Time for some improvements around here.

Often it seems, upon reading older entries of this blog, I am sad to notice what in some cases seem like lifeless and unprofessional attempts on my part to win favor, or something altogether too pedestrian. I don't want this blog to just be something any old fan boy or movie buff could string together.
For example, what is great about There Will Be Blood is not just how it spoke to me or what it spoke of, but also it's images, the interplay between light and shadow and the subtle, yet profound way, it's music fills you with a surge of emotion. These are things I understand. The words to describe film are a part of my lexicon, but for some reason I have chosen to ignore things like lighting design and camera angles. Film is art, but it is a technical art.
Also on an earlier blog entry I decided to post one blog everyday. This turned out to be one of those ideas that never came into happy fruition.
So, here then, with these two truths in mind, is my new pledge. I promise, in fact I more than promise, that from here on out the quality of this blog will be improved tenfold. With this I hope for an increase in readership. I know that I am capable of such things. I recognize the unprofessional nature of this particular blog entry, but I want to make you, my faithful readers, aware of these changes that I plan to implement.
I adore film as both a form of art and testament to who and what we are as human beings. I only hope that, with what remains of this blog, that I can pay film its rightful due.
Right now, upon a second viewing of Into the Wild, I am staring at 78 pages of notes about the film, trying to turn it into a workable blog entry. I hope to have it posted by Sunday, but I won't promise this. I am writing this Into the Wild entry, based on an intriguing question posed to me by a good friend. It will perhaps be more personal than I had originally intended. However, something this blog has taught me, or more accurately reminded me of, is just how personal the experience of viewing and engaging with film can truly be.

Film Review: Rendition

On March 8^th 2007, last Saturday, the president of the United States of America vetoed a law that would ban the use of waterboarding, a gruesome practice of emulating drowning in those you wish to interrogate. It’s a practice that dates back to the Spanish Inquisition (see above.) His reasoning is that attacks have actually been prevented using this method. To Bush the ends justify the means.

Another of the long list of films I missed last year is Rendition, a film about an innocent victim of the type of torture our president just condoned Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally), who has the misfortune timing of being a scientist and Muslim, at the same time, in the “post 9/11 world,” is captured by the government. His wife, Isabella (Resse Witherspoon,) is pregnant and desperate to find her beloved. Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a government agent torn between doing what is expected of him and what is, forgive the over simplification, right. There are a whole host of other characters including a young couple in love in the Middle East and Corrine Williams, a vicious beast of a character in charge of torture who believes in what she is doing. Corrine is played to near perfection by Meryl Strep (shocking, no?)

What is compelling about the story is Isabella’s fighting against the yellow tape to save her husband. What is not compelling about this story is the out of place love story between the two young lovers in the Middle East. It seemed to be a pleasant story and it does lead to a powerful conclusion. Actually on second thought I loved their story, but what I don’t like is the way it is actually written. And frankly I don’t like the way much of the film is written.

I like the ideas of the film. I like the directing in the film and I liked incredible acting on the parts of basically the entire cast. I think my only fault is with the screenplay. There are plot holes and there are too many stories at play here. What is compelling about this film is not so much the political implications of the film but instead their emotional draw. Though it would and should be impossible to ignore the political implications.

I think that most of all the film serves what would seem to be its basic purpose, calling attention to the atrocities that are committed in the name of our “safety.” I don’t care what political persuasion you may have, this film will make you stop and make you consider your government and your role in what your government does. I think the single most important argument the film makes against torture is that torturing people leads to a perception about our society that we are violent (well even more so) that also provokes violence. Therefore by condoning torturing we do less to fight terrorism than we do to promote it. Holding people as political prisoners for years without every once allowing them to have their day in court. Taking innocent people from within every part of our society because they happen to meet a certain profile. And then having the gall to support torture and then do all this stuff in MY NAME. That is what this film calls attention to. And while the film itself is not really so great, it does deserve credit as a necessary wake-up call. The sad truth is that the film is probably preaching to the choir. If you consider yourself to be among the crowd of political apathetics this films deserves your attention.

The Last Harry Potter Films

So it was announced today the last book of the Harry Potter film series will be filmed in two parts. Still no word yet as to who will be the director. I have my fingers crossed for the return of Alfonso Cuaron.

