I truly loved YOUTH IN REVOLT. I thought it was the perfect outlet for Michael Cera's timing. So now Miguel Arteta is grabbing another hot-at-the-moment comic actor (Ed Helms) and giving him a movie to rock in...CEDAR RAPIDS. Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Sigourney Weaver, Rob Corddrey, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. look hysterical. The movie is showing at Sundance, and I am hoping for a theatrical release for this.
CEDAR RAPIDS looks to be the must-see comedy for 2011 for me.
I really like David O'Russell. I HEART THE HUCKABEES and THREE KINGS are both excellent films. The guy directs with enthusiasm that is evident in his films. Now, Darren Aronofsky was originally attached to direct this but dropped out to direct BLACK SWAN (which I'm glad he did), but I feel we will get a completely different movie that Aronofsky would have made. This looks like a great throwback to some great sports movies of the 80's. I love Wahlberg's and Bale's looks in this, and Amy Adams doesn't hurt the eyes either.
I haven't been able to describe the beauty and wonder that was the Telluride Film Festival. Here is an incredibly beautiful video from a fellow Symposium attendee Giancarlo Iannotta. Nothing can describe the experience better.
This year was a little odd with a lot of mediocrity and a few excellent films. Now looking through the rest of the year, there are a few films that can offer redemption just before the awards season.
I'M STILL HERE dir. Casey Affleck starring Joaquin Pheonix (9.16.2010)
This could be genius. Pheonix has been an enigmatic figure in Hollywood for a couple years now. From his retirement to his hip hop exploits to his hilarious appearance on Letterman, no one knows what is up with this guy...except Joaquin. If he really is this insanely eccentric dude than I want to watch this documentary, but he could be putting on an act. If he is putting on an act worthy of the great Andy Kauffman than I want to see this mockumentary. Either way this should be good.
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS dir. Oliver Stone starring Michael Douglas and Shia Lebouf
I honestly don't know how to feel about this one. Oliver Stone is a very good filmmaker who has made some amazing films (the original WALL STREET, ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, JFK, and BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY) as well as a few that I do not care for (W, ALEXANDER, and NATURAL BORN KILLERS). In my opinion, the original WALL STREET is Stone's best film. It is a wonderful character study on the influences of greed. Now he releases a sequel. My favorite part about the original is the performance of Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, and I assume I will like his performance in this film as well. I do not have anything against Shia Lebouf at all. I feel he is a good young actor who will be around for a long time and be great in many things, but how will everything mesh in this film? Releasing another Wall Street film in these economic times sounds like it sense, but there are a few issues I have with it. First of all, I want to look at a good film released recently, THE INTERNATIONAL. This was a good movie with good performances, it was exciting, and it was very good looking, but it failed...bad. My theory is that audiences do not want to see a movie about people getting robbed by banks. Now apply that theory to WALL STREET, a film that gets a sequel 23 years later, and failure could be on the horizon.
NEVER LET ME GO dir. Mark Romanek starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, and Keira Knightley
This will be the film that will make me the most angry. I have already seen this when it premiered at Telluride. Its not good. Its loaded with melodrama, mediocre acting, directionless directing, and a horribly sappy score. The only redeeming feature is the beautiful cinematography. I planned on writing a review for this, but every time I started I got too angry. Lots of people will love this for its Britishness, its moodiness, and for its cast. See it if you like, but hopefully you won't be so jaded.
THE TOWN dir. Ben Affleck starring Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, and Jeremy Renner
The biggest movie of September is the newest directorial pursuit from Ben Affleck (GONE BABY GONE). This has everything you want in an early fall blockbuster; the big name cast, the academy buzz, and a great complex story. Everyone always talks about the films of the summer as the great ones, well films like this occupy the fall, and I prefer them. This looks exciting and complex enough to be one of the best of the year.
JACK GOES BOATING dir. Philip Seymour Hoffman starring Philip Seymour Hoffman
I absolutey love Philip Seymour Hoffman. He is so watchable and likeable, and when I heard he was directing a film I got mixed feelings because he is such a good actor I wasn't sure if he was wasting his time directing. Not many actors become great directors (except maybe Clint Eastwood), but JACK GOES BOATING looks great. It has the sweetness that Philip brings with nearly every role. It looks like this could contend with THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT for the best indie drama of the year for me.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK dir. David Fincher starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake
Ok...we have all heard about this. This is the new David Fincher film about Facebook starring Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, the new Spider-man, and Justin Timberlake. What makes me so excited about this? David Fincher rarely makes a bad film. The guy has a nose for projects that allow him to do amazing things with. I love Jesse Eisenberg as well. Many people have been trying to compare him to Michael Cera, but i believe Eisenberg has much more range and is much more enjoyable to watch. A lot of people are hoping for this to fail, but I don't see how. This could be amazing.
LET ME IN dir. Matt Reeves starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, and Richard Jenkins
I am very excited about this movie. This is the american remake of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, an incredible film about a young vampire. With the saturation of vampires in pulp culture lately another vampire movie does not sound like something the public needs, but this should be a great twist on the phenomenon. Chloe Moretz (KICK-ASS) plays a young vampire who befriends a young human. I can't give too much away, but this should be a wonderfully scary film. The question is Matt Reeves (CLOVERFIELD). Can the director of a JJ Abrams led "found footage" horror film allow LET ME IN to be the deeply nuanced horror film it needs to be?
HEREAFTER dir. Clint Eastwood starring Matt Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard
I am always excited when I see Clint Eastwood is releasing another movie, which has been a frequent accurance. This one looks to be exceptional to say the least. Its a supernatural about how differently three people deal with death. Eastwood is such a nuanced director and is able to tell a story with such subtlety that the plot does not worry me. I'm sure it will be deeply contemplative, look beautiful, and wonderully acted. When that is expected of you as a filmmaker you know you are good.
YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER dir. Woody Allen starring Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas, and Naomi Watts
I don't know too much about this movie aside from what I've seen in the trailer, but from what Woody Allen did with VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA I am pretty excited about this. It has a wonderful cast, a priveledge of being Woody Allen, with Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Frida Pinto, and Gemma Jones. Anthony Hopkins could really knock it out of the park with a Woody Allen script, and he really needs to. Lately it seems that Hopkins has just been collecting pay checks with his roles, but this could be different.
LEAVES OF GRASS dir. Tim Blake Nelson starring Edward Norton
This looks like a film that I could really like. Tim Blake Nelson directs Edward Norton and lets him have fun. Norton plays an Ivy League professor who is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown where his twin brother, a pot grower also played by Norton, tries to convince him to help him take down a local drug lord. I don't know if there will be any Oscar buzz surrounding this movie, but it could be one of those fall gems that make for a great viewing experience.
