Tuesday, May 12, 2009
140 Word Review: Fanboys
‘Fanboys’ is a film following the epic road trip of four best friends on a mission to break into Skywalker Ranch and see a copy of Star Wars Episode I, before the death of one of the four suffering from cancer. The movie isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s not supposed to be. To quote the film ‘it isn’t about the movie’.. The undeniable message of the film is found witnessing the extreme lengths fans will go to, and the friendships built around the common theme that they all have such passion for. With an impressive array of cameo appearances, and sci-fi references that will go over most people’s heads, this is a movie for fanboys, about fanboys. Often cheesy and generic. But don’t take it too seriously and you’ll walk away satisfied, and proud to be a Star Wars fan.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Låt Den Rätte Komma In / Let The Right One In
Pseudo-horror erotic-tween fest ‘Twilight’, which recently saw giggling girls drag friends and boyfriends to in order for them to swoon over bad-boy-pretty-boy killed off from Harry Potter, despite its mass success, is an utter waste of time. Fans of the dearly beloved Transylvanian blood-sucker, and fans of films that are any good were left disappointed. Though as both the film and its original ‘saga’ of books have attained high praise from the audience they were marketed at, approaching ‘Twilight’ as the grand return of vampires to film is almost certainly the wrong approach.
‘Låt Den Rätte Komma In’ was released January of last year, though thanks to time being taken in both subtitling the film, and getting it out to the local independent Art House Cinema, it thankfully didn’t slip under my radar. The plot (set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in the early 1980s) follows the endeavors of the bullied and lonesome 12 year old Oskar. Upon meeting the enigmatic Eli, a girl of his age who claims she ‘cannot be his friend’ (probably because she’s a vampire), and the dead bodies drained of blood suddenly cropping up all over the place, the story quickly finds motion. As the audience watches the relationship between the two develop , they also bear witness to the personal effects that the extraordinary situation has on all of the film’s characters.
The initial strength of the story is the fact that it never truly reveals it’s ace. John Ajvide Lindqvist (author of both the screenplay and original novel) makes no references to ‘vampires’ at all (except in one moment….the movie’s lowest point). The film’s low budget doesn’t allow for the glossy blockbuster effect that Twilight had, as an ensemble cast of vampires flew around saving the day with an anti-heroic arrogance that made you want to slap some sense into every girl in the auditorium . Tomas Alfredson’s directing takes on a much more artistic and subtle approach, often leaving the mind to fill in the gaps thanks to old school cinematography tricks. This isn’t to say the film isn’t gory. Throats are mercilessly slit, bodies humourously burnt, and limbs jovially decapitated. But the absence of many computer effects, and the brutality in which these acts are suddenly portrayed adds such a faultless reality to the film they’re almost curiously captivating.
The Director’s framing gives the film a beautiful yet dark tone, contrasting brilliantly with the innocence and light that the children bring to the fore. Mixed in within this though are a series of subtle hints to the way that Eli is forced to live her life. Forbidden from exposure to sunlight, cold-blooded, beastlike when the scent of blood hits her nose, and dependant on the mysterious handler caring for her, tasked to collect the blood for her to consume. It’s this that makes the vampire theme work so well, and not fall into the clichés associated with other vampire horror flicks.
Following this pattern, the absence of any true heroes in the story builds on the hopeful yet bleak reality conveyed for such an out of the ordinary scenario. Playing a character who shows notable flaws is no easy feat, and the child acting was highly accomplished with this in mind. Supporting actors also proved competent, though it’s sometimes challenging to gauge with subtitled films as so much more attention is put to the words on the screen rather than how lines are being delivered. Lina Leandersson’s Eli was notably excellent, and somewhat reminiscent of Ivana Baquero’s performance as Ofelia in Guiellermo Del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’.
It’s difficult to bring up the more negative sides of Låt Den Rätte Komma In. Partly because there were few, and partly because the faults lie very much at the end of the story, which if discussed would spoil the first two thirds of the film. Spoilers avoided, the final act sees the introduction of two more plotlines, which if introduced earlier would have probably worked better within the film. The simplicity of the film’s setup is suddenly cluttered too quickly and after the plot has spent time building up what seems to be a coming of age story, suddenly appears otherwise with an ending which although fine, felt like it could have also gone in a different direction for it’s conclusion.
Låt Den Rätte Komma In has now been released on BluRay and DVD in the US, with simplified subtitles that don’t match the more accurate theatrical subtitles. Apparently the publishing company have no fixed this issue after complaints, but be aware there are two floating around. This aside, it feels a disservice to tell you to avoid this film. It’s certainly not for everyone (people who dislike- blood/people from Sweden/snow/more blood/slightly odd haircuts/vampires). But it’s a genre that has been re-approached from such an original and refreshing viewpoint, and presented with such a confidence, that it would be a crime to miss out on.
Put in your fangs and go see Låt Den Rätte Komma In (English title: Let The Right One In)…
‘Låt Den Rätte Komma In’ was released January of last year, though thanks to time being taken in both subtitling the film, and getting it out to the local independent Art House Cinema, it thankfully didn’t slip under my radar. The plot (set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in the early 1980s) follows the endeavors of the bullied and lonesome 12 year old Oskar. Upon meeting the enigmatic Eli, a girl of his age who claims she ‘cannot be his friend’ (probably because she’s a vampire), and the dead bodies drained of blood suddenly cropping up all over the place, the story quickly finds motion. As the audience watches the relationship between the two develop , they also bear witness to the personal effects that the extraordinary situation has on all of the film’s characters.
The initial strength of the story is the fact that it never truly reveals it’s ace. John Ajvide Lindqvist (author of both the screenplay and original novel) makes no references to ‘vampires’ at all (except in one moment….the movie’s lowest point). The film’s low budget doesn’t allow for the glossy blockbuster effect that Twilight had, as an ensemble cast of vampires flew around saving the day with an anti-heroic arrogance that made you want to slap some sense into every girl in the auditorium . Tomas Alfredson’s directing takes on a much more artistic and subtle approach, often leaving the mind to fill in the gaps thanks to old school cinematography tricks. This isn’t to say the film isn’t gory. Throats are mercilessly slit, bodies humourously burnt, and limbs jovially decapitated. But the absence of many computer effects, and the brutality in which these acts are suddenly portrayed adds such a faultless reality to the film they’re almost curiously captivating.
The Director’s framing gives the film a beautiful yet dark tone, contrasting brilliantly with the innocence and light that the children bring to the fore. Mixed in within this though are a series of subtle hints to the way that Eli is forced to live her life. Forbidden from exposure to sunlight, cold-blooded, beastlike when the scent of blood hits her nose, and dependant on the mysterious handler caring for her, tasked to collect the blood for her to consume. It’s this that makes the vampire theme work so well, and not fall into the clichés associated with other vampire horror flicks.
Following this pattern, the absence of any true heroes in the story builds on the hopeful yet bleak reality conveyed for such an out of the ordinary scenario. Playing a character who shows notable flaws is no easy feat, and the child acting was highly accomplished with this in mind. Supporting actors also proved competent, though it’s sometimes challenging to gauge with subtitled films as so much more attention is put to the words on the screen rather than how lines are being delivered. Lina Leandersson’s Eli was notably excellent, and somewhat reminiscent of Ivana Baquero’s performance as Ofelia in Guiellermo Del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’.
It’s difficult to bring up the more negative sides of Låt Den Rätte Komma In. Partly because there were few, and partly because the faults lie very much at the end of the story, which if discussed would spoil the first two thirds of the film. Spoilers avoided, the final act sees the introduction of two more plotlines, which if introduced earlier would have probably worked better within the film. The simplicity of the film’s setup is suddenly cluttered too quickly and after the plot has spent time building up what seems to be a coming of age story, suddenly appears otherwise with an ending which although fine, felt like it could have also gone in a different direction for it’s conclusion.
