City Lights

So, a note before I even get started: my Christmas break is starting to have a very destructive pattern. I work all day or I do stuff for my parents. I get done at 10 or 11. Then my personal time starts. Consider this the middle of my personal time today. It's 1:40 a.m.

Last night during my me-time (read: at least 1 a.m.) I finished watching City Lights. Now, I am no connoisseur of silent films, but this one is definitely the best that I have seen. I've watched a couple of Chaplin's, and this was one of his last. It shows a lot of development toward movies like we see today (as opposed to other silent films). I guess what I noticed the most (as far as technical stuff) was the shots. There were more of them than most silent films, it seemed, and there were more close-ups. The movie relied somewhat on physical comedy, but not to the extent that other Chaplin films do. There was a lot less changing of the film speed than in other silent movies, too, which allowed the film to be both a drama and a comedy because things were in real time.

Chaplin wrote, directed, and acted in this movie during the sound era, but upon seeing the movie it's impossible to not fully appreciate his choice to make City Lights silent. The movie focuses around a girl who has no sight. The actors and audience each have one sense that the other does not, and honestly I think it makes the movie what it is. Not only does it open up opportunities for comedy, but the Tramp's physical actions when the girl can't see him are priceless. He reacts to what she says and we can see exactly how he feels, even though the blind girl can't (and therefore he keeps up the ruse of being a millionaire). This also makes the final scene in this movie, where he sees the girl for the first time since leaving jail (sorry about the plotholes.. I don't want to summarize) and she sees him and doesn't know it's he who paid for her operation... is amazing. Her character's world has become so much more visually based, and she keeps hoping that the tall, rich, good-looking men that walk into the flower shop might be the man she thinks the Tramp is. Then she sees the Tramp, and it is not her sight, but the touch of his hand that makes her realize who he is (the more I think and write about this movie, the more I realize exactly how amazing it is). It's also then that she/the audience realizes that even though sight is such a wonderful thing and is so sought-after, appearances don't matter.

Mr. Chaplin, my hat is off.

Little Miss Sunshine

In the first ten minutes, this movie manages to create several characters more well-rounded than most movies after two hours. I couldn't help but have a slight smirk on my face the whole time, sometimes uncomfortable, but always completely invested in the characters. This movie is equal part comedy and drama and walks the line perfectly. Definitely one of my favorites of 2006.

Rewatch, Top 25 Stars, Star Wars, and HARRY FREAKING POTTER

So, my mom recently had surgery, ergo she's pretty much stuck at home. She's spent a lot of time watching movies. Seriously, she's been home for four or five days and has watched eight or nine movies. I rented one for her (Pirates II, at my brother's insistence) which she didn't really like.... She seems perfectly content watching the movies that we have, and have watched 800 times. So, today I got home from work and ended up watching Walk the Line and Narnia with her and throughouly enjoying my gross unproductivity. I'm working on City Lights, but I keep falling asleep during it.

Anyway, the main purpose of this entry, besides the fact that Richie has made the last three, is to assert the amazingness of both movies (but mainly Narnia). To all those voting members of IMDB that caused it to have a shameful 6-point-something early on after its theatrical release, I say a vehement and matter-of-fact "screw you." Thankfully since then the rating has risen to a much more accurate 7.4.

First of all, the casting for this movie is dead freaking on. The Pevensie kids are adorable and innocent, as they should be. Also, I defy anyone to find someone better for the role of Aslan than Liam Neeson.

Okay, screw the numbers. Honestly, I have nothing to ask of this movie. I feel the same way about City of God, but obviously Narnia is not on its level or in its category. What I mean is, Narnia is all that it could and should ever be - undeniably wonderful. Unlike Eragon and so many other movies, it reached its full potential and is completely amazing. Congratulations to everyone involved for a job done as well as it possibly could have been. The movie is ending as a type this, and I am utterly wowed. Again.

Second order of business: IMDB released its Top 25 Stars based on search queries. Johnny Depp is #1 for the third year in a row. Why? Because he's the best (except for Gael Garcia Bernal, but Americans don't know that just yet. Just watch, Babel will propel him to mega-US-stardom).

