Summer Movie-ing, Part III

Goal #3: Decide the Ultimate Internal Debate:

2004 or 2007?

In case you haven’t noticed already, I’m a big picture guy when it comes to movies.  Obviously I like watching/analyzing/discussing/over-analyzing/being a snob about/contemplating movies, but it doesn’t stop there: I want to know how they fit into the bigger realm; how they compare with other movies that particular year or decade, how it compares with other films from the particular director, how and why it does or doesn’t resonate with pop culture, and what the movie indicates about the current social/political outlook.  This is why I’m intrigued by film awards—not because the “best” films always win, but because they represent a broader picture of what was going on that particular year, based on the factors I laid out above. 

Back in December when I was putting myself through hell to figure out my top 10 movies of the 2000’s (which, by the way, I have edited slightly, but more on that later), I was trying to decide which year out of the decade was the best for film: 2004 or 2007.  I realize this particular goal may seem kind of trivial to you—but trust me—cosmic filmdom forces hang in the balance upon proper analyzation and resolution of this question…so bear with me while I list the films from each year that I consider to be great:

2004:

Finding Neverland

Sideways

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Hotel Rwanda

The Aviator

The Incredibles

Downfall

2046
Garden State

Kill Bill 2

2007:

No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Into the Wild

Michael Clayton

Ratatouille

Once

Atonement

The Diving Bell and Butterfly

Sweeney Todd

Eastern Promises

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Gone Baby Gone

Lars and the Real Girl

Okay, at first glance, 2007 has the upper hand.  My quest to decide this debate will involve watching some of these films that I’ve only seen once, which, as you may have guessed, is only a few of these.  Hopefully I'll have some sort of divine intervention to give me clarity on the whole issue.

Other than that, I’m going to keep watching some old films (see: summer movie-ing goal #1), and keep being the worst kind of INCEPTION fanboy (summer movie-ing goal #2).  And on that note, get a load of THIS:

Beautiful, isn't it?  I may have to name my daughter Marion.  

Summer Movie-ing, Part II

Goal #2: Become the Biggest INCEPTION fanboy of all-time.  

If you read my top-10 ½ of the decade list, you know that I am a huge Neo[i] fan (The Dark Knight, Memento).   Well, his new movie, starring Leo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Michael Cain, and Ken Wantanabe opens July 16^th.  By the way, I almost peed on myself while typing the names in the last sentence.  Anyway, it is my goal to be the biggest, most-annoying fanboy you have ever seen, rivaling Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fanboys.  A couple of weeks ago, during the series finale of LOST,  which I was watching with some friends, we had the show DVR’d and we were fast forwarding through the commercials, only when the INCEPTION trailer came on I yelped and demanded we watch the entire commercial.  This is just a taste of what you can expect from me in the coming weeks.  By the way, any paragraph referencing both Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and LOST may indicate the level of nerdiness you are dealing with.   

Why do I want to be a fanboy?  You mean, other than the fact that I had higher expectations than almost any movie ever when I walked into The Dark Knight, and yet, they were surpassed?  Other than the fact that Neo made my #4 and #5 movies of the last decade?  Listen, I am the king of lowered expectations.  Expectations make the movie: raise them too high, and disappointment is inevitable; keep them low, and even if the movie isn’t anything too write home about, it at least wasn’t the complete waste of two hours that you thought it would be.  But a director can only make so many A+, entertaining, cerebral, and visually stunning films before you just have to throw your hands up, blow your lunch money on a jumbo popcorn and coke, plop down in your $15 IMAX seat and expect greatness.  And you know what, we deserve that…we deserve to raise our expectations to new heights. 

So really this fits in with my summer movie-ing goals perfectly: summer movie-ing is about reliving those late-night sleepovers with friends, throwing back 8 mountain dews and watching Happy Gilmore, Varsity Blues or Fight Club; summer movie-ing is about begging your 18-year old sister to buy your ticket to rated-R The Blair Witch Project, and pleading with your mom to get you the little kid-size movie-meal tray before the multiplex premiere of The Lion King.  My goal to be the biggest INCEPTION fanboy of all time is largely a channeling of my youth—my desire to be wowed and awed and surprised.  Neo, if anyone, is the man that can do this.

