the Internet has become such a vast land of film criticism that few films completely escape the wrath of critical scrutiny even if the popular consensus happens to lean in the “wrong” direction. Nonetheless, in the end I enjoy writing about the year in film, so far be it for me to cheat myself out of some arbitrary concern for maintaining the proverbial higher ground. So, in alphabetical order as always, let’s dive right in… Brave (review/guest essay): Had this not been Pixar’s first animated feature with a female lead, had this not been marketed within the context that Princess Merida was a kind of sword-wielding/bow-clutching warrior, the the film would have been seen for what it is: a deeply problematic character drama that ignores the icky realities at the center of its tale in order to tell an audience-reassuring mother/daughter story. The film basically tells the same character arc as The Little Mermaid but was declared a feminist milestone because the female lead A) carried a weapon and B) didn’t want to get married. But good intentions cannot get past a story line that treats mother and daughter as equally culpable even when one party is advocating forced marriage. Make no mistake, say what you will about ‘customs of the time’ or ‘arranged marriage versus forced marriage’, the film tells a story of a child who doesn’t want to get married to (and yes, have sex with) a man she doesn’t know and treats it like a minor inconvenience. There is a clear right and wrong here, but the film absolves the father of any responsibility while basically stating that the mother (who again, wants her daughter to have sex against her will) kinda-sorta has a point and that the daughter really needs to have empathy for her dear-old mum. The Dark Knight Rises (review/spoiler review): Giving this film a Best Picture nomination because The Dark Knight was snubbed is like nominating Quantum of Solace to avenge Casino Royale’s Oscar snub. Make no mistake, despite some pretty terrific acting by all parties (Anne Hathaway nearly steals the movie while Michael Caine is terrific in his brief screen time), The Dark Knight Rises is truly the Godfather part III of the series. It’s needless third chapter following a rather perfect two-film rise/fall arc. It seems all-but-obvious that Chris Nolan truly didn’t want to come back and was crippled [...]