Here is a link to the little blurb about it. http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/ap/20080313/120541260000.html

Daniel Radcliffe mentions that the next film in the series will be the funniest one. Intersting. that could be good or that could be quite bad.For some reason I can't seem to post a picture. Sorry to those people who like to look Daniel Radcliffe

The Backlash Against Martin Scorsese

Last night was going to be movie night with my parents. We were all set to watch Mean Streets, one of Martin Scorsese's early films. I put the disk in and within the first few moments was pulled directly into the world of small time criminals. Not his best film, for sure, but a truly great film and very important in the history of the gangster genre. So at around the thirty minute mark my Dad paused the movie and asked me "would you mind if we stopped here, this is the worst movie I have ever seen." I have to say I was bit flabbergasted. My dad and I don't have very common taste, but the genre flicks of the mob have always been our common ground. My mom then pipped up that she just couldn't understand how anyone could possibly enjoy such a boring and snobby film. Snobby? Really? A movie about small time criminals with the social sophistication of a can of tuna?

This got me thinking about a few other friends of mine who mentioned not being able to sit through another of Scorsese's films, the more recent best picture recipient The Departed. They simply found it boring. I found this one even harder to believe. It is, after all, one of his more approachable films. And let me tell I do ever so love The Departed. I love it in that purely blockbuster, edge of my seat kind of way. Boring? Really?

And then there was the famous and similar scene with Goodfellas. But I think you get the idea. So I got to thinking about all the people in my life, who like me, see Scorsese as one the greats of modern American cinema. All of them are either film makers or students of film. I don't know anyone else if my life who actually likes Scorsese. Except my grandfather. He loves them. He even loves Gangs of New York, Scorsese's hands down worst picture. So what makes my grandfather, students of film, filmmakers and yours truly so in love with him? I think I will take some time to answer that question. I have a long answer in my head. Things about suspense, realism, verisimilitude and that stuff. But here is my question to you? If you count yourself among those who find Scorsese not so great, why?

Oh yes and to all my female readers, Happy International Women's Day. I was planning on writing a post about women directors and I promise that will be coming along shortly. Once again thanks to everyone for reading.

What is your favorite movie?

I wrote three fresh shiny new reviews and all of them where left on my Grandmother’s computer. So I will probably display them in a few months when I see her again. Sorry about that one.

Also to entice you to continue checking this blog I have decided to post a little something every day. Even if it’s just a question. Hold me to it people.

What is your favorite movie? I love to ask that question. I have heard answers ranging from The Triumph of the Wills (scary answer there) to The Notebook (not terrible, but seriously?) However, it’s never right to judge somebody by their favorite movie. You can make particular judgments about people’s general movie taste, but your favorite movie is very often based in no small part on life experiences. I don’t understand the appeal of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, but The Goonies and The Never-ending Story are to me like being a child again. Of course at the same time for some people favorite films are seen for the first time when you see a truly great cinematic masterpiece. For a good friend of mine it was 2001: A Space Odyssey and for another friend Godard’s Breathless. Well this question leads to no easy answer and I tend to spout off long lists. However all film criticism put aside, all knowledge of film on hold, all knowledge of screenplay on hold my favorite film is, and only slightly more so than Almost Famous, Say Anything. When Lloyd Dobbler raises that radio over his head and with his last life romantic bone in his body demands the love of his beloved, I can hear angels (channeling through Peter Gabriel of course.) So I pose this question to you, my lovely readers, all like three or four of you, what is yoru favorite movie and why? There are no wrong answers except in the case of Crash. See you tomorrow.

Review: Art School Confidential

What begins as a delightful coming of age story turns into a smarmy pit of unfulfilled dreams and artificiality. The film, Art School Confidential, is neither a good movie, nor a bad one. It is something else. Something ironic and therefore, in its own twisted logic, failed. The director, Terry Twigoff, has in the past directed some really great stuff. His best work so far has to be the humorous and very honest film Ghost World. This film does not live up to that high standard. However, you can’t help but admire its boldness, its attempt at honesty and its ultimate statement about not only the art world, but also the artificiality of the world at large.

Jerome, played sufficiently by unknown Max Minghella, is the art nerd. The kid who got beat up on the playground for being too arty. The poor child who you can’t help but cheer for in a movie that starts like almost all coming of age stories do, with annoying conversations about losing your virginity. However, unlike lesser films that spend their time focused solely on this question, Art School Confidential is something way more interesting. However it’s impossible to say what that is. Jerome wants to be a great artist. He says this often and with great vigor. We believe him. His fellow freshman make works of art that any five year old could make, while he draws a picture of the beautiful girl with great realism. This girl is of course the object of his affection. Her name is Audrey (Sophia Myles), played like almost all desired women of cinema, as sweet but unaware. A feminist reading of her character would yield quite negative results. Also there is the best friend, the gay roommate, the boorish film major, the jaded art professor and so on and so forth. Oh and I should mention, but only in passing as most the film isn’t so much about it, there is a serial killer.

