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firecatVery clever of Hugo Weaving to get away from his face's being typecast as "Mr. Smith" by doing his next role entirely behind a mask.
I overall liked the movie although I thought it tried to do a bit too much. That is, I felt covered with a lot of loose ends afterward. And I didn't like the ending - I understand that they had to do something for the entertainment of all those people who showed up (as
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kyubi said to me afterward), but it's not like the whole thing was the building's fault.And of course there were plot holes large enough to drive tube cars through, but that's typical of the genre.
I am suspicious of action movies that purport to contain political messages, because I think watching an action movie is cathartic and bleeds off anger, and so doesn't reinforce the urge a person might have to actually take political action. So despite all the political trappings of this movie, I have to recommend it as entertainment only.
Oh yeah - as far as I recall, it doesn't pass the Bechdel Ginger Benchmark. [sigh]
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Date: 24 Mar 2006 07:16 pm (UTC)I'm intrigued by your take on Hugo Weaving in this role. I've never felt he was typecast, personally. He's been in six movies that have become a seemingly inextricable part of modern culture; being a fan of both series probably affects my view of his career. (And I'm dissolving into handwaving at this point, and can't really spend that much time at work making that turn into words, so I'll stop now. *grin*)
Except for this postscript. ;-)
Date: 24 Mar 2006 07:17 pm (UTC)Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 24 Mar 2006 07:48 pm (UTC)Now i'm more curious.
Re: Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 24 Mar 2006 08:32 pm (UTC)"one, it has to have at least two women in it, who
two, talk to each other about,
three, something besides a man."
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Date: 24 Mar 2006 08:55 pm (UTC)I'm not sure that appearing in a mask will help that, though. But the terribleness of the sequels seem to have knocked The Matrix down several pegs in the "cultural icon" stakes, so maybe time will do the job.
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Date: 24 Mar 2006 09:20 pm (UTC)I can't look at Hugo Weaving in LoTR without thinking "Mr Smith"; maybe I'm the only one.
Re: Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 24 Mar 2006 09:22 pm (UTC)/me needs a DTWOF icon.
Re: Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 24 Mar 2006 09:23 pm (UTC)Re: Except for this postscript. ;-)
Date: 24 Mar 2006 09:28 pm (UTC)I'm going to read the original soon. I didn't want to read it before seeing the movie, because when I do that, I spend most of my time being annoyed at the movie for not being like the novel.
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Date: 24 Mar 2006 09:35 pm (UTC)And this isn't to say that things like
(Of course, one of these years I'm finally going to get around to seeing Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and really break my brain. *grin*)
Re: Except for this postscript. ;-)
Date: 24 Mar 2006 09:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 24 Mar 2006 09:50 pm (UTC)Ask and you shall receive...
Date: 24 Mar 2006 11:18 pm (UTC)http://community.livejournal.com/dykes2watchout4/41271.html
;)
Re: Ask and you shall receive...
Date: 24 Mar 2006 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 25 Mar 2006 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 25 Mar 2006 02:15 am (UTC)Re: Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 25 Mar 2006 03:17 am (UTC)1. It's from an era in which none of the eventually recurring characters was around.
2. She just looks wrong: body type, face, mannerisms; none says Ginger to me. Bechdel's style has changed over time, but early characters still look like later ones to me.
3. Parsimoniously, I think the blog post I linked would say so if she were. It just says "not Mo" instead of "that's Ginger, you dork."
Re: Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 25 Mar 2006 04:29 am (UTC)Hmph. Now what am I going to call it?
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Date: 25 Mar 2006 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 25 Mar 2006 05:11 am (UTC)Re: Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 25 Mar 2006 05:47 pm (UTC)Re: Bechdel Ginger Benchmark
Date: 26 Mar 2006 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1 Apr 2006 06:40 am (UTC)So by the time I saw The Matrix, it was "oh, that's Hugo Weaving", whereas I imagine for a lot of non-Australians, that's the first thing they ever saw him in, and he became Agent Smith. It is a very memorable role, and he does play it well, but I much prefer having known him as an actor well beforehand.
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Date: 1 Apr 2006 07:00 am (UTC)I saw Priscilla before Matrix, but it had been a sufficiently long time (and I'm sufficiently bad at remembering actors) that I didn't recognize Weaving.
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Date: 1 Apr 2006 07:46 am (UTC)I was just idly wondering about the fact that from the point of view of The Matrix having Agent Smith played by a skilled actor with a distinctive voice and look, but unfamiliar to the majority of the audience, is a huge advantage, but from the point of view of Hugo Weaving, not so much.
Back to topic - I did actually see V for Vendetta last weekend and was going to write a review. I didn't explicitly think of the Bechdel test, but I did notice the relative lack of women - in some sense, Natalie Portman is carrying a heck of a burden, and it might have been nice to share the load a bit.
(Oh, overall, I liked it, very much so, I think.)
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Date: 1 Apr 2006 05:32 pm (UTC)Well said, yeah.
Look forward to your review!