Weekly Links

For those of you who don't know (like me) Stan Winston specialized in creating monsters/effects. He died recently and the post about him looks at some of his greatest contributions. The interview with James Callis was intriguing for us "Battlestar Galactica" fans, and the Comin-Con link shows a "Frakkin Cylon Toaster" that's as actual, working toaster! Found the Academy Awards Rule Changes fabulous, and the How to Be a Better Critic link was invaluable to me! Most of the others are interview or countdowns - can't get enough of those. Also, forgot to link it, but the Scanners Blog has been discussing Entertainment Weekly's list of 'New Classics' and the debate has been interesting.

• Stan Winston's 10 Greatest Creations
• 25 Perfect Movie Posters
• Little More Than a Cameo: 19 Stellar Cinematic One-Scene Wonders
• Interview with "Battlestar Galactica's" James Callis
• Sneak Peek: Joss Whedon's "Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"
• Doomsday: 8 Rule for Surviving the Apocalypse
• New Rules for 81st Academy Awards
• IFC News Podcast: Taking on AFI's 10 Top 10s
• The Financial Wisdom of Fight Club
• 8 Toys You Can't Leave Comic-Con Without
• 10 Ways to Become A Better Film Critic
• When the Comedy is Lost in Translation
• A Final Goodbye to VHS
• Jason Bateman Interview
• From Idea to Screen: The Craft of TV Writing
• Jerry Seinfeld on George Carlin
• Movies in 30 Seconds, Acted by Bunnies
• Director Michael Gondry Picks His 25 Favorite Music Videos
• Premiere Interview with James McAvoy
• Why Do Films We Love Improve the More We Watch Them?

7 Great Things About M. Night Shyamalan Films

It sadly appears that The Happening was not the glorious return to form all we Shyamalan fans had been waiting for; apparently it was far and away his worst film yet. I can't speak from personal experience - after the onslaught of negative reviews I decided to wait until it showed up at the $1.50 theater. There was the sparse critic (like Roger Ebert) who did enjoy The Happening, but I'm not sure I can trust him and here's why: he hated The Village. That film had it's problems, but didn't deserve the fairly brutal bashing it got at the hands of critics. So on the Shyamalan front I'm listening to Jason Bellamy, the critic at The Cooler. Not only did he like The Village, but he thinks Unbreakable is better than The Sixth Sense, which is odd, but at least shows independent thought. And what did he think of The Happening? HATED IT! So I too have stayed away.

So in the wake of this most recent failure, let's revisit the moments of Shyamalan's greatest success (i.e. from The Sixth Sense to The Village). Beware of SPOILERS ye neophytes of M. Night Shyamalan films!

• 1 - Use of Seasoned Actors: Bruce Willis is a very talented actor, but how often is that overshadowed by the macho brilliance of the Die Hard series and a campaign of other tough-guy roles? Yet in The Sixth Sense, Willis toned it down in a carefully modulated and nuanced performance - Haley Joel Osment got most of the acclaim, but Willis grounded that film and gave it a center. Who knew he was so capable? Samuel L. Jackson also has a tough guy rep that precedes his performances, but Shymalan cast him as Mr. Glass, the most physically vulnerable character in Unbreakable. Jackson was able to explore a fresh physicality and used his menacing presence to more original effect. Mel Gibson has always been great at emotional depth, but it is usually combined with the persona of a crazy cop or wounded warrior: his roles are tinged with violence. In Signs that emotional vulnerability is touchingly demonstrated as a grieving father grappling with a loss of faith. Before Signs, Joaquin Phoenix was mostly known for his disturbing villain in Gladiator, but in Shyamalan films, Phoenix was Merrill, the little brother with great comedic timing, then Lucius Hunt, the rigid, quiet, moral leading man of The Village. And don't get me started on the brilliant casting of then-unknown Bryce Dallas Howard as true-blue tomboy Ivy, or his use of stars like Toni Collette, Robin Wright-Penn, Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt. The man (and his casting director) know how to draw great, unexpected and fitting performances from familiar faces.

