Recently stumbled onto a few interesting short films you should take a look at.
"Head On" - Spielberg Commissioned Special Project from Michael Koerbel on Vimeo.
"Alma" - A little girl is fascinated by a particular doll in a store window. Interesting and a bit creepy.
"Oktapodi" - Love is put to the test when these two octopi are separated.
I'm beginning to very much appreciate the compact, effective storytelling of shorts. You should definitely check out Pixar's latest short, "Party Cloudy" as well if you get the chance.
In the meantime, I just finished watching "Waitress," so I'll be reviewing that shortly. I've also joined a book reviewing site called Booksneeze, which specializes in mostly Christian/Inspirational books. Free books for posting a review, but it should be interesting to read about, I hope. I'll be posting reviews of those as soon as I get my first one.
Cheers.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
[Review] An Education
It’s hard to go wrong with a screenplay based off a book by Nick Hornby, the man responsible for the novel versions of High Fidelity, About a Boy and Fever Pitch which have all had successful movie adaptations. However, this go around, Hornby himself wrote the screen adaptation.
An Education stars newcomer Carey Mulligan as the young, schoolgirl impressionable Jenny, who, while finishing up her final year of school has a chance meeting with a much older fellow music lover played by Peter Sarsgaard. Even from the beginning moments of their relationship, we know that they will certainly end up sleeping together. Sarsgaard gives a brilliant performance, managing to walk the very precise line between clean cut, world-wise gentleman and what we will soon discover he is -- a cad. Much like Jenny, the audience is lured into liking David by his charm, even though we suspect that he is not all that wonderful under the surface.
The dashing Dominic Cooper of History Boys fame, as Danny and Rosamond Pike as Helen, Danny's vapid girlfriend round out an extraordinary, if subtle, main cast.
What unfolds in front of the viewer is a gorgeous period piece that does justice to the juxtaposition between the excitement and confusion of adolescence. Jenny is swept from her lower-middle class family, into David's world of lavish parties, art auctions and concerts, leaving behind her banal, if well-meaning parents and Graham, a dopey but perfectly nice boy her own age, to pursue this new lifestyle. Jenny’s duller than dull school world is contrasted with her vibrant, colorful life with David. In his world she can speak French, smoke and talk about her love for Pre-Raphaelite painters. For her age, Jenny is a sophisticated girl - and unlike her parents, David and his friends understand her.
David plays Jenny’s father like a cheap deck of cards, lying and charming his way into taking Jenny wherever he likes.
Things begin to go awry when Helen gives Jenny a nightie before the group takes a trip and is surprised to find out that Jenny has not slept with David yet. But she is not surprised in an expected sort of way. She is surprised because of prior knowledge, precedent which the audience can read but she does not share with Jenny. We can no longer live in the happy delusion that Jenny is special to David. No. This has happened before. Jenny is not his first girl. To his credit, David does not force himself on Jenny, and approves of Jenny's resolve to stay a virgin till she is seventeen. However, in perhaps the most disturbing scene of the film, he asks to see her breasts. After she shows him, he thanks her, pulls the straps back up on her nightie and buries his head against her neck. There is something incredibly creepy about this moment as David makes a definitive step towards not just being a nice man, but a man who wants something from Jenny.
Jenny soon discovers that David and Danny steal things and sell properties in less than moral ways to turn a profit, and she is reluctant to remain in their world. But, when David explains that the money for restaurants and concerts doesn’t grow on trees, the similar shouts from Jenny's father earlier in the film ring in her ears and she decides she will stay. A trip to Paris strengthens their relationship, at least it evens out their complicity in it. Jenny sleeps with David and she seems happy to do so. Jenny no longer seems unaware of what David wants. She has matured.
Once back in England, Danny begins to express a concern for Jenny. At a club, he dances with her and there is a clear attraction between them. One gets the feeling that Danny could actually love and appreciate her - and deserves her a great deal more than David does - but being David's friend, he does nothing about it. David and Helen can only watch as they are given a dose of reality. David immediately asks Jenny to marry him – she gives him no definitive answer. She tells him he is "very sweet", as if she is patting him on the head. Their roles are completely reversed. In that moment, Jenny seems more like the adult than David.
Jenny discovers all too late - after dropping out of school - that David is already married. Her parents, who were just as seduced by David as Jenny are equally as pained to discover that their daughter's meal ticket is a liar. Jenny's mother seems the kind of woman who could have loved Jenny’s life with David when she was younger, but chose to marry and settle. Her father is a good man who only wants the best for his daughter. Jenny is denied re-acceptance to school. She visits her teacher at her home and studies privately, presumably under her tutelage. Jenny has learned something thanks to her time with David. She realizes that there are no shortcuts in life. She eventually attends Oxford and tries to lead a normal life for a girl her age.
