The Gibson Revue: Re-cap
This site’s first ever movie marathon took place Saturday afternoon and, while the group may have been small, great fun was had by all, making the event a success for those who were able to attend. For this marathon, I chose three films that featured characters who were loners at the start of the story and gradually became a part of something by the time the screen faded to black.
The day started off with True Grit, the classic John Wayne film that’s being remade by The Coen Brothers for this December. While I had issues with the performance by lead actress Kim Darby and I felt the movie failed to live up to the story’s potential, the group seemed to enjoy the film overall for John Wayne’s performance and were pleasantly surprised to see appearances by Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall. There were even some remarks on how striking the picture quality was for it being a DVD and not a Blu-Ray.
The crown jewel of the event turned out to be the Swedish film Let the Right One In. When I first started organizing this marathon this was the movie I knew I had to include, no matter what. I’m glad I did. The audience had either never seen or heard of this film. Those that had heard of it knew nearly nothing about it. While I like to fill the audience in on some background or other non-spoilery information as I introduce a film, I felt it was important to leave the audience’s slate clean for this particular film. It turned out to be the right thing to do, as some thought it helped their experience of the film. The audience unanimously praised Let the Right On In for its photography, pacing, and intimacy – all of which made it a stand-out in its genre, while also embracing the genre’s mythology. Those who were able to make the screening to this film seemed to feel very fortunate for it.
Finally, the third film in the marathon, Zombieland, because the day should go out on a high note. Most of the audience, of course, had seen this film already, but were eager to experience its roller-coaster zombie-killing debauchery once again. While there isn’t much to be said about a film like Zombieland, it was interesting that the audience felt its theme was inconsistent and the film lacked substance as a whole. But they still thought it was a complete blast and a great way to end the day.
The discussions after each film even seemed to go rather smoothly, with great perspectives and observations provided by all.
Thank you to those who attended (and stayed). Your support and feedback is greatly appreciated. For those of you who were unable to attend, keep an eye out in coming months as this proved to be enough of a success and garnered enough interest for a future event during those cold winter days.
The day started off with True Grit, the classic John Wayne film that’s being remade by The Coen Brothers for this December. While I had issues with the performance by lead actress Kim Darby and I felt the movie failed to live up to the story’s potential, the group seemed to enjoy the film overall for John Wayne’s performance and were pleasantly surprised to see appearances by Dennis Hopper and Robert Duvall. There were even some remarks on how striking the picture quality was for it being a DVD and not a Blu-Ray.
The crown jewel of the event turned out to be the Swedish film Let the Right One In. When I first started organizing this marathon this was the movie I knew I had to include, no matter what. I’m glad I did. The audience had either never seen or heard of this film. Those that had heard of it knew nearly nothing about it. While I like to fill the audience in on some background or other non-spoilery information as I introduce a film, I felt it was important to leave the audience’s slate clean for this particular film. It turned out to be the right thing to do, as some thought it helped their experience of the film. The audience unanimously praised Let the Right On In for its photography, pacing, and intimacy – all of which made it a stand-out in its genre, while also embracing the genre’s mythology. Those who were able to make the screening to this film seemed to feel very fortunate for it.
Finally, the third film in the marathon, Zombieland, because the day should go out on a high note. Most of the audience, of course, had seen this film already, but were eager to experience its roller-coaster zombie-killing debauchery once again. While there isn’t much to be said about a film like Zombieland, it was interesting that the audience felt its theme was inconsistent and the film lacked substance as a whole. But they still thought it was a complete blast and a great way to end the day.
The discussions after each film even seemed to go rather smoothly, with great perspectives and observations provided by all.
Thank you to those who attended (and stayed). Your support and feedback is greatly appreciated. For those of you who were unable to attend, keep an eye out in coming months as this proved to be enough of a success and garnered enough interest for a future event during those cold winter days.