Thirdly: So, the STAR WARS ORIGINAL TRILOGY was released in September in its original theatrical version. It's becoming unavailable after December 31 (why, George, why must you be a jerk about this?). I want it, but I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase. Also, it's not like I won't be able to get it on eBay. Anyway, thank goodness they freaking did this. I never did like the new end of Return of the Jedi, with the tour of the galaxy and the unjust subtraction of the fun ewok music at the end. Also, the Anakin standing with Yoda and Obi-Wan has changed too many times. And I've never been terribly comfortable with the Han-Jabba scene in A New Hope, either....

AND last but not least, the title for HARRY POTTER VII was released today:

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS

Eat it up, folks. Who's going to be in line at midnight and finishing the book before doing anything (and I mean anything) else productive? Ooh! Me! Me!!!

A Scanner Darkly

I am a big fan of Richard Linklater, so I've been eagerly waiting to watch A Scanner Darkly. So, I was a bit disappointed in finding merely okay or pretty good. There are some very interesting ideas and scenarios, but none of the intensely intellectual dialogue I look to Linklater for. Granted this was not an original story of his but based on the novel by Phillip K. Dick, the sci-fi innovator who brought us Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report among others. Linklater definitely gives it style, using the animation technique we saw in Waking Life. It is still worth seeing, and I would watch it again, I was just hoping for a little more.

It IS a Wonderful Life

I'm usually not one to stay up too late unless I feel there is a really good reason. Last night at midnight, my roommate put in It's a Wonderful Life saying he'd never actually seen it. I hesitated for about a moment then decided to watch the whole thing too.

Why aren't there more movies like this made today? I've seen this movie countless time since I was too young to remember, but during the final scene, specifically when the Bailey's housekeeper brings in her savings to add to the pile saying she had been saving it in case she ever got a husband tears rolled down my cheeks.

This is one of the greats. A movie that is truly an experience every time.

Censorship

First, read this blurb from IMDb.

Christian Groups Fume Over Christmas Horror Film

Christian groups have slammed the remake of cult 1974 movie Black Christmas, because they find the horror movie "offensive." The ... film ... centers on a group of US college students who battle a slasher over the Christmas holidays. Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, says, "To have a movie that emphasizes murder and mayhem at Christmas, a time of celebration and joy around the world seems to be ill founded." Jennifer Giroux, co-founder of Operation Just Say Merry Christmas, adds, "The use of religious music 'Silent Night' and the nativity set on the front porch in one scene are insensitive to Christians. It's not enough to ignore and omit Christmas, but now it has to be offended, insulted and desecrated. Our most sacred holiday, actually a holy day, is being assaulted."

Maybe I'm just not easily offended, or maybe I have better things to do with my time (not really), but here's an idea: don't watch it.

One of the opponents above says Christmas is being assaulted. What about the assault on the filmmakers' right to express themselves freely? And saying a horror movie set during Christmas is an assault on Christmas is like saying Nightmare on Elm Street is an assault on the act of dreaming. "Hey, I dream! Jerks!"

Do I feel Black Christmas is in bad taste? Yep. Do I think it will be crap? Yep. Do I think those are good enough reasons for it not to exist? Nope. Will I be paying to see it? You couldn't pay me to see it. Should any self-respecting intelligent person spend any more time than this even thinking about Black Christmas?

Nope.

More like Err-again

To begin, I'd just like to quote Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News:

Paolini was 15 when he began writing Eragon, and the book's epic imagination reflects its creator's precocious youth. What a shame a bunch of grownups had to step in and muck it all up.

Eragon was a wonderful book. The ending was kick-ass and shows so much foresight by Paolini... then there's the movie. People trying to capitalize on the success of a novel so much that they make a crappy movie and sell the name make me sick. I mean honestly, if this book had been done LOTR-style (and budget) it would be incredible. It's really obvious that whoever made the movie cared nothing about the book.

I know that whenever a book is adapted for film things are left out. For Eragon, however, that is a dramatic understatement. I distinctly remember reading the first couple of chapters and thinking, "Man, this will look great on the big screen. They could go effin' crazy with this." Guess what - those scenes I was talking about - yeah, absolutely no appearance in the movie. None. The plotline jumped around so much that I can't imagine what watching it without having read the book must be like. Absolutely nothing was developed. Nothing was explained or explored, and there was so much potential. Also, the writing was just plain awful. They should have hired Paolini to do the screenplay. There were many points where I thought to myself that the dialogue from the book would have been amazing, but instead they transformed it into ubercheese that left the audience smirking at the big, beautiful silver screen.

