One of my favorite things to do in LA is to grab the standard movie crew and hit a midnight show at the Arclight (I mean here’s my extra dollar for assigned seats thank you very much. Who wants to stand next to a rank hardcore comic fan who’s sat on the concrete since 6pm? Not me thanks.) and last night was an adventure. 2012, the new action end of the world movie from Roland Emmerich, was fun ride on the repent train. Special affects were pretty great but you will really enjoy them if you live in any of the cities that get jacked (Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Las Vegas, Beijing, Delhi) because it looks so real that you’re going to check the next time you hit the highway. I suppose you can do anything with lots of money (thus my chief argument against Yankee haters) but you’re supposed to do anything with lots of money. If you’ve got the budget, why wouldn’t you go all the way and do/get the best? Will these special effects change my life? No but they really did make me squirm a bit which is kind of hard to do unless we’re talking insects and then well, I’m cheap.
There are the two classic storylines that run parallel (yes, I know I’m not practicing my art of being an audience member here but I had enough space in my head to do this critique because the script was just eh unlike the visuals which were DAMN!) - your A line which is that the earth’s core is heating up so that the crust of the earth can shift and make Wisconsin the new South Pole. Bamn. Then there’s the B line which is John Cusack trying to get his dysfunctional family (including his wife’s new beau and a couple of other stragglers) on the big ship so they can live even though they don’t have the one billion euros it costs for the ticket. Shenanigans ensue. Danny Glover does not play old Obama but he does play a black president which is still fun to see because we’ve spent a helluva long time not seeing anything other than white guys (we can get a woman every now and then and hopefully that will increase soon cause that’s fun too - scare the hell out of those teabaggers is what I say - sidebar: if they are so scared then how come they’re going to see movies that make a lot of money with all kind of liberal messaging? They have to be going because these movies are making plus twenty million a weekend and that can’t be ALL dems and liberals…sidebar done).
Anyways, yes there’s some stuff about what being human is when there’s a crisis and preventing anarchy during natural disasters. I have to say it totally made me think about how to prepare if I see a big tidal wave coming towards me and the BF. I assumed for a long time death would come with a last minute calm but hell I’m sure I’d scream and totally waste my moments that should be spent saying “I love you” and “I’m at peace with my path.” Maybe I’ll compromise and scream those things. Anyways, you’ve kind of seen this movie if you’ve seen “The Day After Tomorrow” but it’s got a slightly different twist and different people so if you don’t have anything to do for two hours and forty-five minutes, just go along for the ride.
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I think “Love Actually” could save humanity. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating but there’s literally something in that wonderful movie for everyone and if you don’t like it then maybe you should do some soul searching in the mirror some time in the mornings before your coffee self arrives into the world.
It would be zero surprise then that I would think “Pirate Radio” a really fun enjoyable experience given the makers of “Love Actually” created this gem of a movie that makes a great story about rock and roll in the UK during the 60s via fabled Robin Hood and his Merry Men shenanigans.
The movie opens with all of the UK already in love with this group of bumbling DJs who broadcast 24/7 from a boat off the shores of England. Each DJ has their own unique gift to the legend of rock and roll, all quite hysterical and distinct. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the lone legendary American “The Count” who’s love for rock and roll could nearly kill him. Billy Nighy is the leader of the gang with his quirky old man contribution, responsible for keeping the Pirate Radio airwaves afloat. Rhys Ifans (whom I loved in “Notting Hill”) plays the pure sex DJ legend “Gavin.” Tom Sturridge is the teenage “Carl” the newby who’s been freshly kicked out of school and sent to live among the merry men of the Pirate Radio ship. We experience getting to know each DJ through Carl who attempts to survive their fumbling reckless lifestyle in his own way while stumbling upon his own youthful life questions.
I love movies that have music as the main character because music more than most things can unite many of us as we all have our own interpretation and memory attached to any given song that is completely unique to us. The one that that unifies is our love and familiarity for that song with our moment, thus all of us standing there bringing together all sorts of depth to a song that just began as beat or a hum in some body’s head. This movie is a tribute to those who love rock and roll so much that you’d be willing to break laws, yours and others, to stand up for what you believe in. The moments of discovery in this movie aren’t so unique but they are rewarding and heart healthy.
In a time where film is in such a transition, it’s really great to see a movie that can allow you to escape for your plus hour and a half without you looking at your watch or wondering what the hell is going on. Being in the arts and living in Hollywood, I see it when people here go to a movie and don’t enjoy it like an audience member. They’re either actors, writers, directors, hardcore fans who will argue the facts or people who go to the movies just because they’ve got nothing else to do. The art of being an audience member is getting lost, my friends and it’s sad to see. Hopefully this movie will do well and do its part to restore that art. Let yourself go with the album cover montage which I found incredibly well balanced and not just a bunch of Dylan, Springsteen or Hendrix.
Enjoy it!