• 2 - Master of Mood and Suspense: His legacy is no where near approaching Hitchcock's, but the tone of his films is definitely reminiscent of the mystery master. In a market that values cheap thrills and slasher non-tension, Shyamalan's films know how to carefully and subtly build tension. There isn't much violence and we are continually on the edge of our seats waiting for the next ominous development. He also creates genuine atmosphere; the locations in his films feel real and unsafe and each film generates a specific mood. His films often succeed because of these technical details.
• 3 - Injects Humor into Tense Situations: Perhaps this isn't a general rule, but I just rewatched Signs and was struck with how much humor is present. The situation and tone of the film is rather sad and gloomy, yet I was frequently laughing. The tin foil hats, Gibson's former minister attempting to swear, Bo's water obsession, Merrill's reaction to seeing the alien on TV - all were wonderfully funny breaks in the tension that also felt real to life. Things are still funny even when aliens are attacking, maybe even more so. I'll have to rewatch The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable to try and glean the well-written humor in those films.
• 4 - Subtext Prevails: Many times in film, characters have to explain the situation to us, the viewer. How else are we to know the history of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman unless she spells it out for us? I know that in the more recent Shyamalan films he has undertaken ponderous scenes of exposition so he's sure we get it. But in his earlier films, he knew how to let the subtext tell the story, to not have characters blatantly explain things only for our benefit. Joel knows that Bruce Willis is a ghost from first sight, but why would he say that? His reactions to the Willis character are subtext, they enrich the experience of the film, and only after knowing the final twist can we go back and see how his reactions have all fit. My favorite example is from Signs. The family are having lunch at a pizza parlor when they see a man on the street. They all stare at him. Someone asks "Is that him?" The man sees them staring, looks chagrined, gets in his car and drives away. The family is still sitting, staring, not eating. What just happened? They don't stop and explain it to us with some clumsy dialogue. That was the man who killed their mother/wife in a car accident. They already know this. There is no need for them to explain it. We as the audience don't yet know. But Shyamalan lets the subtext stand and the film is all the stronger for keeping that authentic reaction.
• 5 - Child Actors Have Real Parts: There isn't a prominent child role in all of his films, but when it's there, it is a vital part of the story. Shyamalan doesn't just write in children to be the vulnerable things that need saving; their roles are much more complex. Joel's life, reactions, and feelings are every bit as important to The Sixth Sense as those of Bruce Willis. The kids in Signs are not there only to complete the family unit; they offer advice, have a vote, have complexities that tie the story together. I love that. And for each of these parts, Shyamalan has found brilliant child actors. Haley Joel Osment is forever cemented into pop culture history as the boy who "see[s] dead people." He even got an Oscar nomination. Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin were simply amazing in Signs. Culkin proves that his family has acting talent in abundance and his characterization of Morgan is really the antagonist to Gibson's father. Breslin has continued to impress, but in that film offered us a cutely charming glimpse into the reserves at her disposal.
• 6 - Explores Larger Concepts: These films may be labeled "Suspense/Thriller" and they stay true to that concept, but also delve into more complicated issues. The Sixth Sense is a ghost story, but the emotional truth of the film is relationships. Bruce Willis spends the entire film trying to get closer to his wife, to bridge the gap that exists between them. It is only with his comprehension of the truth that he understands the status of their relationship and can let go. His real accomplishment is helping Joel reforge a relationship with his mother and with his life. By helping him learn how to deal with his ability, Joel is able to stop being afraid, and to tell his mother about it. The relationships between Willis and his wife and Joel and his mother are the heart of the film. Unbreakable uses comic book mythology transplanted to the real world to discuss issues of strength, the yin/yang of good and evil, and even the dynamics of familial relationships. Signs is about faith and The Village is about innocence. When the films end, what the aliens did or whether or not there are really "Creatures We Do Not Speak Of" is of little importance. In the course of these films, Gibson's character has regained his faith (whether it is faith in God or faith in general is of little importance to me), relearned how to be a good father to his children, and broken out of his grief. The Elders of the Village have recommitted themselves to the preservation of innocence. We understand the devastating effects of violence and grief and see a world which has attempted to expunge their existence. We also have seen a love story that inspires. These are the real stories that Shyamalan is telling; he just happens to tell them in the mode of a thriller.
• 7 - Score: I am continually amazed by the effectiveness of these scores. Shyamalan works with composer James Newton Howard to create hauntingly beautiful and melodic pieces of music that enhance the stories of his films. While the score of The Sixth Sense definitely sustains the tension and causes jumps at the "A-Ha!" moments, it also serves the emotional plot of the film. I was especially impressed with the scores for both Signs and The Village. Signs presents itself like an old-fashioned thriller and the score is eerily evocative to something Bernard Herrmann might have written for Hitchcock's Vertigo or Psycho. There is a magical, dizzy quality to the music that is so scary, but in the climax of the film, that same music is effectively used to express triumph and joy. The score of The Village is a huge part of the atmosphere. It helps the film feel like it's taking place in the 1800's, builds the tension around the creatures, and uses violins to express the love story and the beautiful fragility of the innocence of that time and place. I was so glad it was recognized for an Oscar nomination after the film failed critically.

I hope you have enjoyed this and perhaps found some new ways of enjoying and appreciating Shyamalan's films. I don't think that these qualities are limited to only Shyamalan films, but they are characteristics of his style that I find enjoyable, and often rare in typical Hollywood filmmaking. Before The Happening came out I read this really great blog at The Cooler where two friends discuss the pros and cons of Shyamalan's previous 5 films, and found it fascinating, succint, and clearly thought-out. Great insight! Check it out here if you want to think about Shyamalan some more. Also, if you've been keeping track of how many times I've written "Shyamalan" I feel for you. Maybe you should turn it into a drinking game...

Foray into Classic Musicals

OKLAHOMA (1955)

I really wanted to like this one, but there was one major obstacle: Laurey.