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[i] For present and future reference, "Neo" is the pseudonym I have bestowed on the almighty director Christopher Nolan.  The only explanation for his greatness is that he was sent into our world to change cinema forever.  Amen.  

Summer Movie-ing

            Excuse my absence.  If you guys would just pay me 40K/year write the blog, I could quit school, there would be a lot more posts, and everyone would be happy.  That’s only like $8,000 a year for each of my five readers, so that would be worth it right?  Anyway, now that another semester is over with, I’ll have a little more time to devote to my one true love.  I’ll get to hang out with my wife a little more, too.

            When I was in elementary and junior high school, I always had summer reading that my school required me to do.  It always bummed me out to do at the end the summer when I had inevitably put it off and had to read an entire book in a week.  It’s not that I hated reading; it’s just that I hated being forced to read.  But I always enjoyed summer movie-ing as a child.  I’d drag my mom to every new Disney movie that came out, I watched every kid-sports movie in the vein of Sandlot, and of course at sleepovers my friends introduced me to such classics as Dumb and Dumber, Tommy Boy and Billy Madison, after which my life, in the words of Galinda from Wicked, “changed for the better.” 

            Anyway, I have some serious summer movie-ing to take care of this year, which should make for an entertaining read on this blog over the next couple of months.  In the spirit of carefree summers, I have devised a loose list of movie-ing goals that I may or may not accomplish.  I will be posting several of these in the coming weeks, along with updates on how it’s going.  As always, feel free to post your own summer movie-ing goals.  

Goal #1:  Getting Down on Some Classics.

Over the last year, I have become increasingly obsessed with classic cinema.  Within the last few months I have watched A Streetcar Named Desire, M, The Third Man, The Seventh Seal, and On The Waterfront.  All are worthy of their classic status, in my opinion (in fact, Streetcar may be one of the best movies I’ve ever seen (and, as always, keep in mind I don’t say things like this lightly)).  More and more as I watch films like this, I agree with my Grandpa: "they don't make 'em like they used to."  My goal for the summer is to tear through some more classics: finish off Hitchcock’s library, introduce myself to Billy Wilder, John Ford, and John Huston, and even dabble in some Charlie Chaplin if the mood strikes me. 

My dad is THE man on classic cinema.  His television is tuned to 3 and only 3 channels on any given day: Fox News, whatever channel the Astros are on, and Turner Classic Movies.  He can recognize any actor who appeared in more than one movie between 1930 and 1960 (it’s truly amazing).  I mean, he literally might have seen everything in that time period.  As it is my mission in life to make sure I am as smart and knowledgeable as my dad in anything and everything (only half-joking…okay, not joking at all), I guess it’s time to step my game up.   By the end of the summer, I hope to be at least 25% of the way to accomplishing that goal. 

I Need More Terrence Malick In My Life

             You ever get the feeling that God put something on this earth solely for your pleasure and benefit?  One time recently I was driving while listening to a Bill Evans jazz tune titled “Peace Piece,” a nice little piano song; and as I was driving I watched a fiery red sun setting directly behind the silhouette of a tall, majestic leafless tree.  After taking it all in—the romance between the sun, tree, and music, I decided, “Yep, that moment in time was carefully crafted just for me, and no one can tell me any different.”  It’s the same feeling my wife got that one time I cleaned the house. 

            Well, I also think some movies were just made for certain people.  Terrence Malick’s The New World is the new epitome of that for me.  Let me explain what I mean.   It has a 6.9 rating on IMDB (relatively low by IMDB standards, if a movie is under 7.0 then it’s usually a bad sign).  It has a 69 rating on Metacritic (decent score for Metacritic, but nothing to write home about).  It has a 60 on Rottentomatoes (way low for Tomatoes’ standards).  It made $12M in the U.S. box office on a budget of $30M.  So, relying on my conventional methods of determining what movies to watch failed me miserably this time.  