Låt Den Rätte Komma In has now been released on BluRay and DVD in the US, with simplified subtitles that don’t match the more accurate theatrical subtitles. Apparently the publishing company have no fixed this issue after complaints, but be aware there are two floating around. This aside, it feels a disservice to tell you to avoid this film. It’s certainly not for everyone (people who dislike- blood/people from Sweden/snow/more blood/slightly odd haircuts/vampires). But it’s a genre that has been re-approached from such an original and refreshing viewpoint, and presented with such a confidence, that it would be a crime to miss out on.
Put in your fangs and go see Låt Den Rätte Komma In (English title: Let The Right One In)…
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Zack And Miri Make A Porno
A long awaited update...
----------------------
Kevin Smith is one of those directors I’ve been aware of for a while , but only just recently gotten around to catching up and seeing a few of his films (I started on Clerks and have been making my way up the list). For anyone remotely interested in pop culture today it’s hard not to inadvertently come across his name whether it be a writing credit or the role of a director, or perhaps just one of the twenty-nine times he appears on IMDB under the apparently notable category of ‘thanks’. Perhaps it was the extended hype surrounding the name of Kevin Smith before seeing his work but if honest, despite enjoying them it has to be said they felt somewhat dated and stale.
Zack and Miri Make A Porno is an interesting movie in the context of his previous films because of the more mainstream approach that’s been taken in its production and release. The concept of the movie is simple. So simple in fact it can be understood by just reading the film’s title, where it can be understood that best friends Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) decide to get themselves out of debt by making a porno movie together. The speed and ease in explaining this works favourably, as it opens up the beginning of the film quickly and really allows the audience to get as comfortable as the marrital-esque friendship held by the title characters, that led me to just feel jealous, alone, and depressed. To top off their happiness the chemistry between the pair is undeniable and makes them both incredibly likeable to the audience, and me even more embittered at the delight they take in each other’s company.
In the run up to release there was far too much discussion over whether ‘Porno’ should be permitted into the film’s title, and whether or not children would read the word and be corrupted by something they didn’t know about, or be encouraged to boot up their computers and Google through curiosity. What’s even more ridiculous is that now they’re happily releasing ‘Lesbian Vampire Killers’ starring some new British ‘comedy’ duo actually quite popular with children in Britain. Their popularity with children leads me to believe they are in fact entirely unfunny, and even more dilemma is created from the cryptic title that makes it impossible to understand if it’s lesbians who are killing vampires or if it’s people killing vampire lesbians…The approach given in Zack and Miri to the porn elements are less crude than audience members would imagine, despite the appearance of all forms of genitalia at one point or another. Amusingly, the porno moment featuring Zack and Miri is so beautifully awkward, and other scenes involving the other characters are approached in more of a humorously grotesque way, resulting in the audience not particularly wanting to revel with glee in boners nurtured under popcorn.
The supporting cast deliver a great diversity of personalities to add into the mix, though not in the same memorable ‘ensemble’ way often associated in earlier Smith outings. Though in some ways this is good as it keeps the film strictly focused on the relationship between Zack and Miri, and allows extra room for a lot of excellent one liners and visual gags that couldn’t otherwise be attributed. Smith’s writing, although different, seems much wittier and comes off as individuals telling their own jokes, rather than all the film’s characters telling jokes as if they were Kevin Smith, delivering them in the same, somewhat formulaic tone that could be equated to someone trying too hard. Despite strengths in the funny factory elements of the script, in terms of narrative the plot somewhat dominates in the last act of the movie, and the laughs become fewer as the plot rolls to its predictable conclusion. It’s predictability however, is no bad thing as again it gives breathing room for humour. It’s a tough balance to maintain and it’s only in the final act that it feels more weighted towards narrative.
Zack and Miri Make A Porno is a movie that does exactly what it says on the tin, though in this case the tin is a poster donning a slightly controversial movie title. What’s most interesting to take from it though is that Smith’s transition to the mainstream feels a little generic when put amongst the sea of Apatow branded comedies released in the last two years, and ultimately feels less Kevin Smith. Even if his earlier writing is, to put it bluntly, arrogantly self-indulgent at times, it has a charm that appears somewhat lost from Zack and Miri. Although I enjoyed the film a lot it doesn’t to me fall into the ‘cult’ category that so many of his previous films have managed to achieve despite their shortcomings when compared to some more recent script based indie comedies. Although ground isn’t broken in the case of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the film is hilarious, written with heart, and has strong leads and solid supporting cast to perform it. It’s nice to see something that isn’t Apatow branded once in a while.
Time to bust out the video cameras and make some home movies…
----------------------
Kevin Smith is one of those directors I’ve been aware of for a while , but only just recently gotten around to catching up and seeing a few of his films (I started on Clerks and have been making my way up the list). For anyone remotely interested in pop culture today it’s hard not to inadvertently come across his name whether it be a writing credit or the role of a director, or perhaps just one of the twenty-nine times he appears on IMDB under the apparently notable category of ‘thanks’. Perhaps it was the extended hype surrounding the name of Kevin Smith before seeing his work but if honest, despite enjoying them it has to be said they felt somewhat dated and stale.
Zack and Miri Make A Porno is an interesting movie in the context of his previous films because of the more mainstream approach that’s been taken in its production and release. The concept of the movie is simple. So simple in fact it can be understood by just reading the film’s title, where it can be understood that best friends Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) decide to get themselves out of debt by making a porno movie together. The speed and ease in explaining this works favourably, as it opens up the beginning of the film quickly and really allows the audience to get as comfortable as the marrital-esque friendship held by the title characters, that led me to just feel jealous, alone, and depressed. To top off their happiness the chemistry between the pair is undeniable and makes them both incredibly likeable to the audience, and me even more embittered at the delight they take in each other’s company.
In the run up to release there was far too much discussion over whether ‘Porno’ should be permitted into the film’s title, and whether or not children would read the word and be corrupted by something they didn’t know about, or be encouraged to boot up their computers and Google through curiosity. What’s even more ridiculous is that now they’re happily releasing ‘Lesbian Vampire Killers’ starring some new British ‘comedy’ duo actually quite popular with children in Britain. Their popularity with children leads me to believe they are in fact entirely unfunny, and even more dilemma is created from the cryptic title that makes it impossible to understand if it’s lesbians who are killing vampires or if it’s people killing vampire lesbians…The approach given in Zack and Miri to the porn elements are less crude than audience members would imagine, despite the appearance of all forms of genitalia at one point or another. Amusingly, the porno moment featuring Zack and Miri is so beautifully awkward, and other scenes involving the other characters are approached in more of a humorously grotesque way, resulting in the audience not particularly wanting to revel with glee in boners nurtured under popcorn.
The supporting cast deliver a great diversity of personalities to add into the mix, though not in the same memorable ‘ensemble’ way often associated in earlier Smith outings. Though in some ways this is good as it keeps the film strictly focused on the relationship between Zack and Miri, and allows extra room for a lot of excellent one liners and visual gags that couldn’t otherwise be attributed. Smith’s writing, although different, seems much wittier and comes off as individuals telling their own jokes, rather than all the film’s characters telling jokes as if they were Kevin Smith, delivering them in the same, somewhat formulaic tone that could be equated to someone trying too hard. Despite strengths in the funny factory elements of the script, in terms of narrative the plot somewhat dominates in the last act of the movie, and the laughs become fewer as the plot rolls to its predictable conclusion. It’s predictability however, is no bad thing as again it gives breathing room for humour. It’s a tough balance to maintain and it’s only in the final act that it feels more weighted towards narrative.