The problem stands as thus: Curly (Gordon McRae) really likes Laurey (Shirley Jones). Laurey really likes Curly. He comes over to ask her to the social and sings her a song about a beautiful carriage ("Surrey With a Fringe on Top"), but because he doesn't really have one (so he says), and because he's just a little too sure of himself, she says no and promptly turns around and accepts an invitation from the ranch-hand, Jud (Rod Steiger). One brief glance at Jud and it is immediately apparent that he is a blackguard, bad news, and a possible rapist. Laurey spends the entire day regretting her decision, but at every opportunity to change her mind (and after more than a few entreaties from Curly, including a total love song between the two), she obstinately insists she must go with Jud. (She even has a bad dream/vision in which her and Curly are in love and get married and Jud comes along, takes her away, ruins everything, and then kills Curly. Laurey's reaction to this dream: to go to the social with Jud anyway.) Surprise, surprise, he gets fresh on the carriage ride over, and later tries to kill Laurey and Curly. And it was all obvious from the very first second he appears on screen. But Laurey has to be stubborn, flighty, play hard-to-get, and just make bad decisions, destroying almost all my attempts to like her.

Other than the characterization of Laurey (who is unfortunately the main character) I found the rest of the film quite enjoyable. It obviously had high production value as it is filmed outside in good location, lighting, sets and realistic sense of setting (Oklahoma). The songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein are of course great, although there were few standouts for me. I did appreciate "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'", "People Will Say We're In Love", and "Oklahoma" and I can't hear "Surrey With the Fringe on Top" without a fond smile remembering Meg Ryan singing it off key in When Harry Met Sally... The dancing sequences are mostly good and I really enjoy the staging of the "Farmer and Cowmen" scene, but the ballet moments peppered throughout "Many a New Day" really dragged on and I disliked the majority of Laurey's extended dream ballet.

As for the acting, although I dislike Laurey, Shirley Jones has strong presence and is quite a beauty. Gloria Grahme (whom I remember mainly as Violet Bick in It's A Wonderful Life) is the other female lead as the indecisive and frisky Ado Annie. She has a funny song, "I Cain't Say No" and her subplot - choosing between beaus - was amusing and handled well. My favorite character was probably Charlottle Greenwood as Aunt Eller; she's energetic, feisty and has a great dose of genial common sense. I kept wishing Laurey would take her advice. Gordon McRae is a comforting presence as Curly, and Eddie Albert and Gene Nelson have a lot of fun as the two men (sort of) fighting for the affection of Ado Annie. Overall, despite my problems with the character of Laurey, I enjoyed the film and wouldn't mind watching it again. I suspect it's something that would grow on me in time (although I can't imagine a day when I won't fast-forward through that stupendously long dream ballet!)



SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954)

This one worked a lot better for me, despite having the more artificial sets. Directed by Stanley Donan, Seven Brides follows the marital plans of the Brothers Pontipee, a family that lives in rural Oregon (yay!) in the rustic 1800's. When eldest brother Adam (Howard Keel) comes to town for supplies, he also spends the afternoon looking for a wife to help around the house. He's lucky to run into Milly (Jane Powell), a hardy, attractive woman with plenty of cooking, cleaning and farming skills, who just happens to fall in love with him at first sight. He effortlessly convinces her to marry him, but when they finally arrive at his home, she is surprised to learn he has 6 younger brothers she is also expected to look after. The remainder of the film is spent as she befriends the boys and tries to help them win brides of their own, all the while teaching them, and most importantly Adam, lessons about gentility, kindness, cleanliness and respect.

I really enjoyed the musical numbers and arrangements throughout this film, although the classical style of the voices of both Howard Keel and Jane Powell was often disconcerting. (They both have lovely voices, but they are either extremely low or extremely high and sound very stylized. That was the tradition of the time and it's probably only weird because musicals today feature voices that sound more organic and flawed, and less classically sound.) I never felt like a song overstayed it's welcome, and most moved the plot along a comfortable pace. "Bless Yore Beautiful Hide" was a wonderful introduction to the film and to the character of Adam; it contained well-designed movement, cheeky suggestions, and a genial tone. That is important as Adam is essentially the antagonistic character throughout the film - this song makes us like him right off the bat, a feeling we'll need to remember later on. Jane Powell gets to sing the "dream come true" fairytale song "Wonderful, Wonderful Day" just moments before she (but not we, the audience) learn the truth of her situation, lending it some dramatic irony. And the staging of the "Going Co'tin'" song is energetic and well-blocked.

The film also contains several dance/movement sequences that were stunning in their athleticism. The first is an extended dance-off between the Pontipee Brothers and the Local Townsboys at a barn raising; they continue to hand off the girls back and forth, and each of the individual actors has a moment to shine and display his particular dancing talent, whether it be ballet or acrobatics. This sequence extends into the Barn Raising number where the work, violence and fighting is choreographed into a inventive rhythm of movement. Finally, the "Lonesome Polecat" song, sung by the Brothers during winter as they are missing their sweethearts, is a wonderful marriage of music, rhythm and creativity. The song is slow, but the actions are timed to the music and random chores are turned into choreography. Each of these scenes felt organic to the plot, changed up the movement into exciting shots, and never felt too long. I feel like I am unfair to criticize Oklahoma for many of it's overlong dance sequences, but they didn't hold my attention the way the numbers in Seven Brides did; the ballet never got interesting and the energy in the dream sequence lacked energy, at least for me, whereas the Brothers Pontipee are endlessly amusing and vibrant.