Nonetheless, as I watched this film with relatively low expectations, I was overcome by a strong sense of connection to it.  It’s truly a director-driven film; the story and script play second-fiddle to Malick’s photography of his landscapes, his old-English set design, and most importantly, his actors.  Showing vs. telling is very much at play here, as we observe the English explorers discovering their new world, the Native Americans discovering their new neighbors (it ends up being a “new world” for them too, after all), and then in the third act, Pocahontas discovering what for her is a new world when she travels with her husband John Rolfe back to Great Britain.  In all three of these cases, Malick expertly captures the feelings of the characters without the use of much dialogue.  Even then, a good portion of the speaking is voice-over.  I can’t explain why, but this approach to film-making just suits me.  As one critic who apparently didn’t think much of the film put it, “The New World is largely about Malick’s love-affair with his camera.”  Well, exactly. 

            For me, this is really a new type of movie, in a way.  I can honestly say that it’s more like watching a ballet than a film.  There are ensemble movements that advance the conflict and plot between the settlers and the Natives; there are solos of Pocahontas and John Smith as we observe their struggles and successes in dealing with their new surroundings, and of course, there are the romantic duets between both Pocahontas/John Smith as well as Pocahontas/John Rolfe.  As with any ballet, this is all accompanied by beautiful musical score.  The chemical reaction between all of these elements in the film evoked a reaction from me that only true art can do. 

            I’m not going to apologize for my strong opinion on this film despite the negativity surrounding it.  Like my sunset, tree, and jazz music, this movie was made just for me, and no one can convince me otherwise.  

Review: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father (2008)

When I sat down one unassuming Wednesday night with my wife to check out this film, I already knew what to expect from it because I had read a lot about it online: “It will break your heart.”  “It’s the saddest film you will ever see.”  “You will cry buckets.”  “The events of this story are completely unfathomable.”  And, although I usually believe everything I read on the internet, I dismissed these comments as mere hyperbole.  I mean, surely it can’t be sooooooo unbelievably heartbreaking, right?

Wrong.

If you haven’t heard of it, this story is basically a love-letter to the family of Dr. Andrew Bagby, who was murdered by his girlfriend Shirley Turner.  The filmmaker was a close friend of Andrew’s and he wanted to make it as a way for Andrew’s son, Zachary, to know his father through interviews of family and friends.  Doesn’t sound like it could be that sad, right?  Well, here’s a brief running diary of my emotions throughout the 90-minute film.                                        

0:20: Small lump in throat, not looking at wife because I know she’s already shedding a tear or two which will make it harder for me not to.

0:42: First inkling of a tear rolls down cheek.  Man card=REVOKED. 

0:57: Tennis ball-sized lump in throat, beginning to reach “death of my childhood dog when I was 12” status. 

1:10:  Tears accumulating in rapid fashion; beginning to flow steadily.  All bets are off at this point. 

1:25:  Pools running out of blood-shot eyes; blubbering; wailing; snot everywhere; hugging wife and dog.

1:30: Film ends.  Repeat above for 30 more minutes. 

So I think that paints a pretty accurate picture of what this film is capable of doing to you.  As far as the quality of the film, it’s not a prototypical documentary in that it’s not so much an investigative journalism as much as a home-video from one friend to the family of another; the editing is somewhat overbearing at some points and the music heavy-handed; but because of the personal nature of the story and the downright tragedy of the actual events, this is easy to forgive.  I highly recommend exercising your lacrimal glands and giving this one a shot. 

**Thanks to fellow film-buff Taylor S. for turning me on to this film.**

Sleeping Beauty Fail

So, This is Happening.

I've been a lazy bum the past couple of weeks with keeping up on here, and I have a lot of movies I want to get to, but I had to post about this in order to see if everyone is as enraged as I am about it.

