Megamind's Roxanne Ritchie Has a Big Behind!
"Catfish"
Fair warning: there’s no structure to this review. I’m just going to jot down some thoughts I had about it.
With that said, what bothered me about this film is the same thing that bothers me about the National Inquirer and all those media outlets that profit from other’s misfortune. On some level, this movie just smacked of a couple smart, big city hipster types exploiting the misery of this Midwestern woman who was going through a mid-life crisis and had her fair share of problems. I’m sure that they would argue that she gave her consent and that since the movie’s release, she’s sold tons of artwork and the whole experience gave her life meaning. That may be true, but I still can’t help but feel that these guys are just so smugly happy with themselves and that she is the butt of an elaborate joke. What’s scarier: that you can create fictional personas and carry on a fairly sophisticated deceit with someone thousands of miles away, or that they can document the whole thing on film and out you to the world and come out established movie makers while your life remains relatively unchanged?
In a sense, there are two cautionary tales here: one is about the vagaries of the net, the other is about this new world of electronic media where you can be filmed without your knowledge or consent and your home and surroundings can be surveyed by someone in another state with the click of a button.
Oh and P.S., since this is Indosplace where I mainly deal with curvy women and that subculture, check out the thick African American waitress they meet once they arrive in Michigan. She’s a cutie.
Sophia Coppola's "Somewhere"
Here's what I came away with from "Somewhere": Sophia Coppola is more concerned with mood and beauty and atmosphere than the details of laying out a structured three act film or tying up loose ends. She captures the essence of places and things by not only taking her time in shooting them, but by studying details that some might consider mundane (airport announcement system, elevator chimes, street signs, etc.) but that somehow manage to capture what we remember most about experiences in such places. Her lighting choices and camera angles are just spot on.
As a story, "Somewhere" is weaker than "Lost in Translation." There is probably no more than 30 pages of dialogue in the entire movie. But if you're willing to take your time and just let this movie wash over you, as it's meant to, "Somewhere" is a moving movie going experience. It will linger in your mind after you leave the theater, and any movie that can imprint itself in your mind these days is doing something right.
Black Swan
I should also point out that this movie has a great soundtrack.
"Monsters" - Can You Name That Budget?
Trust me, when you see this movie and the behind-the-scenes footage of Edwards and his three person crew filming this, you will want to know how much it cost too. You will immediately be consumed by thoughts of "how can I do this too?" But don't be fooled. Edwards was a CGI tech by trade, having worked on numerous documentaries and features before making his debut. Your average person would've had to hire someone to do all those nifty effects, thereby increasing the budget considerably. Still, the movie is quite an inspiration.
The Amercian - Virtuoso Filmmaking
At the heart of this stark tale lies the axiom "live by the sword, die by the sword."
Beautifully shot by Anton Corbijn, The American so definitively places you in Italy you'll feel you need a passport to see it.
The film has a slow pacing; no quick cuts or cinematic gimmicks. Instead what you get are precise and beautifully framed panoramas and tight shots of Clooney et al.
One scene that stands out in particular is when George Clooney takes Thekla Reuten's character to his secret hiding place to test a custom-made rifle he's built for her. A fellow assassin, Reuten just feels untrustworthy and dangerous. Maybe it's her piercing blue eyes, strong nose and flared nostrils. Whatever the case, that scene is a testament to Corbjin's virtuosity and ability to set up a tense scene without overly relying on a heavy score.
This is not a feel good movie by any stretch, but in this age of "look ma, I shot this on a camcorder," The American stands apart as a true-to-form cinematic experience. This film was crafted by industry professionals and there's no faking that.
Dianna Agron - More than "Glee"
Entering the Scott Pilgrim Universe
Not satisfied with just the book and the movie, I have now spent several hours watching (and re-watching) the behind-the-scenes material on the Blu Ray for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It seems like the cast really got along well and it is mind blowing the amount of preparation, training, and resources that went into this movie. Because the special effects in the film are played like comic book gags, you tend to take them for granted. But this film showcased some state of the art work.
