gregorykmitchell
Joined Jun 2001
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gregorykmitchell's rating
This film doubles as a peerless document of skateboarding as a legitimate American phenomenon *and* an unflinching look into the dark and doomed life of Mark Rogowski.
Ms. Stickler deftly handles the thrill of Rogowski's career triumphs and the chilling fall from grace that no one could have anticipated or, sadly, prevented.
'Stoked' stands bravely as neither celebratory nor exploitive; nor does it presume to answer 'Why?'. Instead, like the Maysles brothers' finest work, this film presents a 'fly on the wall' look at the Who, What, Where, and How with the precision and objectivity of a postmortem exam.
It's tough to successfully reconcile the duality this film presents to its audience - the great retrospective fun of high octane 80s culture sits uncomfortably next to what is essentially a grim and unsettling story. Viewers have to sort out for themselves if Rogowski's doom was a product of his huge fame and subsequent & abrupt fall from the top, or if it was, sadly, bound to happen anyway.
Rogowski could have been one of those elementary school teachers or office workers or Home Depot employees gone bad in what would have been an otherwise anonymous American murder story - but he wasn't: he was Gator. And as the authorities & families involved (and perhaps most tellingly, the friends & skaters in the periphery) in this dark tale will tell you, that may have made all the difference in the world.
Ms. Stickler deftly handles the thrill of Rogowski's career triumphs and the chilling fall from grace that no one could have anticipated or, sadly, prevented.
'Stoked' stands bravely as neither celebratory nor exploitive; nor does it presume to answer 'Why?'. Instead, like the Maysles brothers' finest work, this film presents a 'fly on the wall' look at the Who, What, Where, and How with the precision and objectivity of a postmortem exam.
It's tough to successfully reconcile the duality this film presents to its audience - the great retrospective fun of high octane 80s culture sits uncomfortably next to what is essentially a grim and unsettling story. Viewers have to sort out for themselves if Rogowski's doom was a product of his huge fame and subsequent & abrupt fall from the top, or if it was, sadly, bound to happen anyway.
Rogowski could have been one of those elementary school teachers or office workers or Home Depot employees gone bad in what would have been an otherwise anonymous American murder story - but he wasn't: he was Gator. And as the authorities & families involved (and perhaps most tellingly, the friends & skaters in the periphery) in this dark tale will tell you, that may have made all the difference in the world.
This ain't no "Meet The Beat-Alls".
Where are ridiculously funny and parodic characters like Lucky Captain Rabbit King when you need them?
Making MoJo JoJo the antagonist-focus of the film seemed like a good idea to me . . .until I saw how humorless and toothless he is in this flick. Where was MoJo's over-the-top hyperbole and his signature ineffective rage?
Also, I question how necessary an "origin of..." type of movie is with a popular brand that's been available to us for more than a couple of years now (and with several volumes of home video releases). They certainly didn't expand upon or improve the story for fans already familiar with the Girls.
The various incarnations of evil monkeys was great, though - a brief moment of what this flick could and should have been.
P.S. - Warning: even the Dexter's Lab short is strangely alien. It seems like they spent a lot of time cleaning up the animation and making it flashy, but for naught; this was the ugliest "episode" of Dexter I've ever seen. Even the voice talent seemed to be on loan - Dee Dee sounded more like Chrissy from Three's Company, and Dexter sounded as irritatingly unlike himself as Mel Blanc's weak successors in recent Looney Tunes projects. What gives?
Where are ridiculously funny and parodic characters like Lucky Captain Rabbit King when you need them?
Making MoJo JoJo the antagonist-focus of the film seemed like a good idea to me . . .until I saw how humorless and toothless he is in this flick. Where was MoJo's over-the-top hyperbole and his signature ineffective rage?
Also, I question how necessary an "origin of..." type of movie is with a popular brand that's been available to us for more than a couple of years now (and with several volumes of home video releases). They certainly didn't expand upon or improve the story for fans already familiar with the Girls.
The various incarnations of evil monkeys was great, though - a brief moment of what this flick could and should have been.
P.S. - Warning: even the Dexter's Lab short is strangely alien. It seems like they spent a lot of time cleaning up the animation and making it flashy, but for naught; this was the ugliest "episode" of Dexter I've ever seen. Even the voice talent seemed to be on loan - Dee Dee sounded more like Chrissy from Three's Company, and Dexter sounded as irritatingly unlike himself as Mel Blanc's weak successors in recent Looney Tunes projects. What gives?
Although I can see this style of storytelling begin to wear thin on plenty of jaded/cynical types, I think The Royals does an excellent job of presenting a John Irving-like "dysfunctional" family on the big screen better than any actual Irving film adaptation has.
Plenty of people have bemoaned the precocious and cheeky nature of Anderson/Wilson's "off beat" characters in Rushmore & The Royal Tennenbaums, and I can somewhat see the point; continuing in this direction/style may lead these two talented writers to inadvertently parody themselves. But in their defense, The Royals actually *feels* more like the big emotional opus that they might have written *before* their more accessible and popular Rushmore, and was realized with confidence as a result of their second films' successes. I'd love to read more on these fellows and see who came first, the Royals or Max Fischer.
And anyone who has cited PT Anderson's Magnolia when evaluating The Royals hits on something solid. The *real* emotional resonance of Richie's suicide attempt and the *real* trauma inflicted on the kids' young & adult lives by their father (not just simply the wonderfully comedic and laugh out loud bits by the stunning Gene Hackman, but the *true* ramifications of his actions/inactions) digs deep, and gives the film a seriousness that cannot be ignored. Relegating the kids to supporting players in the "Isn't Royal Tennenbaum The Funniest Dirtbag Dad *Ever*?! Show" would have been foolish and superfluous - Anderson and Wilson give the whole family such great depth and emotional tug that it may offset the verve and flow of the comedic aspects of the film, but it also pushes this great work into something more special, something memorable. Like Magnolia, people were walking out of the theater or sighing heavily at the alleged preposterousness of it all - but both films cut so deep and memorably that I can't help but hold both in the highest esteem. Bravo!
Plenty of people have bemoaned the precocious and cheeky nature of Anderson/Wilson's "off beat" characters in Rushmore & The Royal Tennenbaums, and I can somewhat see the point; continuing in this direction/style may lead these two talented writers to inadvertently parody themselves. But in their defense, The Royals actually *feels* more like the big emotional opus that they might have written *before* their more accessible and popular Rushmore, and was realized with confidence as a result of their second films' successes. I'd love to read more on these fellows and see who came first, the Royals or Max Fischer.
And anyone who has cited PT Anderson's Magnolia when evaluating The Royals hits on something solid. The *real* emotional resonance of Richie's suicide attempt and the *real* trauma inflicted on the kids' young & adult lives by their father (not just simply the wonderfully comedic and laugh out loud bits by the stunning Gene Hackman, but the *true* ramifications of his actions/inactions) digs deep, and gives the film a seriousness that cannot be ignored. Relegating the kids to supporting players in the "Isn't Royal Tennenbaum The Funniest Dirtbag Dad *Ever*?! Show" would have been foolish and superfluous - Anderson and Wilson give the whole family such great depth and emotional tug that it may offset the verve and flow of the comedic aspects of the film, but it also pushes this great work into something more special, something memorable. Like Magnolia, people were walking out of the theater or sighing heavily at the alleged preposterousness of it all - but both films cut so deep and memorably that I can't help but hold both in the highest esteem. Bravo!