After leaving you all hanging last week, I thought I should really make up for it this week, and have decided to turn my first official post here into a running series. Every few months, I'll check back in with short comments about each 2010 new release I see, thus satisfying both my inner writer and film buff. Enjoii.
Green Zone (Paul Greengrass)
Before I can dive into any criticisms I have, I do have to give this film an A for effort. For all of its problems, Green Zone does have a lot of ambition, being audacious enough to reach for such high-minded goals, such as being nothing more than a left-wing cousin to Rambo. Having said that, Green Zone is still the worst new release I've seen so far this year. But don't get me wrong, it's not terrible or anything, just overachievingly average [oxymoron win]. The premise itself is just one big flaw right from the get-go, dropping a fictional super-soldier into the midst of 2003 Iraq, shortly after the invasion, to re-write recent historical wrongs in our own favor. When it comes to modern action directors less interested in serving the audience rather than satisfying their own vapid fetishes, Paul Greengrass has gotten off pretty easy, despite the fact that his two Bourne films' nauseating handheld cinematography turned every fight and chase centerpiece incoherent. Thus it's no shock to find this film employing the same bump-and-jostle attention-deficit aesthetic that served as a big warning sign that you're about to waste your time, reappears here in tenfold.
Clash of the Titans (Louis Leterrier)
In a rare instance of honest studio advertising, this film has wisely been promoted for exactly what it was. Which means don't go into this thinking it looks like the stupidest film you've ever heard of, hoping to be pleasantly surprised. You won't be. Personally, I thought it looked like silly, if not completely brainless fun, and that's exactly what I got out of it. And the sooner you accept the fact that things like hurried pacing and non-existent character development are due to the fact that this film just wants to get to the next action setpiece, the sooner you'll be able to enjoy this for what it is, if that's what you're looking for. It's not trying to impress you with faux social commentary, or contrived dilemmas of humanitarian concern. Flawed, but inspired badassery.
Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaugn)
Acknowledging that where a film originates from isn't usually important to how good it is as a whole, I deem it necessary to go over some of the original graphic novel's problems. It was a franchise I never familiarized myself with, and that was due mostly to the fact that it could never find a satisfying balance between aggressively juvenile, and pitch-black cynicism. This film adaptation sidesteps that problem by chucking out the more downbeat aspects of the source material, and making aggressively juvenile the order of the day. Granted, the comics were darker and had more to say, but were also thematically unfocused, while this filmic version has admittedly been simplified but holds together better as a story. At first, said story seems like a simple parody of the Peter Parker/Spider-Man persona, but eventually developes a real heart, gaining the film a sense of humanity that the comics were mostly lacking. Granted, this film condones precisely the type of merciless, desensitized movie violence that Quentin Tarantino had in mind when he wrote the finale of Inglourious Basterds. But entertainment is entertainment, and Kick-Ass is just that from minute one, even when it doesn't have a lot on its mind.
Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau)
Earlier in my Green Zone capsule, I mentioned that despite the absolute lack of effort on nearly each level, its ambition made it salvageable as a whole. Well that can work both ways, as pride can also be a films undoing, and boy does pride wreck this one good. But the most disappointing thing about Iron Man 2 isn’t the fact that it fails, in an altogether underwhelming way, to live up to the creative success of its predecessor, but that it does so for purely misguided reasons. Sure, the script isn’t as tight as the original, but nor should it be when plots are complicated and characters with varying motives are collecting in droves. On paper, Iron Man 2 should work, but on screen, it unfolds as a film without a singular connective vision, lurching forward in fits and spurts as it strains itself to recapture the blend of drama, comedy and action that was bestowed so effortlessly on the original. If there’s any blame to be dealt out to the creative forces behind the movie, it’s that they tried too hard.
w00t.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Yello'
Sorry, no blog for this week. It's not [just] that I didn't have anything of worth or value to discuss or rample on about. I was actually quite busy this weekend...
[briangordonforpromking!]
