Inherent Vice didn’t electrify me the way most of Paul Thomas Anderson’s other movies do, but I still dig it, because it’s a movie that’s meant to be dug. It’s a sidewinding, meandering goof of a noir; like Raymond Chandler had lived long enough to write about the late-60s death of hippie counterculture … or if Thomas Pynchon had decided to write about it himself. And while it pains me to start this review on a pair of off-notes, I’ll say that even though Vice showcases Anderson’s utterly unsurprising knack for literary adaptation, watching the gifted director cram his style into the episodic, blocky confines of a detective yarn — even one as good as this — feels unnatural, like watching Shaquille O’Neal try to fit into a Mini Cooper. In essence, Inherent Vice is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Jackie Brown; a rock-solid literary adaptation that calls a great deal of his skill set into use, but which still doesn’t quite feel like one of the director’s signature projects.
Writing and Blog
Grappling With Gone Girl
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE MOVIE AND THE BOOK!
Coming out of Gone Girl, I was of two minds — appalled pearl-clutcher and delighted crime-fiction geek. On reflection, I’m inclined to side with the pearl-clutcher in me that sees David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling thriller as a clarion call for misogynists and men’s rights loons everywhere, but I’d still like to talk about how the movie (adapted by Flynn herself) mashes together a variety of tropes from several decades’ worth of crime-fiction lore — all for a deeply hypnotic end-result.
A Look Back at Casino Royale
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
“Bond had always been a gambler.”
– from Casino Royale
Casino Royale is hands-down the best James Bond movie, and Daniel Craig is the best James Bond. Yes, Connery is still in second place, but he’s only in second place to my knowledge. I haven’t seen On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and I suspect that George Lazenby got a raw deal when he made that movie. Most critics I respect have called OHMSS a thematic and tonal sibling to Casino Royale, and that makes me think that the best James Bond all along was Lazenby, not Connery – until Craig, that is.
What a Guy Notices After Watching Back to the Future for the Eleventy-Millionth Time
You can’t get anything by me, Back to the Future!
Like most geeks of my generation, I’ve seen this classic time-travel movie countless times, and over the years, I’ve compiled a modest list of tiny details I’ve noticed and would like to expound upon. These minor details span a range of categories. In some cases, they’re simply powerful moments that have lingered with me, and in other cases, they’re rich details that I only recently noticed – and that I very well might be imagining. I’ll leave it to you to help me decide.
Building The Diamond: A Gut Feeling About The New Season Of Twin Peaks
Let’s talk about ghosts.
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Bold And Crazy Predictions For The New Season Of Twin Peaks
Monday felt like Christmas morning.
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Echoes and Layers: A Look Back at The Wire, Season 5 and Beyond
In the final segment of this three-part series, I try to diagnose season five’s problems, all while suggesting some possible remedies and proposing ideas for future seasons.
Last time I asked: Where are the kids in season five? I know, I know — we see all of ‘em, if only briefly. We drop in on Randy in his brutal new foster home, where he’s been forced to harden his heart to combat accusations that he’s a snitch. We follow Michael and Dukie through most of season five, and even Namond makes a brief appearance in superheroic mode, kicking ass in a debate competition. Unfortunately, it’s not enough, and it’s not what season five needed, I submit.
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What if Roald Dahl Remade Under Siege 2? A Review of Snowpiercer
I’m so glad Snowpiercer is about adults, even if it’s told with the visual vocabulary and demented sense of humor of Roald Dahl. More on that later.
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In Praise of the Classics: Homer’s Iliad
Artistic Precedent: Terry Gilliam and Harry Potter
Terry Gilliam was J.K. Rowling’s first choice to direct the movies based on her books. How would he have handled the material?
Near the beginning of Chris Columbus’ film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, hulking cockney giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) takes Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) into Gringott’s, the wizarding world’s most secure bank, where Harry’s vast inheritance is kept. Deep inside the dungeon-like caverns of the bank, Hagrid unlocks Harry’s vault, and the camera jumps inside the vault’s door to show us the sole flash of creativity in Columbus’ lackluster movie.
When Hagrid turns the key, an elaborate, arachnid mechanism springs to life behind the door – hundreds of spindly tumblers and latches slither, creep and crawl away and apart from each other until the door swings open to reveal the horde of booty that Harry’s parents left him. I mention this image because it was the one moment in both of Columbus’ first two entries in the Potter franchise that not only gave me the heebie-jeebies, but it also made me think of Rowling’s first choice to direct the movies based on her books: Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam.
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Robert J. Peterson, Author 