The first film that I saw Heath Ledger in was 10 Things I Hate About You. It was not his first film, but it was really the first film that a widespread North American audience would see him in. I remember the scene where he sings 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' to Julia Stiles as she is in the middle of a soccer game. A security guard begins to chase after him and somehow he gets behind the guard, pats him on the butt and runs off. What a funny start to such a short Hollywood film career and life. The next film that I saw Heath in was The Patriot, where he played Mel Gibson's idealist son, who against his father's wishes signs up to fight in the Revolutionary war against the British. Although the film was not really historically accurate; the British did not kill wounded American soldiers (as my friend Mike tells me; I should really know anyway because I took American History in high school), the movie I think was very good...in a guilty please kind of way. Next, Ledger had a small part as Billy Bob Thorton's son in Monster's Ball; his part was small but he did very well with it. Ledger was also in A Knight's Tale (my wife has it but I have not seen it yet), and remakes of both The Four Feathers and Ned Kelly (I missed those too, but will probably see them sometime in the near future). The next time that I came upon Heath, was in The Order; a religious thriller about sin-eating. As for religious thrillers go, it is one of the better ones; I would recommend it over Stigmata, which is not terrible or anything. In Lords of Dogtown, he played a surfer/entrepreneur who was a big part of the beginnings of skateboarding in the 70s. He was very convincing and commited to his performance for this film, but I think he was always committed to his work. He played a grimm brother in The Brothers Grimm, which was a comedy with some dark grimm fairy tale elements added to it; not great but entertaining and worth seeing. Brokeback Mountain was that last film that I saw him in and was upset that he did not win an oscar for his performance. The last films that he did are the following; Casanova, Candy, I'm Not There, The Dark Knight and the still in production The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. I know that I will be seeing his last completed performance this summer; The Dark Knight.
The following are the ten reasons why Heath Ledger being dead makes me sad;
1. His Family - By family, I mean his parents (obviously), his ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams, his baby daughter Matilda and his close Hollywood friends (i.e. Jake Gyllenhaal). I feel sad for their loss because I know he meant a lot to them because my family means a lot to me.
2. He Never Won An Oscar - There are a few actors that I believe will eventually win an oscar, such as Ryan Gosling, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Walberg, Mark Ruffalo and of course Heath Ledger. Heath was an amazing actor and he shown his talent in all his performances, whether or not they were great, emtionally deep movies or not. I know that he will be missed in the films of Hollywood.
3. Sad Watching His Films - With Ledger dead, I cannot help but feel sad whenever I will watch one of his films, knowing that he is dead and that I will never see him in another film that has not already been shot. I cannot imagine what performances he might have put out in the future and sadly none of those performances will ever happen.
4. My Wife Is Sad - My wife was watching 2 1/2 Men on dvd, when I found out on imdb.com that Ledger was found dead in his apartment. I told her that I had bad news and she stopped the dvd and I told her the news. My wife was really sad about Ledger being dead because she was and is a big fan of his and it is hard enough to get through the cold winter with the cold and the lack of sun that celebrities that you like dying does not make getting through the winter any easier.
5. Jack Nicholson Saying Stupid Things - I read on imdb that Nicholson said that he either warned against or warned Ledger about the rigours of playing such a dark and demented character; The Joker in The Dark Knight. Upon Ledger's death, Nicholson was asked what he though about Ledger's death and Nicholson said, "I told him so". How insensitive is that? That really helps his family and everyone else who is mourning him, to know that Jack Nicholson warned him about playing The Joker; that really brings him back doesn't it. I hate it when celebrities bad mouth or say insensitive things about other celebrities; why can't we all just get along? Jack Nicholson should shut his mouth because he did so many drugs in the 60s and 70s that he should probably be dead (see also Margot Kidder, Martin Scorsese, Karen Black and others, see book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls). FYI, Nicholson is a product of incest; he thought his mom was his sister and his grandfather was really his father; that is why he is crazy.
6. I Will Never Get To Meet Him - I have not really met many celebrities (Matthew Good, Nicholas Lea, Richard Kiel [Jaws], Shawn Ashmore), but I hope to live a long life which will included meeting at least a few celebrities. I would have liked to meet him and tell him that I thought that his work was great and that I respected him.
7. His Death Will Hang Over TDK - His untimely death will forever hang over The Dark Knight when it comes out and will be known as his last entirely filmed performance. I am sure that he is going to be great it the film but it will add a sadness and seriousness to the film that will make my wife and I cry.
8. His Death Overshadows Brad Renfro's Suicide - My wife was really big fan of Brad Renfro and a week before Heath Ledger died, Brad Renfro died of a drug overdose; it is not known whether this was suicide or an accidentally overdose. With Ledger dying a week after Renfro and Ledger being a more popular actor, his death overshadows Renfro's. It is just all so unfortunate; that both of them died and that Ledger died so close to when Renfro did that all the media attention is going to Ledger and his death. I am looking foward to seeing Brad Renfro's last performance in this summer's The Informers (see my blog on book adaptations).
9. His Life Was Incomplete - Ledger died at 28 (my sister is 28 and my wife is close to 28); so young, too young. He likely had goals and aspirations that are left undone because of his death. He likely wanted to progress professionally, as well as improve in his abilities as a dad, with his baby daugher Matilda. Sadly, she will grow up with little or no recollection of her father and will only know him through family and the media.
10. Will Not Get To See Him In Any New Films - Ledger's resume is now finite; with his death, obviously his resume will cease to grow. Once I have rented or bought all the outstanding films of his that I have missed, I will have nothing left to see him in. I will have a bunch of films to enjoy him in, but a limited number and that will be it.
Sadly, the rest that he could not get in his last few weeks alive, he has now achieved and finally he will not be plaqued by the darkness of his last completed performance.
I hope that upon ready this you will go seek out one of his films and be able to apprecite Heath Ledger's immense talent and remember that he will live on in his films.
Your Truly,
Fanboy Dave
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Top Ten Movies of All Time!
Hello fellow moviegoers,
Here is my top five favourite movies of 2007 and following that my top ten films of all time.
Top Five Movies 2007
1. Transformers - I went to the movies to see it and thoroughly enjoyed it and when I bought it on DVD, I watched it 3 times in that one week. I am not a purist fan of transformers. I have a vague to moderate memory of the television series. I think that the film was a great blockbuster/popcorn film. It kept me entertained and I enjoy watching it again and again and can not wait for the sequel in a few years.
2. Sicko - I have enjoyed all of Michael Moore's documentaries (I have not see The Big One though) and am a big fan of his. Sicko is a good mix of bring up issues that are important or of concern to Americans/North Americans and doing so in an entertaining way. It is not too depressing, like Bowling For Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11 Can be. Very entertaining and scary.
3. No Country For Old Men - I am not a huge fan of the Coen Brothers, but I loved this movie (also the Big Lebowski was hilarious). I read the book before I saw the movie and really believe that The Coen Brothers should win for best adaptation because the book and the film are nearly dead on. I would also like them to win for Best Picture because it was great. It paces slow at time but pays off when the action gets intense. Well developed characters and a tense atmosphere throughout. I highly recommend this film.
4. Pan's Labyrinth - I include this film with 2007's films because althought it was in release before the end of 2006, to qualify for the 2007 oscar's, it was not in full release until 2007, and I bought it when it came out on dvd. It is very dark and depressing. It is a fairytale for adults. It is colourful and magically, but very very dark.
