TRON LEGACY (2010)

TRON:  LEGACY (2010)

Format:  Blu-Ray from my Uncle Jay

I've been in the middle of some unfair cinematic immersions this summer.  First I see a bunch of Avengers movies that were released a year apart in the course of a couple weeks in order to build up for the main event in theaters.  Then I watch these movies, made 28 years apart within a few weeks as well.  The suckers that watched the first movie sure had to wait a long time and grow up before this franchise was revisited! 

But I won't be mean... like I said before, the first one established a pretty distinct universe and imagery that was invigorating despite the low-budget effects (which weren't really a factor if you thing of the Tron universe as a different dimension with a visual logic all its own).  I also think of the wonderful effect it would have to see a completely high budget version of only what you could imagine back in 1982.  Tron 1 felt like it could really inspire imaginations because you only get a hint of what that computer universe is.  So I am a little jealous of the Tron-heads who were able to see a vision realized that they might have been thinking about during their entire adult lives.

And with enough space between films, this definitely does not suffer from sequel-itis.  A few reviews seemed to talk about how there was not enough action, that the big scenes were more of a homage and not central to anything important.  But those scenes were AMAZING to watch.  While technology might have restricted what action pieces could have been shown in the first one, it took a unique perspective to decide to add more darkness and an interesting storyline to the saga without using every technical gimmick in the book that was at their disposal.  Of course I would have love to seen more big battles in this uniquely realized polished computer world, but the exposition gave it a depth and seriousness that wasn't necessarily expected as a way to build off the first Tron.

OK, now, the lead actor playing Flynn's son was pretty wooden, and some of the cliche action-based dialogue seemed like it could fit right into Star Wars prequels, but the first one wasn't perfect either.  But TRON:  LEGACY gave new and old fans what they were looking for, with some surprising maturity as well.

DOWN BY THE RIVER / SAN ANTONIO FILM FESTIVAL

DOWN BY THE RIVER (2012)

[Sorry not a lot of images and links available]

Other than a program of short films at the end of the night, this film was how I wrapped up my San Antonio Film Festival experience 2 and half months ago (wow, falling behind!).

Don't mean to sound grumpy, but the film's technical quality was pretty low.  Sound was bad, images were blurry.  That is forgiveable if you can see a unique vision on the screen that just couldn't get realized because of the low budget limitations.  But this was a rather conventional, though heartbreaking, story of a family struggling with a daughter afflicted with sickle cell anemia.  There's badly mixed montages as the love interest builds a relationship with the protagonist, a lot of slow-motion scenes, and not the best acting.  Credit where credit is due, the little girl was probably the best actress in the whole bunch, and the heavy-handed emotional tugging was broken up by some naturalistic scenes with the protagonist and his work buddy, who provided some genuine innocent laughs.

But here's the rub... this was a very personal and emotional.  The writer/director/actor (one or some of those roles, I don't remember) actually had a little sister die early of this disease.  The cast and filmmakers and well-wishers were all in the front waiting for the world premiere of this movie.  And while it didn't strike me as a high quality movie, you could tell this was coming from a really raw place.  It's a great capstone to this film festival where personal visions that weren't technically perfect or grand in scope were presented to filmmaking colleagues and the interested public.  I am often conflicted about whether I have the capacity or resources and outright healthy obsession to put aside my normal routine and work hard to put whatever creative visions in my head out there.   I have to give an incredible amount of respect for people to decide to do whatever they can to get their films made and released.  I kind of wish that these movies completely blew me over to the point where I saw a revolutionary filmmaking talent in its chrysalis, because I could really be on board with preaching their quality to whomever would listen.  But while I still don't think making a film (and not just imagining ones better than the things I see) is in my blood, this experience made the filmmaking experience more approachable to me.

So the verdict on this whole festival experience is that not all film festivals are the same.  This was not incredibly well organized, and the choices weren't as diverse as the Wisconsin Film Festival.  This had a more local and regionalized feel, but it looked like it also served as an initial testing ground to present some films, someone's hard work and toil, for the very first time.  It was a great opportunity to be a guinea pig for films that might not ever be seen for a wider public. 

And now back to the regularly scheduled viewing process, which over the past few weeks have included some real mainstream duds but some gems as well.