The plot has a lot of fun with the Brothers innocent naivete, and the character-arc of Adam becoming a good husband to Milly was more interesting than a black and white villain. The film has a lot of genuinely funny moments, and witty dialogue within the script. (The brothers are named after characters in the Bible, and in alphabetical order: Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frankincense (Frank), and Gideon.) The only problem I had was with Milly's pregnancy: I know she and Adam were married and slept in the same bed, but from what we see on film up to that point, I will not believe they had slept together, therefore Milly should not have been pregnant. It provided some drama and laughs, but I just couldn't buy that this couple had been intimate when they are not even truly married until the end of the film. I believe I uttered a confused, "What?" when she announced her pregnancy - didn't buy it!


Here's a link to Entertainment Weekly's List of the 25 Greatest Musicals of All Time! Can't say I totally agree (there's no way the recent Hairspray or Chicago are better than Beauty and the Beast), but it's not bad, and definitely a good place to start!

Weekly Links

The Steven Spielberg post over at the Scanners blog has a really great dissection of action sequences from Spielberg and the recent Speed Racer and discusses to what end that arrangement of these shots leads, I really loved the "Letter to Hollywood" article: great advice that would help the film industry produce much better films and not waste so much money, and the Rube Goldberg Machine countdown was funny (you know all those crazy machines made by mad scientists?) I found the article about "Online Minority" interesting as I am one, and of course loved the list of "100 Best Movie Posters"! Hope you find something you'd like to read.

• Coolest Movie Metamorphoses: From Wolfman to Hulk
• What it Takes to Adapt a TV Show for the Big Screen
• Evolution of the Action Film
• Is Quantum of Solace Cursed?
• Action: Steven Spielberg and the Need for Speed
• Top 10 Rube Goldberg Machines Featured in Film (Overly Complicated Machines)
• 25 Stars getting Hollywood Walk of Fame Stars Next Year
• A Letter to My Friend Hollywood
• Admit None: 16 Protested Movies
• Movies About Making Movies
• AFI: 10 Top 10
• Fan Rant: Charlie Chaplin's Talkies Deserve More Respect
• If Studios Developed Videogames
• Online Fans Represent TV's Vocal Minority
• Rescuing the Critical Mass with 'Exile Cinema'
• The 100 Best Movie Posters of All Time
  

My Perfect Movie Scene Day

About a week ago, one of my links was to a blog called "My Perfect Day Composed of Movie Scenes." (If you haven't read it, please do so - so fun!) Of course, this gave me the brilliant idea to make my own - another variation on my infamous lists! Yes! I followed the rules set by the original poster, and have done my best to come up with a really fun day full of great movie scenes. There are plenty more (I could have done an entire list of only musical numbers I'd want to take part in), but some movie scenes I love I wouldn't want to honestly be there for, and there were also more than one that took place at the same time, so I had to choose. Here are the rules I followed:

You can completely disregard geography for the purpose of this exercise, however - I’ll grant you back-to-back escapades in New York and China, for instance. But aim for the general time frame - if it took place at midnight in the movie, you can’t do it at ten in the morning. There’s also flexibility regarding if you would take the place of a specific character, or just tag along a yourself (you can do both/either).

Hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear feedback on the scenes YOU would love to be part of!

• 8:00 am: Over a breakfast of coffee and scones, do the Times crossword with Dan Burns and family. It's the boys vs. the girls to get the same crossword done first, and all the members of the family in Dan in Real Life are smart and funny - plus Steve Carell is there. Sounds like a great way to start the day!
• 8:45 am: Sneak aboard the tour bus in Almost Famous for a rousing and inspiring round of "Tiny Dancer." Singing along with the radio is always fun and having Stillwater, Penny Lane and William Miller accompany me sounds so awesome. Doesn't Elton John bring everyone together?
• 10:15am: Drop by Championship Vinyl to make top 5 lists, harass customers and feel superior with Rob, Dick and Barry. Nobody makes a better list than the guys from High Fidelity, and it would be cool to hang out in a record store listening to great music.
• 12:15am: Fill in for Uma Thurman as she stops by Bud's trailer in Kill Bill Vol. 2. I get to kick Elle Driver's slimy, superior ass, drown her in a toilet, and rip out her remaining eye. I also get to enjoy the following show of Elle flailing around, freaking out about her recent blindness, with Bud's premade slushy margaritas to drink while I watch.