Speaking of big and beautiful, one thing I cannot complain about is the visual effects of this movie. Saphira (the dragon) looked incredible to say the least. Beyond that, though, the sets weren't the greatest thing ever... the producers really shortchanged themselves by not making things accurate to the book. Again, so much potential lost. I want to remake this movie and get double the budget that the current release has. Honestly, it would have been a wise investment. The cast was for the most part solid. The story is more than solid, and has a big enough following to make it a worthwhile investment.

Oh, and if I didn't already mention it, the ending changed. Ugh. This movie could have been so good!

Meanwhile, I'm going to go read Eldest and enjoy it.

So it begins

Some of the smaller critic circles have already been handing out awards, but, for me, the real start of the awards season is the Golden Globe nominations which came out Thursday.

The first point of interest: Eastwood claims two of the five directing nominations without either of his movies (Flags of our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima) getting best pic noms. That leads me to believe that the races were really tight in both categories.

Here is my prediction for the eventual Oscar best pic noms, in order of certainty: Dreamgirls, Babel, The Queen, The Departed... after that it's hard to say, but I'll go with Little Miss Sunshine. I do see that fifth spot as a definite opportunity for the rare occurrence of a non GG nominee getting an Oscar best pic nom. Unless I'm mistaken, that has not happened since The Shawshank Redemption in 1994. Based on the directing noms, Letters From Iwo Jima would be a likely candidate if that happens.

I have currently seen four the ten GG nominees and The Departed is by far my favorite. Babel grabbed the most nominations. It will be interesting to see how well it does this season since it's probably the 3rd best movie by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (behind Amores Perros and 21 Grams). I hope this is Scorsese's year. I rooted for him with Gangs of New York and The Aviator even though I had seen better movies those years. As of right now (and I do still need to see a lot), The Departed is the best movie I've seen this year.

And how about DiCaprio's two best actor noms. I'm not a big fan, but way to go. But in that category, I'm going for my second straight - called the Oscar win after watching the preview for the movie. After seeing the preview for Capote last year (before the awards buzz), I said, "he's going to win the Oscar for this." After seeing the preview for The Last King of Scotland two months ago, I said the same thing.

Anyway, with the GG nominations out I now have my awards season road map and can figure out what I need to see before the Oscars.

Fun stuff.

The end of the world as we know it?

So, after a lovely string of arrests, anti-Semitic remarks, apologies and goodwill gestures, Mel Gibson is at the top of the box office with Apocalypto (currently pulling a 7.7 with our friends at IMDB).

I think the movie looks interesting, and different for a change. One of the biggest things I take issue with when it comes to the movie business is repetition in too short of a time (see earlier post concerning Dreamgirls). Comic book movies would have been ok if it had not been for such horrible failures as The Fantastic Four and Daredevil (Benny Boy, you were so much better off with Shakespeare in Love, Good Will Hunting and Kevin Smith movies). Also, the reason The Nativity Story will probably never be of any renown except for the fact that Keisha Castle-Hughes is in it is probably largely due to the recency effect of The Passion... should we expect The Creation Story next Christmas? I was going to suggest Revelation, but couldn't come up with a good joke or pun to link it to Apocalypto. Gotta work on that.

On an interesting side note, earlier today as I was braving the insane hive-minded rush that is Christmas shopping at the mall I wandered into the DVD section at Target to find out that they now have... an indie section? That's right. Apparently indies are hip now even for non college students, who by definition think that mainstream = evil. It's probably Steve Carell's fault with Little Miss Sunshine. Who knows, I'll take it. Also, Love Actually was $7.50 and I didn't buy it. I'm pretty much an idiot, but at least an idiot who is done with her Christmas shopping.

I had to.

Oh, baby.
7.13.07

Dragons. Hobbits. Singers. Boxers. (and a partridge in a pear tree?)

So, I started reading Eragon a couple of weeks ago - during Thanksgiving break, that is. It's a good book and pretty much perfectly suited to be made into a movie (although incredibly unoriginal thus far). Anyway, the entry of the Wii into my life combined with three final projects has definitely deterred me from finishing the book.