5. Knocked Up - I love this movie; I can keep watching it and still find the humour funny; much like how I feel about 40 Year Old Virgin. It has a great ensemble cast, but is capably headed by Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. Enjoyable for all ages (except young children cause they will pick up all the curses).
Top 10 Films of All Time (Subject to change with notice; in no particular order)
1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day - In my opinion, this is the greatest action film of all time. Arnold was in his prime in this film, the effects were state of the art; totally cutting edge and at the time it was the most expensive film ever made; 120 million, later to be surpassed by Titanic at 500 million. I love the blended sci-fi and action elements of this film. Other Notable action films include; Die Hard, and Predator.
2. 28 Days Later - The reasons why I love this film include; the music (John murphy's great score and the wonderful use of godspeed you black emperor's East Hastings), the cinematography (shot on digital video gives it a more realistic look), the plot (infected people causing anarchy all over London and feeding on survivors), the apocalyptic elements of the film (the deserted streets, the ruminations on the end of the world in the character dialogue) and the performances (Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eceleston are all great in this film). See also Trainspotting, and Sunshine.
3. The Celebration - Very anti-Hollywood in how the style operates and how the story is narrated. Shot on digital video makes it look like a home video. Very important narrative information is dealt to the viewer very bluntly and this causes a jolt in the viewer. Shocking in a way that is not gory or bloody or anything visceral like that but shocking in a horrific way as to how evil people can be.
4. Donnie Darko - Very original story; time travel, the apocalypse, living in Reagen Era USA. It is amazing that all of that can be weaved together in an intelligible narrative. The music (both the soundtrack, features 80s music and the film score by Michael Andrews are both very good; I enjoy the score more so, but that may because I was born in 1982 and 'grew up' mostly in the 90s). Casting of 80s icons Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze in this film is very cool. Jake Gyllenhaal really carries a lot of this film (the whole cast is very capable but donnie, obviously is the central character) and his character Donnie is very strongly developed. A very good sci-fi thriller/80s film.
5. Chungking Express - Chinese love story/mosaic character narrative; much like all of his films (see also Fallen Angels, Days of Being Wild). Characters are very tied up in American Cliches (flight attendants, 'California Dreaming', blond wigs) and this helps make the film more accessible to North American audiences.
6. Memento - Great score by David Julyan (see my blog on film scores), great story by the director's brother Johnathan Nolan, amazing performances from Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss (Joe Pantaliano does a nice job as well), great dialogue and a complex and complicated weaving narrative that is a challenge to dicipher, but when you do it total adds to the whole film experience. See all of Nolan's films; Following, Insomnia, Batman Begins and The Prestige.
7. American Beauty - Great score by Thomas Newman, great acting (Kevin Spacey [won an oscar for this performance], Annette Benning, Chris Cooper) and an intelligent, emotional story written about life, love, death etc. Chances are you have seen this film and If you have not, why not? It is a great great film. See also Jarhead, but Sam Mendes.
8. Manhunter - Some saw or see this film as a bit campy (that is how my dad said it was received when it was out in theatres). William Petersen, who most people know from CSI, is great in this film; he reads his dialogue with so much emotion, his performance is easily the best in the film; second to it is Tom Noonan's performance as Francis Dollarhyde a.k.a. The Tooth Fairy killer. The style is best described as monochromatic ; devoid of a lot of colour and when colours are featured they are very bland colours. Very nice cinematography by Dante Spinotti. Other notable Michael Mann films include; Miami Vice, Collateral, and Heat.
9. Unbreakable - I prefer this film to the 6th Sense because I feel that the message in this film is more applicable to normal people in their everyday lives. I feel that this message is that if you do what you love/what you are supposed to be doing for a living or with your life that you can sort of be a superhero because you will excel at it and be the best at it that you can be. I also really enjoy the film's score (done beautifully by James Newton Howard). I love the Mise-en-Scene of this film as well; the blues and purples used in the costumes, the bizarre characater of Elijah (as the villian), and the grey or grey look in the sky that seems to pervade the entire film. I love the scene in the train station when David (Willis) stands in the middle of the station and as the people brush past him, he can sense their sins/evil deeds. I think that these evil deeds that he senses are very realistic for a film that, deals in the unreal or the marvellous (as M. Night Shyamalan says is the first act in a superhero's origin story). All those evil deed are horrific, but realistic and plausible.
10. Casino Royale (2006) - I include this bond film because I believe that it is the best 'film' of all the bond films. The music is very well done (a lot of the bond films have great music), Craig is great as Bond (so was Connery and Brosnan), the action was intense and the worldview was very realistic (no crazy unrealistic gadgets, realistic depiction of terrorism). The romance story line was very well written and developed by the actors and the character development for Bond was never so well written and developed as in this film. It is not just a bond film, but an espionnage film, an action film, and somewhat of a romance-adventure film.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my top movies lists and I hope that you have seen some of the films or will see some of them in the near future. I would not mind hearing from any of you as to what your favourite movies are.
Take Care.
Fanboy Dave
Here is my top five favourite movies of 2007 and following that my top ten films of all time.
Top Five Movies 2007
1. Transformers - I went to the movies to see it and thoroughly enjoyed it and when I bought it on DVD, I watched it 3 times in that one week. I am not a purist fan of transformers. I have a vague to moderate memory of the television series. I think that the film was a great blockbuster/popcorn film. It kept me entertained and I enjoy watching it again and again and can not wait for the sequel in a few years.
2. Sicko - I have enjoyed all of Michael Moore's documentaries (I have not see The Big One though) and am a big fan of his. Sicko is a good mix of bring up issues that are important or of concern to Americans/North Americans and doing so in an entertaining way. It is not too depressing, like Bowling For Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11 Can be. Very entertaining and scary.
3. No Country For Old Men - I am not a huge fan of the Coen Brothers, but I loved this movie (also the Big Lebowski was hilarious). I read the book before I saw the movie and really believe that The Coen Brothers should win for best adaptation because the book and the film are nearly dead on. I would also like them to win for Best Picture because it was great. It paces slow at time but pays off when the action gets intense. Well developed characters and a tense atmosphere throughout. I highly recommend this film.
4. Pan's Labyrinth - I include this film with 2007's films because althought it was in release before the end of 2006, to qualify for the 2007 oscar's, it was not in full release until 2007, and I bought it when it came out on dvd. It is very dark and depressing. It is a fairytale for adults. It is colourful and magically, but very very dark.
5. Knocked Up - I love this movie; I can keep watching it and still find the humour funny; much like how I feel about 40 Year Old Virgin. It has a great ensemble cast, but is capably headed by Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. Enjoyable for all ages (except young children cause they will pick up all the curses).
Top 10 Films of All Time (Subject to change with notice; in no particular order)
1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day - In my opinion, this is the greatest action film of all time. Arnold was in his prime in this film, the effects were state of the art; totally cutting edge and at the time it was the most expensive film ever made; 120 million, later to be surpassed by Titanic at 500 million. I love the blended sci-fi and action elements of this film. Other Notable action films include; Die Hard, and Predator.
2. 28 Days Later - The reasons why I love this film include; the music (John murphy's great score and the wonderful use of godspeed you black emperor's East Hastings), the cinematography (shot on digital video gives it a more realistic look), the plot (infected people causing anarchy all over London and feeding on survivors), the apocalyptic elements of the film (the deserted streets, the ruminations on the end of the world in the character dialogue) and the performances (Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eceleston are all great in this film). See also Trainspotting, and Sunshine.