• 1:30pm: I'll be pretty tired after that ass-kicking, so I'll stop by the cafe for lunch and a energetic chorus of "King of New York" with the gang from Newsies. Totally fun song, young Christian Bale attempting a New Yawk accent, dancing on table tops, spinning from ceiling fans - a great lunchtime show and a chance to rest my fighting muscles.
• 3:00pm: Horseback riding with Jim Craig in the Australian Outback. Seriously, did you ever have a The Man From Snowy River fascination? I grew up with this one and honestly, nothing looks more exhilarating than riding these beautiful mountain horses along ravines with gorgeous views and that film's amazing score playing in the background.
• 4:45pm: Crash a wedding with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. As long as I resist their bag of female seduction tricks, I get to have a great time at a high class wedding with good looking guests, first class food, free booze, lots of dancing, and the most raucous rendition of "Shout" I have ever seen. Plus my stop by Wedding Crashers will give me ample time to eat and gear up for the long night ahead.
• 7:30pm: Watch the sunset with Becky in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Gilbert will have just left to go give Arnie a bath, so I'll have Becky and her sweet, insightful words of wisdom all to myself. She's one of my favorite characters of all time and I can't imagine a better evening than sitting in the hay bales, watching a Midwestern sunset, and having quasi-philosophical debate will such a cool chick.
• 9:00pm: Invisible food fight! Run by Hook, enjoy some invisible food for desert, then get into one of the most fun-looking food fights I've ever seen with Robin Williams (as adult Peter Pan) and an entire crew of cute, cuddly, rowdy Lost Boys.

• 10pm: Partying it up with Leo, Kate and the entire steerage class of the Titanic. Celtic music, crazy dances, cute kids, watching Kate down beer and stand on her tip toes, a conga line? Puh-leaze. I am so there. Did I mention I love Celtic music?!? And, bonus, this isn't the day the Titanic sinks, so I'll still be alive to enjoy the rest of my night.
• 1am: Sneaking through the woods to a dark cave with the boys of Dead Poets Society. Teenage highjinks, reading Whitman, Thoreau, Keats, Wordsworth, Shakespeare and a multitude of other poets aloud, pushing each other to accomplish our dreams by being inspired by poetry. A tad idealistic, but we could all use some innocent idealism, couldn't we? Plus, bonus, get to hang out with young Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and Josh Charles - yay!
• 5:30am: "Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the more pure." - The Princess Bride. Take part in one of the greatest kisses of all time. Westly and I will have just escaped the clutches of Prince Humperdink, along with trusted friends Inigo and Fezzik, and we share a kiss "that left all the others behind." Sounds good to me and young Carey Elwes was quite the dish. (I thought of finding a sex scene I'd love to be a part of, but decided that would probably be going too far, revealing a bit too much about myself, and definitely squicking all of you out!)

Now please post with some of your faves!

Check This Out

BETTER OFF DEAD (1985)


I've often heard that this movie has a large cult following, so it's possible everyone here has already seen it. But there are few people that have not seen it and loved it, so it's worth a shot for the lone reader out there who is not yet a convert.

Starring a young John Cusack, Better Off Dead documents the life of Lane Meyers, his bizarre family, classmates, cute next-door neighbor, and a particularly irate paperboy. The main plot is basically that Lane has just been dumped by girlfriend Beth, discovers he can't win her back as she has moved on to the high school's local ski god, and decides to kill himself. His various attempts are continually thwarted by clueless parents, friends and bystanders, and the set-up is really just an excuse for a series of bizarre characters to engage in ridiculous random acts of hilarity.

How else to explain the mother who buys TV Dinners as all of your Christmas gifts? The father obsessed with saving his garage door windows? The little brother who never speaks, but builds rocket ships and has parties for hookers in his spare time? And that doesn't include the paperboy who chases Lane around town demanding his $2, the best friend who thinks snorting snow gets him high, the high school math class that laughs at rocket science level jokes, or the Asian brothers who like to drag race while one of them commentates in an impression of Howard Cosell.

Lane is the 0nly recognizably sane person in this movie, and along with Monique (the French foreign exchange student next door), whom he of course begins to fall for, we are treated to a sweetly beguiling performance. In Cusack's hands, Lane is awkward, confused and sensitive, but unafraid to weird out in his obsessions with Beth, a re-enactment of Frankenstein, and sticking Q-tips in all his facial orifices while preparing for a date. If nothing else, this movie is just one odd scene after another, but put together create an endearing sense of random affection. And if you love '80's movies in general (as I do - something about their look, tone, music, lack of technical gadgets) this is definitely a must-see.

Battlestar Galactica Mid-Season Finale!

(This post will contain spoilers about the finale of "Battlestar Galactica" episode #410 "Revelations." Be warned, those who haven't watched it yet. Sarah, I'm thinking of you!)

Holy Frak! After what, in my mind anyways, was already a very stellar season, the midseason finale went above and beyond awesome! I feel like most of this season was a lot of character development and small plot points that led up to an episode full of action and tension.


First up: Saul "Mother-Frakking" Tigh! My, my he was amazing! In the first couple seasons, I really didn't care for the boozey blowhard, but he has really come into his own in Seasons 3 and 4. Particularly his devotion to Adama is touching, and I've really liked his determination to stay the man he wants to be, in spite of the recent discovery of his Cylon heritage. I think his relationship with Caprica Six is fascinating (they have yet to really delve into the craziness of a Cylon/Cylon pregnancy yet! Do they even understand how awesome that is?) and I think Michael Hogan's work as been consistantly extraordinary. The best one-eyed acting around - he makes that eye do some incredible emoting! And in the finale he was so brave and noble! I just about shed a tear when he offered to let himself be airlocked! Because of course he would really do it! He's Saul "Mother Frakking" Tigh!!! He's gone from being one of my least favorite to the top of the list!