[briangordonforpromking!]
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Summer Bucket List
Over the past few weeks, with summer approaching so rapidly, I kept mulling over the things I’ve always wanted to do, yet never have. Therefore, I have opted to make my own mini “Bucket List” of sorts, with the deadline being the end of summer instead of, y’know, when I die. The goal of my posting this here is that I have some initiative to accomplish these goals. Around the time I get settled into college, provided I’m still using this page, I’ll create a follow up blog to this one, and say whether I did any of these things or not. Until that time, here goes;
1.) Attend the midnight premiere for a film
2.) Try as many strange and outlandish soda-ice cream float combinations as possible
3.) Develop a habit of hiking. [Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a nice scenic route as much as the next guy, but I’d like to make a legit habit out of this one.]
4.) Successfully learn the way from my house to Millersville
5.) Improve substantially at playing guitar
6.) Familiarize myself better with campus [both lifestyle and surroundings] at Millersville
7.) Pass on the “Shop Rite parking lot” tradition
8.) Get involved in a recent TV series [recommendations are welcome]
9.) Start eating waffles and/or pancakes for breakfast again
10.) Make it just a little further into the ‘Vampire Chronicles’ book series. Let’s say, oh I don’t know, at least two more
If I end up thinking of any more, I’ll just add onto the list. Until then, here it is.
1.) Attend the midnight premiere for a film
2.) Try as many strange and outlandish soda-ice cream float combinations as possible
3.) Develop a habit of hiking. [Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a nice scenic route as much as the next guy, but I’d like to make a legit habit out of this one.]
4.) Successfully learn the way from my house to Millersville
5.) Improve substantially at playing guitar
6.) Familiarize myself better with campus [both lifestyle and surroundings] at Millersville
7.) Pass on the “Shop Rite parking lot” tradition
8.) Get involved in a recent TV series [recommendations are welcome]
9.) Start eating waffles and/or pancakes for breakfast again
10.) Make it just a little further into the ‘Vampire Chronicles’ book series. Let’s say, oh I don’t know, at least two more
If I end up thinking of any more, I’ll just add onto the list. Until then, here it is.
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Village / The White Ribbon
This really is turning into a film blog, isn’t it?
With writing and producing a film being what it is lately, it’s typical that certain new releases are a tad derivative from much more influential material. Recent cases of this would be Moon and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and 500 Days of Summer and Annie Hall, among others. Although a rarity, a newer film drawing inspiration from one that's barely a few years older does happen. Such is the case with Michael Haneke’s recent The White Ribbon, which shares many artistic and dramatic similarities with M. Night Shyamalan’s underappreciated The Village.
Although comparisons between the two films are valid, with their seemingly brothers-in-spirit setting and tonality, they couldn’t be more thematically dissimilar. To fit their basic morals into a mere sentence, The Village is about how the power of love can conquer anything, so long as it’s not a solo effort (barring the social commentary). The White Ribbon, on the other hand, is not so optimistic, and is rather an exploration of the roots of a certain kind of evil. It's also very much about how sins of one generation carry on to the next, despite (or perhaps because of) the best efforts of the adults to mold their children into "good" citizens.
The Village, great film though it is, doesn’t seem too preoccupied with fleshing out its motifs with as much complexity and precision as The White Ribbon. No matter how much they ring true, the ideas in The Village are admittedly a bit…naive. But the subject matter of The White Ribbon, dates way back to the 1950s and has been explored by such directors as Ingmar Bergman and Carl Theodore Dreyer. Oldness be damned, it still feels as relevant now as it did over 50 years ago. Even the most unpleasant characters in the film are given moments of humanity, and it's clear that they are all victims of - and perpetrators in - a rigid, repressive hierarchical society that dehumanizes people and codifies behavior to such an extent that deviating from the "norms" at all can only bring misery.