3. The Celebration - Very anti-Hollywood in how the style operates and how the story is narrated. Shot on digital video makes it look like a home video. Very important narrative information is dealt to the viewer very bluntly and this causes a jolt in the viewer. Shocking in a way that is not gory or bloody or anything visceral like that but shocking in a horrific way as to how evil people can be.
4. Donnie Darko - Very original story; time travel, the apocalypse, living in Reagen Era USA. It is amazing that all of that can be weaved together in an intelligible narrative. The music (both the soundtrack, features 80s music and the film score by Michael Andrews are both very good; I enjoy the score more so, but that may because I was born in 1982 and 'grew up' mostly in the 90s). Casting of 80s icons Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze in this film is very cool. Jake Gyllenhaal really carries a lot of this film (the whole cast is very capable but donnie, obviously is the central character) and his character Donnie is very strongly developed. A very good sci-fi thriller/80s film.
5. Chungking Express - Chinese love story/mosaic character narrative; much like all of his films (see also Fallen Angels, Days of Being Wild). Characters are very tied up in American Cliches (flight attendants, 'California Dreaming', blond wigs) and this helps make the film more accessible to North American audiences.
6. Memento - Great score by David Julyan (see my blog on film scores), great story by the director's brother Johnathan Nolan, amazing performances from Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss (Joe Pantaliano does a nice job as well), great dialogue and a complex and complicated weaving narrative that is a challenge to dicipher, but when you do it total adds to the whole film experience. See all of Nolan's films; Following, Insomnia, Batman Begins and The Prestige.
7. American Beauty - Great score by Thomas Newman, great acting (Kevin Spacey [won an oscar for this performance], Annette Benning, Chris Cooper) and an intelligent, emotional story written about life, love, death etc. Chances are you have seen this film and If you have not, why not? It is a great great film. See also Jarhead, but Sam Mendes.
8. Manhunter - Some saw or see this film as a bit campy (that is how my dad said it was received when it was out in theatres). William Petersen, who most people know from CSI, is great in this film; he reads his dialogue with so much emotion, his performance is easily the best in the film; second to it is Tom Noonan's performance as Francis Dollarhyde a.k.a. The Tooth Fairy killer. The style is best described as monochromatic ; devoid of a lot of colour and when colours are featured they are very bland colours. Very nice cinematography by Dante Spinotti. Other notable Michael Mann films include; Miami Vice, Collateral, and Heat.
9. Unbreakable - I prefer this film to the 6th Sense because I feel that the message in this film is more applicable to normal people in their everyday lives. I feel that this message is that if you do what you love/what you are supposed to be doing for a living or with your life that you can sort of be a superhero because you will excel at it and be the best at it that you can be. I also really enjoy the film's score (done beautifully by James Newton Howard). I love the Mise-en-Scene of this film as well; the blues and purples used in the costumes, the bizarre characater of Elijah (as the villian), and the grey or grey look in the sky that seems to pervade the entire film. I love the scene in the train station when David (Willis) stands in the middle of the station and as the people brush past him, he can sense their sins/evil deeds. I think that these evil deeds that he senses are very realistic for a film that, deals in the unreal or the marvellous (as M. Night Shyamalan says is the first act in a superhero's origin story). All those evil deed are horrific, but realistic and plausible.
10. Casino Royale (2006) - I include this bond film because I believe that it is the best 'film' of all the bond films. The music is very well done (a lot of the bond films have great music), Craig is great as Bond (so was Connery and Brosnan), the action was intense and the worldview was very realistic (no crazy unrealistic gadgets, realistic depiction of terrorism). The romance story line was very well written and developed by the actors and the character development for Bond was never so well written and developed as in this film. It is not just a bond film, but an espionnage film, an action film, and somewhat of a romance-adventure film.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading my top movies lists and I hope that you have seen some of the films or will see some of them in the near future. I would not mind hearing from any of you as to what your favourite movies are.
Take Care.
Fanboy Dave
Friday, January 25, 2008
27 Yeses: A review of 27 Dresses.
The second film in my Friday double bill was romantic comedy 27 Dresses. My wife really wanted to see this film and I was not averse to seeing it. I will watch anything; although there have been films that at times I would not see with my wife and I have gotten into trouble for such resistance. She has sat through more than a few films that she did not want to see, but I insisted on, so...there it is.
Since, Knocked Up, I have been a fan of Katherine Heigl cause why not, not only is she hot but she is a capable young actress, who is a decent actress in a sea of mainstream Hollywood mediocrity (teen stars such as Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes and stars such as Cameron Diaz and Jessica Alba and more but I do not have time to name them). James Marsden, I have liked as an actor since teen horror/thriller flick Disturbing Behaviour (Katie Holmes before that Egomaniac Tom Cruise). I saw him in the X-Men flicks and in the more recent Superman Returns; he has also given a good performance in the film Gossip, which had a lot of potential but lacked the will to act on that potential. If you disagree on that one, just think of the title; it is called Gossip, just think about it.
The film is a cute little romantic comedy that is not totally predictable; it has a few unexpected or unconventional twists. It has a little more depth than some of the romantic comedies, possibly because Katherine Heigl's character lost her mother as a young child and helped raise her slightly younger sister, which leads to a bit of repressed anger that predictably comes out at the rehearsal dinner; you see it coming, trust me. James Marsden, plays a New York Journal (is that a real paper) commitments/weddings reporter, who (you guested it) covers the big weddings that take place in New York. He begins to do a piece on Katherine Heigl's character, who has been a bridesmaid 27 times. Again, you guested it; the pieces is basically 'always a bridesmaid never a bride'. He wants to do this piece because he is sick and tired of reporting on weddings because...of a bad experience; at first he just seems cynical about the commericalization of weddings, but there are of course much more than this. I know because I am married and I believe that your wedding is what you make it. It is not just a business deal or a commercialized occasion like Christmas, Halloween etc. It is the joining of two people who love each other and want to grow old and raise children together and share life experience together. For my wife and I that it watching films together for the first time, sleeping in on weekends together, having morning coffee, travel to places together and telling each other that we love each other, which we do to a sickening degree, but we mean it every time, perhaps more every time.
Sorry about the tangent there, but I mean it. I hate it when people knock marriage. James Marsden's character does do this but he is covering up old wounds. This I believe makes his character less 2 dimensional and a little more three dimensional, not that he every gets to that point (Mark Ruffalo is closer to getting there with his performance in Just Like Heaven, which is actually more of his story than of Reese Witherspoon's character), but it adds more to his character.
Basically, the movie is about being afraid to live your own life and feeling like you have to be there for everyone else. Katherine Heigl has been there for everyone and eventually people are there for her by the end of the movie; surprise. But it is also about not letting a bad experience prevent you from going for the things that you once wanted. 27 Dresses is a cute little romantic comedy that the average man should be able to sit through; it is not too chicky and not annoy and features at least a few jokes that a man can laugh at. If you believe yourself to be a bit more tolerable of romantic comedies than the average man, then you will probably laugh more.
I hope that you have enjoy this review. I am sorry if it is a little vague, but I do not want to give too much away if you want to see this film.