It was nice to see Lee finally get some balls! I'm glad that ultimately he didn't have to airlock any of the three Cylons (because I love them all) but I was glad he had the nerve to make a hard decision and stick to it. D'Anna was ruthless and as much as I hate the Cylon-haters, I understand the necessity of that action. Lee grew up in my eyes a lot in this episode. I was also glad to see some renewed connection between him and Starbuck. I don't mind them as a couple, but I really dig them as friends and as kind-of siblings.

Tory continues to drop in my esteem, although I do find her character interesting. I loved Anders and Tyrol's reactions to being outed, as well as Anders pleas to Kara to just check out the Viper. I really hope Kara doesn't break his heart. Although they were creepy, I kind of loved Tyrol's amused expressions, as if he had just been waiting for the day he was discovered to arrive and chose to be amused by it, rather than angry or scared. I'm so anxious to find out what happens with him in the future. I also adored Balter: he humbly thanked Roslin and volunteered to talk D'Anna down. His words to her actually seemed genuine and like he has learned some lessons. James Callis continues to rock as an actor!


Adama's humiliating breakdown was tough to watch, although I completely understand why it had to happen. Damn, leading this fleet is stressful! But love the support he got from Lee, and especially Roslin. I really hope we get to see them functioning as an actual couple in the second half of the season.

The last 10 minutes of the episode were stunning! I was crying all over the place. The joy on everyone's faces, Roslin's relief, Lee's eyes glazing, Tyrol with his kid, Helo and Athena hugging (the camera suggestively focused on Hera in that scene - creepy!), the cheering amongst all the crew....only to have them desolately walk the shore of post-apocalyptic Earth. That was devastating. The camera work was beautiful, everyone got to have their moment alone on screen. Roslin sounded dead, Kara looked shattered, and I was glad Leoban and Caprica Six were allowed on shore as well. I can't believe the show gave us Earth so soon; it seems like there isn't enough plot for 10 more episodes, which makes me so excited to see what they come up with because the road map - to find Earth - is gone! What's next!


As for the most important question raised (at least for me): Who is that Final Cylon?

D'Anna seemed to know that there were only 4 in the fleet which means 3 possibilities to me; one being that the final Cylon is not in the military fleet, but in the civilian. However, this seems unlikely, and would only leave Romo Lampkin as a possibility. The other two are much more interesting:

• Someone who is already dead: Many people have guessed that Ellen Tigh is a Cylon, and that would certainly be a trip to see her come back from the dead. Plus, she died on New Caprica, so D'Anna would possibly be aware of her death. The deaths of Billy, Zak Adama, Starbuck's mother and more all occured earlier as well. Could be any of them. But some other dead possibilities, (Kat or Cally?), died after D'Anna was boxed so it seems unlikely she would be aware of their passing.
• Someone who was already on the Basestar: The fact that she didn't expose this person makes it odd, but the chances that Roslin, Helo or Baltar are the final Cylon just rose exponentially. She wouldn't need to ask them to reveal themselves as she already had that person in her possession. But I'm still not sure.

There are still other possibilities, like it being someone we have never met, or someone who still lives on desolate Earth, or many have suggested that it is Galactica itself, which seems kind of silly to me - who knows, but all of these options seem to lack the "Shocker - oomph!" that the final reveal seems to need.


As for the last 10 episodes, we still don't know what the hell happened to Starbuck or how she got in that Viper. It seems unlikely she is a Cylon, but her destiny is still up for grabs: the Hybrid said she was the "harbinger of death....you will lead them to their end, Kara Thrace." Who knows where that could lead. Also, her relationship with Anders is unclear. She didn't shoot him, and they were standing next to each other on Galactica, but the reveal of his Cylonicity has to throw her for a loop. I expect some drama there.

And as I mentioned above, we now have a Cylon/Cylon pregnancy! This suggests the Final Five are different in some way from the original 7, or has Cylon reproduction always been possible? Is the baby Caprica Six told Baltar was there's really Hera? Or was it her own? I'm confused. Not to mention, we still don't understand the meaning behind the Opera House visions shared by Roslin, Athena, Caprica Six and Hera. What is Hera's destiny? Does Nicky (Tyrol/Cally's Cylon baby) have a role to play? People will have to realize that Hera isn't the only Cylon/Human hybrid any longer.


A final wish: I really want to see Boomer again. I want to see her reunited with the fleet. I want to see her happy. I want to see her complete and loved. And I want her to see Chief Tyrol again. He's single and a Cylon now.... Can't we get those kids together?!?!?