So for as long as I can remember people have been wanting to adapt Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Every one from Steven Spielberg to JJ Abrams have been rumored to direct. Well today the rumors can end because Ron Howard will direct, with Akiva Goldsmand to write, a trilogy of films. Then, to work along side the films, they will produce a television series as well! The massive epic of King's Dark Tower will get the room needed to for the story to be fully fleshed out, but can it work?
Can director Ron Howard (Cinderella Man, Frost/Nixon, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13) and writer Akiva Goldman (I Am Legend, Batman & Robin, I Robot, Da Vinci Code) do the source material justice. Ron Howard has made some incredible dramas, but I don't know if he can direct a sprawling fantasy/horror epic, but he is a capable director. He doesn't have a unique style. I honestly feel that someone like Alphonso Cuaron (Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban) or Franks Darabont (The Mist, Shawshank Redemption) would have been ideal, but I'm glad we are not getting some shmuck. The problem comes from Goldsman. Goldsman has never been able to write a great script. He has done a decent job throughout his career with dramas as well, often partnering with Howard, but his action and epic scripts have never been something to marvel at. Above all else, they are both safe choices. Rom Howard has never been able to direct with style and is not a visionary by any means. So many of his "great" films could have been outdone by someone else. Apollo 13 is great, but what would it have been by someone more stylistically inclined, like Steven Spielberg or David Fincher. Could it have been better?
What does make me happy is the credit Howard gives to Peter Jackson for the Lord of the Rings trilogy:
“What Peter did was a feat, cinematic history,” Howard said. “The approach we’re taking also stands on its own, but it’s driven by the material. I love both, and like what’s going on in TV. With this story, if you dedicated to one medium or another, there’s the horrible risk of cheating material. The scope and scale call for a big screen budget. But if you committed only to films, you’d deny the audience the intimacy and nuance of some of these characters and a lot of cool twists and turns that make for jaw-dropping, compelling television. We’ve put some real time and deep thought into this, and a lot of conversations and analysis from a business standpoint, to get people to believe in this and take this leap with us. I hope audiences respond to it in a way that compels us to keep going after the first year or two of work. It’s fresh territory for me, as a filmmaker.” (Ron Howard on The Dark Tower. MTV)
What intrigues me most the concept of the tevevision show. If it is shown on network television during primetime (ala Lost) it will work well. People will have to not feel alienated from the films. If the story of the films continues on Showtime or HBO, most people without premium cable will not see the films. The issue with network television is the content. I have read the series and it is not appropriate for a family friendly station. Maybe a happy medium can be reached with a TNT, but I don't feel that a basic cable station will allow for the exposure it would need.
The good news is that Stephen King's going to be adapted into an epic trilogy and a television show companion piece by professionals. Hopefully it is all that I have hoped for!
Much of my swooning over some of the Telluride Film Festival films is warranted. I swear. I admit that my reviews are often victims to my own excitement and love for the movies, but I will not recommend a movie that I truly do not enjoy. I also want to say that a bad review for a moderately hyped movie is coming soon, but this is not it. This is for a screwed up, scary as hell, masterpiece that is Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN.
Ever since I saw Aronofsky’s first film PI I knew that he had a horror film in him. There is something about the way interprets human obsession that can be pretty creepy. Exploring the subject of obsession has been a common thematic element throughout his films with mathematical theories, professional wrestling, eternal love, and drug addiction being the vehicles to do so. BLACK SWAN is a loose companion piece to THE WRESTLER, but it is a whole other animal. BLACK SWAN is also about obsession with glory and success, like THE WRESTLER, but it is clearly a horror film. Influences appear from Polanski’s ROSEMARY’S BABY and REPLUSION as well as THE RED SHOES. Forget all of this “psychological thriller” nonsense; BLACK SWAN is a balls-to-the-wall horror film that scares and repulses like the best of them.
Now I’m not doing much justice to this film by giving it a genre label. Horror films have a certain stigma attached to them. They are typically campy, poorly acted, and have low production values, but when a respected and renowned filmmaker, like Darren Aronofsky, makes a horror film none of those stigmas apply. This is anything but campy. It’s absolutely beautiful. From the opening prologue (one of my favorites scenes in any horror film) to the climactic shot are gorgeously crafted and shot with the best eye ever to film horror. In the prologue (meaning absolute opening scene folks so I’m not ruining anything) Natalie Portman dances with the giant, black man-bird, from the trailer, in such beautifully choreographed staging filled with macabre that leaves you awe-stricken and on edge throughout the rest of the film. Paired with all of the beauty and mature acting is a score that films perfectly. The entire score is a rendition of Swan Lake. I was already aware of the creepy and powerful orchestral score for the ballet, but when a creepy, powerful, and nostalgically familiar score is placed over a film like this it becomes so incredibly effective.
What has Natalie Portman done for me lately? Well…not anything great actually. She did well as the bald girl in V FOR VENDETTA and then tragically awful turn in the Star Wars prequels. In BLACK SWAN, she is a master class. Portman plays Nina, an up and coming ballet dancer who is working for a behind-the-times ballet company headed by Thomas Leroy (Vincent Castle). Thomas’s intentions for the winter program are to strip down, as well as stylistically adjust, some ballet classics. In order to bring forth these changes Leroy needs to hire a new lead for his version of Swan Lake. Out goes the great Beth Macintyre, played wonderfully by Winona Ryder, and in comes Nina (Portman). Things take a turn for the weird when new dancer Lilly enters the picture as this new breed of badass dancer played by Mila Kunis.
Basically Vincent Castle, Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and, last but not least, Barbara Hershey (playing Nina’s mom with all the ferocious obsession reminding us of Mommy Dearest) provide a solid cast to populate this world of dance. If this were a straight-laced film about ballet it would have been good enough, but Aronofsky cannot do it straight. Nina becomes obsessed with her role as the Swan Queen, but Thomas wants both the role of the White Swan and the Black Swan (the evil twin) to be played by Nina. He scolds Nina repeatedly (and if scolding means trying to seduce as well that it works here too) for not being seductive enough for the role of the Black Swan. He says the Black Swan needs to be about lust and sultriness, not about precision and beauty, which Nina does fine. Then the pressure and the cruelty of Nina’s mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) start to wear on Nina as the threat of Lilly starts to threaten her. Next comes the odd creatures, displaced time, strange dreams, and questionable hallucinations that start to plague Nina. Ugly scratches start to form on her back and she starts to deteriorate physically. I refuse to go any further because what ensues is one of the most wonderfully screwed up psychological horror films I have ever seen.
Darren Aronofsky is a genius, and as well as one of my favorite living filmmakers. I have loved, or an at least enjoyed…ahem THE FOUNTAIN, every one of his films. His well paced style and visual acuteness blend to create magic more often than not. And when these abilities are applied to horror they create a nightmare world that will be forged in your memory for some time. It’s very soon to say, but I feel this could be my favorite of Aronofsky’s, and maybe my favorite film of the year. I have been wracking my brain trying to find some negatives to include, but I have come up short. BLACK SWAN is a quick and brilliant masterpiece of psychological horror. Could this be the first time since SILENCE OF THE LAMBS that a horror film can earn some from the academy?