Unfortunately, this review isn't all accolades. The one thing about Scott Pilgrim I wasn't crazy about is, well, how white it is. Sure, Knives Chau is Chinese, but she plays Scott's doormat, and her otherness is openly fetishicized in the movie. According to this film, there are no black or Latino people in Toronto - I mean literally, I don't think I saw a single face of color throughout this entire movie. You want to excuse all of this because: (a) Wright seems like a nice guy and I doubt it was intentional, and (b) the writer of the books is himself Asian American. But man, it's really kinda scary to see what happens when there aren't initiatives mandating diversity. Subconsciously or not, things just seem to gravitate to being exclusively white, both in front of and behind the camera. Of course, I'm not the only one who noticed this - type "Scott Pilgrim and racism" into Google search and see what comes back. Notably, white male film critic Sean Stangland writes:
[L]ooking back at the movie, I realize that every "good" character, for lack of a better word, is white. The other prominent Asian characters in the film are Scott's clingy, borderline crazy Chinese girlfriend, Knives Chao (Ellen Wong), and two of Matthew's fellow evil exes, Kyle and Ken Katanagi (Keita Saitou and Shota Saito). Latinos are represented by Clifton Collins Jr. as a vegan cop, and blacks are represented by ... uhh ... hmm ... no one. So perhaps the criticism that the film was made for and by white hipster douchebags carries a little more weight than I thought.
(Race and gender in "Scott Pilgrim") At any rate, I still highly recommend this film. Outside of "The Social Network" (which was far more socially responsible -- bravo to Fincher and Sorkin), it's probably the best movie of 2010.
Criterion Blu Ray Release of Ghost World in 2011?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
What's The Best Electronic Viewfinder
"The Loved Ones" - Australian Booty
Too Bad it's Not Real
iPad Spotted on "Entourage" Tonight
New über Thick Booty Babe From Spencer Davis
Medicine for Melancholy
But once Micah and JoAnn connect, the movie is sublime, both visually and in terms of content. In many ways "Medicine" is groundbreaking in telling the story of African Americans in love. As the director notes, how many times do we see young black people onscreen who ride bikes around the city, or build aquariums, or listen to indie music? To some extent, the movie itself is an allegory of its characters: white leaning/mumblecore sensibilities on the surface (from the soundtrack to the way it's shot), but undeniably black at its core. The central conflict of the two characters revolves around an age-old question in the African American community, which is what does it mean to be black, and does/should ones blackness eclipse ones class. For JoAnn, class and lifestyle prevail over her blackness. She refuses to limit her world view and her experiences to being black. She lives with and dates a white curator who is away in London and pays a mortgage on a very expensive house in San Francisco. Micah, on the hand, builds custom aquariums and stays in a decidedly less upscale and more gritty side of town. Although the film hints that Micah got his heart broken in an interracial relationship with a white woman before he met JoAnn, in the present tense he clearly sees himself as a black man with a dating preference for staying in race. He is concerned about gentrification and the lower classes marginalization in San Francisco. Everything about Micah crackles with his awareness of being black. For JoAnn, it's a footnote.
I won't give it all away, but I will just say that this film doesn't offer any easy answers to these issues.
I've seen dozens of slice-off-life love stories similar to this film about white characters, and enjoyed them, but I really can't describe what I felt finally seeing black characters get to tell a story like this. Pic is highly evocative and writer/director Barry Jenkins' carefully studied approach to the material paid off in spades. As just one example, the scene with Micah and JoAnn dancing together to "Lightbulbs" as the night winds down was very moving to me. (By the way, the film has a great soundtrack.) "Medicine" reminded me of Ted Witcher's "Love Jones" in the sense that it is breaking free of many black stereotypes and deals with the black bohemian crowd, but I definitely enjoyed this movie a lot more.
Interestingly, finding this DVD in the allegedly liberal city of Los Angeles was far from easy. Neither Cinefile nor Laser Blazer - two stores renowned for carrying offbeat, independent movies like this - had purchased this IFC-distributed DVD so that their customers could rent or buy it. It says a lot about the way audiences are prepared to perceive black people. Somehow I think if this had been some cheapie hood flick about gang members and big booty girlies, both stores would have had it in stock.
Anyway, do yourself a favor and go out and rent this or buy it a Pay Per View. It is without a doubt a modern classic.
Spider-Man 601 - Red Headed Stranger
Check eBay and you may notice that while there are plenty of the variant of Spider-Man issue #601, the very first in the Red Headed Stranger series about Mary Jane's return to Peter Parker's life, there are few of the original cover. You'll also notice your local comic book store won't have them. That's right kiddies, this one is on its way to becoming a collectible. I just picked mine up today at Comics Ink in Culver City (see below - last copy, don't bother going there, lol).
