Random Factoid #415

16 09 2010

Really, Casey Affleck?  Way to ruin my fun.

I was so excited to see “I’m Still Here,” the documentary on Joaquin Phoenix’s strange year of isolation, because I wanted to decide for myself if it was real or a joke and offer an opinion as to why I thought what I did.  But now, I have been robbed of that chance as director Casey Affleck has decided to spill the beans that it actually was a mockumentary, a piece of performance art not meant to be taken literally.

“I’m Still Here” opens today in Houston, and now I really have no desire to spend $10 to see it.  Knowing that it’s a big joke ruins the fun, and it’s really no different than unleashing a spoiler (which I HATE, see Random Factoid #276).  The movie’s secret is out of the bag, and everything has changed.

Has anyone else had their moviegoing desires changed by knowing certain details about a film?


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Random Factoid #414

15 09 2010

I was once a big Blockbuster Video guy (see Random Factoid #261), although I was mainly a Hollywood Video guy before they went under.  Unfortunately, it appears the “brick and mortar” model of selling movies is dead with the impending bankruptcy of Blockbuster.  As many bloggers have remarked, there’s something a little magical about going through case after case on the racks.

It appears now, according to Cinematical, that the company is going to some last-ditch efforts to save their stores.  How does tanning before or after getting your DVD sound?  Apparently America IS a whole lot like the Jersey Shore as these tanning beds now make up 40% of their income.  Now that, my friends, is just plain sad.

I have zero desire to tan – plus I live in Houston where the climate keeps me plenty bronze – so I’m not all for the idea.  But how far can Blockbuster’s dignity slip before they call it quits?  Is anyone with me in saying that they should just close before they completely embarrass themselves?  I don’t want to go into Darque TanBuster anytime soon, so I think I’ll stick to Redbox and iTunes for now.


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Random Factoid #413

14 09 2010

It’s kind of a slow day for factoids, so I’m going to resort to one of the simplest questions in the cinematic library: has TV overtaken cinema as an art form?  A.O. Scott brought the issue to prominence again last week with his article “Looking for a Blockbuster Film in the ‘Mad Men’ Era” in The New York Times.

Here’s some of what he brought to the table:

The salient question is this: Will any of the movies surfacing this fall provoke the kind of conversation that television series routinely do, breaking beyond niches into something larger? This bad summer movie season, in what seems to be one of the best television years ever, reinforces a suspicion that has been brewing for some time. Television, a business with its own troubles, is nonetheless able to inspire loyal devotion among viewers, to sustain virtual water-cooler rehashes on dozens of Web sites and to hold a fun-house mirror up to reality as movies rarely do.

Look back over the past decade. How many films have approached the moral complexity and sociological density of “The Sopranos” or “The Wire”? Engaged recent American history with the verve and insight of “Mad Men”? Turned indeterminacy and ambiguity into high entertainment with the conviction of “Lost”? Addressed modern families with the sharp humor and sly warmth of “Modern Family”? Look at “Glee,” and then try to think of any big-screen teen comedy or musical — or, for that matter, movie set in Ohio — that manages to be so madly satirical with so little mean-spiritedness.

I swear, I’m not trying to horn in on my colleagues’ territory. But the traditional relationship between film and television has reversed, as American movies have become conservative and cautious, while scripted series, on both broadcast networks and cable, are often more daring, topical and willing to risk giving offense.

While I love watching TV every once in a while, it will never take over the role of movies in my life.  I watched some “Mad Men” this summer (too much, in my opinion) and didn’t quite fall in love with it like everyone else.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very good show.  But as I sat there using up hours and hours of moviewatching time, I couldn’t help but remember what I love about the movies.  In their two hours or so, they start and finish an entire story arc.  There’s not any time for beating around the bush.

I think the fact that movies are so concise is something that appeals quite a bit to me.  Sure, TV series have the ability to develop these arcs over time and get us really emotionally invested in characters over time.  But that just adds to the sense of wonder I get from watching movies – if I can get connected enough to care about the characters in such a short amount of time, I know I have watched something great.

Anybody actually jumped ship and gone to the dark side … that is, preferring the small screen over the silver screen?