P.S. Btw Heather - Roslin, Helo and Baltar were all at risk of being blown up, while Tyrol, Tigh and Anders could have been airlocked. It was very close and not a completely ridiculous fear! ; )

Weekly Links

Again, my list is late. In honor of Father's Day, a list of great and bad dads, I disagree (or at least I want to) with all of the couples that "won't make it", but I really like the article about "The beautiful and the damned" - recounting the great female victims of television in the tradition of 90210's Kelly Taylor, and Lost's Kate Austen.

• Movie Manes: Hits and Misses
• Best and Worst Fictional Dads
• The Beautiful and the Damned: Female Victims in Television
• 15 Celebrities Who Sang...But Shouldn't Have
• Bull Durham: 20 Years Later
  
• 12 Movie/Tech Toys We Want
• 10 Movie Romances That Probably Didn't Last
• Design Genuises: 10 Hollywood to Watch Out For
• The 100 Most Powerful Celebrities of 2008: Forbes List
• The New Cult Canon: Wet Hot American Summer
• Gallery: R-Rated Movie Firsts
• The Return of Wallace and Gromit!

Review: Sex and the City Movie

Disclaimer: Let me first admit that I am completely unable to adequately judge this movie based solely on the merits of exceptional filmmaking. I am a fan and can only evaluate how well I think this film will satisfy other fans of the show; to see my complaints about the show, or the premises of it's plot in general, I will direct you to my earlier post, "Sex and the City: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." What is true about the flaws of the show is mostly true of the flaws in the film.


It's been 4 years and Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are finally back to discover what happens after "happily ever after" - but this time in a movie! Over the course of 154 minutes, writer/director Michael Patrick King (head writer of the show) has managed to assemble every current important character for a meditation on a potential marriage, a potential divorce, a potential pregnancy and a potential sex drive in which our girls remember that you can always count on your friends, but also that you can't always count on life to come up roses.

The movie initially has a little trouble finding it's footing. Without the usual column voice-over as a guide, the structure of the film feels somewhat discombobulating to a fan of the show and it's format, as if it's struggling to remember which storyline it needs to revisit. (And you don't know how loathe I am to admit that the column structure was actually comforting, not to mention, helpful in pacing). The opening sequence mostly functions as a catch-up guide for the non-show viewer and revisits some nice moments from the series, but overall the first 10 minutes seem overly indulgent in "Hey! I missed you!"/"Hey! My Friends!" moments. But once the film settles into it's story, the frantic rushing from New to L.A. and from one greeting to another slows down.

At 2 and a half hours, the film may seem overlong, but is actually filled with scenes that will thrill fans of the characters and fashion, but that the writers never had the luxury of including in the show's half-hour format. Plotwise, the fashion show in Carrie's closet, the extended montage of wedding dresses and their labels, and the Charlotte/pudding/bowel movement scenario are unnecessary to further the story. But I thought it was fun to revisit Carrie's various wardrobe disasters (the ballerina dress from the credits was a nice shoutout, although I doubt some of those hideous '80's ensembles would have survived the great Carrie/Aidan consolidating move-in of Season 4), and how could a show with such vocal love of fashion pass on an opportunity to display Carrie in a wedding dress by everyone from Christian Lacroix to Vera Wang and Dior?

As for the much discussed plot, after four years of unwedded bliss, Mr. Big and Carrie decide add marriage to their move-in merger, Miranda and Steve deal with waning passion and marital woes, and Samantha deals with a life in L.A. that revolves around her TV-star beau. Only Charlotte, still happily married to the lovable Harry Goldenblatt, with adopted daughter Lily in tow, seems content in her life. After a "sad event" in the first third of the film, Carrie is thrown into a depressed whirlwind and the girls head for a vacation in Mexico to rejuvenate their lagging mojos with renewed female bonding. (And don't jump to crazy conclusions about that "sad event" like I did - Big isn't going to die! Honestly, after you watch the preview, just pick the most logical devastating even that could happen to Carrie. Despite most reviews keeping it a secret, it isn't hard to guess.) Carrie also picks up a new personal assistant, Louise (Jennifer Hudson) to help reorganize her life and remind her what it's like to be a young girl, looking for love in the big city. Hudson is a welcome dose of youthful vigor and sass, but I agree with the critic who thought that 'St. Louise" (as Carrie dubs her) was too saintly; a little flaw wouldn't have hurt.

The conflicts are nothing groundbreaking, but seemed realistic for our girls at this stage in their lives. After finding love and contentment, what comes next? Not a life without problems and after the thousands of romantic comedies that end just when the wedding is over, it is refreshing to watch a romantic comedy that deals with women negotiating happiness in their 40's. And I'll give the movie a hearty "Well Done" for the handling of that "sad event." As obvious as it seems now, this scene was given the weight is needed to push the film into realistic territory. What starts as confusion somehow devolves into tragedy through mistaken intentions, past history and character development, and an absolutely somber take on the situation. I almost gasped. The acting in this scene is heartbreaking and sets a more serious tone for the rest of the film.

