(rants and observations on outsider culture, music & cinema in The Big Wet)
Friday, September 21, 2012
Iron Sky: last two nights
Does Julia Dietze in Iron Sky remind anyone of a certain former frontwoman for a well-loved Vancouver band? Granted, her eye-makeup isn't as scary, but...
This is the final weekend to catch Iron Sky at the Vancity Theatre!
Capsule review: there are great bits, often involving humour and political satire. I did, indeed, laugh aloud several times during Iron Sky, mostly during the first half, and was further surprised to find some interesting ideas at its core involving propaganda and the ways in which state discourse sets limits to a people's self awareness. It seems I hadn't actually expected the film to be at all thought-provoking, but it is, at times.
On the other hand, there are also some not-so-great bits, often involving explosions, spacecraft, and "action scenes," which the filmmakers seem unable, for whatever reason, to integrate fully into the narrative. Said scenes are a little confusing, not that dramatic, and often seem to play as "effects for their own sake," distracting us from the characters we care about to show us explosions in space, and standing at odds with the smart political comedy of the film's first half - like it's trying to be a spoof and effects-heavy SF spectacular at the same time. You can't really have it both ways, though...
There are a few in-jokes that pay off (playing with the "Downfall meme," for instance) and others that just don't (I'm as aware as anyone why the filmmakers would want to have Udo Kier vomit blood, and why they might draw that scene out for a few seconds longer than strictly necessary, but it's the sort of joke that will fall flat on two fronts: the people who don't get it will simply not get it, while those that do will likely see it pulling them out of the narrative for the sake of a "aren't we all clever" reference point to another film, which further happens to be one of next-to-no thematic relevance to the work at hand). Udo is kind of disappointing, actually; in the face of some fairly hammy overacting on the part of other members of the cast, he seems to dial down his Udoness considerably, and seems more amused by his role than committed to it. (He's still Udo, and maintains his dignity, but only just). Ms. Dietze, on the other hand, is quite delightful, and she and Christopher Kirby make highly engaging protagonists...
In the end, Iron Sky is a one thumb up/ 2 stars kind of affair, not quite good enough to be a classic (I won't see it again or buy the DVD), but not so bad that you'll regret spending time or money seeing it once (I did have a good time). It would all be so much funnier if Sarah Palin were still at all relevant, but it's just as well she isn't...
1 comment:
Capsule review: there are great bits, often involving humour and political satire. I did, indeed, laugh aloud several times during Iron Sky, mostly during the first half, and was further surprised to find some interesting ideas at its core involving propaganda and the ways in which state discourse sets limits to a people's self awareness. It seems I hadn't actually expected the film to be at all thought-provoking, but it is, at times.
On the other hand, there are also some not-so-great bits, often involving explosions, spacecraft, and "action scenes," which the filmmakers seem unable, for whatever reason, to integrate fully into the narrative. Said scenes are a little confusing, not that dramatic, and often seem to play as "effects for their own sake," distracting us from the characters we care about to show us explosions in space, and standing at odds with the smart political comedy of the film's first half - like it's trying to be a spoof and effects-heavy SF spectacular at the same time. You can't really have it both ways, though...
There are a few in-jokes that pay off (playing with the "Downfall meme," for instance) and others that just don't (I'm as aware as anyone why the filmmakers would want to have Udo Kier vomit blood, and why they might draw that scene out for a few seconds longer than strictly necessary, but it's the sort of joke that will fall flat on two fronts: the people who don't get it will simply not get it, while those that do will likely see it pulling them out of the narrative for the sake of a "aren't we all clever" reference point to another film, which further happens to be one of next-to-no thematic relevance to the work at hand). Udo is kind of disappointing, actually; in the face of some fairly hammy overacting on the part of other members of the cast, he seems to dial down his Udoness considerably, and seems more amused by his role than committed to it. (He's still Udo, and maintains his dignity, but only just). Ms. Dietze, on the other hand, is quite delightful, and she and Christopher Kirby make highly engaging protagonists...
In the end, Iron Sky is a one thumb up/ 2 stars kind of affair, not quite good enough to be a classic (I won't see it again or buy the DVD), but not so bad that you'll regret spending time or money seeing it once (I did have a good time). It would all be so much funnier if Sarah Palin were still at all relevant, but it's just as well she isn't...
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