As a note, I really enjoyed this particular story line. The issue with Chameleon is the best in terms of art, story, etc.
Dan Clowes - "Wilson"
UPDATE: Fox Searchlight Adapting 'Wilson' for Alexander Payne to Direct
"The Dog Years" - Issue No. 6
Justice League - Crisis on Two Earths
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Adrian Tomine
Daniel - Bat for Lashes
Phoenix
It's also nice to see Vibe Magazine covering groups like this in their comeback issue.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Rat is played by Willem Dafoe and that is probably the funniest role in the movie. Just listen to that slow, southern drawl when he tells Mr. Fox "It's my jaw-ob (job)"
The part of the movie I wasn't so crazy about was the second half, when the farmers really become focused on trying to capture and kill Mr. Fox. While never overtly violent, the tension and sense of imminent danger is in stark contrast to the cozy, relaxed feeling in the beginning of the film.
All in all, a very enjoyable movie going experience, like most Wes Anderson movies.
Sade has announced "Solider Of Love"
Ducle - Jamie Hernandez
Katie Cassidy: CW Hottie of the Month
From a photography perspective, not that they are shooting at golden hour with the sun backlighting Cassidy, creating a halo like outline. Also notice the ample use of green in the background to play into Cassidy’s eyes (click to enlarge pics). Noticing details like this is why photographers often go on to be cinematographers.
House of the Devil
As an example, the scene where Jocelin’s Samantha is bopping around to the Fix's "One Thing Leads To Another" but then the music abruptly stops (for the audience) when she opens the door to that dark basement is really nicely done.
Trick 'r Treat
The last one is worth the price of admission alone. Trust.
As an added bonus, Rochelle Aytes is looking real good in this.
Jennifer's Body
Anyway, Megan Fox looks great in this movie and Adrian Brody is projecting “I’m ready for the A-list”. The movie is not scary in the slightest. Well, except for one shot at the very end, as the credits are rolling. I won’t reveal any spoilers, but it involves Amanda Seyfried in badass mode.
Cool Article on Zooey Deschanel
Summer is also figurative of a certain type of indie movie character. As Webb explains, "There's this term - Manic Pixie Dream Girl - which is this idealised super-attractive quirky girl. Typically this character is sort of consumed by the male, changes his life and it's happily ever after. But we wanted to use that idea and extract some sort of consequence from it - she doesn't solve your problems, she doesn't make you happy. One of the underlying themes of the movie is that happiness lies within, not in the big blue eyes of the girl in the cubicle down the hall. That was a little bit tricky, but Zooey...she has great sense of style, she has this credibility, which is really fantastic, and it's hard not to like her, to be attracted to her. She lives in that idealised box that we have - but there's a consequence to that, there's a consequence to these people not being real, and that's what the end of the movie is trying to embrace."
I got a sense from the article that there was bit of a struggle between Zooey’s interpretation of the story and Summer’s character and the one the screenwriter had. She says “I just tried to play the scenes as truthfully as possible and keep her grounded in my reality of her, which was different from the reality of the film. My job was to protect her integrity, as a character. I’m like the lawyer for Summer.”
500 Days of Summer
Coraline
Drag Me To Hell
The first 30 minutes or so of this movie are pretty damn intense. A couple walked out of the showing I was at. If they could have kept that energy up the whole film, it would've been really scary.
As it stands, it was extremely solid. Good does not prevail over evil, and I always like movies like that. The lead character does everything possible for redemption, but it just isn't enough.
This movie is not truly scary in the get-under-your-skin sense like "The Exorcist" or the original "Ringhu" (Japanese version). It could have been, but Sam Raimi seems to prefer camp to mean-spirited, rattle-you-to-the-bones horror. Still, the movie a nice blend of frights with some humor.
The lead actress is very interesting to watch. Kinda sexy, kinda innocent, and a little bit bad girl... Trying to escape her country bumpkin past, you almost feel sorry for her.
Overall I'd recommend it. I'll probably check it out again at some point.
Esther Baxter in "Speed Dating"
"Let The Right One In" - A Pretty Cool Vampire Flick
You can't help but wonder what awaits Oskar once Eli tires of him and/or he gets old, but it looks like they've got a good thing until that day comes.