But maybe that’s the difference between contemporary mainstream and arthouse cinema. Or perhaps M. Night Shyamalan just has more faith in humanity than Michael Haneke. Whatever the case, both of these films work just as well separately as they do when observing just how much they have in common.
Friday, April 30, 2010
100 Awesome Things (Redux)
Another week, another stolen idea from a friend (next week will be an original. srsly.). Basically, the idea here is to compile a list consisting only of under appreciated items that I personally enjoy. Credit for this ingenious idea goes to Postsecret.com and Neil Pasricha, the creator of the blog, which I will link towards the bottom. So without any further ado, here goes my list:
1.) High Fives
2.) Sunroofs
3.) Pastafarianism
4.) Cracking your back over a chair in school
5.) Fanny packs
6.) Fresh packs of gum
7.) Fridays
8.) Coloring
9.) Aimless drives to nowhere
10.) Toilet seat covers
11.) Mountaintop experiences
12.) Driving dangerously fast while listening to The Killers.
13.) The Criterion Collection
14.) Eyepatches
15.) Warm showers
16.) Old school Playstation games
17.) Studio Ghibli
18.) PIMPIN
19.) Lotion that dissolves really fast and doesn’t leave that gross greasy feeling
20.) Afternoon naps
21.) Family Guy pajamas
22.) Mall Santas
23.) Halloween
24.) Special getaway zones that only you (and the people you choose to tell) know about
25.) A good classical symphony
26.) Driving
27.) Netflix Instant
28.) Large ass-indents you leave while getting up off furniture after sitting there for a long time
29.) The cold side of the pillow
30.) Sitting in the back of the classroom and mentally picking off all the annoying kids
31.) Being thanked
32.) People who realize that ‘The Village’ is actually a great film
33.) Finally peeing after holding it in for a very long time
34.) Rushing through a door before it closes
35.) Looking at old photographs and experiencing that amazing nostalgic feeling
36.) Blankets big enough to fit more than one person
37.) Tracking shots
38.) Overwhelmingly buttery popcorn
39.) Asian people
40.) Stanley Kubrick films
41.) Gus Van Sant films
42.) Orson Welles films
43.) Ingmar Berg – alright, I’ll stop
44.) Campfires
45.) Redoing high fives after you miss the first time
46.) Realizing you still have the ability to surprise yourself
47.) Wawa milkshakes
48.) Unbelievably short people
49.) Learning math you’re actually going to use when you get older
50.) Not having to pay for yourself when you go somewhere
51.) Correcting a mistake
52.) Planet Earth (the tv series)
53.) fmylife.com
54.) Elliott Smith
55.) Having any kind of wildlife, typically a deer, walking around in your backyard
57.) Horror films as art
58.) Eating the insides of oreos and leaving the cookie parts
59.) Spongebob Squarepants
60.) Long walks
61.) Bubble wrap
62.) Mooching off other people for their food
63.) The freshly cut grass smell
64.) Slappin’ da bass
65.) When you return to a hotel room and the bed sheets have already been changed and the room all cleaned up
66.) Sledding
67.) Mt. Dew
68.) Potter Puppet Pals
69.) Dr. Seuss books
70.) Exciting rides at amusement parks
71.) Rare instances of the film adaptation of a book actually being better
72.) Philosophy
73.) Christoph Waltz in ‘Inglourious Basterds’
74.) Old fashioned typewriters
75.) HUNGRY MOTHER!!1
76.) Writing on steamy or foggy windows
77.) New Years
78.) Words that make your lips tingle when you say them
79.) The Cat Diaries
80.) Improv
81.) The feeling and texture of Play-Doh
82.) The Muppets
83.) Drive thrus
84.) That smooth, post-shave way your skin feels
85.) Scrubs
86.) Liking a song or band before it reaches stardom
87.) Pleasant surprises
88.) Making your own food
89.) Comfy socks
90.) Learning how to play an instrument
91.) Bike rides
92.) Flea Markets
93.) The Vampire Chronicles
94.) Jacuzzis
95.) Mission trips
96.) The Nostalgia Critic
97.) Board Games
98.) Watching snow falling outside, while you’re nice and warm indoors.