On my second day of the film festival I decided to break the rules a little and veer from my schedule of films and see one of the major premiers of the festival, 127 HOURS. I absolutely love Danny Boyle and almost all of his films, with the exception of THE BEACH…sorry. Most of Boyle’s films are filmed and edited with such kinetic style that any subject can be made exciting; from a lumbering space shuttle to the cities of India, each of films are stamped with that Danny Boyle seal of excitement. Danny was the foundation for what made this film, the rest was up to James Franco, and he delivered.
James Franco is one of the most exciting actors making movies today. He has the looks of a star, the charisma, and the acting chops to make him a force. He has come a long way since Spider-man and has grown into a full-fledged actor. While introducing his new film, Danny Boyle compared James Franco to Spencer Tracy. Now that might seem like a tough mold to be modeled after, but it is not too far from the truth. James Franco is a rare actor that can carry a movie and provide everything from humor to tears, and he does it so well.
Now onto the movie. 127 HOURS is the story of Aron Ralston, an adrenaline junkie who finds his thrills in the mountains and caves of the American west, and his tragic accident in those caves. This is a true story with complete and total support from the real Aron Ralston, who wrote the book, and I met and talked to and hugged. In the film, Ralston falls into a crack in a cave and gets his forearm and hand wedged in between a massive chalk rock and the cave wall. What results is 127 hours of tragedy through pain, suffering, and madness. In case you are not familiar with the story of Aron Ralston I do not want to give too much away, but what results is graphic and upsetting.
James Franco is on screen throughout the entire 1:45 runtime. Boyle made a joke during the introduction that if you are not a Franco fan then leave the theater, but after this performance no one ca deny his abilities. This role was incredibly demanding. Franco had to carry a feature length film in basically the same set, which consisted of only a few feet, and he did. Franco proved that he belongs amongst some of the best actors alive today with this role. The torture and despair that Ralston feels are balanced with a sense of hope and bits of humor that Franco executes so well.
The direction deserves attention as well. People need to realize that, with this film, Boyle accomplished making a brilliant film with basically one actor and one very confined set. Another accomplishment was the lack of melodrama. The movie did not feel like your typical man vs wild film. It was fast, energetic and exciting. Stylistically, 127 HOURS is a Danny Boyle film. The pace, the edits, the music, the camera angles…everything is Boyle. One gamble he takes stylistically is with his use of western motifs throughout. Being the Sergio Leone fan that I am, Boyle borrowed aspects of western filmmaking the Leone often used and possibly invented, like the tilted close-ups in tune with music. He even got James Franco into the mood as well when Franco creates some incredible stares.
A lot of time is spent in the mind of Ralston, especially the further he is driven into madness, and this is accomplished by Boyle’s genius montage and dream sequences that allow you into the mind and history of this character. Another step into the mind of the Ralston occurs when his water supply starts to diminish. Boyle utilizes one of the oldest cinematic tools by taking what he accomplished in TRAINSPOTTING, with the drug scenes, and recognizing them in the form of dehydration and want for water. In one particular scene Ralston’s mind flashes through the massive desert, over hills and caves, into the bed of his truck, that is holding bottled of Gatorade. This technique of mind wandering is used in many scenes, and it is successful in its ability to create an exciting, fast paced tone for, what could have been, a slow and contemplative movie.
Boyle also takes advantage of an old partner for the score. He enlisted the genius of A.R. Rahman for the second time in two films to create a score and soundtrack. When his name first appeared on the screen, I was a bit worried. While I love the soundtrack to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, Rahman’s Middle Eastern-influenced style is not conducive to a film like 127 HOURS, but I was left surprised. The fast, percussive nature of his style is still very present, but it is accompanied with little themes of Americana. Almost unnoticeable bits of fiddle and acoustic guitar lay over the electronic beats of the soundtrack wonderfully. This style of music is very affective due to Ralston’s hyperactive, adrenaline loving attitude and lifestyle. Rahman has outdone himself again.
127 HOURS is an excellent film. This film will be given much consideration in the upcoming awards season. It is shot beautifully with Boyle’s incredible sense of color and contrast, acted wonderfully, and directed perfectly. Boyle and Franco are delightful when paired together, and I hope they work together more often.
Growing up with my friend Shaun has done a few things to me. 1. It gave me seriously twisted sense of humor and 2. I have grown to not really like video games or anime. Spending hours to days watching him play video games and showing me clips of japanese animation (everything from COWBOY BEBOP and DRAGONBALL Z to HELLSING and anything with a mech) imprinted a feeling of disdain toward both, but I can still tell something that is wicked cool. And wicked cool this is. From what I understand REDLINE is a movie about racing in the future that takes place every five years. It basically seems like SPEED RACER Olympics style. It's fast, it's colorful, and it's freaking intense.
Its not secret that Jean-Pierre Jeunet is one of my favorite filmmakers alive today. This french director consistently releases intelligent, visually appealing, and magical movies. Starting with the international success of DELICATESSEN (1991), a post-apocalyptic Sweeney Todd, Jeunet made the great CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, a steampunk, avante garde fantasy starring Ron Perlman, which is one of my favorite films. Then Jeunet had a short foray in Hollywood with the critical failure of Alien Resurrection, not so good but definitely delivering on the visual style. Jeunet then took a few years off and blasted back on the scene with AMELIE (2001) which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Foreign language film and Best Writing. Following was the visually striking World War One drama A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (2004), and then most recently MICMACS (2010), which I have regretfully have not seen yet since I live in the worst area for foreign film releases (almost none).
FOUTAISES is a short film created by Jean-Pierre Jeunet in 1989. It features a man played by Dominique Pinon (CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, DELICATESSEN, and MICMACS) who is just mentioning things that he likes as well as things he dislikes. This simple premise is accompanied by incredible visuals (a lot of stock footage) and the striking visual style that has come to be expected of Jeunet throughout his career. Also, as a quick side note, Marc Caro (a frequent Jeunet collaborator and co-director) worked on FOUTAISES on the sound.
Watch this visually fascinating short film here, and then keep a look out for MICMACS when it comes out on DVD.
As a lot of you may know, I am excited about this movie. A survival thriller by one of the best directors alive, Danny Boyle, starring one of the most promising young actors around, James Franco (MILK, SPIDER-MAN, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS). Boyle has directed some inventive and original films to come out of the last 15 years. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is heartbreaking yet uplifting and one of the best of the 2000's hands down. TRAINSPOTTING is one of my favorite 90's films and is responsible for putting Boyle on the map. With 28 DAYS LATER Danny Boyle landed. That movie exploded onto the pop culture landscape and amazed horror fans with its low budget, professionalism and powerhosue expectation. Now, with 127 HOURS, Boyle could have made his masterpiece. A film that has been gliding beneath the conscious for a while now, but releasing little bits here and there of news and knowledge to build up the excitement.
