Hubris & Hubbub

This is what happens when I am working.

Monday, November 27, 2006

STAND BY ME

STAND BY ME




After thinking about this movie, I decided to watch it for the billionth time.

Sometimes called a "coming of age" film, Stand By Me has become something of an obsession in my life. Rob Reiner crafted a masterpiece from Stephen King's short story. You will find a lot of interesting film ideas that are simple but affective.
One of which happens when our protagonist Gordy LaChance is walking down the street in the small Maine town. You will find that Gordy is walking on the sidewalk but seemingly going nowhere due to an easy camera effect. This is a summation of the better part of the movie - going somewhere without actually going anywhere. The movie - to me - has nothing to do with the 4 friends finding Ray Brauer's dead body, but finding out who they are and who each one is.
This film envokes many ideas in the viewer without really having to try. It wraps many themes but the strongest is our sense of mortality and the power of friendship. What are we without that which we are remembered by? This, in a sense, is what immortality is. What not of anyone if they are not remembered for their good where-with-alls and their bad?

A few things -

Everyday by Buddy Holly is something of a strange childhood song that will forever be haunting and stunning to me. When I saw this film in the theatres (just before my first communion), I was absorbed by the time period and the music. Of course, like the nerd that I was, I had to get the soundtrack. The money from my first communion was plentiful and afforded that pleasure. I would play Everyday and tight rope walk the edges of my waterbed frame for hours. Making the rounds from one end of the waterbed frame to next until the song was over. Then, I would rewind the tape and play it again. And again. And again.
Strange that when I heard it used in Gummo by Harmony Korine it had much of deeper meaning during the montage he had created during the film. But I always thought it belonged to me and it always will.

When Vern finally spots Ray Brauer's body by the back Harlow road, Gordy voice over states that none of them could breathe. Since the first time I watched this film, I would hold my breath during that part wanting to feel like the rest of the 4 boys. I still hold my breath during that part. It's almost a silent acceptance of being alive I guess.

Mostly this film filled my mind with the experience of being a young boy and curious of death and mortality. For the better part, it makes me think of my own experiences - my own best friends when I was making the "change" from a boy into a teenager. But always, it will remind me of the friends I had when I was twelve and the fact that they were some of the best friends I had ever had. But unlike the last few moments of the film, I still have good friends and I feel that they are as good as I had when I was twelve. Of course, we're all grown and I don't think like I did when I was twelve. But sometimes, sometimes I still do.

I GIVE STAND BY ME A NETFLIX RATING OF 5 STARS

THE REAL MCCOY

THE REAL MCCOY




Whoa-kay. I was looking thru the movies I have that my friend Mike's dad (who is also named Mike) gave me. His dad was on this thing all not renting from Blockbuster (fuck those guys, and fuck you Aaron Spelling) and other places and just buying movies at the "previously viewed" price for years. So he ended up with all kinds of sucky and also pretty good movies. Well, he was downsizing and knowing I'm a movie buff, he went ahead and gave me most of what he had.
This was one of the movies that was given to me. So I have this crazy love for Val Kilmer that pretty much started with Real Genius (which is possibly one of the greatest nerd comedies of all time, and a good buddy flick too). Immediately when I saw that Val Kilmer was in it I was thinking "Oh shit dood, another good one where he's all slick like in the remake of The Saint and shit, aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh guy, this may be alright. Or really, just what I want to watch" - A movie with Val Kilmer.
Well, it was ok I guess. I've never been much of a fan of Kim Bassinger. I mean, she was good in Nadine with Jeff Bridges but that just may be that I have a love for Jeff Bridges. Shrugs.
So she's this chick that's badass at robbing banks and she goes to jail because this dude wants her to rob a bank for her and she gets let out six years later and yeah, she has a kid that she wants to get back in contact with and boo hoo.
Guy finds out she got paroled and and it's all BAM in your face - I'm kidnapping your kid, bitch so it's time to rob a bank with me and my stooges.
Whatever, I mean, it was ok. There were plenty of things that were predictable but my most favorite was the dude that blackmails her has this affinity for animals that KILL. He has a couple of tigers on his estate so of course I thought, "Alright! I know one of these baddies is gonna get eaten by a jungle cat sometime around the end of this thing". And yeah, I was almost right. Fat chunk of a dude almost gets eaten by the tiger but they didn't show the details of his escape. I guess maybe he shot the cat with his gun or something. It was just disappointing to not see what happened in that scene. Like, if the cat attacked him and he got all mauled like in that Altar Boys movie.

I GIVE THIS MOVIE 3 NETFLIX STARS JUST BECAUSE I WAS HAPPY THAT COOL VAL KILMER WAS IN IT. BEYOND THAT IT WAS DECENT AND THINGS

Also, Val and Kimmy get away at the end and that is kind of good to see. SEE BAD GUYS GET AWAY