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Is Twisters (2024) a Sign That Movies Could Be Fun Again?
August 27, 2024
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Right now Hollywood seems to be predominantly offering up two kinds of movies. There are the movies I call “content,” which are instantly forgettable and most people will never watch twice. These  glitzy movies check all the diversity boxes and have a factory made quality that provides all the heart, soul, and satisfaction of a McDonald’s double cheeseburger. And I’m at a point in my life that all I get after consuming one is the same regret I’d feel after eating assembly line food.

Avoid

The other type of movie we get is the reinterpretation of the established familiar, usually with a hefty dose of revisionism to appeal to some vocal minority. It may wear the skin of a sequel, remake, or addition to a shared universe, but ultimately it’s all the same. Too often ignorant screenwriters and directors use these movies as opportunities to tell fans why they were wrong to like what they liked about the original and preach a new set of virtues that run counter to the human experience.

Also avoid

Last weekend I had the opportunity to see Twisters, and I was curious to see which kind of movie it would be. The fact that it didn’t go straight to Peacock or another streamer was a good sign that it wouldn’t fall into the first category. Heck, the two leads are attractive white people, which shouldn’t be noteworthy, but it is. However, given the climate alarmism that’s infected just about genre film, it seemed like a shoe-in that Twisters would take a stance. In fact, when it was first announced everyone assumed that a weather-themed film would be nothing but a long lecture on how humans, with their cars and cows, are to blame.

Mother Earth is angry.

To everyone’s surprise, except for a passing remark early on about increasingly erratic weather, Twisters doesn’t go there, and the planet isn’t personified. Our main characters are scientists, and not in the self-righteous, Neil deGrasse Tyson way. No, they’re enthusiastic, inquisitive, and hopeful. Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) has a wound, Tyler (Glen Powell) needs to learn humility, and Javi (Anthony Ramos) has made mistakes, but no one is perfect.

Let me say that again: NO ONE IS PERFECT!

On the one hand, I want to commend Twisters for its understated approach. The assumption of the changing climate is put out there, and then they move onto the story. There’s subtle patriotism and respect given to small-town America, but we’re never hit over the head with it. But on the other hand, “understated” is sometimes just another way of saying “played it too safe.” This is most glaring in the resolution of the love story, or lack thereof. Kate and Tyler are clearly attracted to each other and have good chemistry. But the movie stops just short of a classic, Hollywood kiss. 

Disaster movies should never play it safe.

Ultimately, I think Twisters is a step in the right direction. It’s a cautious, hesitant step back into making movies that are just entertainment. We’re not back to the 90s yet, when Twister could be unapologetically fun, romantic, and absurd. And we’re certainly not back to the 50s when a movie could affirm heartland virtues without pandering. But Twisters shows us a beautiful section of America that’s been neglected for far too long, with decent people doing their best to enjoy life. 

And the country music soundtrack is really good. 

By now you should know my metric for a good movie is beautiful people in exotic places doing exciting things. Twisters checks all the boxes. Yes, Oklahoma can exotic! I like the movie. I like it quite a bit. No, it’s far from perfect. But if it’s a success maybe we’re one step closer to making movies fun again. 

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Girl-Power Isn't the Problem: Stop Treating Movies Like TV Pilots

Last weekend I was able to sneak off the theater for a screening of From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. Did I feel silly, telling the high school girl at the ticket counter, “One for Ballerina, and a small drink”? Well, not in the moment. 

I probably drank a liter of cherry vanilla Coke Zero, and that didn’t feel so great.

Plenty of box office analysts and Hollywood types are wracking their brains, trying to figure out why movies like Furiosa and Ballerina aren’t drawing huge crowds. Mad Max and John Wick are popular franchises, but apparently telling the stories of the women in those worlds isn’t working. Even if the movies are pretty good.

I’ve seen both, and they’re pretty good.

Some are arguing that no one will go near a movie that looks like it’s feminist girl-bossing. Others counter that movies like Alien and Kill Bill are female-led action films that were successful. Now, I’m not going to say that Ballerina is on par with those modern day classics. But I will say that, as a man watching the movie, it didn’t offend me. The movie never challenged me to confront any internalized misogyny. The small girl doesn’t take down John Wick in hand-to-hand combat.

Honestly, if you like franchise, whether you’re male or female, you should watch Ballerina.

In short, from a purely cinematic experience perspective, neither Furiosa nor Ballerina would be any better or worse with a male lead. Maybe that’s a hot take. But that’s mine, for whatever it’s worth. Well, okay, I wouldn’t watch a movie called Ballerina if it stared a dude. Nevertheless, I think you get my point. Petite women warriors aside, the plots and action are exactly as expected.