Irregardless, I am definitely looking forward to the release of the movie this weekend. It will be pretty darn cool. If they do it right, it will be an amazing movie and I will see it as soon as possible.

Since I haven't seen any movies recently besides a re-watch of Raiders of the Lost Ark yesterday, I definitely have some thoughts concerning recent developments:

Peter Jackson isn't making The Hobbit?? Seriously? Should they even make the movie now? I'm going to assume that Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are going with him, seeing as how they are a close friend and a partner, respectively. This could be trouble, and there's already been one awful production of The Hobbit. It's animated, and I watched it in 6th grade. Enough said.

Dreamgirls: Music Biopic III? I have so many beefs with this. Now, I went onto the iTunes Music Store today and listened to some of the soundtrack. It's darn good. Jennifer Hudson is purportedly amazing, and of course the rest of the cast is star-studded. But seriously. Can we pleeeeeease change genres once in a while? Ray was good. Walk the Line was stunningly similar with the exception of the addition of the ridiculously awesome performance of Reese Witherspoon. I guess I'm also prejudiced that this movie has been at the top of Oscar Igloo's Best Pic predictions since August... and no one upon no one had seen it then. I really, really question when that happens. And we saw what happened last year when there was a similar situation.

Dear IMDB, please put the search bar back in the upper left hand corner. I really don't like it at the top of the page. I'm pretty sure there was a different search bar there before, and it's confusing. Also, I don't like fundamental changes like that to website design, especially when it's one so commonly visited. Oh, the particularities convergence class has given me.

Dear Blockbuster, I will probably briefly take advantage of your mailing-label stint thingy so I can rent a few movies, which may end up being The Office Season 2 so my family can see it. But seriously, please stop trying to put Netflix out of business. I don't like you as much.

I'm looking forward to Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Currently at a 7.4 on the old IMDB. Also, I want to see For Your Consideration... plans for that were unfortunately cancelled due to a long dinner outing.

Rocky Balboa is going to suck. But then again, I couldn't even make it through the first one without falling asleep. Speaking of movies that make me fall asleep, I still haven't bothered to finish Goodfellas.

So, scatterbrained thoughts, since I have no recently watched movie to ponder. Time to go read more stuff about movies on the internet. Also, "irregardless" is a movie reference, not a grammatical error on my part, although the grammatical incorrectness is very in-character for the person whose line it is. Ten points for you if you can name that movie.

Also, the more I think about it, the more I like the name for this blog.

I wrote the title for this thing after I finished it, and then I remembered something my roommate Karen said earlier - someone keeps a running market value for what it would cost to actually give someone the gifts in the 12 Days of Christmas song. Not surprisingly, we are at a 22-year high. Check it: http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com/

And with that, I move on to something much less constructive.

Chasing Snitches

I'll start off with something light - Harry Potter.

I was pretty slow getting my feet wet with the whole Harry Potter craze (like my brother who still refuses to watch or read them), but now I'm swimming, jet skiing, and knee boarding in it (but not para-sailing - I'm not that big of a nerd).

I re-watched Sorcerer's Stone today and appreciated it more than I had the 2 or 3 previous viewings. I've always liked fantasy stuff, as long as it was quality, but with the Harry Potter phenomenon having middle schoolers as its biggest backers I was understandably hesitant. When I watched Sorcerer's Stone in the theater, I thought it was okay. The same went for Chamber of Secrets. When Prisoner of Azkaban came out, I thought it was the best of the three and that they were pretty worthwhile collectively, but I still had not read the books and didn't consider it a priority.

Finally, after having dozens of people with similar interests continually recommending the books, I read SS. I still wasn't too excited. But when I re-watched PoA right before the Goblet of Fire movie came out and it blew me away. Then came the PG-13 GoF - things were getting serious. I then proceeded to finish the series up through Half-Blood Prince and Ms. Rowling left me drooling for more. I speculated and debated eagerly with my friends.

This week the trailer for the Order of the Phoenix movie came out and watched it three times in succession the first time I saw it.

J.K. Rowling has created a really special world that you MUST explore if you haven't yet.

Long live Harry Potter!


wrsiii


p.s. I actually don't even know exactly what para-sailing is.