Sheriff of Babylon, Den of Thieves, Manolo, House of Z

I recently flew back from Germany, which meant a lot of movies on the plane.  Recapping what I saw:

Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards

I’ve wanted to watching this documentary about Manolo Blahnik for quite some time.  It’s not like I’m a fan of his shoes - I wouldn’t be able to pick them out of a lineup if you mixed them in with TJ Maxx’s finest.  But the fact that I’ve even heard of Manolo Blahnik at all suggests that he’s got some chops, and I love watching the best at anything do what they do.    

Blahnik’s the most adorable old man.  His easy going attitude belies the intensity with which he approaches his craft.  Even after all these years, he’s still beautifully painting shoe designs with watercolors and physically creating them in his factory.  Watching him grind the heel of a pump from a block of wood blows my mind.

I do wish the filmmakers spent more time on the shoes and what sets them apart from everyone else’s.  I can appreciate the beauty of the shoes on their own, but why are they better than any other pair out there?  

Still, I like the window into a world with which I have very little familiarity.  

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? Yes

Would buy on DVD? No

Rating: Nice

House of Z

I was intrigued by the description: “This documentary looks at the rise, fall, and comeback of charismatic fashion designer Zac Posen.”  (For someone with little to zero interest in fashion, I really enjoying watching these.) They oversold the fall part of the story. I was expecting a descent into drugs and alcohol, followed by years away in self-imposed exile.  Instead, all I got was, “he burned out, had a few bad shows, and his family quit working for him.” Not a fall so much as the way you stumbletrip when you’re walking down the stairs and think there’s an extra step when there really isn’t.

Zac Posen knows how to design a beautiful dress, that’s for sure.  The film does a nice job of showcasing them, and his talent is self-evident.  As with the Manolo movie, it’s about 10 minutes too long as it tries to wrap things up with deep, meaningful observations.  But up until the end, quality entertainment.

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? Yes

Would buy on DVD? No

Rating: Nice

Den of Thieves

The epitome of the perfect airplane movie: Fun action flick that requires zero emotional investment and only slightly more brainpower.  Gerard Butler is the doesn’t-play-by-the-rules cop who’s pitted against Pablo Schreiber’s gang of bad guys. This film is really trying to be Heat, and while it’s objectively worse on just about every level, I admit that if given a choice, I’d rather take Den of Thieves with me if stranded on a desert island.  Blasphemy, I know, but it’s just more fun.  The gunfights were far more exciting than I expected, and even more surprisingly, the writers included a sweet, intricate heist.    

Aside: The central shootout in Heat is a classic.  As is the DeNiro/Pacino scene.  But two scenes do not a rewatchable movie make.  They just make two rewatchable scenes.

Not sure if I’m going to watch this movie again, but the fact that I’m considering it at all is already far more than I expecting going into this.  

Regret watching? No

Would watch again? Yes

Would buy on DVD? Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Sheriff of Babylon 1-12

I bought the first six issues because Vision was so good.  I stopped because they didn’t do very much for me.  I bought the trade collecting the final six issues because my comic shop was having a sale and I felt like I was losing value by not buying anything.  Also, I’d rethought my position on King’s Batman after quitting once, and I thought the same thing could happen here.

Nope.  Still didn’t enjoy it the second time around.  Things are just too bleak and cynical in King’s Iraq for me to like reading about it.  Even the small measure of justice that the ‘heroes’ extract at the end of the story is morally unambiguous in its wrongness.  If it were just about any other writer, I’d cut this, but I’m keeping it around because it’s Tom King and I still might come around at some point in the future.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Didn’t suck