A little note that I found interesting. Boyle hired 2 cinematographers for the film. Each filmed serperately fromt he other on different schedules. Each was given a different assignment on how to react to James Franco (playing almost a professional kind of good cop, bad cop). This could result in some pretty unique visual styles comabating with eachother.
Zach Riley (Aaron Eckhart) is an up-and-coming therapist who gets hired at Millwood, a psychological hospital for non-functioning mentally ill patients, run by Dr. Peter Reed (William Hurt). Riley’s hidden agenda arrives at the fact that his father, children’s writer T.L. Pierson (Nick Nolte) was previously a patient at Millwood and had committed suicide when Zach was a child. Pierson was the author of the world famous “Zachary Small in Neverwas,” in which Zach was written in as the main character. Neverwas was a fantasy world that existed parallel with our own with fairies, monsters, knights, kings, and an evil wizard, Ghastly. Living in his old hometown, Zach meets a childhood friend, Maggie (Brittan y Murphy), who has become an avid collector and fan of all things Neverwas. While working at Millwood, Zach discovers a schizophrenic, Gabriel Finch (Sir Ian McKellen), who helps Zach discover that there could be more to his father’s book that he was believed.
There is so much good in this film. The performances by Aaron Eckhart, Sir Ian McKellen, William Hurt, and even smaller roles by Brittany Murphy, Jessica Lange, and Alan Cumming all work so well. A cast of supremely talented actors and actresses was a major benefit for first time director Joshua Michael Stern. This film was finished in 2005, and benefited from a soon to be star in Aaron Eckhart, capitalizing on his critic pleasing, tongue-in-cheek performance in THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. He plays his role with a passion and confidence that has become his calling card in his well-established career. The biggest piece of the acting cake goes to Sir Ian McKellen though. He does not disappoint. Whether he’s playing Gandolph, Magneto, or the great James Whale in GODS AND MONSTERS, the man performs the smallest of scenes with a kinetic but quiet ease while unleashing all of the pent up energy into an explosive bravado worthy of Lawrence Olivier, Kenneth Branaugh, or Peter O’Toole.
The cinematography and set design deserve recognition as well. Each scene is filmed in line with the tone and theme of the film, which is common sense to cinematographers, but when coupled with wonderful art direction and set design it becomes incredible. The hospital scenes are filled with the feelings of isolations and desolation without the nostalgia or warmness felt throughout the rest of the film. The only exceptions to these scenes are in Zach’s (Eckhart) office when he is in session with Gabriel (McKellen). These scenes are very natural. The lighting is warm and the air throughout feels nostalgic. The scenes in the mountainous countryside are gorgeous. Each shot utilizes the beauty and elegance of the locales, bringing the nature into the film almost as a character. Assisting these wonderful visions is the score by Philip Glass. Glass is by far one of the most influential and inventive composers alive. He has scored for DRACULA (the restored soundtrack), THE HOURS, and KUNDUN as well as compose numerous classical compositions with incredible performers, his work with Kronos Quartet are personal favorites. The quick, fluid piano and bells accompanied with the slow legato of the strings really accentuating the memorable themes throughout really help make this powerful score.
Now on to the movie itself. See it. When seen on the shelf, NEVERWAS is not a film that grabs your attention. The cover art is not good. It looks like a typical hyper-optimistic fantasy film which it could not be further from. It is kind of dark and it deals strongly with psychological issues, both diagnoses and deep-seeded daddy issues. But it is not too heavy either. Director Joshua Michael Stern, who also wrote, does a solid job at keeping the tone balanced and entertaining without making the film too brooding or too bright and cheery. It is an original take on a theme that is familiar. NEVERWAS is similar in theme to FISHER KING and PAN’S LABYRINTH, but closer in tone to FINDING NEVERLAND, another tale of writer and his inspiration which I love.
Now to the bad stuff. I know, I’ve been gushing over NEVERWAS for 800 something-odd words, but it is not perfect. At times, just a few, the film is wrought with a little too much emotion. Certain scenes do not necessarily feel heavy, but they do feel too emotional. This is due to a script from a young and inexperienced writer, who also directs, but that does not decrease the value and splendor of the film as a whole. Also the performances by Murphy and Hurt feel a little too much like an actor’s exercise. They kind of just read their lines and did the motions. Also, the film took a little too long to end. That is not saying the it is too long because I wish its 1:48 runtime was actually 15-20 minutes longer, but the climax through felt like it dragged a little.
NEVERWAS is neither fantasy film nor a children’s fairy tale. It is a worthwhile film that is inspiring, beautiful, and features some great talent in front of and behind the camera. This is a magical psychological thriller that is clearly aimed at adults, but reaches into his or her childhood, retrieving some of the magic left behind. You will fall in love with it.
See it for sure! I promise you this one is good! It has been aired on STARZ as well as on Netflix, both streaming and for delivery.
Darren Aronofsky has yet to make a bad movie. PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE FOUNTAIN, THE WRESTLER are all phenomenal movies that each show Aronofsky's progression as a filmmaker and artist, and BLACK SWAN looks to be a masterpiece. First of all, this is a perfect trailer. It does not give away any story, makes the viewer want more, and amazes through confusion. The mirror shot, the red eyes, the giant black monster, and split personalities! Aronofsky loves the theme of obsession and perfection. PI, obsession with mathematical theory, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, obsession with drugs and money, THE FOUNTAIN, obsession with a woman and foreverness, and THE WRESTLER, obsession with past glories. Now BLACK SWAN seems to be about obsession with perfection of an art.
I'm excited, and I hope it premiers at Telluride! That would make the trip itself!
As a lot of you already know, I will be attending the Telluride Film Festival throught their Student Symposium program. I will fly out on Sept 1st and arrive in time for the start on Sept 2nd. The anticipation is killing, and a lot of that is due to to Telluride not announcing the films that will show their until Day 1. I did a little bit of investigative snooping the last couple days, and the rumored potential film list is incredible. These are a few that I would be so excited to be included.
127 Hours
Dir. Danny Boyle
Starring James Franco
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/
The Town
Dir. Ben Affleck
Starring Ben Affleck & Jeremy Renner
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840361/
The Black Swan
Dir. Darren Aronofsky
Starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/
(Not A Trailer But A Good Look)
Another Year
Dir. Mike Leigh
Starring Jim Broadbent
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1431181/
Love and Other Drugs
Dir. Edward Zwick
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Hank Azaria
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758752/
Brilliant animated short film that premiered at Sundance 2010 called OLD FANGS. A young wolf returns to meet his aging and angry father after years without seeing each other. Very reflective film with much to offer with incredible animation.