Zack and Miri Make A Porno is a movie that does exactly what it says on the tin, though in this case the tin is a poster donning a slightly controversial movie title. What’s most interesting to take from it though is that Smith’s transition to the mainstream feels a little generic when put amongst the sea of Apatow branded comedies released in the last two years, and ultimately feels less Kevin Smith. Even if his earlier writing is, to put it bluntly, arrogantly self-indulgent at times, it has a charm that appears somewhat lost from Zack and Miri. Although I enjoyed the film a lot it doesn’t to me fall into the ‘cult’ category that so many of his previous films have managed to achieve despite their shortcomings when compared to some more recent script based indie comedies. Although ground isn’t broken in the case of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the film is hilarious, written with heart, and has strong leads and solid supporting cast to perform it. It’s nice to see something that isn’t Apatow branded once in a while.
Time to bust out the video cameras and make some home movies…
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Hairspray
Musicals fulfil every criteria of faggotry when shown to a homophobic individual. A banal tale where the choreographed antics of a ‘company’ of pretentious twats takes a precedent over the story’s narrative, totalling in at an epic fail.
Last year’s overly-hyped but fatally-crippled Dreamgirls, despite its flawless casting, intriguing plot, and vast Oscar nominations, had me dig out my old Destiny’s Child CDs and use them as coasters for a week or so following. Its failure to find a successful balance oaf music and plot driving script meant it was overlong and song numbers were more annoying than exciting. To further dump on any of its achievements, the fact Dreamgirls was outdone by Disney TV movie/lifestyle phenomenon High School Musical, along with its cast of young, beautiful, carefree cockrings is ultimately embarrassing. It fell at all the criteria High School Musical excelled in, and the same can be said for Elijah Wood and his retardedly Happy Feet.
In this day and age of the silver screen is there still room for the classic musical? The uprising of high budget TV dramas running on movie budgets, and movie goers often just looking for 90 minutes of droll, mindless entertainment to fill some time raises the question is it worth the effort?. Censorship laws now allow gritty subject matters, and TV shows like The Wire, depicting corruption of Baltimore city would be hilariously out of place if set to music. Though after seeing Hairspray…a musical depicting corruption and racism in Baltimore city, this previous comment should possibly be reclined.
The movie is told through the eyes of the naïve and morbidly obese Tracy (Nikki Blonsky). Bored throughout the school day, she lives for the moment every day she can run home and tune into the dance fest ‘Corey Collins Show’…jumping up and down like an utter cretin through every second of it. The cast of the show are all members of Tracy’s school, which of course is the only school in Baltimore, and heart-throb bellend ‘Link’ (Zak Efron), struts the corridors waiting to be knifed in the face by a fellow, more badass classmate. To cut a long story short, Tracy ends up on the show to the distaste of Michelle Pfeiffer and her spoilt twat of a daughter, and begins a campaign for the integration of blacks on TV along with Queen Latifah and the black dance community of Baltimore.
Shown through the eyes of a child, the handling of the racial themes of the movie were in fact very successful. Although ignorant, Tracy’s failure to see any problem with integration is borderline endearing. However, in my opinion there was more room to gritty up the musical a little bit with some king of lynching scene set to a catchy 60s beat. No matter how much of a child audience it would have alienated...the harsh reality of racism would have been better realised, plus the movie would have been at least three times more awesome...right.
The movie’s musical numbers were overall very impressive. All the songs were noticeably different though equally catchy through, and whether it be because of the original Broadway musical or the achievements of the musical director, the sound of the movie is a brilliant amalgamation of pop music today and the sound of the 60s. The actors’ vocals were all very accomplished, though some more than others, Amanda Bynes, noticeably poor in places . John ‘$cientology’ Travolta surprised me further by showing he could still sort of sing and dance, but also with how comfortably he seemed in the role of a fat annoying woman. This was an exceptional performance when compared to the ultimate mid life crisis movie Wild Hogs… so it would seem alien warlord Xenu has gotten something right for once.
To put all cynicism aside this movie (for what it is…a musical) is near to perfect. The only issue with it possibly being the lack of screen time some actors got when they very much deserved it. For what is a long movie already running at two hours long director Adam Shankman made the right decision in keeping the plot moving rather than indulging in extended screen time for some characters. For example, Zak Efron, for the large star he has become actually had quite a minimal role. I really didn’t get to fully appreciate much depth in his character, and I lost all respect for him when he fell in love with our podgetastic leading lady, who made me shudder every time she raised her arms in the air. However, for the role of bland pretty boy love interest he was perfect and his character shone through in some moments.
The heroic return of musicals into popularity has been sudden, and in too many a case utter balls when compared to the greats such as Gene Kelly classic, Singin’ in the Rain. Hairspray however holds steadfast with its head high, and it’s a shame to think because of today’s judgemental audiences and advertising as a children’s movie that more people won’t see this. The opposite could be said for Sweeney Todd, which will lose a mass audience because of its 18 certificate and scenes of continual throat cutting.
…time to put on those dancing shoes, and go see Harispray!
Last year’s overly-hyped but fatally-crippled Dreamgirls, despite its flawless casting, intriguing plot, and vast Oscar nominations, had me dig out my old Destiny’s Child CDs and use them as coasters for a week or so following. Its failure to find a successful balance oaf music and plot driving script meant it was overlong and song numbers were more annoying than exciting. To further dump on any of its achievements, the fact Dreamgirls was outdone by Disney TV movie/lifestyle phenomenon High School Musical, along with its cast of young, beautiful, carefree cockrings is ultimately embarrassing. It fell at all the criteria High School Musical excelled in, and the same can be said for Elijah Wood and his retardedly Happy Feet.
In this day and age of the silver screen is there still room for the classic musical? The uprising of high budget TV dramas running on movie budgets, and movie goers often just looking for 90 minutes of droll, mindless entertainment to fill some time raises the question is it worth the effort?. Censorship laws now allow gritty subject matters, and TV shows like The Wire, depicting corruption of Baltimore city would be hilariously out of place if set to music. Though after seeing Hairspray…a musical depicting corruption and racism in Baltimore city, this previous comment should possibly be reclined.
The movie is told through the eyes of the naïve and morbidly obese Tracy (Nikki Blonsky). Bored throughout the school day, she lives for the moment every day she can run home and tune into the dance fest ‘Corey Collins Show’…jumping up and down like an utter cretin through every second of it. The cast of the show are all members of Tracy’s school, which of course is the only school in Baltimore, and heart-throb bellend ‘Link’ (Zak Efron), struts the corridors waiting to be knifed in the face by a fellow, more badass classmate. To cut a long story short, Tracy ends up on the show to the distaste of Michelle Pfeiffer and her spoilt twat of a daughter, and begins a campaign for the integration of blacks on TV along with Queen Latifah and the black dance community of Baltimore.
Shown through the eyes of a child, the handling of the racial themes of the movie were in fact very successful. Although ignorant, Tracy’s failure to see any problem with integration is borderline endearing. However, in my opinion there was more room to gritty up the musical a little bit with some king of lynching scene set to a catchy 60s beat. No matter how much of a child audience it would have alienated...the harsh reality of racism would have been better realised, plus the movie would have been at least three times more awesome...right.
The movie’s musical numbers were overall very impressive. All the songs were noticeably different though equally catchy through, and whether it be because of the original Broadway musical or the achievements of the musical director, the sound of the movie is a brilliant amalgamation of pop music today and the sound of the 60s. The actors’ vocals were all very accomplished, though some more than others,
To put all cynicism aside this movie (for what it is…a musical) is near to perfect. The only issue with it possibly being the lack of screen time some actors got when they very much deserved it. For what is a long movie already running at two hours long director Adam Shankman made the right decision in keeping the plot moving rather than indulging in extended screen time for some characters. For example, Zak Efron, for the large star he has become actually had quite a minimal role. I really didn’t get to fully appreciate much depth in his character, and I lost all respect for him when he fell in love with our podgetastic leading lady, who made me shudder every time she raised her arms in the air. However, for the role of bland pretty boy love interest he was perfect and his character shone through in some moments.