Your friend,
Fanboy Dave
Since, Knocked Up, I have been a fan of Katherine Heigl cause why not, not only is she hot but she is a capable young actress, who is a decent actress in a sea of mainstream Hollywood mediocrity (teen stars such as Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Bynes and stars such as Cameron Diaz and Jessica Alba and more but I do not have time to name them). James Marsden, I have liked as an actor since teen horror/thriller flick Disturbing Behaviour (Katie Holmes before that Egomaniac Tom Cruise). I saw him in the X-Men flicks and in the more recent Superman Returns; he has also given a good performance in the film Gossip, which had a lot of potential but lacked the will to act on that potential. If you disagree on that one, just think of the title; it is called Gossip, just think about it.
The film is a cute little romantic comedy that is not totally predictable; it has a few unexpected or unconventional twists. It has a little more depth than some of the romantic comedies, possibly because Katherine Heigl's character lost her mother as a young child and helped raise her slightly younger sister, which leads to a bit of repressed anger that predictably comes out at the rehearsal dinner; you see it coming, trust me. James Marsden, plays a New York Journal (is that a real paper) commitments/weddings reporter, who (you guested it) covers the big weddings that take place in New York. He begins to do a piece on Katherine Heigl's character, who has been a bridesmaid 27 times. Again, you guested it; the pieces is basically 'always a bridesmaid never a bride'. He wants to do this piece because he is sick and tired of reporting on weddings because...of a bad experience; at first he just seems cynical about the commericalization of weddings, but there are of course much more than this. I know because I am married and I believe that your wedding is what you make it. It is not just a business deal or a commercialized occasion like Christmas, Halloween etc. It is the joining of two people who love each other and want to grow old and raise children together and share life experience together. For my wife and I that it watching films together for the first time, sleeping in on weekends together, having morning coffee, travel to places together and telling each other that we love each other, which we do to a sickening degree, but we mean it every time, perhaps more every time.
Sorry about the tangent there, but I mean it. I hate it when people knock marriage. James Marsden's character does do this but he is covering up old wounds. This I believe makes his character less 2 dimensional and a little more three dimensional, not that he every gets to that point (Mark Ruffalo is closer to getting there with his performance in Just Like Heaven, which is actually more of his story than of Reese Witherspoon's character), but it adds more to his character.
Basically, the movie is about being afraid to live your own life and feeling like you have to be there for everyone else. Katherine Heigl has been there for everyone and eventually people are there for her by the end of the movie; surprise. But it is also about not letting a bad experience prevent you from going for the things that you once wanted. 27 Dresses is a cute little romantic comedy that the average man should be able to sit through; it is not too chicky and not annoy and features at least a few jokes that a man can laugh at. If you believe yourself to be a bit more tolerable of romantic comedies than the average man, then you will probably laugh more.
I hope that you have enjoy this review. I am sorry if it is a little vague, but I do not want to give too much away if you want to see this film.
Your friend,
Fanboy Dave
Juno? No, the name of the movie is Juno, it is nominated for an Oscar.
The first film that I saw today on my double bill with my wife Veronica, was the Academy Award nominated film Juno. A few of my friends have seen the film and of course being a big movie fan, I had to ask how it was. Previously, I had downloaded the trailer on apple.com and thought that it looked good. I had before seen Superbad, so I was aware of who Michael Cera was; I have yet to watch all the seasons of the show Arrested Development, which he was in, but do not worry Melanie and Dad, cause I will watch them; the show is really funny for those of you that have not seen any episodes. For those of you unaware, Michael Cera is a Brampton boy; he is from that sleepy suburb of Toronto, where I was born and currently live. Ellen Page is also Canadian, but I think that she is from Winnipeg.
I did not really have high expectations for this film. I thought that it would be funny and entertaining. It was sarcastically funny, not really laugh out loud funny, but kind of funny in a bit of a Garden State. The music, which I always pay attention to was very odd. I did not really recognize any of it. It was all vocal music from musical artists/band and there was no score or background music played in the film. I thought the music was odd, but not terrible or annoying, just odd. Ellen Page was cute as a tenth grade sarcastic and pregnant teen, who decided to give her baby up to a deserving couple. Michael Cera plays the odd, awkward teen that he usually plays but is a more capable one then the one that he played in Arrested Development and in Superbad. The film featured a decent supporting cast including Allison Janney (as Brenda, Juno's stepmom) and J.K. Simmons (as Juno's father). Jason Bateman played an interested grown man who just did not want to grow up. In the course of the film, him and Juno form a sort of bond that goes into an interesting place. Jennifer Garner plays Bateman's wife who is just so willing and able to raise a baby, but unfortunately unable to conceive a child herself. The film, like I previously stated has a bit of a Garden State feel to it. It is funny and comical but no laugh out loud funny, but still has some serious dramatic moments to it.
The film is worth seeing; I am not saying that you will definitely like it, but I am sure that you will enjoy parts of it at least. Do I think that It should win the best picture Oscar? No, I think that No Country For Old Men is a more deserving film, although I have not yet, but may see Michael Clayton, Atonement and There Will Be Blood. If I do see these films, reviews will be added and I will update what my Oscar pick will be, if it changes.
A blog entry will be added before this on what I thought of romantic comedy 27 Dresses, but I saw Juno first in my Friday double bill.
I hope that this review gives you somewhat of an understanding of what to expect from the movie Juno, if you choose to go see it.
Your friend,
Fanboy Dave
I did not really have high expectations for this film. I thought that it would be funny and entertaining. It was sarcastically funny, not really laugh out loud funny, but kind of funny in a bit of a Garden State. The music, which I always pay attention to was very odd. I did not really recognize any of it. It was all vocal music from musical artists/band and there was no score or background music played in the film. I thought the music was odd, but not terrible or annoying, just odd. Ellen Page was cute as a tenth grade sarcastic and pregnant teen, who decided to give her baby up to a deserving couple. Michael Cera plays the odd, awkward teen that he usually plays but is a more capable one then the one that he played in Arrested Development and in Superbad. The film featured a decent supporting cast including Allison Janney (as Brenda, Juno's stepmom) and J.K. Simmons (as Juno's father). Jason Bateman played an interested grown man who just did not want to grow up. In the course of the film, him and Juno form a sort of bond that goes into an interesting place. Jennifer Garner plays Bateman's wife who is just so willing and able to raise a baby, but unfortunately unable to conceive a child herself. The film, like I previously stated has a bit of a Garden State feel to it. It is funny and comical but no laugh out loud funny, but still has some serious dramatic moments to it.
The film is worth seeing; I am not saying that you will definitely like it, but I am sure that you will enjoy parts of it at least. Do I think that It should win the best picture Oscar? No, I think that No Country For Old Men is a more deserving film, although I have not yet, but may see Michael Clayton, Atonement and There Will Be Blood. If I do see these films, reviews will be added and I will update what my Oscar pick will be, if it changes.
A blog entry will be added before this on what I thought of romantic comedy 27 Dresses, but I saw Juno first in my Friday double bill.
I hope that this review gives you somewhat of an understanding of what to expect from the movie Juno, if you choose to go see it.
Your friend,
Fanboy Dave
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Impossible Transition: From Novel To Film.
