The Dirt (2019) - Movie Review

Even though he hasn’t directed a narrative film before this point (and no, the extended improv skit that is Bad Grandpa doesn’t count), Jeff Tremaine seems the ideal pick for a rock star biopic like this. At the forefront of one of MTV’s last truly iconic pillars with the Jackass franchise, the man knows his gratuitous excess, a phrase that fits the wildness of Mötley Crüe to a T. Especially considering how well the Jackass films did with marrying soundtrack and visuals, putting heavy rock guitars against each grand display of masochistic machismo. And while that certainly fits here to an extent, the growing pains of Tremaine working in this format show through a little too clearly.

Loving Vincent (2017) - Movie Review

I’ve discussed before how the notion of there being no new ideas in the realm of cinema really doesn’t bother me that much. I’m far more concerned about stories being told well than whether or not I’ve already seen something like it before. However, just because I’m apathetic towards the possibility of fresh ideas doesn’t mean that I’m immediately turned off by that same possibility. I say all this because today’s film, in no uncertain terms, is a unique specimen. A production funded by the Polish Film Institute, with some of its funding being crowdsourced through Kickstarter, that marks the world’s first animated film made entirely of oil paintings. No line drawings, no CGI, no instances of one trying to masquerade as the other; just real-ass paintings.

 

Given the subject matter of today’s film, that being the life and death of famed painter Vincent Van Gogh, this decision definitely fits but what is the end result? This kind of high-concept filmmaking, rather than high-concept narrative, very easily could devolve into being just a gimmick meant to hold up an otherwise unremarkable film; think a more high-brow version of the latest 3D movie. Ugh… enough with this empty cynicism and let’s get into this truly incredible film already.