The heroic return of musicals into popularity has been sudden, and in too many a case utter balls when compared to the greats such as Gene Kelly classic, Singin’ in the Rain. Hairspray however holds steadfast with its head high, and it’s a shame to think because of today’s judgemental audiences and advertising as a children’s movie that more people won’t see this. The opposite could be said for Sweeney Todd, which will lose a mass audience because of its 18 certificate and scenes of continual throat cutting.
…time to put on those dancing shoes, and go see Harispray!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Gossip Girl
High budget TV teen dramas have been a highly floggable commodity for big telly corporations for many years… Dawson has been whining about his creek and a full six seasons worth of non-events for the 90s generation. The Fonze has been thumbing his way into annoyance throughout the 70s and early 80s (and also in his recent comeback thanks to Family Guy's endless mentioning of his character). Even the Monkees lasted for a whole mind numbingly jolly 58 episodes in the late 60s.
The OC hit screens in 2001 with a frankly brilliant first season telling of rough city boy Ryan Attwood's adventures with the overly wealthy youth of Orange County, California. The show was dubbed as reaching a whole new standard for teen dramas, writer/creator Josh Schwartz was dubbed a televisual mastermind, and character Seth Cohen was dubbed the loserish-quirky-Jewish boy that everyone had been craving for.
However, the hopes and dreams of many were soon punched in the face and then continually thumped by a further three seasons which failed to achieve the same fresh, witty and high watchability factor that had been created in the first, (one storyline involving two characters in comas and dwelling in the same imaginative world as one another as they slept… despite the fact this makes no sense in any possible way) and The OC was no more. 2006 was seemingly a bad year for Schwartz and he approached 2007 with a bang. With one show not being enough he created two whole new shows for our viewing pleasure: 'Chuck' (about loserish-quirky-Jewish boy who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend, a formerly thought-of rogue CIA agent, which happens to embed the world's greatest spy secrets into his brain) and the subject of this review, 'Gossip Girl'.
Schwartz has said in interview that he put a lot of himself in Seth Cohen, and it's nice that the ego trip can continue in BOTH Chuck and Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl (based on the equally poor, teen literary works by Cecily Von Ziegesar) is unsurprisingly about a loserish-quirky-Jewish boy (Dan). Who instead of having government information pumped into his brain, or hanging out with a juvenile delinquent, finds himself thrown into the bitching and overly dramatic melee of rich young New York Upper-Eastside socialites, after managing to awkwardly charm himself into the heart of dull but morally astute Serena. Into this mix throw an incredibly spiteful, scheming, high maintenance best friend of the 'gf' (Blaire). A strange, sex obsessed, drug curious rapist (Chuck). A highly emotional but yet wooden best friend of rapist (and boyfriend of high maintenance best friend) (Nate) and you begin to understand how the show's dynamics work and replay on loop, with continually generic minor complications a long the way.
The narrative is driven by Kristen Bell (of Heroes and Veronica Mars fame), aka'd as the 'Gossip Girl', who runs an online blog solely for publicizing the activities of about five people, who are conveniently the main characters of the show. Though, if any thought is put towards this concept then viewers would soon realize that actually Kristen Bell would have to be living in incredibly close quarters with the characters to receive some of the 'Intel' she does. Her narration often contradicts the concept of this website (about five people) apparently everybody reads, and if any of them were to actually read it (which they claim to do so) they would conclude a lot of the plot lines much faster. Literally every character owns a Blackberry which is onscreen at least every five minutes of an episode so it amazes me that they're at times, so utterly clueless.
After the success of giving parents plotlines in the OC, Schwartz has hit back with a vengeance by resurrecting all of the OC parental personalities (I won't delve into details but it's more than obvious as soon as they are introduced who they resemble, for example bohemian one-hit-wonder rock star Dad, who's full to the brim with sarcastic witticisms that make him such a lovable character that at times you want to see collide with some kind of sharp implement in a hilarious kitchen accident…the cockwipe). The youth of New York live in a strange and slightly frightening world whereby they all appear incredibly chummy with their parents, and even the parents of their friends to add a greater sense of farce. This sense of friendship may also be enforced by the fact all of the actors playing adult figures look about five years older than any of their 'teenage' co-stars.
Similarly again to The OC the show is packed with popular music of the times which will no doubt instantly date the show, whereas The OC did it with a suitable mix of unknown bands. Schwartz love of California band Rooney is still intact and though they don’t have an entire episode written for them they can be heard at many an Upper East-Side New York party…that and Justin Timberlake. It’s possible that the characters are in desperate need of some new records to listen to.
Overall I find it ridiculous that some cretins believe this show to be better than The OC. If anything it’s an exact replica, except its set in New York rather than California, where the acting is worse, the characters more annoying, the plotlines more repetitive, and the incentive for me to slit my own wrists greater. An even more important problem with the show is that despite the fact it’s ridden with flaws that will make you laugh out loud at your television before throwing a brick through it; you’ll find yourself unable to stop watching. After seeing the thirteen episodes that have been aired (production now halted due to the WGA writers strike) you will want more and it’s something inescapable…though better this than Chad Michael Murray’s escapades in One Tree Hill also on The CW network. Knowing that the show’s target audience is fifteen year old girls perhaps this review should be more lenient, but Gossip Girl really is shit. However it holds an indefinable redeeming and addictive factor that makes it ‘The Shit’.
The show has yet to be imported to UK screens so time to hit the torrent sites…
The OC hit screens in 2001 with a frankly brilliant first season telling of rough city boy Ryan Attwood's adventures with the overly wealthy youth of Orange County, California. The show was dubbed as reaching a whole new standard for teen dramas, writer/creator Josh Schwartz was dubbed a televisual mastermind, and character Seth Cohen was dubbed the loserish-quirky-Jewish boy that everyone had been craving for.
However, the hopes and dreams of many were soon punched in the face and then continually thumped by a further three seasons which failed to achieve the same fresh, witty and high watchability factor that had been created in the first, (one storyline involving two characters in comas and dwelling in the same imaginative world as one another as they slept… despite the fact this makes no sense in any possible way) and The OC was no more. 2006 was seemingly a bad year for Schwartz and he approached 2007 with a bang. With one show not being enough he created two whole new shows for our viewing pleasure: 'Chuck' (about loserish-quirky-Jewish boy who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend, a formerly thought-of rogue CIA agent, which happens to embed the world's greatest spy secrets into his brain) and the subject of this review, 'Gossip Girl'.
Schwartz has said in interview that he put a lot of himself in Seth Cohen, and it's nice that the ego trip can continue in BOTH Chuck and Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl (based on the equally poor, teen literary works by Cecily Von Ziegesar) is unsurprisingly about a loserish-quirky-Jewish boy (Dan). Who instead of having government information pumped into his brain, or hanging out with a juvenile delinquent, finds himself thrown into the bitching and overly dramatic melee of rich young New York Upper-Eastside socialites, after managing to awkwardly charm himself into the heart of dull but morally astute Serena. Into this mix throw an incredibly spiteful, scheming, high maintenance best friend of the 'gf' (Blaire). A strange, sex obsessed, drug curious rapist (Chuck). A highly emotional but yet wooden best friend of rapist (and boyfriend of high maintenance best friend) (Nate) and you begin to understand how the show's dynamics work and replay on loop, with continually generic minor complications a long the way.