I have watched some films that I immediately took to and after the viewing , I go back to the source material and by this I mean the novel (in cases where the film was based on a novel) and will often read the novel . After watching The Bourne Identity, I attempted to borrow the book from the library, but there was a long waiting list for the next available copy, so I just went out and bought it. For those of you that have not read the book, it is nothing like the film, but still a very good read. It is very difficult for directors and screenwriters to adapt a story from the novel to the big screen, obviously because the film medium is limited because of time constraints and therefore only so much of the depth of the story and character development can end up in the completed film. In the last ten years a lot of adapted stories have been from comic books (X-Men, Spiderman) and more recently from graphic novels (Sin City, V For Vendetta).
Viewing films for all my life, I have noticed that certain authors have had the novels adapted into film very frequent. These authors include John Grisham (The Firm, Runaway Jury), and Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Timeline). Other notable include Thomas Harris, who has had all five of his book adapted into films (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Hannibal Rising, Black Tuesday) and Elmore Leonard, who most recently had his short story 3:10 To Yuma adapted into a film again and also had his novel Rum Punch adapted in 1997 by Quentin Tarantino as Jackie Brown. Despite, Harris and Leonard having their work adapted very recently (Hannibal Rising and 3:10 To Yuma), there has been a shift towards adapting the stories of other authors, who are not even new authors but authors have have been around for at least 10 years if not longer.
The two "it" boys for having a bunch of their novels adapted into films right now are Dennis Lehane and Cormac McCarthy. Lehane's novel Mystic River earned Clint Eastwood's film version a best picture Academy Award, his novel Gone Baby Gone was adapted by Ben Affleck for his directorial debut and Martin Scorsese is currently underway adapting his novel Shutter Island, to star Scorsese's muse Leonard DiCaprio. Cormac McCarthy who previously had his novel All The Pretty Horses adapted by Billy Bob Thorton, into a film in 2000, has since won a pulitzer prize for his novel The Road and it was also picked by Oprah for her book club, but the story does not end there. No Country For Old Men has been adapted into a film starring Tommy Lee Jones and has been nominated for a best picture Academy Award. The Road is currently being made into a film starring Viggo Mortensen, as is Blood Meridian and possibly The Crossing; I cannot confirm conclusively or not because I am too last to sign up for the free 14 day trial for imdb.pro at imdb.com, so I will just have to wait like everyone else. So things seem to be looking up for both Lehane and McCarthy. As for my personal opinions, both No Country For Old Men and The Road were great reads. I just wanted to get through them so fast; they are really page turners. I have not read any of Lehane's novels, but may do so in the future. Gone Baby Gone, I did see in the theatres when it was out and I really enjoyed it. So, for anyone interested in the film I highly recommend it. Ben Affleck capably directs the film and is aid by great performances from Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Michelle Monaghan and Amy Ryan, who is nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award. There are still two more authors whose work is beginning to be increasingly adapted. These authors are Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk; fortunately, I have read all ( I am currently reading Glamorama) of the fictional works of Ellis and Palahniuk, so will be able to aptly compare the upcoming films to their previously published novels.
So far, Bret Easton Ellis, who was a wunderkind novelist in the 80s has had three of his novels adapted into films; Less Than Zero, American Psycho and Rules of Attraction. The Informers, which is a collection of bizarre characters weaved together in 80s L.A. culture was written by Ellis when he was still in college. The film features Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, Brandon Routh (the new superman), Billy Bob Thorton and Brad Renfro (this is his last film, as he died of a drug overdose just over a week ago). His most recent novel Lunar Park is in an early stage of being adapted and may be a few years out before the film is made. If you are not familiar with Ellis' work, it frequently deals with social and sexual relationships between teens in an 80s cocaine filled backdrop.
Chuck Palahniuk has had two of his novels adapted into films; Fight Club starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton and Choke, which will be at the Sundance Film Festival, which has begun or will begin very soon. Like Ellis, one of novels is currently in some sort of stage of adaptation. This novel being Invisible Monsters, which is in my opinion is his most bizarre novel. It deals with gender identity and beauty in a very different sort of way. It will be interesting to see how those ideas are adapted, but hey if they can adapt a novel about a guy who has another personality inside his head and make it somehow work on screen then I guess there is a lot then can do with film despite its shortcomings of having only a limited period of time in which to tell its story.
I hope that those of you reading this blog gained some knowledge from it. If you have any questions or comments please leave them and I will get back to you.
Yours Truly,
Fanboy Dave
Viewing films for all my life, I have noticed that certain authors have had the novels adapted into film very frequent. These authors include John Grisham (The Firm, Runaway Jury), and Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Timeline). Other notable include Thomas Harris, who has had all five of his book adapted into films (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Hannibal Rising, Black Tuesday) and Elmore Leonard, who most recently had his short story 3:10 To Yuma adapted into a film again and also had his novel Rum Punch adapted in 1997 by Quentin Tarantino as Jackie Brown. Despite, Harris and Leonard having their work adapted very recently (Hannibal Rising and 3:10 To Yuma), there has been a shift towards adapting the stories of other authors, who are not even new authors but authors have have been around for at least 10 years if not longer.
The two "it" boys for having a bunch of their novels adapted into films right now are Dennis Lehane and Cormac McCarthy. Lehane's novel Mystic River earned Clint Eastwood's film version a best picture Academy Award, his novel Gone Baby Gone was adapted by Ben Affleck for his directorial debut and Martin Scorsese is currently underway adapting his novel Shutter Island, to star Scorsese's muse Leonard DiCaprio. Cormac McCarthy who previously had his novel All The Pretty Horses adapted by Billy Bob Thorton, into a film in 2000, has since won a pulitzer prize for his novel The Road and it was also picked by Oprah for her book club, but the story does not end there. No Country For Old Men has been adapted into a film starring Tommy Lee Jones and has been nominated for a best picture Academy Award. The Road is currently being made into a film starring Viggo Mortensen, as is Blood Meridian and possibly The Crossing; I cannot confirm conclusively or not because I am too last to sign up for the free 14 day trial for imdb.pro at imdb.com, so I will just have to wait like everyone else. So things seem to be looking up for both Lehane and McCarthy. As for my personal opinions, both No Country For Old Men and The Road were great reads. I just wanted to get through them so fast; they are really page turners. I have not read any of Lehane's novels, but may do so in the future. Gone Baby Gone, I did see in the theatres when it was out and I really enjoyed it. So, for anyone interested in the film I highly recommend it. Ben Affleck capably directs the film and is aid by great performances from Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Michelle Monaghan and Amy Ryan, who is nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award. There are still two more authors whose work is beginning to be increasingly adapted. These authors are Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk; fortunately, I have read all ( I am currently reading Glamorama) of the fictional works of Ellis and Palahniuk, so will be able to aptly compare the upcoming films to their previously published novels.
So far, Bret Easton Ellis, who was a wunderkind novelist in the 80s has had three of his novels adapted into films; Less Than Zero, American Psycho and Rules of Attraction. The Informers, which is a collection of bizarre characters weaved together in 80s L.A. culture was written by Ellis when he was still in college. The film features Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, Brandon Routh (the new superman), Billy Bob Thorton and Brad Renfro (this is his last film, as he died of a drug overdose just over a week ago). His most recent novel Lunar Park is in an early stage of being adapted and may be a few years out before the film is made. If you are not familiar with Ellis' work, it frequently deals with social and sexual relationships between teens in an 80s cocaine filled backdrop.