2010 Part I is over and now the (hopefully redemption thirsty) Part II is on its way. The first part was well, underwhelming. Fall is coming, unfortunately, and its almost time to start recapping the year for awards season. A few good films popped out the mediocrity to really stand out. INCEPTION, TOY STORY 3, and SHUTTER ISLAND are the big three through the August for Awards Season. A few personal favorites made the year more bearable; YOUTH IN REVOLT, DATE NIGHT, A-TEAM, KICK-ASS, GREENBURG, and DEFENDOR. As you can see the top is a little light with a bigger middle and an even bigger bottom (LAST AIRBENDER, CLASH OF THE TITANS, and PRINCE OF PERSIA anyone?). A few films to look forward too, hmmm. Maybe THE AMERICAN (Clooney), THE TOWN (Affleck), WALL STREET 2 (Stone), THE SOCIAL NETWORK, 127 HOURS (Boyle/Franco), BLACK SWAN (Aronofsky) will step up with a few others that might be flying under the radar.
But the awards season just found a new indie sweetheart to croon over. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT directed by Lisa Cholodenko (LAUREL CANYON, HIGH ART) is a movie about a family so close to falling apart, but it’s funny, it’s touching, and it’s beautiful. A stellar cast including Annette Bening (BEING JULIA), Julianne Moore (FAR FROM HEAVEN), Mark Ruffalo (SHUTTER ISLAND), Mia Wasikowska (ALICE IN WONDERLAND), and Josh Hutcherson (CIRQUE DU FREAK) offer the potential for the best ensemble cast for 2010. Bening and Moore are a lesbian married couple living in California. They have two children Joni and Laser (Wasikowska and Hutcherson) who decide to take of advantage of Joni’s 18th birthday to contact their sperm donor, Paul (Ruffalo), and of course their mothers do not approve. What ensues is a test of the family structure and of a person’s constitution.
Bening is incredible as the tough, controlling, and hardworking doctor who feels the pressure of her family collapsing around her. The role is very similar to her role in MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS, but she makes the best of type casting and turns it into to a wonderfully tough and heartbreaking performance. Moore does what she does best playing a mother bottled up in a relationship without any means to express herself, but instead decides to experiment with the opposite sex. Together, Bening and Moore are electric. Their relationship is so realistic and covers so much territory not explored in film. Both characters experiencing a mid-life crisis and dealing with them in different ways, mainly by realizing their liberal views might not be the best views.
Ruffalo is the best he has ever been as Paul. His screen time probably only occupies half of the movie, but when he’s on screen his quasi-bohemian restaurateur character really captivates. He’s funny and passionate. SHUTTER ISLAND and INCEPTION gave DiCaprio two great roles in one year. Well, SHUTTER ISLAND and THE KIDS ARE ALL ALRIGHT have done the same for Ruffalo. In this movie he is so cool. He’s the kind of guy your mother would hate but you want to hang out with as much as possible, and to have him as your dad? That’s what Joni and Laser experience with Paul. Kudos goes to the children. Wasikowska and Hutcherson are perfect as the 18 and 16-year-old children. Wasikowska can act, and she could do so very well. I expect big things from her in the next few years. She plays the high expectation burdened good girl so well that she rivals the performances acting powerhouses of Bening and Moore. Hutcherson is a solid up-and-comer who does not waiver around his surrounding talent. There was a wonderful aura of chemistry between him and Ruffalo.
Cholodenko, while not over stylizing or over-directing, does THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT a great service. She kept it light. A film dealing with homosexuality, family drama, and infidelity could come across as heavy and tiring. A great Lifetime Movie Channel movie. But she saved it. She allowed the actors to have joy, and it shows. Even in the most heartbreaking of scenes a tone of joy and hope seeps through the celluloid. This film, while slow, still holds a certain amount of kinetic energy that gives short blasts throughout to keep it exciting. Aside from all of this, Cholodenko is interested in the people. This is a beautiful character study of five completely different people whose lives and relationships experience a little shake-up.
This is a definite must-see as will be around for awards season, but, more so than that, it is a wonderful movie. A cast that is so on its scary headlines THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT.
Awesome short from the director of INK (see review below) Jamin Winans. Incredible stuff! UNCLE JACK is very funny and inventive. The lead actor is Christopher Soren Kelly(of INK) and Quinn Hunchar plays the niece (also of INK), and I love them both and hope to see them in many films to come. This is so much fun!
Taking the cellophane off of my Stanley Kramer Film Collection box set was something that I waited too long to do. I bought it because of, one, GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER, and two it was one sale pretty cheap. I’m not trying to discredit the man because he was a major figure in filmmaking and one of the best producers/directors, but his movies were never something I wanted to pop in to watch. After throwing away the cellophane I was going to watch THE WILD ONE, but I decided against it put in the only one in the set I haven’t seen, THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T, a children’s movie and symbolic-fantasy produced by Stanley Kramer and written by Theodore Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss. After watching…let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed.
This surreal film is a comedy/musical/horror movie about a young boy, Bart Collins (played by LASSIE’s Tommy Rettig) who’s Hitleresque and wonderfully flamboyant piano Dr. Terwilliker, played by the brilliant voice-actor Hans Conreid (PETER PAN’s Captain Hook), forces him to practice the piano constantly. Bart soon falls asleep at the piano entering a nightmare world where Dr. T intends to force 500 children to play on a massive piano, of his construct, 24-7/365. The horrible Dr. T enslaves Bart’s mother and Bart intends to rescue her, and himself. He enlists the help of Mr. August Zabladowski, the Collins’ plumber.
The nightmare world created by Dr. Seuss, who both wrote and designed the sets and costumes, deserves merit. The twisty and curvy designs mixed with bright colors, courtesy of Technicolor, give THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T an incredible brilliance. In one scene a scared Bart if running from a group of bright blue guards and finds escape of an impossibly high red ladder that leads to nowhere. He finds the ground by jumping and using his shirt as a parachute. Impossible feats such as this are common in this movie. The costumes are equally bizarre yet beautiful. First of all is Bart’s beanie, a blue skullcap with an erect yellow hand poking out of the top above the words “Happy Fingers.” Dr. Terwilicker’s costumes are wonderful mixture of fabrics and brightly colored robes. I am not one to comment on the clothing and costuming of a picture, but this film deserves this mention.
