Premature Holiday Excitement

I know it’s still summer and I just wrote about why I am excited for Fall, but may I write about the exciting holiday season? It looks good. Really good. Good enough to make up for 2010’s crop of Summer films.

Exhibit A: 127 Hours – November 5 (limited)

It doesn’t look as interesting as 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire, or even Sunshine. It also may bring out the worst in my claustrophobia, but I am not prepared to bet against Danny Boyle right now. Especially not with a leading man as likable as James Franco.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWWcQC0ZxIM

The following week we (hopefully) get another treat: Morning Glory – November 12

I love Jeff Goldlum… or at least the idea of Jeff Golblum. Maybe I only like him as Ian Malcolm and a Conan O’Brien guest. For whatever reason, I am much more optimistic about this Goldblum film than I was about The Switch, but I do feel like I am risking a lot with this pick. Especially because both Goldblum and Harrison Ford are such risks in this genre. The one thing I am confident about is that the always watchable Rachel McAdams will carry the picture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9lWUqraDoU

And a third consecutive intriguing release: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 – November 19

No explanation needed. It looks sick.


Then the potential crown jewel of the season: How Do You Know – December 17

I’ve only seen the trailer, but it looks like James L. Brooks is back to business. The comedy looks so sharp, so smart, and so funny. Hopefully there will be more to it than the trailer jokes. And how about that cast? Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, AND Jack Nicholson? Holy Cow! I hope I don’t regret saying this, but if I only see one movie the rest of the year, this is it (no offense, Harry). Please be better than Spanglish. Please be better than Spanglish. Please be better than Spanglish.

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAZfBVGWimM

Why I'm excited for FALL!

Along with the magnificently comfortable temperatures, here are a couple more reasons why I am excited for Fall.

Monsters
I love sci-fi. I got excited for the Skyline trailer so you can imagine how giddy this trailer made me. And I should know better than to read in to the review snippets in the trailer, but if someone at “Aint it Cool News” considers this the best giant monster movie that he or she has seen in years, then that means said critic considers it better than Cloverfield AND The Host. I LOVE MONSTER MOVIES!!!
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IshZoIwz_o

Hurley
Weezer’s recent reinvention was so welcome. Better yet, they seem to have even further embraced silliness since Raditude. Want proof? Look no further than Hurley’s cover: no text, just the face of Jorge Garcia. “All we wanted was his amazing face,” said singer-songwriter Rivers Cuomo to Spinner. Cuomo is also very proud of a collaboration with Ryan Adams to be included on Hurley. For another fun Weezer collaboration enjoy the video posted below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiIwgcrv4wU

Or for a reminder of Rivers’ heartfelt songwriting…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztvJdAIGk54&feature=related

Sex(orc)sim

Now I’m no expert on exorcism movies; I’ve never even seen one. But from the little bit I know about the three that I’m aware of (“The Exorcist,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” and the upcoming “The Last Exorcism”) they all feature possessed girls. That really tangles my rosaries! The repeated portrayals of women as controlled by spirits only further perpetuates the (not always conscious) belief that women are to be controlled.

These exorcism films are just one more message that reinforces the belief that men are able to control women- and that women should allow themselves to be controlled. This does not need to happen. The writers may not be doing it intentionally either. They may just be following the pattern of previous exorcism stories. That is why it is imperative for storytellers to carefully meditate on the subconscious messages of their stories. Let a demon torture a man. Let a superhero be in a same-sex relationship. Let a damsel save a dude in distress! It’s riskier, but the same messages over and over form dangerous stereotypes. Dangerous, demonic stereotypes!

Toy Story 3: Pixar Knows where they Stand

Andy is all grown up and going off to college. The most recent installment of the Toy Story series is not for children, but rather for the inner children of those who have grown up. “Toy Story 3” is a somewhat dark and could be scary for young ones at times. There is enough silliness and slapstick to hold a child’s attention, but it doesn’t compare to the brilliant script that more mature viewers will appreciate. I dare not give any of the clever surprises away so, please, PLEASE, see it for yourself.

Two summers ago, Pixar released, “Wall-E”: an emotionally touching, visually arresting dialogue-less marvel. They have somehow upped the ante twice consecutively since then, first with “Up” and now “Toy Story 3.” Pixar has certainly set the bar very high and is dominating the animated film market, but they are well aware that they are not the only ones making magic.

Toy Story 3 features many new toys. One of them is a Totoro doll. Many people might not notice it (it has no lines), but anime fans will recognize the creature from Hayao Miyazaki’s classic film “My Neighbor Totoro.” Pixar didn’t need to acknowledge Miyazaki- or anyone for the matter- they have worked their way to the absolute top of the film world. They have consistently made high quality work right from the get go. They didn’t need to recognize anyone else- but they chose to.