Chuck Palahniuk has had two of his novels adapted into films; Fight Club starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton and Choke, which will be at the Sundance Film Festival, which has begun or will begin very soon. Like Ellis, one of novels is currently in some sort of stage of adaptation. This novel being Invisible Monsters, which is in my opinion is his most bizarre novel. It deals with gender identity and beauty in a very different sort of way. It will be interesting to see how those ideas are adapted, but hey if they can adapt a novel about a guy who has another personality inside his head and make it somehow work on screen then I guess there is a lot then can do with film despite its shortcomings of having only a limited period of time in which to tell its story.
I hope that those of you reading this blog gained some knowledge from it. If you have any questions or comments please leave them and I will get back to you.
Yours Truly,
Fanboy Dave
Monday, January 21, 2008
It Sounds Good! Film Scores and Composers That Stand Out.
Those of you reading my blogs may not know that I am a big fan of movie scores. If any of you are uncertain as to what a film scores it, it is the 'background' music that plays during the course of a film. For anyone who has studied film they will know this 'background' music as non-diegetic music; that is music that exists outside the world of the film.
Three of my top five movies of all time (which will of course change at some point during my lifetime) feature great musical scores. These films being 28 Days Later (music by John Murphy), American Beauty (Thomas Newman) and Memento (David Julyan).
John Murphy usually collaborates with Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) and has so for 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Millions, but has also done music for Snatch and Miami Vice. His films scores stand out in the films that they are contained in and came be listened to on their own, as I sometimes do. "In The House - In a Heartbeat" from the 28 Days Later soundtrack has been used in promotional trailers for at least three films. I cannot remember which ones, so I have not stated them for that reason. It was however, used early on in the 28 Days Later sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which is also a great film. If any of you own or would like to see 28 Days Later, pay attention to the film score and I am sure you will also enjoy the great music.
Thomas Newman's score for American Beauty matches the mood of the film through its entire running time and helps to make the film memorable and great. I am not going to list the other scores that he has worked on but he did compose the theme for Six Feet Under. It you want to see his resume check it out on www.imdb.com .
David Julyan's music I first heard when I watched the film Memento, which became one of my top five favourites films once I had a general understanding of what the hell was going on in that movie. He frequently composes music for Christopher Nolan on his films; Following, Memento, Insomnia and The Prestige. When one listens to a composers music across a number of films, one begins to notice similarities between films scores, as I have between Julyan's scores for Memento and Insomnia. What is somewhat surprising about the score for Memento is that it is such a beautiful score for such a low budge movie (around 50,000 dollars). Julyan's scores are always great, but unfortunately he was not given the chance to do the score for Nolan's Batman Begins, instead this was left to Hans Zimmer and James Horner (who are both great composers but they are heavies in film scoring therefore they are somewhat overrated), leaving me more than somewhat disappointed. I can always hope that Julyan will be allowed to do the score for the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight, but I doubt the studio will allow him to do it because they did not for the last film but also because they may want to go with a more established composer (i am just guessing here).
The bizarre horror comedy Bubba Ho-Tep features at least one piece of great music from composer Brian Tyler, who has also done music for 2 Fast 2 Furious, Paparazzi, War, Constantine and most recently for the new Rambo films called...you guessed it Rambo. The piece of music is what I would call a lamentation for Elvis (played in the film by Bruce Campbell). It is a beautiful piece that carries a lot of emotion behind it and is feature in a flashback sequence in the film, recurs briefly through the film and plays again at the very end of the film. This film is really off the beaten path. I would not have known about it if my friend Matt, had not been a big fan of Bruce Campbell and mentioned the film during an msn conversation.
Most of you probably have not heard of Canadian non-vocal rock band Godspeed You Black Emperor!, but a condense version of one of their songs was featured in 28 Days Later, but did not appear on the soundtrack, because the band chose not to authorize it for the soundtrack/score (this is what I have read; I might be wrong. I know that you are thinking, "No, Dave is never wrong" but alas this is untrue. Sometime I am wrong. Do not tell my wife I said that). They are really popular in the United States and have toured there a lot but I do not think that they tour much in Canada. They currently have 4 albums (I own 2), which consists of about 3 to 4 songs (their songs are like 20 minutes each). Each song usually begins with some sort of audio clip, fades/builds up into the song and the song ebbs and flows from quiet to loud and back again. I would consider their music film score music that is not for a film. I am hoping at least David (my cousin-in-law) has heard of this band. I hope that one day Godspeed You Black Emperor are approached to do a film score because I believe they have the talent and skill to put out a great film score and really add to a film that should already be pretty good.
I would also like to say that Godfrey Reggio did an amazing score for the documentary/visual essay Koyaanisqatsi. The documentary has no dialogue, but has Reggio's music over footage of urban life; people walking down city streets, skyscrapers being demolished, people at sped up speeds walking through grand central station. If anyone out there is interested in this film, rent it or you may be able to borrow it from me. I would say that they other two films in the qatsi trilogy, Powaaqatsi and Nayoqatsi are not worth seeing, so skip them.
Some other notable film composers are James Newton Howard (The 6th Sense, Unbreakable), who commonly works with M. Night Shyamalan, Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Hannibal), who frequently collaborates with Ridley Scott, and Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings, The Departed), who has been known to work with David Chronenberg. James Horner (Titanic, Apollo 13), who composes for no one in particular (I could not find a common collaborator) , Danny Elfman (Batman, Spiderman) who composes a lot of TV show themes and works a lot with Tim Burton and John Williams who is of course responsible for the great Star Wars music and is no question, the best film composer in film history. If you have heard his music you will not consider this a bold statement. If you want to fight about my above statement, I will fight you, but I should not have to, because it is simply fact not opinion.
I hope that those of you reading this blog enjoyed it even if you are not familiar with most of the film music that I referred to. I suggest that If you get a chance to listen to any of the music that I referred to that you take that chance and reported back to me because I want to know what you, the readers think of that music that I have discussed.
Take Care Readers.
Fanboy Dave
Three of my top five movies of all time (which will of course change at some point during my lifetime) feature great musical scores. These films being 28 Days Later (music by John Murphy), American Beauty (Thomas Newman) and Memento (David Julyan).
John Murphy usually collaborates with Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) and has so for 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Millions, but has also done music for Snatch and Miami Vice. His films scores stand out in the films that they are contained in and came be listened to on their own, as I sometimes do. "In The House - In a Heartbeat" from the 28 Days Later soundtrack has been used in promotional trailers for at least three films. I cannot remember which ones, so I have not stated them for that reason. It was however, used early on in the 28 Days Later sequel, 28 Weeks Later, which is also a great film. If any of you own or would like to see 28 Days Later, pay attention to the film score and I am sure you will also enjoy the great music.
Thomas Newman's score for American Beauty matches the mood of the film through its entire running time and helps to make the film memorable and great. I am not going to list the other scores that he has worked on but he did compose the theme for Six Feet Under. It you want to see his resume check it out on www.imdb.com .
David Julyan's music I first heard when I watched the film Memento, which became one of my top five favourites films once I had a general understanding of what the hell was going on in that movie. He frequently composes music for Christopher Nolan on his films; Following, Memento, Insomnia and The Prestige. When one listens to a composers music across a number of films, one begins to notice similarities between films scores, as I have between Julyan's scores for Memento and Insomnia. What is somewhat surprising about the score for Memento is that it is such a beautiful score for such a low budge movie (around 50,000 dollars). Julyan's scores are always great, but unfortunately he was not given the chance to do the score for Nolan's Batman Begins, instead this was left to Hans Zimmer and James Horner (who are both great composers but they are heavies in film scoring therefore they are somewhat overrated), leaving me more than somewhat disappointed. I can always hope that Julyan will be allowed to do the score for the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight, but I doubt the studio will allow him to do it because they did not for the last film but also because they may want to go with a more established composer (i am just guessing here).
