tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post7236776570638542780..comments2024-03-27T15:36:10.416-07:00Comments on Film Reviews from Two Guys in the Dark: Midnight Special and Everybody Wants Some!!Ken Burke; Pat Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-51827932403750471732016-05-08T18:21:19.734-07:002016-05-08T18:21:19.734-07:00Hi rj, Thanks as always for your contributions. I...Hi rj, Thanks as always for your contributions. I certainly agree that much of what we see in <i>Everybody Wants Some</i> matches the actual characteristics of the school and locale of what's now called Texas State as well as the bull riding at Gilley's; thanks as well for the <i>NY Times</i> link, well-explored and wonderfully-wordy. KenKen Burke; Pat Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-71867532403315180072016-05-05T10:35:34.370-07:002016-05-05T10:35:34.370-07:00Just caught Everybody Wants Some primarily because...Just caught <i>Everybody Wants Some</i> primarily because of it's reported <i>Boyhood</i> connection and also due to a continuing drought of decent cinematic options in our amazingly cool and wet Texas springtime. My take was again similar to yours, although I kept thinking their fictional "Southeast Texas State" was actually San Marcos' "Southwest Texas State" (now Texas State). San Marcos has the nice tubing river with Live Oak canopy immediately adjacent to the campus. According to the credits (which have extra footage at the end), the film was shot in Bastrop, San Marcos and Austin while Linklater himself was a baseball player in Huntsville's Sam Houston State, a far north suburb of Houston with little hill country charisma. The country bar with the mechanical bull was obviously a takeoff of Gilley's in southeast Houston. Personally, I don't remember any freshmen quite as well read as some of the characters; perhaps Linklater was the exception. Overall a mild diversion but not quite up to Linklater's best. A more positive (and equally wordy) review: <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/richard-linklater-portrays-the-mentality-of-an-athlete-in-everybody-wants-some" rel="nofollow">here</a>.rjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13025728540081089210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-26954256754778252482016-04-14T17:15:28.175-07:002016-04-14T17:15:28.175-07:00Hi rj, Thanks for the comments and compliment (I a...Hi rj, Thanks for the comments and compliment (I agree that the other films you've noted here are great ones as well, all of them solid favorites of mine too). You're correct on the ultimate emptiness of special-effects-laden superhero movies also, although I'm still in a bit of a rejoicing mode to see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc. just because they're the ones I grew up with rather than the Marvel bunch who've dominated the screen in recent years, but they'll quickly get tiresome too unless they can rise to the level of <i>The Dark Knight</i>. KenKen Burke; Pat Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18358623927080966157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2925606367227514818.post-7272763618036120312016-04-14T05:17:57.583-07:002016-04-14T05:17:57.583-07:00Nice paper on Midnight Special (can't really c...Nice paper on <i>Midnight Special</i> (can't really call these <i>treatises</i> normal movie reviews). I agree 100% with your take on this one. I would add that the film's rather poor title probably cost it millions (anyone remember Helen Reddy and Wolfman Jack introducing lipsyncing "stars" on tv's Midnight Special?). <br /><br />I may not have gone to this film at all if not for the dearth of options and <i>Special's</i> decent one line reviews and meta ratings (a case for critics again). I also thought the last act was too predictable, especially coming soon after Cloverfield 10 which had an equally interesting buildup and largely "expected" aliens at the end. The classic scifi films you somewhat backhandedly compared it to are all great examples of excellent scifi storytelling. <br /><br />E.T., Starman, 2001, and The Day the Earth Stood Still, all join my list along with the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing and maybe even Back to the Future. Low tech but effective screenwriting in each. <br /><br />Certainly Batman and Superman movies are guaranteed money makers crossing generation lines (how many films attract six and sixty year olds) but that does not make the special effects extravagances into classics or any less tiresome. Now we are getting "Civil War" where Captain America is deemed too rouge and powerful (where I have seen that recently?). The producers apparently synchronize their plots even before release these days. Midnight Special could have been more, but as is, it is enough for a decent <i>Matinee Special</i>. rjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13025728540081089210noreply@blogger.com