So the film opens as glorious roasting of all these clichés. Its self awareness is extremely funny, but very sharp around the edges. It is incredibly honest in its depiction of the young artist trying to find a voice in a crowded room of derivative other voices. Slowly the film deteriorates as our hero falls deeper in love with the girl, Audrey, and becomes more intent on a becoming a great artist. Jerome forgets somewhere, like all the walking clichés around him, that instead of wanting to make great art, he instead wants to be a great artist. In the slimy, grimy world of art he begins to realize that it’s not so about the quality of work, but the gimmick behind it. Let me tell you friends, his gimmick is classic. I want to say more than on that, but I will say just say in a film where I always knew what was going to happen, I still loved the ending. I read a few reviews that said it was too dark. To me, its not some tragedy, it’s just really honestly funny.

So where is this failure I mentioned early? If we are to take the film as its own piece of art, then we must follow the logic of the film in its criticisms of art. And, to say it more simply, the film is everything the film hates. It is pretentious, it is cliché, it is showy and ultimately in the end, it’s really just too self-aware, too empty, too annoying.

I would say the film is worth a watch. It makes a great conversation starter and does have some really great moments for anyone who’s worked or studied art in great detail. It won’t change your life or make you cry, but one day when one of your friends makes some lame, shallow comment on art, you can roll you eyes a bit to yourself and know your not alone.

Top Ten Films of 2007

Yes. I know. Its now March, but I really want to share with you all this list. My top ten films of 2007. In reverse order for dramatic effect.

10. Paris Je'Taime: A group of short film about the city of lights. A truly innovative and creative project.

9. Superbad: The funniest movie of the all great comedies of the year and frankly if you are male growing up in the last ten years, one of the more profound.

8. Eastern Promises: It's a dark tale about the Russian mafia set in the grimy part of London. But, its more than that really. Its a poignant exploration of what it means to be, forgive the cliche, human.

7. Zodiac: An amazingly profound look at the mystery behind San Francisco's most famous serial killer. In my opinion the best performance of the year comes from this movie in the part played by Robert Downy Jr.

6. Ratatouille: No surprise here. I love love love this movie. It's creative, lively and fantastic. Come on a cooking rat. Can you beat that?

5. Once: Ah the profound little indie flick that the critical community took under its wings. The first time I watched I was amazed by the idea that a movie as simple as boy meets girl and together the make a CD of excellent pop ballads, worked so well. The second time I was even more swept away by classic style and an ending that rings more profound on a second viewing.

4. No Country For Old Men: I have said it before and I will say it again. This is one of the most perfectly crafted films I have ever seen. It is stunning in its scope, yet deceptively simple in its storytelling. The second best ending of the year too, that is unless you hate the ending.

3. Across the Universe: Every time I see it it gets better. A musical set to the Beatles it may be, but its something more than that. Its about a time and place and belief that people could actually effect change in the big board world. It plays like a favorite CD, that you could listen to again and again and find something new every time. Actually the top three choices are almost equal in my adoration for them. The other two are only slightly better in my mind.

2. Into the Wild: I LOVE THIS MOVIE! It took my heart, broke it and made me believe in the spirit of adventure that drove its main character into the wilds of the wilderness. It is based on the true story Christopher "Supertramp" McHandless. A boy who had a bright future in the material world, but choose to live more honestly. Some call him a hero, some call him a moron. You can make your own decision. In my humble opinion I choose to use to word "hero." I actually had dreams about this film for weeks afterward.

1. There Will be Blood: It's not just about oil. It's not just about greed. It's about American. Its about who we are and what we believe in. But specifically the grimy dirty part of what we are. The dirt under our fingernails, the sweat of brows in the name of industry. But, at the cost of what the film asks? It's answer, for lack of a better word, is madness. I promise it is damn near perfect. SEE IT! As soon as possible. I promise!


Honourable Mention: 3:10 to Yuma, Waitress, El Orfenato, Gone Baby Gone, Micheal Clayton and I'm Not There