Yep - screw you - I saw it by myself in a theater packed with women. I do not happen to fly on a different angle and I don't particularly have any interest in watching men take off their clothes, let alone Channing Tatum, but I do appreciate good cinema and let me tell you this is the good stuff.
Many will resent this notion but I think to truly recognize the greatness of certain films (and really of all art in general) you need to have a broad range of artistic experience, taste, erudition and intelligence to be able to identify that what you are seeing is something unique and special. Soderbergh fans should be well suited to his style by now and enjoy the film very much. Your average teen might like the dancing scenes but will probably have a difficult time liking the rest of it.
Channing Tatum - a good actor? This I cannot yet tell but most likely you will not see a better version of him anywhere else - Soderbergh got the best out of him. Many of the lines felt like screw-ups and were probably just left in - the film really benefits from it - the screenplay felt so authentic and genuine. The color and look of the film really transports you to Florida. It's hazy and flush with summery hues. The dance scenes are spectacular and somehow not degraded by gratuitous closeups or skin exposure, however, trust me, no female will be disappointed in the sheer length and time spent on good looking shirtless men. Soderbergh has a gift for taking marketable subjects like hot actor male strippers and deliver the goods without cheapening them, all the while respecting his audience's intelligence. He is equally adept at bizarre small indie movies as well as enormous budget extravaganzas - can anyone else do this so well and seamlessly? I don't love everything he directs like The Good German, Haywire or Che but he has enamored me by nearly everything else from Bubble to Ocean's 11 to Contagion. He is certainly is one of the most talented and greatest living filmmakers. Please keep making films. Watch out for the penis pump!
Recommended Viewing: Bubble - The Informant! - Contagion
Bob Scale: Objective: 8.5 - Subjective: 8.5
MetaCritic: 72
Rotten Tomatoes: 79
No comments:
Post a Comment