tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post1623331804470518251..comments2023-06-19T12:26:50.652-04:00Comments on Out 1 Film Journal: Cusp of HilarityJames Hansenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650436008918093617noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-88693478844306287922010-03-20T09:32:12.706-04:002010-03-20T09:32:12.706-04:00Its been a while since last time seen him.
Watched...Its been a while since last time seen him.<br />Watched the tailor have not seen the movie yet.Only one thing I am sure this one wont as good as brave heartlanhttp://www.thepersonalinjurylawyers.com.au/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-53632740474290937032010-02-08T11:43:38.239-05:002010-02-08T11:43:38.239-05:00Yeah, here's what I WON"T be seeing...any...Yeah, here's what I WON"T be seeing...any more Mel Gibson movies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-30891628163589024332010-02-07T22:19:41.832-05:002010-02-07T22:19:41.832-05:00In that case, I completely agree with you. Politic...In that case, I completely agree with you. Political buzzwords are easily misconstrued these days and I apologize if I misunderstood your argument. Those who might seek to interpret Gibson's character as a rogue truth-teller in the vein of Beck and his ilk have plenty to latch onto in EDGE OF DARKNESS.Brandon Colvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373364966092756041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-5728525405683126592010-02-07T22:12:49.983-05:002010-02-07T22:12:49.983-05:00The entire last paragraph of your response, Brando...The entire last paragraph of your response, Brandon, only reinforces the link between Gibson's character and real-life disenfranchised contrarians I refer to.<br /><br />I think I misused the term "independent" because of the longstanding connotations associated with it. I'm talking more about the ignorant contrarians out there who seem to feed off of political trolls like Glenn Beck, with little basic knowledge of their own on issues of the day. Gibson's hero strikes the same populist note which characterizes that demographic.Tony Dayoubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-68446969919581905082010-02-07T16:52:26.137-05:002010-02-07T16:52:26.137-05:00While I certain found the film absurd, it differs ...While I certain found the film absurd, it differs from BAD LIEUTENANT in that EDGE OF DARKNESS' absurdity arises from a tiresome plod through predictability rather than the "His soul's still dancing" left-fieldism of Herzog's film. As far as the absurd goes, it was much more Sisyphean than surrealist.<br /><br />While I can understand the political suggestions you mention, I saw the character as more apolitical than anything else, not any sort of frustrated independent. His outrage is merely fueled by personal loss, continuing in the standard Hollywood tradition of robbing characters of any sort of ideological motivation in order to sidestep politicizing them. Additionally, the presence of the company reinforces both environmentalist paranoia and everyone's-a-terrorist paranoia, becoming a catchall target rather than anything that holds any nuanced argument about eh role of corporations in America. It could certainly be co-opted as a cinematic torch of independent politics, but I think that would involve much more projection from viewers rather than any derivation of specific meaning from the film, which seems far too jumbled and unfocused to present any sort of coherent political argument.Brandon Colvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373364966092756041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-27817829208767899872010-02-07T15:12:11.100-05:002010-02-07T15:12:11.100-05:00While I'm certain I won't change your opin...While I'm certain I won't change your opinion of the film, I disagree with your F grade. It was nice to see Gibson return in what has become his defined role as cinema's ultimate masochist. Here, he doesn't suffer physically as much as he does emotionally, but a lot of it is self-inflicted nonetheless.<br /><br />As for the film, it doesn't quite reach the level of absurdity I admired in Herzog's BAD LIEUTENANT, but it certainly offers plenty gutter-level luridness and histrionics. I thought the movie was fun once you got past all of the ugly grimness.<br /><br />And EDGE OF DARKNESS is definitely hinting at something political beyond its two-dimensional appearance. It reaches out to the disenfranchised tea-partiers in the audience, its hero a timely representative of the independents fighting against the machinations of the emotionally challenged corporate types thought to be giving the country away to foreign interests.<br /><br />I don't agree with the politics, but I was intrigued by the usually liberal Hollywood addressing the concerns of many disenfranchised Americans. It will be interesting to see how this movie stands as a cultural artifact years from now.Tony Dayoubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.com