So what’s the deal?

Well, what no one seems to have noticed is that Ripley and The Bride weren’t replacing anyone. As we were watching their movies for the first time, we weren’t thinking about other characters for whom we already had a preference. Movies are more like TV than TV right now, and replacement characters have always been a hard sell, regardless of gender. We all remember Sam and Diane. Who still talks about Sam and Rebecca (even though Kirstie Alley won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the part)? I had to look up her name. 

No, they aren’t technically replacing them. It’s a spin-off, set in the same world.

Spin-offs tend to succeed when the characters are already well established (eg: Frasier). Furiosa and Ballerina are more like backdoor pilots, where new characters are dropped in for a single episode to sell us on the idea of a new show. This technique is very hit and miss on TV, and I can’t think of a single example of this working in a movie franchise. Film and television are very different mediums, and should be treated as such.

Still, if it doesn’t work on TV, it’s probably not gonna work at the movies. Not where new characters and spin-offs are concerned. 

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Going Back to 1995

Maybe I’m just getting old, but it doesn’t feel like we had the thriving and distinct pop culture of past generations. Has there been a look or stye, or feeling, that defines this moment? Everything seems to have stagnated for the last twenty years. And it’s not as if I don’t pay attention. 

It’s making me nostalgic. 

Consequently, for the rest of the year, I’m prioritizing movies from 1995, the year I was twelve. At that time, my family didn’t really go to the theater, and when we did rent VHS tapes, more often than it is was older Disney movies or entirely forgettable Christian titles. Now that I’ve grown tired of trying to keep up with new releases, not there’s much worth watching anyway, it feels like a good time to catch up on those 30 year old movies that have become ingrained in what’s left of our pop culture.

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Some of these are movies I’ve seen before, but not in a long time. Others will be first time watches for me. There’s really no rhyme or reason to what I put on my list. It’s just movies that either interest me, or are currently in my collection, sadly unwatched. As things become available on streaming, I may add to the list. And if I don’t get to everything before the end of the year, no big deal.

Hopefully, they aren’t going anywhere. 

I’ll be posting some reviews and analysis as I go, so be sure to follow me here. 

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Ironheart and Superman: A Failure to Launch

Yesterday two trailers were released for upcoming superhero projects. First, we had Marvel's Ironheart, which Disney has been sitting on for years at this point. Apparently it follows Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a young black woman at MIT who is (was?) intended to take over for Tony Stark as Ironwhathaveyou. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, take a look.

I stopped paying too much attention to the MCU a long time ago, but apparently Riri was introduced in Wakanda Forever, and her fans have been clamoring for a standalone show ever since (/sarcasm). Watching the trailer, I can't help but notice how many times we're told she's smart and capable. Any suggestion that she can't do something is shot down immediately. We're supposed to believe that The System is against is her because she's poor, I guess, and doesn't have Tony Stark's advantages.

Remember Tony Stark? Sure, he was rich. But he was also a self-absorbed man-child who found himself in a cave in Afghanistan who had to engineer his own escape with scrap parts. Tony Stark, who had to learn about self-sacrifice and the consequences of his actions. Robert Downey Jr. make us like the guy, with his easy charm, even though we wanted to see him grow up. There was room for a character arc. No offence to Dominique, but she doesn't have the charm, and her character clearly has nowhere to go.

A few hours later, Warner Bros./DC released the trailer for James Gunn's Superman, the latest reboot of the iconic superhero. We've been waiting for a good Superman for a long time. Something to reunite the fans, the casually interested, and possibly the entire country. And to be honest, I don't think this is gonna do it. Take a look.

Before I go any further, I want to spin my theory on the interview scene, which is a little different from what I'm hearing from most anyone else. Notice how David Corenswet pitches his voice really high when he says, "Sure!" At this point in the movie, I don't think Lois (Rachel Brasnahan) knows that Clark is Superman, and thinks he's just playacting. But when Clark drops his voice, he's showing his cards a little bit. Then, when he completely loses his cool, he's just acting how Lois thinks Superman would respond. In context (the scene is reportedly ten minutes long!), it might be interesting. Out of context, in a trailer, it's a stupid decision.

Throughout the entire trailer we see Superman smacked around, knocked out, screaming out in self-defense, and made fun of for having a dog. There are some super-heroics, to be sure, but they're mitigated by the overwhelming amount of thrashing he takes. Unlike Riri, I guess he's got some room for growth. But it doesn't inspire me to see the movie. Some are defending this approach, suggesting that someone with such a clear cut understanding of right and wrong would be frustrated and confused by our complex, political climate. And I agree. But his moral compass and grace towards an unfair world should have been set before leaving Smallville and going out into the world.

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