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Jeff Goldblum

The Mountain – Are We Sane?

July 26, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“Where do they go? The people, when you change them?”

It’s difficult to put The Mountain from writer director Rick Alverson into a familiar category. Drama doesn’t seem to say quite enough. It borders at times on surrealism, but there is also a strong sense of reality as it looks back to a time. Its dark and brooding mood carries us into a world in which reality and the portrayal of reality seem to blend.

Andy (Tye Sheridan) is leading a life without goal or meaning. His world is as cold and flat as the ice rink where he runs the Zamboni. His father is even colder. His mother has been institutionalized for many years. When his father dies, Andy is approached by Dr. Wallace Fiennes (Jeff Goldblum), to accompany him on a trip across the country to take photographs. Dr. Fiennes is a lobotomist who goes from hospital to hospital to perform the increasingly controversial procedure. Little by little, Andy begins to identify with the patients. Is it an emotional connection, or is he beginning to recognize his own mental illness? Or perhaps it is his guilt in being involved in this procedure. When he connects with a young woman patient (Hannah Gross), his life becomes increasingly fragile.

Set in the 1950s, this film is actually the opposite of nostalgic. Whereas that time is often seen as a golden age in American culture (well, at least since American Graffiti and Happy Days), this film reminds us that it was a period with a very dark side. We are meant to be uncomfortable with the way people are treated in that time. We are also meant to be wary of those who, like Dr. Fiennes, claim to be experts and saviors, but who leave a trial of broken lives in their wake.

Visually, the film offers some interesting cinematography that aids in the storytelling, helping us to feel the very depression and neuroses that are central to the film. Sometimes that is fairly subtle. For example, scenes in which Andy and Dr. Fiennes are in a small room talking to each other face to face, but then the viewer notices as the camera goes back and forth, that there are no doors in the room. Is this reality or dream?

It could be that this film serves not just as a reminder of the flaws in our “good old days”, but also as a metaphor for understanding the world in which we find ourselves. In a “post-truth” society, in which news is called false when it doesn’t agree with one’s version of reality, the question of sanity may not be about individuals, but the culture as a whole. There are so many versions of reality competing to be accepted, that we might well think our society is living with schizophrenia. And there are those who would like nothing more than to pacify those who have differing realities. In that sense, The Mountain seeks to be a cautionary tale concerning where we are headed—or may already have arrived.

Photos courtesy of Kino Lorber

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: 1950s, Hannah Gross, Jeff Goldblum, lobotomy, mental illness, Rick Alverson, tye sheridan

4.21 Life Still Finds A Way in JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM

July 22, 2018 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/4.21-Jurassic-World-Fallen-Kingdom.mp3

After 25 years (!) since the original film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom showed that the Raptors still have box office pull but have poor reviews brought the future of the franchise in jeopardy? This week, dino-fan Ben Dower returns to talk with Steve about how the franchise has changed, science and awe, and whether or not life really finds a way.

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

4.21 Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

Thanks Ben for joining us!

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, dinosaurs, Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Isle of Dogs – It’s Cute, but It Has a Bite

April 16, 2018 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for a movie to go to for the fun of it, let me share what my wife’s comment was when we came out of Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs: “It made me smile all the way through.” If you want a movie that allows us to consider some important issues in our world, Isle of Dogs fulfills that desire as well. This is one of the great examples of having a film that entertains well and at the same time goads our minds into active thought. It is very much like a cross-cultural extended parable.

(From L-R): Bryan Cranston as “Chief,” Bob Balaban as “King,” Koyu Rankin as “Atari Kobayashi,” Bill Murray as “Boss,” Edward Norton as “Rex” and Jeff Goldblum as “Duke” in the film ISLE OF DOGS.

Set in the near future in the Japanese city of Megasaki, there is disease spreading among the dog population. Fearing that the disease could spread to humans, Mayor Kobayashi decrees that all dogs will be deported to Trash Island, starting with his own family dog, Spots. Six months later, a small plane crashes on the island. As a small pack of dogs check this out, they discover a 12 year old boy as the pilot. Atari Kobayashi, the mayor’s nephew and ward, has come to look find his dog. The group sets off across the island to seek Spots.

It turns out the Mayor’s family has a history of animosity towards dogs and may have engineered the entire “crisis” as an excuse to finally eliminate all the dogs from Megasaki. As Atari and the dogs begin to discover the truth, it becomes a mission to bring down the government and restore the rights and lives of the doomed dogs.

The enjoyment of the film is very much like most of Anderson’s film. It is an inventive story that was developed by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura. Part of the quirkiness of the film is that the dogs speak in English, but all the human characters speak in their native language (although the Japanese is nearly always translated to English). The voices are supplied by a long list of well-known actors including Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldbloom, Greta Gerwig, Scarlett Johansson, Liev Schreiber, F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, and Ken Watanabi.