Bottom Line: An Education is an exquisite, intelligent, beautiful, thought-provoking film with a brilliant cast. If it fails at all, it fails only in regard to not moving the audience enough emotionally. Because David, Danny and Helen exist in such a fabricated, controlled world, all the emotions tend to feel a little stunted or subdued. But then again, perhaps one could argue that that was intentional on the part of Hornby, as Jenny is stunting herself emotionally by staying with David’s crowd.
Grade: A-
An Education stars newcomer Carey Mulligan as the young, schoolgirl impressionable Jenny, who, while finishing up her final year of school has a chance meeting with a much older fellow music lover played by Peter Sarsgaard. Even from the beginning moments of their relationship, we know that they will certainly end up sleeping together. Sarsgaard gives a brilliant performance, managing to walk the very precise line between clean cut, world-wise gentleman and what we will soon discover he is -- a cad. Much like Jenny, the audience is lured into liking David by his charm, even though we suspect that he is not all that wonderful under the surface.
The dashing Dominic Cooper of History Boys fame, as Danny and Rosamond Pike as Helen, Danny's vapid girlfriend round out an extraordinary, if subtle, main cast.
David plays Jenny’s father like a cheap deck of cards, lying and charming his way into taking Jenny wherever he likes.
Things begin to go awry when Helen gives Jenny a nightie before the group takes a trip and is surprised to find out that Jenny has not slept with David yet. But she is not surprised in an expected sort of way. She is surprised because of prior knowledge, precedent which the audience can read but she does not share with Jenny. We can no longer live in the happy delusion that Jenny is special to David. No. This has happened before. Jenny is not his first girl. To his credit, David does not force himself on Jenny, and approves of Jenny's resolve to stay a virgin till she is seventeen. However, in perhaps the most disturbing scene of the film, he asks to see her breasts. After she shows him, he thanks her, pulls the straps back up on her nightie and buries his head against her neck. There is something incredibly creepy about this moment as David makes a definitive step towards not just being a nice man, but a man who wants something from Jenny.
Jenny soon discovers that David and Danny steal things and sell properties in less than moral ways to turn a profit, and she is reluctant to remain in their world. But, when David explains that the money for restaurants and concerts doesn’t grow on trees, the similar shouts from Jenny's father earlier in the film ring in her ears and she decides she will stay. A trip to Paris strengthens their relationship, at least it evens out their complicity in it. Jenny sleeps with David and she seems happy to do so. Jenny no longer seems unaware of what David wants. She has matured.
Once back in England, Danny begins to express a concern for Jenny. At a club, he dances with her and there is a clear attraction between them. One gets the feeling that Danny could actually love and appreciate her - and deserves her a great deal more than David does - but being David's friend, he does nothing about it. David and Helen can only watch as they are given a dose of reality. David immediately asks Jenny to marry him – she gives him no definitive answer. She tells him he is "very sweet", as if she is patting him on the head. Their roles are completely reversed. In that moment, Jenny seems more like the adult than David.
Jenny discovers all too late - after dropping out of school - that David is already married. Her parents, who were just as seduced by David as Jenny are equally as pained to discover that their daughter's meal ticket is a liar. Jenny's mother seems the kind of woman who could have loved Jenny’s life with David when she was younger, but chose to marry and settle. Her father is a good man who only wants the best for his daughter. Jenny is denied re-acceptance to school. She visits her teacher at her home and studies privately, presumably under her tutelage. Jenny has learned something thanks to her time with David. She realizes that there are no shortcuts in life. She eventually attends Oxford and tries to lead a normal life for a girl her age.
Bottom Line: An Education is an exquisite, intelligent, beautiful, thought-provoking film with a brilliant cast. If it fails at all, it fails only in regard to not moving the audience enough emotionally. Because David, Danny and Helen exist in such a fabricated, controlled world, all the emotions tend to feel a little stunted or subdued. But then again, perhaps one could argue that that was intentional on the part of Hornby, as Jenny is stunting herself emotionally by staying with David’s crowd.
Grade: A-
Friday, February 19, 2010
[Review] Avatar
Avatar (2009)
Men have been burned at the stake for less sacrilegious things than I am about to say.
Avatar is an overblown Pocahontas story with Aussie accents and a splash of color thrown in to compensate.
There. I said it. Seriously, how did this movie get an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes? To be sure, the visual effects are impressive (though I did not see it in 3-D). I get our fascination with digital graphics. I really do. However, effects do not make up for a plotline so old and tired it needs to borrow its main character's wheelchair during takes.
Yes, Sam Worthington is hunky and mildly swoonable as the paraplegic Space Marine who only finds himself in the Avatar program because of the untimely death of his genetically identical twin. I'm sure the box office hype from this movie will skyrocket him into being the next action hero, and I don't begrudge him that at all. (After all, he was on the short list to play James Bond before Daniel Craig was chosen. Don't even get me started on that one.) It isn't his fault the script sucks.