For any fan of the show, the movie will really be a chance to revisit old friends and find them as charming, lovable and relatable as ever. The script is no where near as witty or controversial as any best episode of the series, but the lines and reactions are true to character. When Samantha cusses someone out because they interrupt her toast, her lines aren't clever, but they are what Samantha would say. Miranda's sarcastic eye rolls, Sam's painfully bad double entendres, Carrie's childlike squeaks, and Charlotte's optimistic refrains are not the writing of high art, but we smile anyway because we recognize these characters and even their imperfections are comforting. Each actress has a moment to shine: Sarah Jessica Parker pushes Carrie into amazing scenes of anger and hurt and it was nice to see Carrie's legendary self-absorption play a role in her conflict, even if it was not explicitly mentioned. Cynthia Nixon continues to impress me by making Miranda harder and more cynical than ever, but still keeping that heartbreaking vulnerability close to the surface. Samantha's storyline lags in some places, but at least gives Kim Catrall a realistic conflict involving her sex drive and the opportunity to use another facial expression than "sex kitten." Charlotte has the least meat to her storyline, unless you count her miracle "dream come true"-spoiled-in-the-trailer pregnancy. However, this movie almost made her my favorite character despite the more limited screen time. Charlotte has never been high on my list, she's too romantic, naive and cheerleader more of the time, but her intense loyalty to Carrie in this film was absolutely endearing. Kristin Davis has several expressions of pure, vitrolic rage that made me fall head over heels for Charlotte.

My only real complaint is that the men, with the exception of Chris Noth's Mr. Big, were kept mostly in the background. I understand with the limitation of a film, there wasn't room for fleshed out storylines with all of the men, but I love each of them almost as much as the girls, and I missed them. If rumors are true, there may be another film in the works down the line - here's hoping we could see some more Steve, Harry, Smith, Stanford and Anthony then!

The extremely high opening weekend box office for the film has caused a great stir in the film community and I ran across a couple great articles concerning the SATC buzz. A blog by a male critic I love (The Cooler, I've talked about it before) talks about the strange SATC backlash from many male critics: excellent points about guys liking SATC, as well as the odd double-standard for female critics. And a recent article in Entertainment Weekly argues against the high box office being a "foreign phenomenon" - female movie-goers do exist! Both really good reads.

Because Tonight's the Midseason Finale...

Just be happy that they're not "Gossip Girl"!

This has been an awesome season of "Battlestar Galactica" and in that spirit I found some videos. I know, I know, but they're not all shipper vids; I made a concentrated effort to find videos about the show in general. I realize there are probably only two people who read this blog that actually care about BSG and less than that care about these videos, but I don't care.

• This vid uses the score from the show and pairs is with random character moments and lots of BSG's particularly excellent space porn! Beware of the violence.
  

• I know I promised minimal shipper goodness, but this is an Adama/Roslin vid, and in honor of their finally admitting they are in love, I thought it was appropriate. Plus the song is the Oscar-winner from Once so....automatically better!

So I'm praying that none of the Final Five kick the dust in tonight's finale, but the way this season has been going, you just never know; someone has died in practically every episode, and they're almost out of non-main characters to kill. I just pray that they don't ruthlessly airlock Tigh, Tyrol, or Anders cause these characters have really grown on me. Also, Roslin is finally awesome again, so please don't kill her either. And if Helo dies anytime before the very end, I will not forgive you show!

Andrea's Coming Home Today!!!

For the most part, I have limited this blog to discussion of movie and TV, with the occasional music reference thrown in. But I thought I'd let everyone know that my little sister Andrea is finally coming back from Africa tonight!!!! I'm extremely excited to have her around again for a lot of reasons (it's been about a year which is a long-ass time and she's been exposed to frequent malaria - yikes!), not the least of which is my desire to expose her to all the great movies she missed this year. (I'm like a dog - one track mind: "Movies, movies, movies." It's pretty sad.)

Much of my recent laziness in attending to my blog can be attributed to prepping things around the house for her arrival; the rest of the laziness I blame on an inability to make myself write and also to having a particularly nasty kink in my back that won't pop and won't let me sit upright for long periods of time. But I promise to get my ass in gear and write, although the next few weeks will probably be sparsely blogged as I'm getting all the Andrea-time in I can before she has to go back to San Francisco next month. I have a link to her blog posted and if anyone wants to read about her various Ghana adventures, please check it out. She is a great storyteller and has a much better voice as a writer than I ever will. Reading her stuff is like listening to her talk - and she's a clever girl! She also has more unbelievable and horrible things happen to her than anyone I've ever met: she's like the Bermuda Triangle and Murphy's Law combined!

Here are a few things to look forward to in the coming weeks:

• Sex and the City movie review
• Check This Out: Better Off Dead and Frailty
  
• My Perfect Day of Movie Scenes
• An Analysis of Across the Universe
  
• "Battlestar Galactica" Midseason Finale Madness!!!
• Essay: Use of Music in the Films of Sofia Coppola, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorcese
• Update on the Quantum Hotness Principle
• My Favorite Moments in M. Night Shyamalan films
• Foray in Classic Musicals: Oklahoma and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

I reserve the right to not blog about these topics if I change my mind or am struck with writers block. However, I will try my best to get these out over the next month, or at least eventually.