An unforgettable scene takes place in Dr. T’s dungeon for players of every instrument except pianos. In this surreal scene, hundreds of dancers with Seussical instruments dance ballet and play very avant-garde jazz. The men are all painted green and wearing rags and playing impossible instrument. One instrument is a set of antlers on a man’s head that holds dozens of bells that ring when the man is strangled. Another instrument looks like a communal bong with six men playing it like bagpipes. Most of the appeal of this scene comes from the choreography of the ballet great Eugene Loring. This brings to question the music. Being a musical, most scenes have a song. Unfortunately the songs, written and composed by Frederick Hollander, are the weakest part of the film. Most of them are very forgettable and typical, aside from the great instrumental in the dungeon.
The effects of this film make it even more significant. Released in 1953 one could claim the inspiration, in terms of style, it might have had on directors like Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam. There are many elements of THE 5,000 FINGERS in Burtons’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY as well as in BARON VON MUNCHAUSEN (Gilliam). One could also argue the inspiration it might have had on a musical such as CHICAGO with its outlandish set design costumes. The character of Sideshow Bob in the SIMPSON’s television show is based loosely on Conreid’s Dr. Terwilicker.
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T is a wonderful musical that carefully uses fantasy and surrealist style to construct the dream world of young Bart Collins so well. While flawed this film is still a marvel of film with some powerfully creative minds behind its creation. Stanley Kramer’s involvement alone deserves it a watch, and paired with Dr. Seuss’s imagination it makes this film a can’t miss. I'm glad I opened that darn box set now.
SALT.
Dir. Philip Noyce
Who is SALT? The trailer has been aired to nauseum on every television channel and before every movie for a couple months now. With the opening of the trailer my eyes automatically looked away from what should have been a train wreck. Angelina Jolie, the Octo-mom of the Third World, in total TOMB RAIDER and MR. & MRS. SMITH mode hasn’t been in a decent role since CHANGELING, and for much longer before that. From the guy who wrote the completely ridiculous LAW ABIDING CITIZEN as well. Then my girlfriend asked to go see it, and I needed to write a review for something new this week. I went.
One thing I refuse to do in this review is provide too much plot detail. That would do you a disservice since that is one of the movie’s redeeming qualities. Basically, Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn (Ev) Salt, a CIA operative who is accused of being a Russian spy planted in the US. The accuser is Vassily Orlov (played by Daniel Olbrychski so well), a Russian defector to the US who warns of Salt’s intentions to murder the Russian president during the funeral of the US Vice President’s funeral. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse between Salt and fellow CIA operatives Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) with a major identity crisis. Who is the Russian spy?
All of the omens that were laid before me could not trump the two things that saved this movie. Philip Noyce & acting. Director Philip Noyce knows how to stage and direct a quality action movie. With movies like CLEAR & PRESENT DANGER, PATRIOT GAMES, THE SAINT, and THE BONE COLLECTOR under his belt, Noyce is clearly an expert. What else does this guy bring to the table? Art. Throughout SALT the action takes center stage, but there is a constant beauty that resonates throughout. What I didn’t realize about Noyce was that he is the same director who directed THE QUIET AMERICAN and RABBIT-PROOF FENCE, both of which are wonderful films that prove his well-rounded nature as a director. This guy does an incredible job at staging some the most fantastic fight and chase scenes this side of THE BOURNE IDENTITY.
The next great asset to this movie is some of the actors involved. Angelina does her thing that she does so well. She looks hot, kicks ass, and acts well, but the cake goes to a few others. First of all, where in the hell has Liev Schreiber been? SALT made me realize how good this guy could be. He’s so enjoyable to watch. As Salt’s boss and friend, Liev gives a very solid and physically demanding performance. Another strong building block is Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster/2012) as fellow CIA operative dealing in Internal Affairs. He is another solid performance that creates a solid backbone for all for all of the action surrounding. I want to see this guy more. He has a presence and a certain level of bad-assery that really grabs your attention. The third piece of the puzzle is German actor August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds) as Salt’s husband and expert arachnologist. His small amount of screen time is a shame because he does so well. Each of these three actors all help the action flow and keep you guessing with their wonderful performances. Without each of these performances SALT might not work as well.
This is not a perfect movie though. A few loose ends and over-used plot devices plague what could be the best action movie of the summer. Both issues are subject to a twisting screenplay that makes up for some of the shortcomings with a mind-bending plot that will literally leave you guessing until the last few seconds.
Suspend all disbelief for an hour and a half and see SALT and enjoy it. Fun, cool, Jolie, and bad-ass action.
p.s. Since every reviewer insisted on making a pun of the title in their review I made it a point not to do so. You know…to keep my blood pressure down, darn salt.
INCEPTION, SLEEP DEALER, INK all tie up into a wonderful little existential, science fiction trilogy that would make a great mini-film festival. This got me thinking about this type of movies, and I realized a list evolving.
Great Science Fictin Films To Think By! (Recommendations for further viewing after watching these 3!)
The Fall dir. Tarsem Singh - Absolutely beautiful film of borderland fantasy and magic. Tideland dir. Terry Gilliam - Thought provoking and controversial film told through the POV of a mistreated child. Not for everyone, but I love this one. Mirror Mask dir. Dave McKean - Magical Alice-esque fantasy written by Neil Gaiman partnering with the Jim Henson Workshop! A Must-see! The Fountain dir. Darren Aronofsky - Hugh Jackman stars in this three-tiered existential tale of love and loss. Existential in theme with breath-taking visuals. From the director of Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, and Pi. City of Lost Children dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro - French steampunk about an evil man who kidnaps children to steal their dreams. One of my all-time favorites! Starring Ron Perlman! Dark City dir. Alex Proyas (The Crow, Knowing, & I Robot) - Cult science fiction epic about an artificial reality. Precursor to The Matrix, Inception, and The Truman Show. Great movie!
Tying up the week into a great existential, science fiction Trilogy. INCEPTION, SLEEP DEALER, & INK!
INK dir. Jamin Winans
The initial thought process behind the column A Flick You Might Have Missed was to recommend a movie that went along with a movie reviewed that week, but in just two weeks in evolved into this. Some obscure movies that I wish were a lot less obscure. When I was looking through my movie collection for a good movie to recommend for A Flick You Might Have Missed, one movie repeatedly caught my eye, INK. Choosing this fantasy/science fiction indie gem is me really diving deep into the depths of indie-dom.
The story behind the film is amazing with the filmmakers fighting for distribution and deciding on self-distribution, embracing piracy (in a very gutsy move), and finally achieving unprecedented exposure. Jamin Winans, the director, is one someone who I watch and pray will become a household name. The guy is incredible at what he does in terms of creativity and technical filmmaking. Along with his wife, Kiowa, they went above and beyond, including producing, directing, sound and film, editing and art direction, in order to create a film with beauty and depth while still having all of the fun people expect with a big time fantasy movie. With only two feature films (INK and 11:59) and several short films under his belt, the guy has proven that he is capable of big boy filmmaking. The short SPIN is one of my favorite short films I have seen recently and while 11:59 is solid, INK is amazing.