On Switching From A TiBook 867Mhz to MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz
I have been using a TiBook 867Mhz for the last four years, but I had gone thru at least two batteries, a screen, and most recently one of the hinges finally broke. My local college was selling the Spring '08 (not the most recent ones) MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz model for $1399, which is a steal, so I decided to step off into the abyss and purchase it, after much debate. (Not an easy decision to make in a recession, but you can always make money with a computer)
Anyway, for those G4 Powerbook users contemplating the upgrade, let me offer these few choice observations on the upgrade:
--Heat/fan issues: The Macbook Pro is rumored to get VERY hot. So hot that some users say they have to put a magazine between the computer and their lap to keep from getting burned. I haven't seen this. I've run several apps at a time and at most the heat is moderate. The TiBook, on the other hand, was a furnace and the fans came on almost constantly, esp. in the last year or so. I don't remember it always being so fan-happy, but at some point it seemed like that fan would kick on after just 5 minutes of use, esp. with the adapter plugged in.
Winner: Macbook
--Keyboard: The auto light keyboard on the Macbook Pro, which senses when it's dark and kicks in with an eerie X-Files glow, is damn cool. And the keys have a nice springiness, but the overall feel is more precious and delicate than with the TiBook. I can easily see that silver rubbing off with the Macbook keys if I don't get an iSkin cover. The black plastic keyboard of the TiBook felt more utilitarian, even though the white letters eventually started to wear away. It's really too soon to call, but for now...
Winner: TiBook
--Speed: This doesn't even merit a discussion. The MacBook Pro, with its dual Intel processors, 3MB of level 2 cache and 4 MB of RAM easily dusts the TiBook's crops. But to be fair, it's got a 4-5 year technological advantage, which is HUGE in the world of computers.
Winner: MacBook Pro
--Spinning Beach Ball of Death: Toward the end with the TiBook, just about anything would cause the spinning wheel to come up. Even if I so much as scrolled down the page with a YouTube movie embedded, the wheel would appear. God forbid I run more than two RAM heavy apps at a time and try to rapidly switch between them. I haven't seen much of the spinning ball of death on the Macbook yet, but I'm sure it's time will come
Winner: MacBook Pro
--Internet Experience: Another category that is pretty obvious. There is no website that can't be conquered with Safari 3.1 in Leopard. Pop up blocking is sublime. The TiBook was choking on sites as commonplace as CNN. Even Photobucket was becoming iffy.
Winner: MacBook Pro
Design Build: --> Winner: MacBook Pro, lol.
Conclusion: So was it worth it? I'm sure it was, but right now the MacBook is just pleasant in a low key kind of way. It hasn't blown my socks off or anything. I was acutely aware when watching "Entourage" in high def that I couldn't have done that on the TiBook, but that isn't exactly mandatory computing either.
I could probably have held off another week of so, but I'm glad I didn't.
The 2009 Maxim Calendar - The Right Stuff
Holy Crap! The Ghost World Special Edition is Awesome
Anyway, this new iteration of Ghost World includes both the serialized comic and the screenplay, in addition to a lot of really cool extras. Just about every bit of trivia surrounding Enid and Rebecca is included in this book. And short of a sequel, this is about as good as it gets for now. As usual, Clowes leaves us wanting more, but it's still a nice little surprise.
BTW, there's a funny jab at the movie Juno in this book, which was in many ways a refashioning (read= ripoff) of Ghost World. At any rate, pick this one up when you have a chance. It's a keeper.
The Man Who Loved Breasts - Anatomical Objectification in Comics
I've always been interested in books, movies, TV shows, etc. that are about men obsessed with women's anatomy, because it's a very difficult topic to pull off without seeming highly exploitative. I've wanted to do something for years about three guys who destroy their lives due to their preoccupation with women's backsides. Each one loses something major in his life - his job, his fortune, his wife. But I never thought a publisher would be interested in that type of story. I guess "The Man Who Loved Breasts" disproves my theory. (Another sleeper where it comes to this subject is Dan Clowes "David Boring" - note Boring's obsession with big backsides and the trouble that gets him into)
"Jack Brooks Monster Slayer"
Not a bad little horror flick. The lead actor, played by Trevor Matthews, was cool without trying to be. We'll see more of him for sure.
The actress who plays his girlfriend, Rachel Skarsten, is cute and kinda curvy.
The problem is that the movie is slow and not scary. All of the action is crammed into the last 15 minutes and, while decent, it takes too long to get there.