99.) Returning home after being gone for a while
100.) The fact that I could actually come up with a list of 100 things in my life I’m genuinely happy to have.
http://1000awesomethings.com/ [For all the things I may have missed.]
1.) High Fives
2.) Sunroofs
3.) Pastafarianism
4.) Cracking your back over a chair in school
5.) Fanny packs
6.) Fresh packs of gum
7.) Fridays
8.) Coloring
9.) Aimless drives to nowhere
10.) Toilet seat covers
11.) Mountaintop experiences
12.) Driving dangerously fast while listening to The Killers.
13.) The Criterion Collection
14.) Eyepatches
15.) Warm showers
16.) Old school Playstation games
17.) Studio Ghibli
18.) PIMPIN
19.) Lotion that dissolves really fast and doesn’t leave that gross greasy feeling
20.) Afternoon naps
21.) Family Guy pajamas
22.) Mall Santas
23.) Halloween
24.) Special getaway zones that only you (and the people you choose to tell) know about
25.) A good classical symphony
26.) Driving
27.) Netflix Instant
28.) Large ass-indents you leave while getting up off furniture after sitting there for a long time
29.) The cold side of the pillow
30.) Sitting in the back of the classroom and mentally picking off all the annoying kids
31.) Being thanked
32.) People who realize that ‘The Village’ is actually a great film
33.) Finally peeing after holding it in for a very long time
34.) Rushing through a door before it closes
35.) Looking at old photographs and experiencing that amazing nostalgic feeling
36.) Blankets big enough to fit more than one person
37.) Tracking shots
38.) Overwhelmingly buttery popcorn
39.) Asian people
40.) Stanley Kubrick films
41.) Gus Van Sant films
42.) Orson Welles films
43.) Ingmar Berg – alright, I’ll stop
44.) Campfires
45.) Redoing high fives after you miss the first time
46.) Realizing you still have the ability to surprise yourself
47.) Wawa milkshakes
48.) Unbelievably short people
49.) Learning math you’re actually going to use when you get older
50.) Not having to pay for yourself when you go somewhere
51.) Correcting a mistake
52.) Planet Earth (the tv series)
53.) fmylife.com
54.) Elliott Smith
55.) Having any kind of wildlife, typically a deer, walking around in your backyard
57.) Horror films as art
58.) Eating the insides of oreos and leaving the cookie parts
59.) Spongebob Squarepants
60.) Long walks
61.) Bubble wrap
62.) Mooching off other people for their food
63.) The freshly cut grass smell
64.) Slappin’ da bass
65.) When you return to a hotel room and the bed sheets have already been changed and the room all cleaned up
66.) Sledding
67.) Mt. Dew
68.) Potter Puppet Pals
69.) Dr. Seuss books
70.) Exciting rides at amusement parks
71.) Rare instances of the film adaptation of a book actually being better
72.) Philosophy
73.) Christoph Waltz in ‘Inglourious Basterds’
74.) Old fashioned typewriters
75.) HUNGRY MOTHER!!1
76.) Writing on steamy or foggy windows
77.) New Years
78.) Words that make your lips tingle when you say them
79.) The Cat Diaries
80.) Improv
81.) The feeling and texture of Play-Doh
82.) The Muppets
83.) Drive thrus
84.) That smooth, post-shave way your skin feels
85.) Scrubs
86.) Liking a song or band before it reaches stardom
87.) Pleasant surprises
88.) Making your own food
89.) Comfy socks
90.) Learning how to play an instrument
91.) Bike rides
92.) Flea Markets
93.) The Vampire Chronicles
94.) Jacuzzis
95.) Mission trips
96.) The Nostalgia Critic
97.) Board Games
98.) Watching snow falling outside, while you’re nice and warm indoors.
