The Tree of Life (2011)

I feel incredibly conflicted over Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (2011). It is, without question, one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. The theatrical release poster, showcasing a barrage of images from the film, is a fitting marketing tool, as the film's raison d'être is not the story nor the performances by Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, and the children.  The film's being stems from Malick's work with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (who also shot Children of Men) and production designer Jack Fisk (and, in a few sequences, with special effects guru Douglas Trumbull, who designed some of the effects for Tree of Life's formal ancestor, 2001:  A Space Odyssey).  Each shot in the film aims for the sublime (and the film has a lot of shots...I'd love to see a shot by shot analysis, but someone would need to have a lot of time on their hands to put that together) and the formal achievements of the film should not be underestimated.  On the other hand, the vague impressions of plot that Malick attempts to tie the images together with simply does not provide enough narrative momentum to justify the 140 minute running time.  

The Best Media of 2011 (Version .75)

Another month, another revision...  

The Descendants (2011)

Alexander Payne's first film in seven years (yes, it has been that long since the wine infused, lovable snobbery of Sideways), The Descendants (2011), would be a great film if it wasn't for its familiarity.  That is not to say that the plot or the casting is necessarily stereotypical, just that it feels like Payne, despite his absence, is still drawn into the same comfort zone:  middle aged men dealing with an existential crisis.  In Election (1999), Payne gave us a portrait of a school teacher (Matthew Broderick) fraying at the edges thanks to troubles at home and his obnoxious star pupil (Reese Witherspoon).  His follow up, About Schmidt (2002), focused on a recently widowed man (Jack Nicholson) who, after discovering that his wife had cheated on him, goes on a road trip to try to protect his daughter (Hope Davis) from following in his footsteps.  Sideways (2004) continued the trend by giving us another school teacher (Paul Giamatti), this one a lovesick and struggling novelist, who quotes Bukowski.  

Three Colors: Blue (1993)

It has been almost a decade since I first gazed upon Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy (1993-1994).  After re-watching his first entry, Blue (1993, on the newly issued Criterion Blu-Ray), I chastised myself for having taken so long.  While I remember being moved by Blue - Kieslowski's work as a whole affects me - and loving the trilogy as a whole, I failed to account for my own evolving position as a subjective viewer. Obviously, Kieslowski's films, like those of Robert Bresson, do not objectively change over time.  However, our impressions of the films are changed, charged, and altered by our own life experiences.  For instance, my personal impressions of the losses that Julie (Juliette Binoche) experiences in the opening moments of Blue were compounded the second time around.  The films haven't changed but I have gone from being an single teenager to a married twenty-something.  

American Comic Book Syllabus 2.0

I hadn't been on my Academia.edu account in a long time.  Recently, I started receiving e-mails that people had been googling "American Comic Book Syllabus" and had been coming across my page.  I thought that was pretty great, as I was really happy with the last draft of the syllabus I had created.  However, when I checked my Academia profile, I realized I had made an error:  the first draft, which was VERY superhero heavy, was posted...not the second, far improved draft.  

365 Days of Comics: Week One Recap

For those keeping up with my 365 Days of Comics Challenge, my week one reading list is below.  Have any recommendations?  Reviews to share?  

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Reaction

According to the game play counter located in the Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 3 (2011) Multiplayer Barracks, I have played the game for roughly twelve hours...despite devoting sixteen hours of my life to the title thus far.  Here are my gut reactions to the Playstation 3 version of the multiplayer play and my favorite kits and maps.