INK boils down to the basic story of good versus evil. The story of two groups of people, Story Tellers and Incubi, dueling forces that battle over the dreams (or nightmares) of people and exist in a dimension separate of our own. The Storytellers rein supreme giving wonderful dreams to people as they sleep and playing dream police over the Incubi. The Incubi are evil beings, with the faces of television screens, whose goal is to plant nightmares in peoples’ minds. The story takes off when a Drifter, Ink, kidnaps a young girl, Emma. After an unsuccessful battle with several Storytellers, Ink escapes, but he becomes trapped outside of his dimension when his leather-covered drum is damaged in the battle, thus preventing him from traveling through dimensions. Ink is chased by a group of Storytellers (Allel, Gabe, and Sarah) and a Pathfinder, Jacob, who follow them across a gritty and creative urban fantasy landscape to a save the girl Emma.
INK feels like Dark City by way of Neil Gaiman. Dealing with issues such as drug addiction and capitalist greed, INK holds a depth that rewards a viewer with multiple viewings. A great workman’s mentality helps INK achieve beauty with its make-up and in-camera effects. There are very few scenes with special effects and fewer with CGI, but the few scenes that exist elevate the film’s meaning and message instead of induce awes. This film will not win you over with story, which still is nothing to shrug off, but it will win you over with charm and originality in everything else.
The performances are solid from a cast of complete unknowns with a standout performance by Chris Kelly as Emma’s father. This guy impresses big time. Quinn Hunchar, Emma, does a wonderful job as a child actor in her first film. She does not come off as overly rehearsed, a common woe of child actors.
Watching INK is one of my favorite movie watching experiences. A film that feels so large, but stays so small, and is determined to make you think. INK is a movie lover’s movie that delivers on everything including originality, thrills, depth, tears, and technical achievement. It’s also a candy story for science fiction/fantasy fans.
See It!
Available on Amazon, Netflix &
FREE on HULU! (Though I recommend buying it because the Special Features are worth it!)
2009 offered a few interesting science fiction films like DISTRICT 9, MOON, THE ROAD, AVATAR, and STAR TREK, but one film really went unnoticed. SLEEP DEALER premiered at Sundance in 2008, but in January 2009, Alex Rivera offered a limited worldwide release of his science fiction drama.
Set in a futuresque, police state Mexico, a young man named Memo, played expertly by young actor Luis Fernando Pena, dreams of life outside of his small town. He builds an antenna to pick up voices from the US. Memo finds trouble when he picks up a top-secret military channel leading the military to takes action on the small town killing Memo’s father. Memo is emotionally destroyed and runs to Tijuana, to find a job and assume the family's patriarchal position, where he meets freelance writer Luz, played by the beautiful Leonor Varela. Together they help Memo get nodes, implants that allow the wearer to work as labor abroad controlling robotics remotely. In SLEEP DEALER's world, immigration is outlawed and corporations use foreign-controlled robots for cheap labot. What develops is a love story set a impoverish cyberpunk Mexico
SLEEP DEALER is an nuanced movie that relies heavily of current events to drive its point home. Cheap labor without immigration and globalization is a theme that runs throughout the film. Such a complex contemporary issue makes for a poignant commentary in this science fiction film. The Mexicans are able to work on American jobs without the inconvenience of having them live in the US. Thousands of workers traverse the streets of Mexico City toward warehouses where they will hook their nodes to a computer where they will control machinery in the US. The idea that Mexican immigrants are nothing more than laboring machines creates a sense of dread that informs our current situation in the US.
For cyberpunk-influenced science fiction film, Alex Rivera's style tends toward grit and realism. Every character is layered under dirt and grime and nearly choking on the dust from the streets. The jobs in the city do not pay as well as the node jobs so their environment is dilapidated and crumbling. The sparse use of CGI is largely due to budget restrictions, but the few scenes that do utilize CG are enhanced greatly. The CGI exists only to advance the story and not to wow. Rivera really knows how to direct, and the result is a gritty, intense, and realistic film that feels completely plausible and poignant. I would love to see what Rivera could do with a much bigger budget. His ability within this small film gives much promise to an amazing career.
I honestly feel that this is a solid film that any science fiction aficionado could enjoy. It is not your typical science fiction drama and feels more like the Latin American cousin of this years DISTRICT 9. Its tasteful, gritty, well plotted, and entertaining. A must-see.
Tuesday night my friend Kevin and I went to Pittsburgh to see Inception, a movie that peeked my interest since the first trailer. I love Christopher Nolan. I love his cerebral style and his ability to write with such incredible depth. I also love Leonard DiCaprio. Kevin, on the drive home, mentioned that DiCaprio could be the next Paul Newman, a dedication I always reserved for the likes of George Clooney, but I gave it some thought. The guy can act, and he can act well. He has a charm that is almost unmatchable, but that charm can only be over shadowed by his sheer gravitas. I honestly feel that could be one of the greats. I want to start off by saying that Inception is no Memento, which in my opinion is Nolan’s finest work. Inception is its own beast. An exploration into the oft-misused science fiction mechanics with the blazing action and incredible shots that only Nolan can create. Call this the child of Memento and The Dark Knight, wonderful action with a deep and multi-layered plot. Now on to the review.
Aside from his forays into the superhero genre, Christopher Nolan has found his niche in cerebral thrillers with films like Memento, Insomnia, The Following, and The Prestige. Each taking on the themes of human perception and the mind as a flawed device, and they do so with beautiful and often thrilling mechanics. Nolan is a genius. His mind is a unique machine that sees the world from several angles at once, like looking through kaleidoscopic glasses. Dissecting, probing, analyzing, toying with reality and perception to create a projection of the subconscious mind. Inception is no exception.
This film will be reviewed to ad nauseum, as it is almost a shoe-in for countless Academy Award nominations, deservedly so. Di Caprio plays Dom Cobb, a man who invades dreams and rummages for whatever he likes. His life is set on a wicked track when Mr. Saito, played by the great Ken Watanabe, hires to place an idea in the mind of his business rival, played by the amazing Cillian Murphy, which will unravel his company. The crew for the job, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Eames (Tom Hardy), and Ariadne (the beautiful Ellen Paige).
Inception could have just be a mind-bending science fiction thriller ala Dark City, that is until we were introduced to Mal, played by the insatiable Marion Cottilard, a mysterious lady with whom Dom cannot seem to get out of his head, literally. This opens up the subplot of Cobb’s mental instability, which takes the movie to another level. How can a man who creates dreams do so with an instable mind?
The plot of Inception is too bombastically precious to ruin any further so I will try to restrain myself from including any spoilers in this review. Let’s just say its pretty damn fun.