The bizarre horror comedy Bubba Ho-Tep features at least one piece of great music from composer Brian Tyler, who has also done music for 2 Fast 2 Furious, Paparazzi, War, Constantine and most recently for the new Rambo films called...you guessed it Rambo. The piece of music is what I would call a lamentation for Elvis (played in the film by Bruce Campbell). It is a beautiful piece that carries a lot of emotion behind it and is feature in a flashback sequence in the film, recurs briefly through the film and plays again at the very end of the film. This film is really off the beaten path. I would not have known about it if my friend Matt, had not been a big fan of Bruce Campbell and mentioned the film during an msn conversation.
Most of you probably have not heard of Canadian non-vocal rock band Godspeed You Black Emperor!, but a condense version of one of their songs was featured in 28 Days Later, but did not appear on the soundtrack, because the band chose not to authorize it for the soundtrack/score (this is what I have read; I might be wrong. I know that you are thinking, "No, Dave is never wrong" but alas this is untrue. Sometime I am wrong. Do not tell my wife I said that). They are really popular in the United States and have toured there a lot but I do not think that they tour much in Canada. They currently have 4 albums (I own 2), which consists of about 3 to 4 songs (their songs are like 20 minutes each). Each song usually begins with some sort of audio clip, fades/builds up into the song and the song ebbs and flows from quiet to loud and back again. I would consider their music film score music that is not for a film. I am hoping at least David (my cousin-in-law) has heard of this band. I hope that one day Godspeed You Black Emperor are approached to do a film score because I believe they have the talent and skill to put out a great film score and really add to a film that should already be pretty good.
I would also like to say that Godfrey Reggio did an amazing score for the documentary/visual essay Koyaanisqatsi. The documentary has no dialogue, but has Reggio's music over footage of urban life; people walking down city streets, skyscrapers being demolished, people at sped up speeds walking through grand central station. If anyone out there is interested in this film, rent it or you may be able to borrow it from me. I would say that they other two films in the qatsi trilogy, Powaaqatsi and Nayoqatsi are not worth seeing, so skip them.
Some other notable film composers are James Newton Howard (The 6th Sense, Unbreakable), who commonly works with M. Night Shyamalan, Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Hannibal), who frequently collaborates with Ridley Scott, and Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings, The Departed), who has been known to work with David Chronenberg. James Horner (Titanic, Apollo 13), who composes for no one in particular (I could not find a common collaborator) , Danny Elfman (Batman, Spiderman) who composes a lot of TV show themes and works a lot with Tim Burton and John Williams who is of course responsible for the great Star Wars music and is no question, the best film composer in film history. If you have heard his music you will not consider this a bold statement. If you want to fight about my above statement, I will fight you, but I should not have to, because it is simply fact not opinion.
I hope that those of you reading this blog enjoyed it even if you are not familiar with most of the film music that I referred to. I suggest that If you get a chance to listen to any of the music that I referred to that you take that chance and reported back to me because I want to know what you, the readers think of that music that I have discussed.
Take Care Readers.
Fanboy Dave
Saturday, January 19, 2008
What The Hell Is Cloverfield?
Hello everyone,
I now know that that includes at least three people; one of which is my beautiful wife Veronica. Thanks for reading honey, it means a lot to me.
Today, myself and one of my friends named Mike went to see Cloverfield. Like many people who saw the Cloverfield trailer this passed summer, I was also pissed off that no title was given and that the creature was not shown. Of course, all of this was just a brilliant Blair Witch Project inspired buzz campaign, which of course including internet rumours, speculations and wall posting on movie sites. This all lead me to go and see the film and as I started to see the TV spots I kept saying to myself, what the hell is it? I will not tell you what it is though. If you really want to know call or email me and I will tell you because I am not going to spoil it for everyone.
First off, I love the use of digital video in this film. I think it adds an element of realism to the a film. I also enjoyed it being used in Collateral, Miami Vice, 28 Days Later and danish dogme film The Celebration (in my top five favourite movies). Sadly, because the entire film is shot on digital video leading there to be no omnipotent narration, the only music in the film is diegetic (exists within the world of the film), so no great and memorable music score, which I enjoy in a few films. The acting was decent; not great, not terrible. Jessica Lucas who is in the film happens to be Canadian, so it is nice to support Canadian actors, so if you are Canadian and you do not see Cloverfield you are unpatriotic. Michael Stahl-David plays the main character in the film (if there can be one in this seemingly small ensemble film) and his performance is probably the best in the film. The pace of the film is pretty quick; the monster attacks about 15 minutes into the film and the time flies by (the film is about 90 minutes). The camera movements are really shaking at times, but this does not usually last longer than maybe 20 or 30 seconds at most.
In closing, the film was entertaining and held my interest. It is more than just a monster movie because the monster is not depicted too much and because you are following the characters through this disaster and before the monster attacks you get glimpses into the lives of the 6 main characters and see their desires, ideas and concerns carried out in this just barely feature length film. If you want to be entertained then see this film, but if you are expecting a monster movie or a sci-fi movie then you are either misreading the trailers and TV spots, you have not seen any of them or you are ignoring or misreading any of the buzz or info that you are reading in magazines or on the internet.
Cloverfield, as I have read from www.joblo.com's review of the film is a boulevard in Santa Monica near the film's production offices.
I hope you have all found my review helpful and informative or at least somewhat entertaining. I should have a new movie related rant up in a few days.
your friend,
fanboy Dave
I now know that that includes at least three people; one of which is my beautiful wife Veronica. Thanks for reading honey, it means a lot to me.
Today, myself and one of my friends named Mike went to see Cloverfield. Like many people who saw the Cloverfield trailer this passed summer, I was also pissed off that no title was given and that the creature was not shown. Of course, all of this was just a brilliant Blair Witch Project inspired buzz campaign, which of course including internet rumours, speculations and wall posting on movie sites. This all lead me to go and see the film and as I started to see the TV spots I kept saying to myself, what the hell is it? I will not tell you what it is though. If you really want to know call or email me and I will tell you because I am not going to spoil it for everyone.
First off, I love the use of digital video in this film. I think it adds an element of realism to the a film. I also enjoyed it being used in Collateral, Miami Vice, 28 Days Later and danish dogme film The Celebration (in my top five favourite movies). Sadly, because the entire film is shot on digital video leading there to be no omnipotent narration, the only music in the film is diegetic (exists within the world of the film), so no great and memorable music score, which I enjoy in a few films. The acting was decent; not great, not terrible. Jessica Lucas who is in the film happens to be Canadian, so it is nice to support Canadian actors, so if you are Canadian and you do not see Cloverfield you are unpatriotic. Michael Stahl-David plays the main character in the film (if there can be one in this seemingly small ensemble film) and his performance is probably the best in the film. The pace of the film is pretty quick; the monster attacks about 15 minutes into the film and the time flies by (the film is about 90 minutes). The camera movements are really shaking at times, but this does not usually last longer than maybe 20 or 30 seconds at most.
