nobody showed me how to do this

-

Sometimes I have very little interest in writing about film because film reminds me of life and life is, of course, more important. I saw Creed tonight (and I'll offer up a brief review in a moment) and it got me thinking about my pet subject here since the Groundhog Day days--identity, how we choose (or don't choose) to be who we are. Creed hinges on both identity and the much simpler--or far more complicated--Hamletian dilemma, "to be or not to be." Or, on a more literal level within this story, "to fight or not to fight." To fight in the ring or--and, not this is not much of a SPOILER because trailers already gave away the film's second "pinch"--to fight cancer.

The film hits the same basic beats as the original Rocky, with a few nice echoes of beats from other films in the franchise--notably Rocky III and Rocky IV... probably the others as well, but I have seen those two entries more times than the others, so I am more familiar, and can more readily recognize nods to those stories. If you do not know the premise, Adonis "Donnie" Creed nee Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), illegitimate son to the late Apollo Creed moves to Philadelphia to get Rocky (Sylvester Stallone, in an occasionally painful (in a good way) performance) to train him to fight legitimately--he's been fighting in backroom fights in Mexico and really, that's the heart of the story--Donnie looking for legitimacy and acceptance from a father he never knew, Rocky looking for family when he no longer has anyone. These men find their selves in (and around) the ring. The good thing--and I think I remember them already heading this direction in Rocky Balboa--is that Rocky no longer resides in a mansion, and Donnie quickly abandons his own (he has been raised for half his life by Apollo's wife (Phylicia Rashad)). The movie sets itself in the Philly of the original, in old gyms, in dingy apartments, in the streets. It mostly keeps itself honest to its story and you may get the sense that, like in the original, Donnie may actually lose his big fight in the third act.

I will not SPOIL it. Even though, like many a sports film, it would not be very much ruined by SPOILERS.

What interests me tonight is not the film itself but the...

I'm thinking about self. About my self. We're coming up on December next week and soon people will be making New Year's Resolutions. I don't make those, but I do make new week's resolutions, new day's resolutions. I make plans to change who I am for the better, and I usually just end up maintaining the man I've become lately. Take this morning, for instance. I woke up ready for the day, had some energy and didn't mind that my usual stop before my 8am classes--Starbucks--had no parking spaces, just drove on past, got on the freeway and headed for school. Figured--along the way--who needs caffeine anyway? New Day's Resolution: taking a break from caffeine. The quarter's almost over, then winter break, time to get some sleep and relax. But, I get to campus and walk past the Starbucks there and the line is short for a change, and soon as can be I'm drinking down some caffeine in my office and forgetting all about the new me.

Not that the current old me is all that bad.

And, I like the setup in this phase three of the blog, choosing movies as I go, choosing me as I go. I can watch Ex Machina for 1 2 3 4 5 6 days, or watch some old 80s movie that has not stood the test of time--I'm looking at you, Wisdom--or a new movie in the theater, and the thing is, I do not need to invent a theme and find movies that fit it. Every movie fits every theme. Every theme fits every movie. It's simple.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

la fille que j'aimera sera comme bon vin

-
Image
Phil Connors doesn’t speak French. While it might be reasonable to assume Phil does learn to play piano beyond the two songs we hear him play since this is at the point he is actually trying to better himself and affect the world around him in a positive way, the French bit is much earlier. It also comes from a bit in Rubin’s original screenplay, not with Rita but with “Tess Harper—Jefferson County Poetry Society.” Basically, it’s a clear example of Phil doing the same thing he does with Nancy in the movie; he makes stuff up to get what he wants. This is only Day 10 . He hasn’t gotten to the depression that arguably makes him realize he’s an actual human being like everyone else around him… I just realized, this also means he’s probably lying when he says, “Small town people are more real, more down-to-earth.” Later, he might actually believe it. But, at this point, each line is just a move to win over Rita. Anyway, in the original screenplay, Phil meets Tess like he meets Mary in
Read more

i've seen it over a hundred times

-
Image
As I write this, it’s Day 2 for Phil Connors on the DVD and my daughters are in the kitchen making a cake to celebrate Day 100 for me... photo should be below. The movie Phil had seen over 100 times (or so he tells Laraine) was Heidi II . It’s a “family classic” according to the Alpine Theater’s marquee. But, as I’ve mentioned before, it doesn’t exist. Originally, the movie that Phil could see every day if he wanted to do so was It’s a Wonderful Life . Danny Rubin’s ego—and this is his suggestion, not mine—made him believe Groundhog Day “a timeless quality and had the potential to become a film that could work for audiences for a very long time.” So, he put another such film on the marquee. But, “even believing that Groundhog Day was a potential classic, [Rubin] never was thinking of comparing it to It’s a Wonderful Life “— (I’d say putting that title on the marquee was Rubin deliberately comparing the two, but maybe that’s just me.) . Rubin continues: “But the similarities bet
Read more

the wretch, concentred all in self

-
So, Rita thinks Phil’s defining characteristic is his egocentrism. At the point in the story that she quotes Sir Walter Scott, it’s Day 4 for Phil (See the previous entry for a list of Phil’s days) and I wouldn’t argue that he isn’t egocentric. He’s still a jerk, taking advantage of his situation for fun. He’s manipulated Nancy for sex, has gone out on his costumed date to see Heidi II with the woman in the French maid costume. He’s just figured out the whole lack-of-consequences side of things with the help of Ralph and Gus. And, he’s sitting around loading up on, well, probably every dessert the Tip Top Café offers. His focus at this point is very much himself. But, a closer look at the lines Rita quotes got me to thinking, is Phil the man unsung by minstrels because he’s too self-centered? What Rita quotes is some lines from Canto VI of Sir Walter Scott’s “The Lay of the Last Minstrel.” The larger poem involves some clans at war with one another, but this particular section invol
Read more