![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Coyote Cinema: The Book Thief
Dec. 8th, 2013 01:51 pmDear Book Thief:
I knew, going in, that you had all the feels. How could you not? Angel faced girl fighting Nazis with the power of words? srsly. I was a bit worried, because this has all the ingredients for off-the-rails mawkish histrionics. And if you give me that, then I want some punching Nazis in the face. But the story was subtle and nuanced, the characters (save the young stooge) had depth, and things didn't always go where I expected.
Yes, there were a lot of familiar tropes, some in fact looking a bit shopworn, and things occasionally got a bit oversweet, but it mostly felt real. Which is good, because it could have easily been a *very* long movie. Really, your biggest sin was the smug treacly framing device, which could have been carved out and not missed even a little.
So yes, four art house wags.
And now let me speak of another matter. Winter's Tale (why is this not based on a Nick Sparks novel??), Heaven Is Real (at last, the heartwarming story of a boy who went to heaven and just wants to tell people how lovely it is despite their mean attempts to stop him), and Endless Love (the less said, the better, trust me). And just when I was setting my canon toward self slaughter.... they showed the trailer for The Grand Budapest Hotel. OMG. It's the new Wes Anderson joint, so that's a thing. The cast* looks delicious. And I laughed a lot through the trailer.
*Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, Bill Murray, and Edward Norton.
I knew, going in, that you had all the feels. How could you not? Angel faced girl fighting Nazis with the power of words? srsly. I was a bit worried, because this has all the ingredients for off-the-rails mawkish histrionics. And if you give me that, then I want some punching Nazis in the face. But the story was subtle and nuanced, the characters (save the young stooge) had depth, and things didn't always go where I expected.
Yes, there were a lot of familiar tropes, some in fact looking a bit shopworn, and things occasionally got a bit oversweet, but it mostly felt real. Which is good, because it could have easily been a *very* long movie. Really, your biggest sin was the smug treacly framing device, which could have been carved out and not missed even a little.
So yes, four art house wags.
And now let me speak of another matter. Winter's Tale (why is this not based on a Nick Sparks novel??), Heaven Is Real (at last, the heartwarming story of a boy who went to heaven and just wants to tell people how lovely it is despite their mean attempts to stop him), and Endless Love (the less said, the better, trust me). And just when I was setting my canon toward self slaughter.... they showed the trailer for The Grand Budapest Hotel. OMG. It's the new Wes Anderson joint, so that's a thing. The cast* looks delicious. And I laughed a lot through the trailer.
*Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Tilda Swinton, Jude Law, Bill Murray, and Edward Norton.