But for all the canine enjoyment the film offers, it also has a bite. In a world filled with the politics of fear, Isle of Dogs reflects the reality of life in many places. Mayor Kobayashi uses dogs as a scapegoat, and in the process promotes his own power. This is not a new strategy—it is probably nearly as old as humanity itself. (We need to keep those Neanderthals away from our good people.) Watching not only the dogs and Atari, but the developing political situation in Megasaki makes it very clear that we are seeing the kind of things that go on around the world every day. Most importantly though, we should be reflecting on the ways these dynamics are taking place within our own society.

Every time the President speaks of the rapists and drug dealers that come from Mexico, he is attempting to stoke fear. The fears do not have to be legitimate—only believed. Islamophobia, homophobia, xenophobia, and racial prejudice are all attempts to create fear so that someone else can gain a bit more power. When we allow those fears to rule the day, it means we will likely cede more power to those who claim we need protection. But, as we also see in the film, the truth and determination can eventually defeat the lies that are spread.

Photos Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, comedy, Edward Norton, Japan, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Liev Schreiber, Roman Coppola, Scarlett Johansson, stop motion animation, Wes Anderson

Podcast: Celebrating INDEPEDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE

July 5, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

 

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https://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2.19-Independence-Day-Resurgence.mp3

This week on the show, Chris Utley joins Steve to discuss INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE, the sequel to the 1996 classic alien film. Plus, the guys talk about the least and most successful reboots/sequels.

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

2.19 Independence Day Resurgence

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: Bill Pullman, Independence Day, Independence Day Resurgence, Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Roland Emmerich, Will Smith

Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Repeat After Me, ‘There Is No Jurassic Park II’

June 9, 2015 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

lost worldAfter the explosively entertaining Jurassic Park, audiences everywhere were salivating at the prospect of more velociraptors, more comedy, and more (dare I say it?) Jeff Goldblum. But whatever the entertainment and theological value that the first film based on Michael Crichton’s ‘amusement park-with-dinosaurs’ idea had, the second one is a laughable, awful mess. The Lost World was a rushed book, and a rushed film, and a story that Steven Spielberg himself said, “I beat myself up… growing more and more impatient with myself… It made me wistful about doing a talking picture, because sometimes I got the feeling I was just making this big silent-roar movie… I found myself saying, ‘Is that all there is? It’s not enough for me.'”

And yet, they made a third film?

This third film finds Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) hellbent on ‘saving’ his girlfriend, paleontologist Dr. Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore, Still Alice). The park’s creator, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), has sent her with a team of scientists and hunters to ‘Site B,’ the island where the dinosaurs. She’s thrilled to be interacting with animals she’s only studied in theory; Malcolm knows all too well about the real danger that the dinosaurs pose. And that has nothing to do with the dangerous agenda of Roland Tembo (Peter Postlethwaite, The Usual Suspects, The Town), a big game hunter.

lostworld2All of that is probably well and good. Until we realize that the film’s main aim is to get the dinosaurs to the main land a la Godzilla. Somehow, the incredible nature of the special effects that cause these dinosaurs to walk across the screen cannot save the lack of viable dialogue and plot points. But someone thought this film was good enough that millions of dollars piled up and the studio had to make another. Are you one of them?

Ultimately, you probably fall into two camps: you either think that Goldbum is a wonderful, sad sack of laughter or… he’s a terrible actor. Honestly, I usually fall into the first category, having devoured Independence Day and his turn following Vincent D’Onofrio on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. And the rest of the cast is reasonably awesome as well, past Moore and Postelthwaite: Richard Schiff (The West Wing) as an engineer, Vince Vaughn (in his follow-up to Swingers) as a cameraman, and Peter Stormare (everything…) So, if it’s not the cast, then it must be the story, the script, the creativity behind it, right?

Consider this selective filmography of screenwriter David Koepp. On one side, you have Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man (the first Tobey Maguire one), Angels & Demons, Men in Black 3, and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. On the other side, you have Zathura, Premium Rush, Secret Window,  Mortdecai, and … Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Now, that’s a mixed bag, but it shows the general unevenness of what a script can bring (or not bring) to a movie. Obviously, it’s not all on Koepp because it’s based on Crichton’s novel – one which he was originally disinterested in writing – but the story here just isn’t as earthshaking, and the idea isn’t as earth shattering as the original.

lostworld3Still, we can learn from The Lost World. The overwhelming lesson revolves around hubris, around pride, around the belief that if it exists, that we, humanity, can control it. Better yet, it investigates the smug assurance, here by Hammond and Tembo, that not only can we control it but that we should control it. The whole idea reminds me of the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11, where people got the grand idea that they could build something that reaches heaven. And yet, they fail there in the terms that the early followers of the Bible understand, because God mixes things up for them so that they can’t complete their project. It’s not that they can’t accomplish it but rather that they shouldn’t.

In this second story, the middle one for another few days, we see that we should not create dinosaurs even if we can. We see that there are reasons why boundaries and natural laws exist, to keep us safe and make us better. Thanks to Jurassic Park: The Last World, we can see that there are some things we should leave to God. Like dinosaurs.

Filed Under: DVD, Film Tagged With: David Koepp, Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Lost World, Richard Attenborough, Steven Spielberg

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