For all of Pixar’s great works, they understand that others have paved their way, and without much recognition. Miyazaki is a Japanese filmmaker that continues to make terrific animated films after 30 years. Miyazaki’s hand drawn films lack the computer animation of Pixar, but their magic is absolutely undeniable. And, like “Toy Story 3,” they often offer just as much to adults as they do to children- if not more. Including the Totoro doll was a subtle, but very appropriate nod to one of the all time great filmmakers. I was so glad that the folks at Pixar, for all their success, knew to acknowledge the master.

MacNificent

“MacGruber”, the most recent Saturday Night Live skit to turn film, is a one-note comedy, but it hits that note hard.

Rogue Pictures took a 90-second recurring skit and blew it into the most over-the-top SNL film to date. The television skit is comfortably within the show’s TV-14 rating, but the film’s humor is relentlessly crude. If you don’t appreciate juvenile jokes about sex and excrement, you probably won’t like this movie. But if you appreciate MacGruber’s sophomoric brand, the film will bring you to tears in laughter (as it did for me, but to qualify that: the last two films to do the same were “Team America” and “Brüno”).

But “MacGruber” is more than a mere string of gags. Unlike “The Brothers Solomon” (the last film Will Forte starred in and wrote), which dragged between jokes, “MacGruber” moves very briskly. Credit Director Jorma Taccone, who also fills the film with surprisingly impressive action sequences. Not bad for a guy whose biggest previous productions were SNL Digital Shorts. “MacGruber” achieves a big-budget action film feel, which really heightens the satire

“MacGruber” also deserves props for finally delivering a big screen roll that allows Kristen Wiig, arguably the funniest SNL performer, to show her stuff. If you don’t laugh at her coffee shop scene, you probably need your funny bone checked out. The rest of the movie is certainly not for everyone, but for those who do appreciate it, it’s explosive.

A Dumb Heart

Behind all the outrageousness and all around hilarity of the Farrelly Brothers’ classic “Dumb and Dumber,” is a rather tender heart. Lloyd is a professional chauffeur who becomes infatuated with one of his customers, Mary. Lloyd picks up a briefcase that Mary left behind before flying to Aspen, CO. He wants to travel to Aspen to return the briefcase and, more importantly, see Mary again, but his roommate, Harry, doesn’t want to. Lloyd convinces Harry with this speech: “You know what I'm sick and tired of, Harry? I'm sick and tired of having to eke my way through life. I'm sick and tired of bein' a nobody. But most of all I'm sick and tired of havin' nobody.” That quote sparks the cross-country road trip that propels to the story forward, but it is also key to the emotional core of the movie.

Lloyd is in a position familiar to many, he likes someone who doesn’t like him back. He decides to take a chance on her though. He travels across the United States for her only to have his best friend betray him. Lloyd witnesses Harry cavorting with her in Aspen and it breaks his heart. In the end, the two friends get over the bad blood and are portrayed as very content. They didn’t gain anything. Neither one got the girl. They just had each other and that was enough. The story is very representative of the human cycle of dissatisfaction.

Lloyd was convinced that Mary would improve his life. When he considered his life without her, he said that he had “nobody,” but he really had somebody. He had Harry. The audience understands that having Harry was enough all along. So often, we convince ourselves that life would be better if only a certain thing changed. But if even we achieve that change, we eventually find something else to make us dissatisfied. As the late Michael Crichton wrote, “As a rule, nothing you lack now will make you happy when you get it.” But realizing that rule doesn’t stop our feelings of dissatisfaction from causing distress. “Dumb and Dumber” very accurately portrays both Lloyd’s conviction in his belief that he needed Mary and the pain and heartache it caused him. We already have everything we need to be happy and we must hold fast to that belief. It is so easy to feel dissatisfied and struggle to see the good in life, but it is especially those moments that require great faith. We already have everything we need.

Writing A Great Song

I wonder what it’s like to write a great song.

I wonder if Tracy Chapman knew what a beautiful thing she had created when she was hammering out “Fast Cars” on acoustic guitar for the first time. Did she feel empowered to have written something so wonderful? I wonder what Primitive Radio Gods felt like after recording “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand.” Were they afraid that they may never write anything that good again? Does an artist give up because they feel they’ve already done their very best?

At which part of the process does that artist realize how great the song is? Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls admitted that he never thought his song “Name” was anything special. He just stuck it in the middle of “A Boy Named Goo” to take up space. Now it is one of the band’s most beloved songs. I wonder if the process was different with “Iris” (gag all you want, but it’s moving). Did he have a hunch that he might have something great on his hands while the song was still in its premature stages? Did that feeling not come until the grand string sections has been added?

Perhaps an artist never really knows that something is great unless the audience gives its blessing. But what if that artist-audience communication never exists? It’s possible that a musician’s song is moving someone in the world and he or she will never know about it. An artist may write a song off without ever knowing that it’s someone’s favorite.