As my wonderful sister and parents know all too well, I am obsessed with Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  I probably watched it 300 times from age 2 to 8.  It's still my favorite Disney movie of all time.  When it came out on DVD for the first time in the fall of 2003, I risked my manhood by informing my new friends at college that I would be purchasing it and watching it on a Friday night by myself, and I didn't care what they said or thought.  Long story short, I would be lying if I said I didn't have an emotional attachment to the film.  Judge me.

Despite this, I don't think my possibly concerning attachment is clouding my opinion that I think trying to make a movie centered around Maleficent is a mistake.  As it stands, Maleficent is one of the scariest and best Disney villains ever.  Part of what makes her so scary is that we don't know anything about her...we don't know why she hates the King and Queen and wants to kill their child, but isn't it better that way?

Moreover, I can't imagine anything worse than Tim Burton directing this film.  I haven't seen Alice In Wonderland yet, but based on all accounts of people I trust, it was despicable.  So he's already screwed up one classic Disney movie (and the trippiest, I might add).  He screwed up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, another movie that didn't need to be touched.

Look, I'm not trying to be a stick in the mud, but can we really not come up with any sort of original idea every once in a while?  Moviegods, I don't ask for much, but please....just no.

Official 2009 Oscar Predictions

Listen up, Academy.  If you do the 10 Best Picture nominee thing again, I'm going to punch you.  And I will gripe and complain until I'm blue in the face, and threaten to not watch you again, but we both know that I will.  But maybe that's the problem AND the solution.  See, apparently the Academy's reasoning for expanding the Best Picture category was to open it up for more mainstream films to get in, such as this year's Up, The Blind Side (sorry, just threw up a little in my mouth), and District 9.  More mainstream movies getting a nomination = more viewership, as far as the Academy's concerned.  My theory is that this will not affect the amount of people who watch it.  People will complain and stomp around mad about who gets nominated/who wins, but they will always come back.  It's the Academy Freaking Awards, THE *end all and be all* of American film awards.  They lucked out this year anyway, with AVATAR making enough money to fill Texas.  The following of that movie alone will yield much higher viewers tomorrow night, but it would have been nominated in a field of 5 anyway.  But I digress.  Academy, just admit that this year was a failure and move on.  Anyway, here are my picks for tomorrow night; enjoy.  

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

% Sure: 75

Comments: There has been a little backlash in the past couple of weeks surrounding The Hurt Locker, but I'm sticking with my guns here.  It's a two horse race between it and AVATAR (although some would claim Inglorious Basterds has a shot, but it doesn't).  The problem with AVATAR is that it has zero acting or writing nominations.  I think it's something like, zero, movies have ever won Best Picture without a writing or acting nomination (although if any movie was to break that mold, it would be that one).  The other major reason that I think Locker will win is because of the enormous amount of precursor awards going to it: Writers Guild Award, Directors Guild Award, Producers Guild Award, Editors Guild Award, and the BAFTA, to name a few.  The only thing AVATAR has won is the Golden Globe, which has not matched the Academy several times recently.  Anyway, I think it's Locker for the win, but I won't be surprised if I see James Cameron take the stage in Kodak theatre tomorrow night.  

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

% Sure: 95

Comments: Jeff Bridges has won every major award so far except for the BAFTA, and I don't think this will change here.  The other problem is that there is not another standout upset contender: Colin Firth won the BAFTA and not much else, George Clooney had a lot of early buzz but dropped off, Jeremy Renner wasn't even a lock for a nom but has gotten a LOT of buzz of late, and then there's Morgan Freeman playing himself, er, Nelson Mandella.  If anyone upsets it will be Renner, but you can feel pretty safe putting your money on Bridges.

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

% Sure: 40

Comments: Okay, here's the deal: the other acting categories this year are all locks, and there's almost always one "out of nowhere" winner (see: Arkin, Alan).  I think this will be the category that it happens in this year. Having said that, I'm still picking the frontrunner with Sandra, because there's not a clear 2nd banana with the noms.  Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan won the BAFTA (and it's my fav. female performance of the year), and Gabourey Sidibe has a lot of recent buzz.  Do not be surprised if any of those 4 women win.  Here's my %'s: Bullock = 40, Sidibe = 25, Mulligan = 20, Streep = 15, Mirren = 0.  