The narrative is driven by Kristen Bell (of Heroes and Veronica Mars fame), aka'd as the 'Gossip Girl', who runs an online blog solely for publicizing the activities of about five people, who are conveniently the main characters of the show. Though, if any thought is put towards this concept then viewers would soon realize that actually Kristen Bell would have to be living in incredibly close quarters with the characters to receive some of the 'Intel' she does. Her narration often contradicts the concept of this website (about five people) apparently everybody reads, and if any of them were to actually read it (which they claim to do so) they would conclude a lot of the plot lines much faster. Literally every character owns a Blackberry which is onscreen at least every five minutes of an episode so it amazes me that they're at times, so utterly clueless.
After the success of giving parents plotlines in the OC, Schwartz has hit back with a vengeance by resurrecting all of the OC parental personalities (I won't delve into details but it's more than obvious as soon as they are introduced who they resemble, for example bohemian one-hit-wonder rock star Dad, who's full to the brim with sarcastic witticisms that make him such a lovable character that at times you want to see collide with some kind of sharp implement in a hilarious kitchen accident…the cockwipe). The youth of New York live in a strange and slightly frightening world whereby they all appear incredibly chummy with their parents, and even the parents of their friends to add a greater sense of farce. This sense of friendship may also be enforced by the fact all of the actors playing adult figures look about five years older than any of their 'teenage' co-stars.
Similarly again to The OC the show is packed with popular music of the times which will no doubt instantly date the show, whereas The OC did it with a suitable mix of unknown bands. Schwartz love of California band Rooney is still intact and though they don’t have an entire episode written for them they can be heard at many an Upper East-Side New York party…that and Justin Timberlake. It’s possible that the characters are in desperate need of some new records to listen to.
Overall I find it ridiculous that some cretins believe this show to be better than The OC. If anything it’s an exact replica, except its set in New York rather than California, where the acting is worse, the characters more annoying, the plotlines more repetitive, and the incentive for me to slit my own wrists greater. An even more important problem with the show is that despite the fact it’s ridden with flaws that will make you laugh out loud at your television before throwing a brick through it; you’ll find yourself unable to stop watching. After seeing the thirteen episodes that have been aired (production now halted due to the WGA writers strike) you will want more and it’s something inescapable…though better this than Chad Michael Murray’s escapades in One Tree Hill also on The CW network. Knowing that the show’s target audience is fifteen year old girls perhaps this review should be more lenient, but Gossip Girl really is shit. However it holds an indefinable redeeming and addictive factor that makes it ‘The Shit’.
The show has yet to be imported to UK screens so time to hit the torrent sites…
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
As I Am - Alicia Keys
An artist’s sound is something which defines their music. It places them within a genre, giving them a general market base, and making the records more accessible for the mere peasantry of consumers today. Groups such as Goldie Lookin’ Chain (GLC) have very much achieved grounding in the ever flourishing genre of White Welsh Comedy Rap, and ‘Nu-Ravers’ The Klaxons simply invented a misspelt genre of noise so as to dominate what they seem to think is a scene.
Alicia Keys has led and inspired many female artists in the RnB genre with her inclusion of soft melodic piano orientated tunes, something which has been quite a refreshing escape from the bottomless pit of RnB pop artists, where some cretin producer churns out a so called album in a day by sampling/stealing various sound clips from other people’s songs and having it mixed down in garage band (after just buying a Mac and making the most of his new free software). As I Am is Keys’ third studio instalment, and it isn’t surprising that there’s sign of a new sound direction after six years and worldwide album sales of twenty-six million. This move is the perfect example of questioning whether a change is worthwhile after such success with a certain format.
The album really shines and flourishes when Keys finds herself in her comfort zone of soft and soulful piano melodies. ‘Like You’ll Never See Me Again’ and ‘Prelude To A Kiss’ are the types of songs which melt your brain with an amalgamation of lyrics, music and composition and make you wish that that whole album was similar. The other standout track similar to this is ‘Lesson Learned’, co-written with pop/blues guitarist John Mayer, which has ‘Grammy Award Winning Hit’ garnished all over it, with an extra layer of hatred of the perfection that such a song could create.
I have to admit now that overall I prefer Keys’ older records over her latest release. The record is a good release and incredibly worthy of purchasing, however it seems to lack a clear grounding in what and even where it’s trying to place itself amongst other artists. Parts of it such as the immensely satisfying and catchy ‘Teenage Love Affair’ keep the music within its pop roots; capturing the excitement and fun of young love. However, other tracks such as ‘Go Ahead’, and ‘No One’ seem more droning rather than catchy, which effectively makes them kind of unmemorable and possibly even goes as far as to class themselves as ‘filler tracks’, which surely isn’t quite the idea when they are so obviously supposed to be quite standout songs on the album. They remind you of RnB divas such as Mary J Blige and Whitney Houston, and the comparison can even be heard in the vocals in places, which frankly aren’t suited to Keys’ vocals, resulting in what is effectively a moan.
John Mayer best described the album before it came out in one of his blogs where he stated it as ‘brave’. Everything about this is true and you have to commend Keys for trying out something different knowing some parts will be successful and other parts less so. The album is in no way perfect, and many of the chord progressions featured have been accomplished before elsewhere in music, however there remains a large listenable factor to the record as a whole, and despite it’s imperfections I find myself constantly listening to it. The record’s imperfections aren’t failures but more foundations of better things to come once refined. I just hope she avoids the soul power ballad diva within her, because if that’s unleashed...
Alicia Keys has led and inspired many female artists in the RnB genre with her inclusion of soft melodic piano orientated tunes, something which has been quite a refreshing escape from the bottomless pit of RnB pop artists, where some cretin producer churns out a so called album in a day by sampling/stealing various sound clips from other people’s songs and having it mixed down in garage band (after just buying a Mac and making the most of his new free software). As I Am is Keys’ third studio instalment, and it isn’t surprising that there’s sign of a new sound direction after six years and worldwide album sales of twenty-six million. This move is the perfect example of questioning whether a change is worthwhile after such success with a certain format.
The album really shines and flourishes when Keys finds herself in her comfort zone of soft and soulful piano melodies. ‘Like You’ll Never See Me Again’ and ‘Prelude To A Kiss’ are the types of songs which melt your brain with an amalgamation of lyrics, music and composition and make you wish that that whole album was similar. The other standout track similar to this is ‘Lesson Learned’, co-written with pop/blues guitarist John Mayer, which has ‘Grammy Award Winning Hit’ garnished all over it, with an extra layer of hatred of the perfection that such a song could create.
I have to admit now that overall I prefer Keys’ older records over her latest release. The record is a good release and incredibly worthy of purchasing, however it seems to lack a clear grounding in what and even where it’s trying to place itself amongst other artists. Parts of it such as the immensely satisfying and catchy ‘Teenage Love Affair’ keep the music within its pop roots; capturing the excitement and fun of young love. However, other tracks such as ‘Go Ahead’, and ‘No One’ seem more droning rather than catchy, which effectively makes them kind of unmemorable and possibly even goes as far as to class themselves as ‘filler tracks’, which surely isn’t quite the idea when they are so obviously supposed to be quite standout songs on the album. They remind you of RnB divas such as Mary J Blige and Whitney Houston, and the comparison can even be heard in the vocals in places, which frankly aren’t suited to Keys’ vocals, resulting in what is effectively a moan.
