The Colin Theory
For years there's been an unofficial understanding in my family: whatever my brother Colin says about a movie, he's usually wrong. For example, he hated Donnie Brasco and loved Shrek 2. Didn't like The Aviator or Spider-Man, loved Garden State and Sideways. I could go on.
I, on the other hand, truly enjoyed Donnie Brasco and found Shrek 2 terrible (Dreamworks animation doesn't deserve to be in the same room as Pixar. Oh yeah, Colin didn't like The Incredibles either. What the-!). The Aviator was gripping and Spider-Man was good summer blockbuster action, whereas Garden State was trying too hard. I haven't actually seen Sideways, but I've heard from people I trust (girlfriend, parents) that it's overrated.
Colin's not completely out of whack. We agree that Will Farrell is funny and the latest Star Wars was generally enjoyable. Generally, Colin just enjoys Hollywood cheese moreso than most other people I associate with.
Last weekend I put the theory to the test. Thanks to my new trial membership in Blockbuster's Netflix operation (use code usatoday13 for an extra-long 4 week trial session instead of the 2 week standard deal), I rented Meet the Fockers, which Colin despised, and City of God, which was his favorite movie of the past year. Verdict?
Meet the Fockers was funny. Not as good as the first one, but still a solid rental - I laughed out loud several times, there were funny plot twists (Ben Stiller's 15-year-old Hispanic son!), and I remembered what a good actor Dustin Hoffman is. Barbra was also surprisingly good, and there was even an Owen Wilson cameo at the end.
City of God was a chore. The first half hour was completely unrelated to the rest of the movie, uncompelling and overly violent to the point of unbelievability. Later on it got better, but the only reason I trudged through the boring start was because I was tired from my first day riding my new bike and just wanted to sit on the couch and be entertained. (Also, caramel popcorn was provided.) Besides, haven't we heard this story before? I kept on thinking of Juice, which was better and basically the same story - poor kids in the big city can only resolve things through violence, except the hero finds his way out through his true calling (DJing or photography). City of God is the Brazilian version.
Be warned, Colin Stewart Googlers: take his movie advice with a few million grains of salt!
posted by Matt Stewart @ 8:42 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
First of all, let's get a few things straight in my defense, which I have explained to you before: I only saw the first half of Donnie Brasco and didn't think it was outstanding. I thought Sideways was pretty good, not nearly worth all the fuss however. I didn't hate Meet the Fockers, but I just thought it wasn't anything new, just a rehash of the first one with pretty much the same jokes (His name is Gay Focker! Ha ha ha!)
As for City of God, you're just plain wrong there. Just because your favorite dead rapper was in the movie doesn't mean it was better. It also helps to have an attention span larger than a fruit fly. City of God has better acting, is a better story, is more authentic and more poignant.
This is also coming from a guy who would rank "The Man Who Wasn't There" as one of his top 5 movies also.
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Colin, I thought you said that he liked "The Man Who Knew Too Little". Totally different, and much much worse.
The Man Who Knew Too Little, starring Bill Murray, is one of the best movies of all time, yes. Never saw The Man Who Wasn't There.
Also I'd have to say my favorite dead rapper is Easy-E.
Better acting? Who can tell? All the delivery is in Portuguese - we have no idea. Omar Epps and 2Pac are formidable competition, though. How is City of God more authentic in representing life in Brazil compared to Juice representing life in the South Bronx? Neither of us have any idea.
I don't have a short attention span, but I do tune out when a story is convoluted and confusing and unrewarding, which City of God was at the beginning for no apparent plot benefits. We had romances that didn't go anywhere, hiding in trees, a guy who buried his wife alive, far too many shootings to make any of them meaningful - interesting plot points by themselves, but many didn't go anywhere and were ultimately unfulfilling.
I forgot to mention that I also rented Shaun of the Dead. It's my top pick for 2005 so far - hilarious!
Yes, I did mean the Man Who Knew Too Little, and no, i's not one of the best movies of all-time. As for your take on the City of God, I think it's just giving you a background of how messed up life is in that neighborhood.
And let's compare Hollywood slop: City of God vs. Spiderman? Or was it The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio with its $110 million budget that classifies as an independent and Hollywood-free film?
I don't claim that Hollywood is bad or I'm pro-independent all the way. Hollywood produces good stuff. Spider-Man was a fun time. I watched it once, enjoyed it, haven't watched it again. The Aviator presented a compelling personal story with Leo's first good role ever. I don't have much patience for movies because life is too short to watch/read crap, but I was rapt for three hours for The Aviator because it was good.
Either way it boils down to aesthetics, and my basic point (which you clearly agree with me on) is that our ideals differ a lot on movies and I don't trust your movie reviews.
And Meet the Fockers had some great moments. What about when Ben Stiller got stabbed with the truth serum? Or when the kid got booze stuck to his hands?
Personally, I didn't like Meet the Parents. I thought the comedy was contrived and lame. There was no reason to see Meet the Fockers.
I did enjoy the Aviator, Spider-man, Shrek 2 and the Incredibles. I guess I'm more screwed up than anyone. Well, maybe not criminals...
I haven't seen Donnie Brasco. Don't really want to either. I have Garden State, but haven't gotten around to watching it. I like that guy on Scrubs, but I have a feeling it won't be the same.
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