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

% Sure: 100

Comments: Two things: First, I love that because of this movie, I'm allowed to say "Basterds" in my blog.  Second, you can bet your firstborn child on this win.  

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Monique, Precious

% Sure: 97.5

Comments: Monique will win.  And barring Gabby Sidibe pulling the upset over Sandra, it's the only award that Precious will take home tomorrow.  

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

% Sure: 99.5

Even if AVATAR wins BP, I think Bigelow wins best director.  As she'll be the first woman to ever take home the award, I think the Academy will do the politically correct thing here.  It's the right time.

Best Original Screenplay: Inglorious Basterds

% Sure: 70

Comments: It's either going to be this or The Hurt Locker.  My thinking is that the Academy will want to award Quentin Tarantino for this movie, which won at the Screen Actor's Guild awards for best ensemble performance.  

Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

% Sure: 80

Comments: It's won almost everything so far in this category, and I think this will be the one award that the movie takes home.  Much like Basterds, the Academy won't let such an acclaimed and highly nominated film walk home empty-handed.  

Best Cinematography: Avatar

% Sure: 25

Comments: Okay, here come the technicals.  A few of them I have a really good idea on, and the others I might as well throw darts at a board.  This is one of those.  My original pick was for The White Ribbon to win, as it's a beautifully shot film, but if The Hurt Locker wins the major awards then AVATAR could very well sweep the technicals, so I'm switching my vote.  Don't count out any of the nominees on this one.  

Best Editing: The Hurt Locker

% Sure: 40

Comments: Best Editing many times goes along with the BP winner, and in this case, the editing was very important to the feel of the movie.  However, per my theory about AVATAR above, it could very well win also.

Best Art Direction: Avatar

% Sure: 45

Comments: Many times in categories like this, the BP nominee will take home the award against the other films not nominated for it.  My original pick was Nine, but others think Sherlock Holmes as well.  Who the heck knows?  I'll go with the movie that made 2 Billion dollars, thanks.

Best Costume Design: The Young Victoria

% Sure: 75

Comments: The Academy loves period-piece porn, and it's won a lot of awards already.

Best Makeup: Star Trek

% Sure: 95

Comments: No other good candidates. 

Best Original Score: Up

% Sure: 85

Comments: It's been winning everything, and the score in AVATAR just isn't very good, or else it would have a chance.

Best Original Song: “The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart

% Sure: 90

Comments: Good song, it's been winning everything, and the upset contender would be one of the songs from The Princess and The Frog, but since it has two noms it will split the vote.

Best Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker

% Sure: 45

Comments: Once again, two horse race between it and the blue smurfs movie.  If I had any brains I would pick the same movies for this and sound editing to increase my chances for winning one of them, but I just have a hunch.  

Best Sound Editing: Avatar

% Sure: 35

Comments: (See above)

Best Visual Effects: AVATAR

% Sure: 110

Comments: The other nominees are just glad to be there.  

Best Animated Film: Up

% Sure: 85

Comments: Strong, strong year for animated films.  I personally liked Coraline better, but Up was nominated for BP, and has been winning everything, so I don't really see anything else taking it.  Also, doesn't AVATAR qualify for this category?

Best Foreign Film: A Prophet

% Sure: 50

Comments: Haven't seen A Prophet, but it looks like the clear frontrunner.  The White Ribbon and The Secrets in Their Eyes could also win.  Not feeling too sure on this category.  

Best Documentary: The Cove

% Sure: 90

Comments: This one's pretty safe, but Food, Inc. could sneak in.  It's just too bad Capitalism: A Love Story wasn't nominated, Michael Moore is always entertaining.  And fat.

Not gonna attempt the short films; haven't seen a one.  That's it for my predictions, have fun watching everyone!