Agent Palmer

Not all documentaries are created equal. Some are out to prove a point, others hope to make you think, and even more are out to entertain, uncover, or educate. Music documentaries do a lot of those things, except they obviously tend to have music.

In having said music, the talking heads are commonly musicians or fans, and even the most serious music documentary has some light moments of laughter.

Garden State examines the cloud of one’s self. There are moments of varying length where we spend a ton of time in our own world; meanwhile, to the world at large, we’re just going through the motions.

This film is about that, and how one person, at one time, pulls himself out of that cloud.

It’s also very much an art film. The first few minutes establish that well, and Zach Braff’s vision of the film as a piece of art is beautiful.

It has been a while since I went out and did 18 Holes with Tin Cup, so let’s take it slow and stick to just the front nine; with this Rober Redford directed film, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Steven Pressfield, starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron.

What is it? It’s a fable of sorts, an allegory for golf and life (as most golf movies are), about Rannulph Junuh (Damon) a local golf hero who is suffering from post-traumatic stress since surviving World War I with distinction…

It’s possible there exist plenty of places on the internet where you can read about the historical inaccuracies and inconsistencies in The Right Stuff. This is not really that place. I chose to overlook that and focus on one very important thing they got right. It is an inspiring story of the early tribulations of America’s space program, and to this day, it’s still an inspiring watch.

I have not yet read Tom Wolfe’s book The Right Stuff on which the film was based, though it is making its way to the top of my list.

Based on the graphic novels of the same name, The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron, is one of the best modern independent comic adaptations to grace the big screen in recent memory, AMC’s Preacher was pretty solid too.

But one of the unfortunate things about The Old Guard is the problematic trailer. I was informed by some people to go in knowing as little as possible, so I avoided the trailer itself. My partner was not so lucky, and some of the twists and turns in the first third of the film were all spoiled in that trailer, which I have since seen.