What set this film apart from the canonical science fiction fair (ala Dark City and the Matrix) are its notable performances. DiCaprio, as I previously established, is incredible. He plays the brooding anti-hero so well. Dom Cobb is not too unlike DiCaprio’s character in Shutter Island or even Revolutionary Road. But why fix what is not broken right? There are two performances in this film that I was pretty excited about, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy. Gordon-Levitt, who I have been clamoring for to play Spider-man for years, needs a film like this to jump into the limelight. He delivers as the cold, sarcastic, and professional Arthur. Gordon-Levitt brings with him tons of talent that helps elevate Inception to another level. His screen time is not obtuse, but I would not be surprised if there is a Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination in this for him, or at least a Golden Globe.
The other performance that takes notice is Tom Hardy. Many have heard me praising the movie Bronson, which stared Tom Hardy as the infamous British prisoner. In Bronson, Hardy plays a sociopath who enjoys violence and punishment, and he does so with power and humor. He is such a joy to watch on screen, and the character of Eames offers the same joy. Eames is a forger. He can impersonate people in a dream to fool the dreamer into believing he is someone from their memory. He is the trickster, and he is so much fun. With a film as dark as this the smallest amount of comedic relief is welcome, and Hardy delivers with the acting chops to back it up too. I hope we see much more of him in the future.
Another aspect of the film that deserves mention is the score. Hans Zimmer has already made his case one of the best, and he can always be counted on to offer a big time score for big time movies, but his Inception score is art. The score is an avant-garde masterpiece of brass and winds that provide a more than adequate backdrop for the powerful action that lies over it. This is Oscar worthy.
Inception is a wonderful film that will hopefully make up for its $160 mil budget so we can see many more big-budget science fiction movies in the future. The spectacular performances, the plot, and the perfect direction and tactical slyness by Christopher Nolan make this the best film of the year. See it, love it, experience it, and think about it. You deserve it.
I here by promise all of you that I will provide you with intelligent, fun, and cool (albeit pretentious even though I'll never truly admit it) movie and pop culture talk. I've been drowning myself in movies for about six years now, with another handful just moderately submerged. A couple days ago I sat and thought, "What in the hell can I offer in terms of pop culture talk that they cannot get from other people?" My answer was, "Eh...probably not much, but either does most of those other dudes." I feel that I have seen enough movies, read about movies, and studied enough movies to warrant publishing my opinion, at least through a blog. I absolutely love movies, and I hope that my blog here will show so. I am not a Hollywood hating, indie loving, art film geek. Nor am I a studio loving, Michael Bay apologist. I'm not just going to post reviews either. I'll try to spend a little time writing about television, music, books, and various pop geekery.
Since I am a lover of lists, I will indulge a little. Top 10's usually piss me off by the way, because favorites change. Here are a few list of favorite movies, to let you into my mind a little. You could tell a lot about a guy by his favorite things. They are seperated into Modern/Classic by the release of Easy Rider, a revolutionary film in terms of style and execution. Favorite Modern Films (Post-East Rider) Shawshank Redemption Young Frankenstein History of Violence Mean Streets Clerks Reservoir Dogs Clean, Shaven American Beauty Aladdin Fargo Dark City Silence of the Lambs Se7en Days of Heaven City of Lost Children The Conversation Boogie Nights Requiem For a Dream Fisher King Amelie Gangs of New York Straight Story Aliens Brazil Raiders of the Lost Ark
Favorite Classic Films (pre-Easy Rider) Some Like It Hot Day The Earth Stood Still Freaks Magnificent Seven Seven Samurai Breathless Bande a part 400 Blows Bride of Frankenstein Frankenstein Arsenic and Old Lace Princess and the Pirate Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein North By Northwest Rear Window The Apartment Sunset Boulevard Lolita Dr. Mabuse the Gambler Man With a Thousand Faces To Kill A Mockingbird The Searchers Double Indemnity The Third Man Wild Strawberries
I recently received an email from a former Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium attendee about the budget I posted. I just found out that I can get donated housing and no food costs. I'm so happy an relieved. I now only need about 900 for my trip. So that makes me about 1/3 of the way there!
Again thanks you all much for donating! I can actually see the finish line now!
Thank you all for your generous donations: (I am withholding last names for privacy.) Tammy & Tommy Shirley Mary Mick Brian Randall Feel Free To Donate To My Telluride Trip Through PayPal Below! But email me also so I can give you recognition.
I have recently been given the incredible opportunity to attend the internationally renowned Telluride Film Festival through their Student Symposium program. An opportunity like this is available literally once in a lifetime. The Telluride Film Festival is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in the world. Numerous films premiere there every year; some include Juno, Brokeback Mountain, The Crying Game, and Blue Velvet. The festival is attended by countless fans as well as numerous filmmakers and actors and critics.
I was selected, as well as fifty others, from a pool of thousands that required an intense application and essay. I will be seeing many new, unreleased films from brilliant filmmakers as well as attending seminars hosted by actors, directors and others in the film making business. I will be keeping up with this blog throughout the festival, talking about the films, posting pictures and videos, and relishing experiences.
I am asking from all of you a minor donation to help with the cost of flight and lodging. The total price will be upwards of around $1,700. Every dollar will be put towards this great opportunity and towards nothing else. I am privileged to be offered this opportunity, but I need all of you to help fulfill this experience. 10 people with $10 will give $100. 50 people with $10 will pay for most of my flight. But 50 people with $1 will pay for my meals. I want to thank you all in advance for this donation and you will be thanked through this blog and personally for making this possible. This will all cover: The plane $800 round trip The lodging $705 Food $125 Airport Shuttle $100-$200
You can contact me to arrange a donation
Feel Free To Donate Through PayPal Below! (but email me as well for recognition)
Private message on Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=815928420
or email: jrfrohman01@gmail.com or phone: (330)402-5784. Feel Free To Donate Through PayPal Below!
Can director Ron Howard (Cinderella Man, Frost/Nixon, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13) and writer Akiva Goldman (I Am Legend, Batman & Robin, I Robot, Da Vinci Code) do the source material justice. Ron Howard has made some incredible dramas, but I don't know if he can direct a sprawling fantasy/horror epic, but he is a capable director. He doesn't have a unique style. I honestly feel that someone like Alphonso Cuaron (Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban) or Franks Darabont (The Mist, Shawshank Redemption) would have been ideal, but I'm glad we are not getting some shmuck. The problem comes from Goldsman. Goldsman has never been able to write a great script. He has done a decent job throughout his career with dramas as well, often partnering with Howard, but his action and epic scripts have never been something to marvel at. Above all else, they are both safe choices. Rom Howard has never been able to direct with style and is not a visionary by any means. So many of his "great" films could have been outdone by someone else. Apollo 13 is great, but what would it have been by someone more stylistically inclined, like Steven Spielberg or David Fincher. Could it have been better? 
