Many many years ago I had a Super 8 movie camera and made a bunch of films, most of which were incomprehensibly abstract or badly directed plays made with my friends and siblings as the actors. In my entire oeuvre, I believe there is only one shot that was in any way memorable, a fluke of timing which created a rather nice backlit shot of a chase through an alley. Take away that 20 second sequence and it's safe to say that my adolescent filmmaking career was pretty much a bust, but I still have fond memories of playing with the camera and seeing what I could come up with. Pretty much the only enjoyment I took from the recent movie called Super 8, directed by J. J. Abrams, was the nostalgic kick of watching the youthful protagonists trying to shoot their own opus early on in the story (I know I smiled when one of them pulled out a copy of Super 8 Filmmaker, a magazine I used to read fairly regularly myself). After that, it became a pretty standard alien invasion movie, with massive jumps in narrative logic and thematic continuity. In other words, pretty much what most Super 8 movies made by teens were probably like, though I feel safe in saying none of them had this one's budget. A bad sign: I saw this movie several weeks ago and almost immediately forgot all about it, until someone mentioned it yesterday (which prompted these comments). I'm not saying it wasn't enjoyable, but it sure ain't gonna inspire any deep thoughts.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The Second Last Movie I Saw
Many many years ago I had a Super 8 movie camera and made a bunch of films, most of which were incomprehensibly abstract or badly directed plays made with my friends and siblings as the actors. In my entire oeuvre, I believe there is only one shot that was in any way memorable, a fluke of timing which created a rather nice backlit shot of a chase through an alley. Take away that 20 second sequence and it's safe to say that my adolescent filmmaking career was pretty much a bust, but I still have fond memories of playing with the camera and seeing what I could come up with. Pretty much the only enjoyment I took from the recent movie called Super 8, directed by J. J. Abrams, was the nostalgic kick of watching the youthful protagonists trying to shoot their own opus early on in the story (I know I smiled when one of them pulled out a copy of Super 8 Filmmaker, a magazine I used to read fairly regularly myself). After that, it became a pretty standard alien invasion movie, with massive jumps in narrative logic and thematic continuity. In other words, pretty much what most Super 8 movies made by teens were probably like, though I feel safe in saying none of them had this one's budget. A bad sign: I saw this movie several weeks ago and almost immediately forgot all about it, until someone mentioned it yesterday (which prompted these comments). I'm not saying it wasn't enjoyable, but it sure ain't gonna inspire any deep thoughts.
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2 comments:
Dr John,
Do you only see movies to "inspire deep thoughts"? I get you like movies that make you think... but have you never seen a movie that you could just sit back in and relax and get taken to a place where your feelings take over instead of your mind? Just asking - love to see a review from you that would be just that =)
Lil' Sis
Lil Sis,
The point is that in the absence of some thought, I don't have anything to write about. As I noted, Super 8 was enjoyable, but all it inspired me to write about was my own experience with super 8 filming-- which I somehow doubt was exactly what the filmmakers wanted me to take away from their efforts. That's just an honest reaction-- just as it is when I say I like something that isn't very good (like Pirate Radio or Lincoln Lawyer, for example).
Dr. John
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