bleh

It was only a matter of time before I hit a lull in my Netflix viewing extravaganza as films like The Kingdom of Heaven, Proof, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, etc. have proven that it's not all peachy in the glorious world of Netflix heaven. I guess if nothing else, it adds some levity to 2005, but even then, it sucks when you're trying to relax and enjoy a film only to be sidetracked by dull characters, lobotomized scripts, and uninspired direction. I haven't seen anything that I really could get behind since maybe Nobody Knows and Serenity, but even those weren't spectacular and even then, I watched Chungking Express again recently just to be reminded of what moving, inspired filmmaking is like.

I know I already wrote my drunken ode to Wong Kar-Wai, but goddamn, when you compare how he is able to fashion a palpable connection between the audience and his characters by maximizing the potential of aesthetics and a minimalized script, it constantly amazes me that these other directors and screenwriters cannot do the same with bloated budgets and supposed "experts" at their craft tinkering with every aspect of production. While it's true that they don't get the benefit of utilizing the talents of such masters as Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, or Christopher Doyle, you would hope that there's enough talent out there to create comparable work. Just look at someone like Orlando Bloom's character in The Kingdom of Heaven, who is someone that is so noble that you need a potent gag suppressant in order to tolerate some of his character's actions/dialogue that it's ridiculous to accept this person as someone to care about, let alone root for, for an entire 145 minutes.

While I am not someone who turns his nose up at "Hollywood" for the sake of being cool or "intelligent" (in fact, I am a consistent advocate for the merits that it has to offer), I can't help but feel disdain for the system that currently feeds Americans their cinema while Asian cinema continues to push the envelope and encourage all forms of meaningful filmmaking.