John Mayer best described the album before it came out in one of his blogs where he stated it as ‘brave’. Everything about this is true and you have to commend Keys for trying out something different knowing some parts will be successful and other parts less so. The album is in no way perfect, and many of the chord progressions featured have been accomplished before elsewhere in music, however there remains a large listenable factor to the record as a whole, and despite it’s imperfections I find myself constantly listening to it. The record’s imperfections aren’t failures but more foundations of better things to come once refined. I just hope she avoids the soul power ballad diva within her, because if that’s unleashed...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Grindhouse - Extended & Unrated
Original Grindhouse double feature movies of the 70s were notoriously abysmal. Containing fantastically flawed plots, scripts that made you want to hammer nails into your own ears, and special effects with such a blatant low budget that it was just plain embarrassing. They did however have a certain charm to them, achieving cult status amongst movie buffs, and providing such an infamous cinematic experience that the likes of Hollywood directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez would want to recreate it. The original concept for Grindhouse was to have an exact emulation of this with Planet Terror by Rodriguez, and Death Proof by Tarantino running back to back, even with adverts for other fake movies in-between. Unfortunately in US cinemas the desired acclaim wasn’t exactly achieved. The reception was in fact so bad that both movies were separated from each other, and then given an extended cut before release on DVD in the US and in theatres anywhere else in the world. Annoyingly that means this review is only based upon the extended cuts, though they were viewed back to back in some hope of keeping them both in their original context. Even more annoyingly the spoof trails which appeared in-between the two features were happily removed, just to rub it in the faces of those who couldn’t quite make it out to America to see the theatrical run...thanks Quentin.
Part of the apparent magic of Grindhouse that’s important to mention is the way both movies were presented. Both opened with the original ‘Feature about to start’ splash screens which though unnecessary, simply felt cool and set the tone and even setting quite appropriately. Planet Terror has been given considerable ‘ageing’ to its film and scratches were ridden over the film. Colours were slightly faded and it seems Rodriguez anyway managed to create the desired effect of having the viewer think they were watching a film actually made in the 70s. Death Proof was presented with a much cleaner picture to the point where half way through the movie it seems Tarantino completely forgot what it was his project was about, turned off the ‘age’ filter leaving the audience to watch the second half of an incredibly failed movie with nothing to distract them from it...thanks Quentin.
Planet Terror was easily the stronger of the two features and it suffered the least when having another 25 minutes of footage pumped and maimed into it, all to produce a viable standalone release to further the fuelling of the Jacuzzi of dirty money residing at Quentin’s place. The story sees Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) conveniently reunited with ex-boyfriend El Wray (Freddy Rodríguez) on the same night that Sayid From Lost (Naveen Andrews) unleashes a deadly green coloured bio-weapon into the unsuspecting night. Once the virus is let loose the protagonists form a band of generic stereotypes to fight off the infected Zombies and find a safe haven to start anew. It’s hard to talk about the faults of the movie as many were deliberate for effect. Thankfully this provided character and humour to the movie, with a highly entertaining tongue-in-cheek script and directive style that I might go as far to say places the movie on a par with the rather brilliant craption parody Hot Fuzz. Highlights included missing reels, a gun-ho destruction of waves of zombies and a child being shot in the face.
Low points came in two forms. Firstly the fact that it was impossible to tell when exactly the movie is supposed to be set. For about half the movie I assumed everything was taking place in the 70s, however suddenly none other than Fergie (of Black Eyed Peas fame) and a few of the other characters had somehow obtained some Blackberrys. A bit too suspect to not ignore and achieved in taking me out of the movie a bit. The same issue arose in Death Proof though only in the first half. The other low point came at moments nearing the end of the film where the extended cut kicks in and makes the movie possibly feel a little too extended. None other than our pal Quentin pops up to show off his acting skillz in a scene which is quite unnecessary and develops neither the plot nor the movie generally so...thanks Quentin, failure number three.
Talking of Quentin... After sitting through the particularly satisfying zombie romp we come to the self-indulgent, reference heavy, overlong, poorly written, badly acted piece of annoyance otherwise known as ‘Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof’. These words may seem harsh but I honestly struggled to stay awake through all the endless dialogue given to characters I frankly cared so little about I prayed that my efforts in trying to watch them would finally be rewarded with Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) killing the bitches in his car. The premise of the tale is that Kurt Russell spends time stalking women who he then kills by smashing into with his ‘Death Proof’ stunt car whilst they unsuspectingly drive along, fairly simple for someone like Tarantino to do well you would think...
The incredibly drawn out 114 minutes is split into two acts following two different groups of women. But already this seems wrong, as the viewer gets no sense of Mike’s sadistic serial ways presented to them if they only ever see two groups and not more, even as an introduction. Instead we are given a scene in between the two acts where two characters tell the audience the precise plotline of the movie, even though it’s so staggeringly obvious that you could avoid the movie altogether and still convince someone you’d seen it. Quentin makes a point of appearing in one of his own movies once again with a performance as the bartender, who despite having nothing wrong with him didn’t make me warm to his movie any more.
The acting was a case of swings and roundabouts and Kurt Russell’s performance was easily the best thing in it to the point where he claims it to be one of the best characters he’s ever played. It’s just a real disappointment that he’s onscreen for so little of the movie. The girls in act one did a better job all round and I found them considerably less annoying to watch, even if they did too much talking and not enough dying. The real blood curdling enragement came in full force in act 2, where every single one of the four girls failed in all possible ways. The worst offenders were Tracie Thoms and Zoe Bell. Thoms character has been written as the most stereotypical black person ever known to mankind, and every one of her lines felt unnecessary, unrealistic and just plain annoying as she provided idiotic ‘black’ wisecracks to nothing in general. Zoe Bell interestingly played herself in the movie, and had her part written especially for her by Tarantino, who felt after years of her acting as a stuntwoman in his movies she deserved an acting role. Unfortunately for Zoe the girls she hangs out with in this fictitious life are obviously much younger than her and not Australian, making her stick out somewhat. It’s also noticeable that Zoe is in fact a stuntwoman and not an actress. It’s possible she doesn’t usually speak for a reason... but I wont lay too much into her as there’s no chance I would ever be caught hanging myself off of the front of a Challenger in a high speed car chase, so she deserves some positive thought.
Quentin surprisingly didn’t appear in the second act which was disappointing if anything after he managed to wangle himself in at opportune moments, though maybe he realised his movie was so ridden with references to his other movies to make himself and other Tarantino fanboys salivate to the point of drooling that is effectively destroyed what could have well been a good movie...thanks Quentin.
It seems that both movies suffered from the corporate decision to separate and extend them and I feel that taking them out of their original context makes the movies much harder to ‘get’ and appreciate. I say that especially for Death Proof where it just felt like there was no point to the movie at all, except for an overly glorified advert for all previous Tarantino movies. Hopefully the original cuts in their full Grindhouse form will be made available for viewing pleasure someday, but then again we’ve been kept waiting for ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’ for the past four years, now finally being released on Nov 6th
...thanks Quentin.
Part of the apparent magic of Grindhouse that’s important to mention is the way both movies were presented. Both opened with the original ‘Feature about to start’ splash screens which though unnecessary, simply felt cool and set the tone and even setting quite appropriately. Planet Terror has been given considerable ‘ageing’ to its film and scratches were ridden over the film. Colours were slightly faded and it seems Rodriguez anyway managed to create the desired effect of having the viewer think they were watching a film actually made in the 70s. Death Proof was presented with a much cleaner picture to the point where half way through the movie it seems Tarantino completely forgot what it was his project was about, turned off the ‘age’ filter leaving the audience to watch the second half of an incredibly failed movie with nothing to distract them from it...thanks Quentin.
Planet Terror was easily the stronger of the two features and it suffered the least when having another 25 minutes of footage pumped and maimed into it, all to produce a viable standalone release to further the fuelling of the Jacuzzi of dirty money residing at Quentin’s place. The story sees Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) conveniently reunited with ex-boyfriend El Wray (Freddy Rodríguez) on the same night that Sayid From Lost (Naveen Andrews) unleashes a deadly green coloured bio-weapon into the unsuspecting night. Once the virus is let loose the protagonists form a band of generic stereotypes to fight off the infected Zombies and find a safe haven to start anew. It’s hard to talk about the faults of the movie as many were deliberate for effect. Thankfully this provided character and humour to the movie, with a highly entertaining tongue-in-cheek script and directive style that I might go as far to say places the movie on a par with the rather brilliant craption parody Hot Fuzz. Highlights included missing reels, a gun-ho destruction of waves of zombies and a child being shot in the face.