In closing, the film was entertaining and held my interest. It is more than just a monster movie because the monster is not depicted too much and because you are following the characters through this disaster and before the monster attacks you get glimpses into the lives of the 6 main characters and see their desires, ideas and concerns carried out in this just barely feature length film. If you want to be entertained then see this film, but if you are expecting a monster movie or a sci-fi movie then you are either misreading the trailers and TV spots, you have not seen any of them or you are ignoring or misreading any of the buzz or info that you are reading in magazines or on the internet.
Cloverfield, as I have read from www.joblo.com's review of the film is a boulevard in Santa Monica near the film's production offices.
I hope you have all found my review helpful and informative or at least somewhat entertaining. I should have a new movie related rant up in a few days.
your friend,
fanboy Dave
Friday, January 18, 2008
Citizen Snipes or Where Is Wesley Snipes? His Dinner Is Getting All Cold and Eaten.
Perhaps there are some of you fellow movie fans out there that have been wondering whatever happened to Wesley Snipes? Me too. Last seen in Blade Trinity (saved only by Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds being in the film) in 2004, Snipes has since done 5 direct to DVD films and has an upcoming zombie shoot'em up film due to be released in 2009. Recently, he has been having legal troubles, owing the United States government money in unpaid taxes. He is also rumored to have a gambling addiction, as a friend told me he had heard on the questionably reputable new program Celebrity Justice. Where did it all go wrong Wesley?
Snipes was once seen as the next rising action star. Starring in films such as the Blade films, Murder at 1600, Money Train and The Art of War. Vin Diesel was also supposed to be the next action star, but seems now to be more interested in the business end of it. He helped developed the Chronicles of Riddick video game. He has also expressed interested in appearing in a once discussed Guys and Dolls remake, although he admits that he cannot sing or dance but would like to learn. Diesel starred in the action-comedy The Pacifier, which is as Arnoldesque as one can get, so it seemed likely that he would become the next Schwarzenegger, but that has not happened. Next, former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in Doom (I can imagine Schwarzenegger playing Duke Nukem if they were to have done a film version) and then in The Gameplan, that seems to have a Kindergarten Cop vibe to it. Currently, The Rock is in the much delayed Southland Tales from Donnie Darko genius creator Richard Kelly. Coming to a theatre sometime in my lifetime...I hope.
Anyway, I digest. Yes, I stole that from Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest. Wanna fight about it? (Yes I stole that from a Family Guy episode. Don't act surprised. It seems that with Wesley fading away or burning out, depending on your opinion, the only actor poised to fill in the gap that his presence in Hollywood filled is Will Smith. Smith of course gained fame as a rapper and star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in that late 80s into the 90s and continued on into mainstream film, alternating his time between comedic films and action/sci-fi films, mixing in a few drama roles as well. He has most recently been seen in I AM LEGEND (the third adaptation of the book of the same name) , which had previously been in development with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the main role, but budget estimates scared the studio into delay until recently.
Snipes might be seen as a "Falling Star", although despite Kevin Smith's joke about dodging his "Falling Star" friend Ben Affleck, Affleck is no longer a "Falling Star" with his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone being regard as a very good thriller/drama (according to me, but I am sure a few others agree at least). Gone Baby Gone is of course from the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name. Lehane is becoming increasingly adapted (see also ELMORE LEONARD) since Eastwood adapted Lehane's book Mystic River into an Oscar winning film a few years ago. Scorsese is using Lehane's novel Shutter Island for his next film starring....Leo DiCaprio (but surprise eh?); DiCaprio is great though, so don't be hating. Lehane's short story Until Gwen is currently being adapted into a film version, making is seem likely that he is becoming the next Michael Crichton (who has at least 11 of his roughly 20 books made into films). Of course, there are differences between the two author's. Lehane being a good writer. OHH Take That MICHAEL CRICHTON! What are you going to do? Write another book? I dare you. Make it a good one, so they will make it into a film and then I will go see it.
I keep going off on tangents. Well, readers get used to it cause I am going to be doing a lot of it in my blogs. Snipes' paychecks went from 7 million in 1994's Drop Zone to a much undeserved 13 million in 2004's Blade Trinity. If you have not seen the flick, I will tell you that he phoned it in Christian Slater style in Alone in the Dark. I have a theory that it was the gambling that did Snipes in. This is not a good theory though cause he is still married to his wife of a bunch of years and has 4 kids with her. But if on his deathbed he whispers partypoker. net then we will know that I was correct.
Snipes was once seen as the next rising action star. Starring in films such as the Blade films, Murder at 1600, Money Train and The Art of War. Vin Diesel was also supposed to be the next action star, but seems now to be more interested in the business end of it. He helped developed the Chronicles of Riddick video game. He has also expressed interested in appearing in a once discussed Guys and Dolls remake, although he admits that he cannot sing or dance but would like to learn. Diesel starred in the action-comedy The Pacifier, which is as Arnoldesque as one can get, so it seemed likely that he would become the next Schwarzenegger, but that has not happened. Next, former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in Doom (I can imagine Schwarzenegger playing Duke Nukem if they were to have done a film version) and then in The Gameplan, that seems to have a Kindergarten Cop vibe to it. Currently, The Rock is in the much delayed Southland Tales from Donnie Darko genius creator Richard Kelly. Coming to a theatre sometime in my lifetime...I hope.
Anyway, I digest. Yes, I stole that from Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest. Wanna fight about it? (Yes I stole that from a Family Guy episode. Don't act surprised. It seems that with Wesley fading away or burning out, depending on your opinion, the only actor poised to fill in the gap that his presence in Hollywood filled is Will Smith. Smith of course gained fame as a rapper and star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in that late 80s into the 90s and continued on into mainstream film, alternating his time between comedic films and action/sci-fi films, mixing in a few drama roles as well. He has most recently been seen in I AM LEGEND (the third adaptation of the book of the same name) , which had previously been in development with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the main role, but budget estimates scared the studio into delay until recently.
Snipes might be seen as a "Falling Star", although despite Kevin Smith's joke about dodging his "Falling Star" friend Ben Affleck, Affleck is no longer a "Falling Star" with his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone being regard as a very good thriller/drama (according to me, but I am sure a few others agree at least). Gone Baby Gone is of course from the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name. Lehane is becoming increasingly adapted (see also ELMORE LEONARD) since Eastwood adapted Lehane's book Mystic River into an Oscar winning film a few years ago. Scorsese is using Lehane's novel Shutter Island for his next film starring....Leo DiCaprio (but surprise eh?); DiCaprio is great though, so don't be hating. Lehane's short story Until Gwen is currently being adapted into a film version, making is seem likely that he is becoming the next Michael Crichton (who has at least 11 of his roughly 20 books made into films). Of course, there are differences between the two author's. Lehane being a good writer. OHH Take That MICHAEL CRICHTON! What are you going to do? Write another book? I dare you. Make it a good one, so they will make it into a film and then I will go see it.
I keep going off on tangents. Well, readers get used to it cause I am going to be doing a lot of it in my blogs. Snipes' paychecks went from 7 million in 1994's Drop Zone to a much undeserved 13 million in 2004's Blade Trinity. If you have not seen the flick, I will tell you that he phoned it in Christian Slater style in Alone in the Dark. I have a theory that it was the gambling that did Snipes in. This is not a good theory though cause he is still married to his wife of a bunch of years and has 4 kids with her. But if on his deathbed he whispers partypoker. net then we will know that I was correct.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