Yes, yes. I do know that there are only so many stories out there and that American cinema has pretty much exhausted them, but what separates a good script from a bad one is the writer/director's ability to add twists and surprises that don't come along with the standard story package. Cameron - in my opinion - does not fulfill this qualification.
Bottom Line: Ultimately, Avatar isn't a bad movie. It's just not a great one. It doesn't live up to the hype and unfounded praise I've read. The graphics are indeed cool. It'll entertain you and you'll probably even feel for the characters, but don't go into it expecting something totally new and amazing. Story wise, you won't be getting it. If you can swing the cash, see it in 3-D. It probably makes it all the more enjoyable.
Grade: B-
Oh, and James Cameron? If you wanted to direct the sequel to FernGully, you should have just asked.
Men have been burned at the stake for less sacrilegious things than I am about to say.
Avatar is an overblown Pocahontas story with Aussie accents and a splash of color thrown in to compensate.
There. I said it. Seriously, how did this movie get an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes? To be sure, the visual effects are impressive (though I did not see it in 3-D). I get our fascination with digital graphics. I really do. However, effects do not make up for a plotline so old and tired it needs to borrow its main character's wheelchair during takes.
Yes, Sam Worthington is hunky and mildly swoonable as the paraplegic Space Marine who only finds himself in the Avatar program because of the untimely death of his genetically identical twin. I'm sure the box office hype from this movie will skyrocket him into being the next action hero, and I don't begrudge him that at all. (After all, he was on the short list to play James Bond before Daniel Craig was chosen. Don't even get me started on that one.) It isn't his fault the script sucks.
Yes, yes. I do know that there are only so many stories out there and that American cinema has pretty much exhausted them, but what separates a good script from a bad one is the writer/director's ability to add twists and surprises that don't come along with the standard story package. Cameron - in my opinion - does not fulfill this qualification.
Bottom Line: Ultimately, Avatar isn't a bad movie. It's just not a great one. It doesn't live up to the hype and unfounded praise I've read. The graphics are indeed cool. It'll entertain you and you'll probably even feel for the characters, but don't go into it expecting something totally new and amazing. Story wise, you won't be getting it. If you can swing the cash, see it in 3-D. It probably makes it all the more enjoyable.
Grade: B-
Oh, and James Cameron? If you wanted to direct the sequel to FernGully, you should have just asked.
Monday, January 18, 2010
[Review] Leap Year
As promised, here is the first of my mini-movie reviews.
Leap Year (2010)
I was extremely excited to see this film - I love Ireland more than anyone you've ever met - but it turned out to be truly mediocre. Plagued by a predictable plot, archetypal, caricatured characters and an appalling lack of appreciation for the majestic beauty of the Emerald Isle, Leap Year was only rescued from the direct-to-video/bargain bin at Wal-mart by the star power and charm of Amy Adams. Though the script has a few cute moments, Adams's character is not terribly compelling, nor does she make much of an emotional/personal shift from the beginning of the film to the end, leaving the viewer feeling ultimately unsatisfied. This, combined with only marginally attractive male co-stars, does not make for a good rom-com.
Bottom Line: Even for hardcore rom-com lovers, I say skip it. A re-watch of P.S. I Love You or The Matchmaker (both set in Ireland), will suffice. Erin Go Brah!
Grade: C-
Leap Year (2010)
I was extremely excited to see this film - I love Ireland more than anyone you've ever met - but it turned out to be truly mediocre. Plagued by a predictable plot, archetypal, caricatured characters and an appalling lack of appreciation for the majestic beauty of the Emerald Isle, Leap Year was only rescued from the direct-to-video/bargain bin at Wal-mart by the star power and charm of Amy Adams. Though the script has a few cute moments, Adams's character is not terribly compelling, nor does she make much of an emotional/personal shift from the beginning of the film to the end, leaving the viewer feeling ultimately unsatisfied. This, combined with only marginally attractive male co-stars, does not make for a good rom-com.
Bottom Line: Even for hardcore rom-com lovers, I say skip it. A re-watch of P.S. I Love You or The Matchmaker (both set in Ireland), will suffice. Erin Go Brah!
Grade: C-
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Like a puzzle.
Editing a script is kind of like putting together a puzzle. You know roughly what the finished product is supposed to look like - after all, you have the picture on the front of the box. The hard part is figuring out which direction all the pieces go and which colors match up where.
For me, coherent, compelling emotional flow is the most important aspect of completing this script. Maybe that makes no sense to anyone else, but it makes sense to me.
I like puzzles. They're challenging.
For me, coherent, compelling emotional flow is the most important aspect of completing this script. Maybe that makes no sense to anyone else, but it makes sense to me.
I like puzzles. They're challenging.
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