99.) Returning home after being gone for a while
100.) The fact that I could actually come up with a list of 100 things in my life I’m genuinely happy to have.
http://1000awesomethings.com/ [For all the things I may have missed.]
Friday, April 23, 2010
3-Dizzle
Let’s face it, movies will always be evolving. The art of filmmaking is not unlike the human race, in that it will continue to move forward, for better or worse. One of the more recent developments is the use of 3D in theatrical films. The goal of 3D is to make the viewing experience that much more immersive for the viewer. Whether it does its job well or not is in the eye of the beholder. So, let’s have it out now: 3D – stroke of genius, or useless distraction?
To further explore this newest of marketing gimmicks, we have to go all the way back to the beginning. What most people don’t seem to realize is that 3D has been around longer than a majority of the audience of any given film which uses it. It actually appeared first in the early 1980s, appearing mostly in the third installments of then popular horror franchises, if only for the namesake (Jaws 3D!, Friday the 13th 3D!!, Amityville 3D!!! omgsauce!!!1) It then shortly died off for a long while, since improvement was obviously needed. However, the trend had recently resurfaced and is now in popular demand.
Now-a-days, most films that end up in 3D are shot like that during principle photography. Typically, those ones are either animated films or use CGI heavy environments, such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland. However, sometimes a studio will decide they want 3D added in post-production, as to increase revenue. The final result usually isn’t as good-looking as the ones originally intended for 3D.
Much like a well-known actor whose been spending most of their career as a benchwarmer and has only recently achieved stardom, it seems that 3D has finally found a welcome home in mainstream cinema. Only time will tell if it lasts. But for now, the least it can do is provide for some awesome photo opportunities.
To further explore this newest of marketing gimmicks, we have to go all the way back to the beginning. What most people don’t seem to realize is that 3D has been around longer than a majority of the audience of any given film which uses it. It actually appeared first in the early 1980s, appearing mostly in the third installments of then popular horror franchises, if only for the namesake (Jaws 3D!, Friday the 13th 3D!!, Amityville 3D!!! omgsauce!!!1) It then shortly died off for a long while, since improvement was obviously needed. However, the trend had recently resurfaced and is now in popular demand.
Now-a-days, most films that end up in 3D are shot like that during principle photography. Typically, those ones are either animated films or use CGI heavy environments, such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland. However, sometimes a studio will decide they want 3D added in post-production, as to increase revenue. The final result usually isn’t as good-looking as the ones originally intended for 3D.
Much like a well-known actor whose been spending most of their career as a benchwarmer and has only recently achieved stardom, it seems that 3D has finally found a welcome home in mainstream cinema. Only time will tell if it lasts. But for now, the least it can do is provide for some awesome photo opportunities.
Friday, April 16, 2010
I dunt geddit
Due to a complete lack of inspiration and having nothing terribly interesting to write about this week, here’s a list of things, be they ideas, objects, or groups of people that I just don’t undershtand. So, without further ado, here they are.
People who are proud of being illiterate
Now, I can understand why some people don’t like to read, even if I disagree. But the attitudes of people who are actually proud of that just baffles me. Like whenever you look at someone’s Facebook or Myspace, and under the Books section, it says something like “naw man, fuck dose book! I don’t fuckin read. I’m too bizee playing World uh’ Warcraft!” Classy.
Teenagers who are all like “Fuck the police!”
Let me get this straight: you’re an 18 year old pot head, whose older brother was arrested last year for coke dealing, you’re a straight-D student in school, plan on becoming a male stripper when you get older, and you somehow think you have more value to society than a cop? Uh huh.
Men named Richard who choose to be called Dick.
“Hello, my name is Richard. But please, call me Dick.”
“Why hello there, Dick. My name is Christian, but you can call me Scrotie McBooger Balls.”