Low points came in two forms. Firstly the fact that it was impossible to tell when exactly the movie is supposed to be set. For about half the movie I assumed everything was taking place in the 70s, however suddenly none other than Fergie (of Black Eyed Peas fame) and a few of the other characters had somehow obtained some Blackberrys. A bit too suspect to not ignore and achieved in taking me out of the movie a bit. The same issue arose in Death Proof though only in the first half. The other low point came at moments nearing the end of the film where the extended cut kicks in and makes the movie possibly feel a little too extended. None other than our pal Quentin pops up to show off his acting skillz in a scene which is quite unnecessary and develops neither the plot nor the movie generally so...thanks Quentin, failure number three.
Talking of Quentin... After sitting through the particularly satisfying zombie romp we come to the self-indulgent, reference heavy, overlong, poorly written, badly acted piece of annoyance otherwise known as ‘Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof’. These words may seem harsh but I honestly struggled to stay awake through all the endless dialogue given to characters I frankly cared so little about I prayed that my efforts in trying to watch them would finally be rewarded with Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) killing the bitches in his car. The premise of the tale is that Kurt Russell spends time stalking women who he then kills by smashing into with his ‘Death Proof’ stunt car whilst they unsuspectingly drive along, fairly simple for someone like Tarantino to do well you would think...
The incredibly drawn out 114 minutes is split into two acts following two different groups of women. But already this seems wrong, as the viewer gets no sense of Mike’s sadistic serial ways presented to them if they only ever see two groups and not more, even as an introduction. Instead we are given a scene in between the two acts where two characters tell the audience the precise plotline of the movie, even though it’s so staggeringly obvious that you could avoid the movie altogether and still convince someone you’d seen it. Quentin makes a point of appearing in one of his own movies once again with a performance as the bartender, who despite having nothing wrong with him didn’t make me warm to his movie any more.
The acting was a case of swings and roundabouts and Kurt Russell’s performance was easily the best thing in it to the point where he claims it to be one of the best characters he’s ever played. It’s just a real disappointment that he’s onscreen for so little of the movie. The girls in act one did a better job all round and I found them considerably less annoying to watch, even if they did too much talking and not enough dying. The real blood curdling enragement came in full force in act 2, where every single one of the four girls failed in all possible ways. The worst offenders were Tracie Thoms and Zoe Bell. Thoms character has been written as the most stereotypical black person ever known to mankind, and every one of her lines felt unnecessary, unrealistic and just plain annoying as she provided idiotic ‘black’ wisecracks to nothing in general. Zoe Bell interestingly played herself in the movie, and had her part written especially for her by Tarantino, who felt after years of her acting as a stuntwoman in his movies she deserved an acting role. Unfortunately for Zoe the girls she hangs out with in this fictitious life are obviously much younger than her and not Australian, making her stick out somewhat. It’s also noticeable that Zoe is in fact a stuntwoman and not an actress. It’s possible she doesn’t usually speak for a reason... but I wont lay too much into her as there’s no chance I would ever be caught hanging myself off of the front of a Challenger in a high speed car chase, so she deserves some positive thought.
Quentin surprisingly didn’t appear in the second act which was disappointing if anything after he managed to wangle himself in at opportune moments, though maybe he realised his movie was so ridden with references to his other movies to make himself and other Tarantino fanboys salivate to the point of drooling that is effectively destroyed what could have well been a good movie...thanks Quentin.
It seems that both movies suffered from the corporate decision to separate and extend them and I feel that taking them out of their original context makes the movies much harder to ‘get’ and appreciate. I say that especially for Death Proof where it just felt like there was no point to the movie at all, except for an overly glorified advert for all previous Tarantino movies. Hopefully the original cuts in their full Grindhouse form will be made available for viewing pleasure someday, but then again we’ve been kept waiting for ‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’ for the past four years, now finally being released on Nov 6th
...thanks Quentin.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Knocked Up - Unrated Edition
Judd Apatow is still a fairly unknown name to general moviegoers. If however I were to say that he has been responsible for recent comedy classics such as ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’, ‘Anchorman’ and ‘Superbad’ you would see he’s worth giving some attention to, even if it’s the smallest amount. The comedy frat pack of Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and many others may have dominated the comedy scene since the late 90s. However it seems that their comedic misadventures are becoming a little tired of late, and the child friendly ‘Night At The Museum’ proved that perhaps its time for ringleader Stiller to do the humane thing and step outside the museum for a second with some whisky and a firearm of sorts. Luckily for the viewing public, Apatow has dived in to save the day for comedy… even though no one’s really noticed yet.
Similarly to ’40 Year Old Virgin’, the title of ‘Knocked Up’ has implications that its contents could well be jam-packed with immature jokes centred around a generally vulgar theme. However as ’40 Year Old Virgin’ proved this is not the case at all, and the film is in fact quite a ‘grown-up’ comedy. Ben (Seth Rogen) is an unemployed loser, who after a one night stand with beautiful blonde Alison (Katherine Heigl) finds her eight weeks later claiming that she’s pregnant with his child and intending to keep the baby. To Alison this seems like the end of her life. To Ben it’s the opportunity to turn his life around and prove himself as a sweet, decent and most importantly responsible guy.
The story is simplistic and this is I believe to be one of the strong points to Apatow’s movies. As great as ‘Zoolander’ was, some feedback from people (generally idiots) were that it was amusing however they didn’t really seem to get it. A prime example would be this prick…
‘Shoot yourself in the foot. This would be better than watching ZOOLANDER. Better yet, pay someone $3.95 to do it. Or burn the money, that's still good because you can enjoy the few seconds of flame. But do not watch this. It will devour your soul. It is a movie that makes me want to puke until I am dead.’ Interestingly he only gave it one star out of ten on imdb, and even that surprises me as something about his comment makes me feel he didn’t like it…
The movie’s simplicity also seemingly adds to the realism of the tale, and the audience thankfully doesn’t bare witness to a heart-warming montage, resulting in the transformation of Ben into a gentleman and Alison into loving him. The relationships Ben and Alison and even the characters around them have suffer problems, and it’s something that rarely is achieved realistically in movies. Usually the young, good looking badboy-turned-ponce (through montage) will accidentally return to his old ways resulting in ‘the end’. After a short fifteen minute reality check (also through montage) resulting in some sickening public act of affection such as a poem, or degradation in front of a mass public regains her love, not only achieving this but also a longer running time and apparent realism to the story. Fantastic! Thankfully in ‘Knocked Up’ this is not the case.
Rogen has shown people that he is very capable of playing cameo roles in past movies, and I was dubious as to whether he would manage the same when playing a lead. However the on screen chemistry and dynamic between both him and Heigl is undeniable and incredibly watchable. Both leading actors have come from recent television backgrounds and it’s refreshing to see some new faces in comedy. Rogen perhaps more experienced and in his element after both writing and starring in Saturday Night Live, however the decision to take Heigl away from the dramatic and disease ridden world of Gray’s Anatomy appears a very good one, and it fits her character well.
Overall ‘Knocked Up’ is a tour-de-force blend of comedy with more realism than you would expect. This and the addition of great casting and the Apatow brandname show more than one reason for this not to be missed. Though it may not appeal to everyone (people who liked Babel), it can still stand proud as great encouragement to me and those like me that we still have a general hope in life of finding Miss Right… even if all it takes is an ‘accidental’ impregnation forcing them to find the inner beauty within me.
