Tuesday, April 29, 2014

April Surprise

Hello-Ween!!!

     OK, not really. But, in exactly 6 months it will be October 1st, and that means horror films. And since I'm growing impatient, I've decided to do a 'Christmas in July' (so to speak).
It's not an actual horror film, but a documentary exploring one horror film in particular. The film itself is less a horror film than a thrilling suspense feature. And the documentary this film is centered around?

The Shining

The doc's title?



     Yeah, The Shining is the big daddy of horror films, despite being as far removed from that genre as you could get and there's been little debate about that. As far as I'm concerned, the debate ended after the first time I saw it. No, it's really not a horror film, but it IS a Stanley Kubrick film and that in itself opens the door to a laundry list of cerebral interpretations.
     And speaking of that, there's myriad of different explanations and meanings of that movie. If 9/11 were a movie, this would be the follow-up study on the film, frame by frame. Watching this, you'll bare witness to some of the weakest and wackiest crackpot theories, as well as some rather compelling ones. Some link the movie to the Apollo 11 moon landings and Kubrick's involvement in the faking of it. Another links it to Native Americans and how The White Man destroyed their culture. Those are the 2 main views and probably the most realistic. But that's not really saying much, as it's like finding the sanest person in an insane asylum. They're still insane
     Truthfully, I didn't buy into any of them, and I find most of the views silly and reaching. The few that had compelling theories were still chock full of unbridled speculation. And while the nit-picking seemed contrived, it should be noted that Kubrick had control over every line, every scene, and every bit of background. Truly, nothing was in a scene without his microscopic over-examination. While you were watching his movie, you were in his world, under his control. And THAT attention to detail is why some of the scenes do bring up some questions. For example, why does the typewriter change colors, why does furniture disappear in the same scene, why is the TV missing a power cord? These are all details that Kubrick wouldn't normally overlook and that's the only thing I found intriguing. He's wasn't known to make mistakes like this and most likely, they weren't.
     I'll admit you have to be in the right state of mind to watch this, but I do think it's worth your time if you have ever seen The Shining. No, none of your questions about the film will be answered and sadly, more will be risen. Things you never noticed after multiple viewings will be noted throughout the documentary and will leave you boggled.
     My only real complaint? The overuse of scenes from Eyes Wide Shut. It's bad enough that movie was terrible, but why the hell would you use cut scenes from that film (the same ones over and over, I might add) to examine the Shining and subsequently use them as examples? The affair runs 104 minutes and I understand that you might fall back on filler considering the entire film is dialog, but why of all films did it have to be EWS?!? 2 films that have absolutely NOTHING in common save the director.

This never makes sense. Ever. 
     Maybe at times you'll find this movie the equivalent of people-watching in a mall, but I'm glad someone took the time to compile all the info and theories...even if they're all bunk.

See you on Oct. 1st!!!!  

....bring movies......                                 

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