Lights, Camera, Action Action Action
Lights, Camera, Action Action Action by Roxanne McDonald
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…And that’s an understatement on the lot this week. |
I have to preface my recap by confessing to being either an action purist or a way-too-green critic of the action genre…or both. I can only sit through so much gratuitous bombing, but at the same time will pop in the Mad Max: Road Warrior tape and watch with great focus and attentiveness…for the twenty-seventh time.
I also can follow and appreciate anything Ang Lee, anything with Nic Cage, and a few other select works. (Yes, Steve McQueen classics, et. al.)
So this recap will be much less often infused with what I believe are witty barbs by the one who is usually quick with the snarkasm and will be more in honor of and respect for the filmmaking process in general.
I’ll leave the wit to the Great Gary Marshall, the sometimes persnickety Carrie Fisher, and, this week, to the guest judge who is known for having done several films in the genre (none of which I have had the opp to see, but including Training Day, The Call, and Tears of the Sun), Antoine Fugua:
First we are made privy to the outdoor eliminations. Based on America’s votes, both Hilary and Shalini are dismissed, dammit.
Sam made “Key Witness,” which he says has and which does indeed have alot of action.
Carrie says it was alot to have to establish in such a short time, and since they are used to doing so, Sam could have done better.
Antoine thinks it was well covered and that the film has a lot of style. But, he adds, it is a matter of style over substance—and Sam needs to get away from the cliches more and to go for some Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid kind of humor.
Gary is impressed with all the running and jumping and hopping, calling it great action. However, he continues, the motivation was weak. He gives the example of the difficulty the characters [actors] had with a piddly little lock…, when they could have, he suggests, bit it off…. But Gary still thought it was good, he says.
Jason is going to go for action/comedy with “Sweet”.
Carrie calls the short her favorite of all the pieces Jason has done so far, and defines it as having a completely relatable situation with an ordinary guy/inordinate superhero and great visual style all around. She adds that his wife should/will be proud.
Antoine says the film has good action, that Jason took time with the characters, and at the same time could have done much more with he action. But Jason did focus on the characters and Antoine loved it.
Gary calls it accessible, comical, and only suggests that after all that running around the central character did, Jason should give her some prettier flowers. He adds that it is alive and terrific.
Andrew makes “Zero2Sixty,” which includes a “super cool chase.”
Carrie says she thought he did a really, really, really great job. Andrew is as always really inventive and really entertaining. Really.
Antoine also thought Andrew had done a good job—with lots of stuff going on, though, Antoine got a little lost in the genre [action/comedy]. But, he continues, the casting is good, and if Andrew focuses more on character development it will be even better.
Gary jokes that he is not a fast driver and that even school buses pass him. But, he says, he loved the car chase and thought it was good, ambitious, and well-paced. He then also suggests that Andrew and Jason “change hats”.
Kenny takes action into his own hands [and we are all wincing oh, please, please make it coherent, even if you do strong-arm the whole crew, as usual] with “The Losers”.
Carrie fist acknowledges Kenny’s awesome eye and says he makes these incredible-looking films…and… she wishes he had done the same here. She notes how it needs more
development and that Kenny needs to work as hard on the story as he does on bullying…I mean on the stunts or filming. But, she adds, visually, he is an artist.
Antoine says he was geographically all over the place and the story is not as tight as it could be. The action is off, he continues, and Kenny must trust the people he is working with because he is good, he’s got the eye, and now he has to let them do what they are good at while he does his own damn job. You did too much, Antoine tells Kenny.
Gary brings on the quotosaurus, saying that Camus once said, “Often the abstract is done by the undisciplined, sold by the unprincipled, and shown to the utterly bewildered.” [Ha! Take that, Carrie!] Gary loves that Kenny is wild and abstract, even though Gary got mixed up: when Kenny stayed on the wall, no problem; but when he goes off the wall, Gary’s neck gets a kink in it.
Mateen does his first action film, “Catch”, and is filming the action all in one shot and —hsssch—he sucks in air—it could get hairy.
Carrie calls the film the most relatable of all of his pieces so far, says that Mateen has clearly grown in this competition, and this was executed well—making her respond that she thinks he has done a really good job.
Antoine says that when he first saw it, he thought it was too much and that the twist was too much; but, he continues, after watching it again [in the theatre with us] he believes Mateen knows what he is doing.
Gary says he knows Mateen knows what he is doing but Gary doesn’t know if stealing a hat full of cash in the Bronx is a big enough deal for a whole movie…as there is not enough wham or pows to go the distance. Still, he nods, it is a good piece.
Yeah, it is.
Carrie’s fav for the night is Andrew’s; Antoine’s fav for the night is Jason’s; and Gary’s fav of the five is also Jason’s.
Mine is Mateen’s…even if I don’t know what I am seeing or saying.
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