…Time to start hitting the clubs.
Similarly to ’40 Year Old Virgin’, the title of ‘Knocked Up’ has implications that its contents could well be jam-packed with immature jokes centred around a generally vulgar theme. However as ’40 Year Old Virgin’ proved this is not the case at all, and the film is in fact quite a ‘grown-up’ comedy. Ben (Seth Rogen) is an unemployed loser, who after a one night stand with beautiful blonde Alison (Katherine Heigl) finds her eight weeks later claiming that she’s pregnant with his child and intending to keep the baby. To Alison this seems like the end of her life. To Ben it’s the opportunity to turn his life around and prove himself as a sweet, decent and most importantly responsible guy.
The story is simplistic and this is I believe to be one of the strong points to Apatow’s movies. As great as ‘Zoolander’ was, some feedback from people (generally idiots) were that it was amusing however they didn’t really seem to get it. A prime example would be this prick…
‘Shoot yourself in the foot. This would be better than watching ZOOLANDER. Better yet, pay someone $3.95 to do it. Or burn the money, that's still good because you can enjoy the few seconds of flame. But do not watch this. It will devour your soul. It is a movie that makes me want to puke until I am dead.’ Interestingly he only gave it one star out of ten on imdb, and even that surprises me as something about his comment makes me feel he didn’t like it…
The movie’s simplicity also seemingly adds to the realism of the tale, and the audience thankfully doesn’t bare witness to a heart-warming montage, resulting in the transformation of Ben into a gentleman and Alison into loving him. The relationships Ben and Alison and even the characters around them have suffer problems, and it’s something that rarely is achieved realistically in movies. Usually the young, good looking badboy-turned-ponce (through montage) will accidentally return to his old ways resulting in ‘the end’. After a short fifteen minute reality check (also through montage) resulting in some sickening public act of affection such as a poem, or degradation in front of a mass public regains her love, not only achieving this but also a longer running time and apparent realism to the story. Fantastic! Thankfully in ‘Knocked Up’ this is not the case.
Rogen has shown people that he is very capable of playing cameo roles in past movies, and I was dubious as to whether he would manage the same when playing a lead. However the on screen chemistry and dynamic between both him and Heigl is undeniable and incredibly watchable. Both leading actors have come from recent television backgrounds and it’s refreshing to see some new faces in comedy. Rogen perhaps more experienced and in his element after both writing and starring in Saturday Night Live, however the decision to take Heigl away from the dramatic and disease ridden world of Gray’s Anatomy appears a very good one, and it fits her character well.
Overall ‘Knocked Up’ is a tour-de-force blend of comedy with more realism than you would expect. This and the addition of great casting and the Apatow brandname show more than one reason for this not to be missed. Though it may not appeal to everyone (people who liked Babel), it can still stand proud as great encouragement to me and those like me that we still have a general hope in life of finding Miss Right… even if all it takes is an ‘accidental’ impregnation forcing them to find the inner beauty within me.
…Time to start hitting the clubs.
Monday, October 01, 2007
KT Tunstall Drastic Fantastic
Maroon 5 reappeared back in May after a few years out, with what was overall a disappointing second album, overproduced and crafted to appeal very much more to the pop loving crowd who have This Love as their ringtone. The curse of overproduction on second albums has been a worry for bands over many years, and despite the brilliance of Coldplay’s ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’, I can understand what people mean when they say to me that it was overproduced.
KT Tustall is unfortunately another name to add to the list of those who have been haunted by a vast layering of instruments glossing themselves across their new repertoire, and her resulting ‘Drastic Fantastic’ really is the paradox it labels itself as. The record does feature some likeable and good songs, however the only problem is that it takes at least three or four listens of the thing before you can scratch away at the polished pop surface to find their merits. Those familiar with her first album will know her for her pop/folk/acoustic guitar/singer songwriter amalgamation which was not only successful but also in fact very good. It was refreshing to see something which hadn’t been tainted with the pop factory magic wand and the rawness of the vocal and guitar combination showed emotion and meaning in what was being sung no matter how lyrically deep. It would seem that overall one track succeeds in re-achieving this and unfortunately ‘Funnyman’ is also the shortest song of the twelve, only to then be followed by the popiest track of them all.
‘Hold On’ is coincidentally the single accompanying the record, and contains the generic strumming rhythm of Satan which has graced our ears all year with the never ending abyss of ‘indie bands’ who all have the word ‘The’ at the beginning of their name. It seems very much like it’s been written for the sole purpose of being the single and a way of enticing more buyers because it sounds like that other song they like. It just seems disappointing that the song was deemed necessary to include. I don’t wish to get political about the music industry; however to me it really seems that this release focuses much more on creating a mass buying audience thanks to general interference from the record’s producer.
If in search of more of the KT Tunstall you were a great fan of from Eye to the Telescope then I wouldn’t recommend this record. Instead I would point you in the direction of the very low brow release of ‘KT Tunstall’s Acoustic Extravaganza’. Like ‘Drastic Fantastic’ the title of ‘Acoustic Extravaganza’ is in fact an accurate description of its audio contents, and the track list features unreleased B-Sides and selected tracks from Eye to the Telescope performed live with a small acoustic band. It fills in all the missing gaps that are ridden within Drastic Fantastic and overall is a much more satisfactory listen, which doesn’t need multiple listens before you actually begin to enjoy it.
Long live the list of overproduced mediocrity!
KT Tustall is unfortunately another name to add to the list of those who have been haunted by a vast layering of instruments glossing themselves across their new repertoire, and her resulting ‘Drastic Fantastic’ really is the paradox it labels itself as. The record does feature some likeable and good songs, however the only problem is that it takes at least three or four listens of the thing before you can scratch away at the polished pop surface to find their merits. Those familiar with her first album will know her for her pop/folk/acoustic guitar/singer songwriter amalgamation which was not only successful but also in fact very good. It was refreshing to see something which hadn’t been tainted with the pop factory magic wand and the rawness of the vocal and guitar combination showed emotion and meaning in what was being sung no matter how lyrically deep. It would seem that overall one track succeeds in re-achieving this and unfortunately ‘Funnyman’ is also the shortest song of the twelve, only to then be followed by the popiest track of them all.
‘Hold On’ is coincidentally the single accompanying the record, and contains the generic strumming rhythm of Satan which has graced our ears all year with the never ending abyss of ‘indie bands’ who all have the word ‘The’ at the beginning of their name. It seems very much like it’s been written for the sole purpose of being the single and a way of enticing more buyers because it sounds like that other song they like. It just seems disappointing that the song was deemed necessary to include. I don’t wish to get political about the music industry; however to me it really seems that this release focuses much more on creating a mass buying audience thanks to general interference from the record’s producer.
If in search of more of the KT Tunstall you were a great fan of from Eye to the Telescope then I wouldn’t recommend this record. Instead I would point you in the direction of the very low brow release of ‘KT Tunstall’s Acoustic Extravaganza’. Like ‘Drastic Fantastic’ the title of ‘Acoustic Extravaganza’ is in fact an accurate description of its audio contents, and the track list features unreleased B-Sides and selected tracks from Eye to the Telescope performed live with a small acoustic band. It fills in all the missing gaps that are ridden within Drastic Fantastic and overall is a much more satisfactory listen, which doesn’t need multiple listens before you actually begin to enjoy it.
Long live the list of overproduced mediocrity!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
MediArch Welcome
Hey, well you've stumbled upon MediArch. My ultimate plan and even promise to you, is to provide a light but yet informative look into the media, in the sense of music, tv and film, maybe even a game here or there. The next level of my promise is to maybe even provide something that may even be helpful to you.
Hope to see you reading,
Arch
Hope to see you reading,
Arch
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