Juggalos
You know, the rabid fans of the group Insane Clown Posse. First off, if you’re going to start a multinational gang affiliation, why would you base it off of a musical group? And if you’re going to base it on a musical group, WHY for the love of His Noodley Appendage would you base it on the dumbest, most bullshit white-trash musical group ever? If the two guys who invented ICP are revealing some great truth about the world, then Elliot Smith is a prophet sent by God (not that he wasn’t already).
Sitcoms on T.V. that still use live studio audiences
While this is a more of a subjective complaint, I personally feel that if any show greenlit within the past couple of years still uses a laugh track, then the producers obviously don’t have a whole lot of faith in their product (**COUGH** Disney Channel **COUGH**). It shows a total lack of confidence, which is never a good sign. Oh, and just an interesting fact, but since they reuse the same laughing effects as they did in the 50s and 60s, most of the people who you hear on the laugh track are probably dead by now. Weird.
People who join like a million groups on Facebook
Is it really necessary to have 1,028 pages on your profile that say all the same three things? Guys always mistreat you, you don’t like sluts, you think all those innuendo sounding groups are funny. I fucking get it already. Stop spamming my news feed.
Referring to something as “Good but overrated” and the people who actually think it makes any damn sense
“Hey, did you see The Hurt Locker”
“Yeah, but it shouldn’t have won Best Picture at the Oscars. It was good, but way overrated.”
*facepalm*
It makes NO SENSE. How the shit can you call a film you consider worthwhile to be overrated? Why does it distress you so much if a film you LIKED is getting praise? Why not join in? Why be miserable about something that struck all the right chords with you getting hailed by others? Why? WHY? >:(
People who are proud of being illiterate
Now, I can understand why some people don’t like to read, even if I disagree. But the attitudes of people who are actually proud of that just baffles me. Like whenever you look at someone’s Facebook or Myspace, and under the Books section, it says something like “naw man, fuck dose book! I don’t fuckin read. I’m too bizee playing World uh’ Warcraft!” Classy.
Teenagers who are all like “Fuck the police!”
Let me get this straight: you’re an 18 year old pot head, whose older brother was arrested last year for coke dealing, you’re a straight-D student in school, plan on becoming a male stripper when you get older, and you somehow think you have more value to society than a cop? Uh huh.
Men named Richard who choose to be called Dick.
“Hello, my name is Richard. But please, call me Dick.”
“Why hello there, Dick. My name is Christian, but you can call me Scrotie McBooger Balls.”
Juggalos
You know, the rabid fans of the group Insane Clown Posse. First off, if you’re going to start a multinational gang affiliation, why would you base it off of a musical group? And if you’re going to base it on a musical group, WHY for the love of His Noodley Appendage would you base it on the dumbest, most bullshit white-trash musical group ever? If the two guys who invented ICP are revealing some great truth about the world, then Elliot Smith is a prophet sent by God (not that he wasn’t already).
Sitcoms on T.V. that still use live studio audiences
While this is a more of a subjective complaint, I personally feel that if any show greenlit within the past couple of years still uses a laugh track, then the producers obviously don’t have a whole lot of faith in their product (**COUGH** Disney Channel **COUGH**). It shows a total lack of confidence, which is never a good sign. Oh, and just an interesting fact, but since they reuse the same laughing effects as they did in the 50s and 60s, most of the people who you hear on the laugh track are probably dead by now. Weird.
People who join like a million groups on Facebook
Is it really necessary to have 1,028 pages on your profile that say all the same three things? Guys always mistreat you, you don’t like sluts, you think all those innuendo sounding groups are funny. I fucking get it already. Stop spamming my news feed.
Referring to something as “Good but overrated” and the people who actually think it makes any damn sense
“Hey, did you see The Hurt Locker”
“Yeah, but it shouldn’t have won Best Picture at the Oscars. It was good, but way overrated.”
*facepalm*
It makes NO SENSE. How the shit can you call a film you consider worthwhile to be overrated? Why does it distress you so much if a film you LIKED is getting praise? Why not join in? Why be miserable about something that struck all the right chords with you getting hailed by others? Why? WHY? >:(
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