Jaws (1975)

4/5

Steven Spielberg's Jaws is an iconic film. From its classic line, "We're gonna need a bigger boat," to its ominous two note staccato, Jaws is unforgettable. Much like Psycho, it is often parodied but never duplicated. Watching it with fresh eyes, I'm surprised by how intentional and pointed the editing is. You can see when Spielberg resists cuts, instead focusing his creativity on shot composition and allowing the action to occur in the background. But you can also see him use cuts to great effect, by intercutting subtly tighter and tighter close-ups to build tension.

It's by no means a perfect movie. Much like MASH, it feels more like a collection of random, loosely-related events than a single coherent story with inevitable narrative progression. Some plot points seem a bit ridiculous or unbelievable by today's standards and the dull colors and plain costumes certainly cement the movie in a distant time. But it's a landmark film for a reason--and it actually stands up pretty well. Even now, Jaws is still as much of a white knuckle, edge-of-your-seat experience as ever. That's a testament to the skill of the storytellers, who are able to engage and involve the audience in a timeless, universal way. Jaws is required viewing for any film fan.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/

W. (2008)

2/5

Oliver Stone's W. claims to be an honest representation of the former President in the hopes of dismantling years of misconceptions, both positive and negative, but is instead a ludicrous farce filled with exaggerations and caricatures. The movie goes back and forth between history and the present, starting with his time in office and intercutting with past events that led him there (including random, unrelated ones). I can imagine this was done for no other reason than to make up for lacking transitions and storyline inconsistencies. There is no progression or escalation, merely event after event after event, which makes the 2 hour runtime laboriously slow. (I thought it was nearing the end before 90 minutes in.) And each vignette is only hinted at, nothing is fleshed out, so we are left with a frustratingly inadequate and incomplete picture of a man nobody really cares about anymore. Not only that, but the rest of the screen is filled with people who are more focused on their horrific accents than their characters, which turn out to be flatter than their real counterparts (and those I've only seen in stilted TV announcements).

The one redeeming factor is the humor that is infused in this film, although I'm not sure it was all intentional. Because everything is so extreme, it is also preposterous to the point of comedy. The movie cannot be taken seriously anymore. Dick Cheney is a raving, power-hungry, egomaniacal lunatic--weren't we trying to dispel myths and prejudices? Condoleezza Rice is, for some bizarre reason, an uglier, female version of Neil Goldman from Family Guy. Below I have included a clip with Neil Goldman; as you watch it, just imagine Thandie Newton in disfiguring makeup prosthetics talking to Bush, and you have the movie W. Don't watch this movie; it's a waste of time.



IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1175491/