionally capable of breaking up with him. That's why Florence Pugh's performance is so central to the success of the film. She brings us up from the depths of emotional trauma, through maddening maz...

This post contains spoilers for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. It's great that  The Last Jedi  continues to make the franchise more inclusive, but I am not ready to sing its praises. The fact is, Episode VIII is primarily about two white men: Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker. Yes, there are a handful of strong women and people of color, but their development in the film leaves a lot to be desired. At the beginning of the film, Poe Dameron is a headstrong, independent and overly optimistic pilot who doesn't like to follow orders. He wants to lead the Resistance in its fight against the First Order, but his dramatic conflict in the film is not with anyone in the First Order. It is with Leia, who censures and demotes him when his insubordination results in an extreme loss of life, and who even shoots him when he attempts a mutiny that almost kills the entire Resistance. He needs to learn restraint and humility, though there is little evidence that he overcomes his lim...

If you've seen  Coco  and The Book of Life , you've surely noticed some of the similarities. At the very least, they are both animated musicals set in Mexico on the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos). And you surely noticed that they both feature a guitar-wielding male protagonist who enters and returns from the Land of the Dead. But how many other similarities did you notice? --SPOILER ALERT-- In both films: Authenticity is a defining characteristic of the protagonist (Miguel in Coco ; Manolo in The Book of Life ). The protagonist learns the guitar in secret, and against the wishes of his family. This sets up a conflict between the desire to be true to yourself and devotion to your family. The conflict is resolved in a touching moment when the protagonist picks up his guitar and sings a plaintive song in front of his family. Authenticity and family both prevail in the end. Main characters (Juaquin and Xibalba in The Book of Life  and Ernesto in Coco ) achi...

This post contains spoilers for the film, The Neon Demon. Hollywood excels at masking the shallow as profound. It is ironic, then, that a film offering a profound critique of Hollywood is widely seen as shallow. The film is Nicolas Winding Refn’s  The Neon Demon , and its surface is so stunning that  some critics  assume that’s all there is. Yet,   there is a striking alienation and darkness beneath its skin, just  as the grotesque lurks beneath the seductive glitz and glamour of a  decadent party from  The Great Gatsby . In fact, Refn's stylized portrait of Hollywood is in many ways similar to F. Scott Fitzgerald's  New York. Both  explore the romanticization of a corrupt narcissist while exposing the depraved society that consumes him--or her, as the case may be.                                          Though The Great Gatsby is...

My second viewing of The Force Awakens only reinforced my admiration.  I'm very impressed by Rey as a character, and so I want to respond to the prevalent criticism that she does not have a satisfying character arc.  I think she stands up better than many people think.  To prove it, let's compare her arc to Luke's in the original Star Wars, Episode 4: A New Hope.   Luke and Rey each have two inner conflicts dealing with the themes of loyalty and trust, but in Rey's case, the conflicts converge and are developed in a more dramatic and I think satisfying way. At the start of Episode IV: A New Hope , Luke wants to be loyal to his aunt and uncle, but also wants to follow his own dreams.  This is his first inner conflict.  His dreams are somewhat vague at first: He wants to get off Tatooine, join the academy, be heroic, etc.  When Ben Kenobi tells him his father was a Jedi Knight killed by Darth Vader, his motivation becomes more focused: He wants to joi...

My curiosity about  The Force Awakens  was mild.  I was more skeptical than anything else.  And yet, when opening day crept up on me, I found myself getting excited.  Finally, sitting in the cinema as the opening crawl started the film, I was captivated in a way I had not expected: After all these years, I am still deeply connected to Luke Skywalker's story. I was too young to see the original  Star Wars  in the cinemas, but just old enough for  The Empire Strikes Back.   I was nine for  Return of the Jedi.   I had my share of the toys and books, and I'm pretty sure I had  Star Wars  underwear, too.  My infatuation was gone before puberty hit, but the iconography and mythology never lost their potency.   Star Wars  references have always been there--not just because they are fun, but because they are meaningful. Now, witnessing the continuation of the mythology as a middle-aged man with a soft s...

Mad Max: Fury Road  is a fitting allegory for modern times:  We can find messages about reproductive rights, natural resources and religious warfare, as well as some meditations on the more general themes of home, family, power, freedom and survival.  What makes the film more than just a generic action flic is that these themes are brought to life through the creation of a compelling, mythologically rich world.  Though it is unmistakably a Mad Max film,  Fury Road surprisingly calls to mind the familiar mythological territory of the original  Star Wars  saga. Spoiler Alert:   Mad Max: Fury Road is all about the action and visual spectacle, so you can still enjoy it even if the plot has been spoiled.  However, it offers plenty to think about in the few quiet moments between (and after) those astonishing action sequences.  If you'd rather not know much about how the plot develops, don't read what follows. Fury Road ' opens at...