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Random Factoid #412

13 09 2010

It’s funny what movies can make us do.

I read a lot of books (and I keep a detailed record for them much like I stated that I did for movies in Random Factoid #400).  After seeing the movie “Eat Pray Love” and winning a copy of my book, I decided to delve into Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir.  I’m not a woman, but I definitely did get a lot out of it, particularly from her stay at the ashram.

More notable, though, is that I also used an “Eat Pray Love” bookmark to keep my place in the book.  For seven years now, I have been using the same bookmark that I got on the first day of fifth grade.  It has a Bible verse and a very nice illustration on it, and I have used it for every book I have read since.  Up until now, that is.

This is totally random and probably won’t generate any comments.  Oh, well.  I enjoy using this to chronicle my own personal milestones.


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Random Factoid #411

12 09 2010

Okay, Whiffer, I saw “The American.”  Happy now?  A review should be coming Monday or Tuesday.  I don’t intend to spoil my review with this factoid, but I found an article about the movie that inspired today’s post.  After audiences had little good to say about the movie upon release, The Los Angeles Times dared to ask if moviegoers had fallen victim to a misleading advertising campaign.  Here’s Patrick Goldstein:

I can’t say I was surprised by the moviegoer reaction, since the agonizingly slow-moving film was made by Anton Corbijn, the Dutch filmmaker who was best known for directing such upbeat fare as Metallica videos and “Control,” a dark portrait of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis, who committed suicide at age 23. Of course, the average moviegoer didn’t do an IMDB search before heading off to see “The American.” They were propelled into theaters by Clooney’s cool-guy image and the film’s slick TV spots, which sold the picture as a taut, “Michael Clayton”-style thriller.

Of course, there’s more action in the film’s trailer than in virtually the entire movie. But when you’re a Hollywood marketer, if you have a lemon, you make lemonade. Focus Features could have taken a more conventional approach, debuting the picture at a film festival and giving it a platform release, hoping that Clooney’s star power and a few good reviews (after all, the film did get a decent 61 score from Rotten Tomatoes) might scare up some business.

But Focus must have realized from its early screenings that “The American” had little crowd-pleasing appeal. It was an art-house movie all the way. So they cooked up a batch of TV spots that made the film look like a snazzy thriller, played them incessantly on programs with older-guy appeal (like baseball games, which is where I witnessed the advertising bombardment) and gave the film a wide release, figuring they’d get as many moviegoers as possible before word spread that, in terms of Clooney films, this one had a lot more in common with “The Good German” than “Ocean’s Eleven.”

Here’s why I saw the movie: it was a prestige product from George Clooney and an acclaimed art-house filmmaker that I knew little about.  I figured if Clooney chose to be in his movie, there had to be something there.  (Find out tomorrow/Tuesday if there actually was.)

But most Americans probably just looked at the poster/trailer, saw George Clooney and a gun, and assumed that it would be another one of his Hollywood high-octane thrillers.  It’s really not, and many people probably found themselves wondering why they got an art-house movie instead of a thriller.

As a blogger and overall film obsessed person, I’ve never really fallen prey to misleading advertising, largely because I do the research.  I follow a lot of movies from pre-production to release, which lends me a degree of familiarity with the general mood of every movie.  But I can imagine that less well-read people probably find themselves the victims of false marketing.

Is anyone else immune?


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Random Factoid #410

11 09 2010

Happy Patriot Day, as today has been designated.  Nine years later, we still will never forget.  So forget “The Hurt Locker” and especially forget “Green Zone” today.  I am an American and proud of it; no movie will ever make me feel ashamed of my country.

As you can see, this factoid comes with the poster for the 2000 Mel Gibson movie “The Patriot.”  It’s a nice tie-in with the subject of today’s factoid, the movies I watched in school.  (Conversation starter courtesy of Moviefone’s Inside Movies.)

I remember many a movie I watched in school.  Most of them come from lower and middle school; I recall watching a 40-minute segment of “Gladiator” in my freshman Latin class and all of “Luther” in my sophomore history class.

In my eighth grade history class, I was introduced to the greatness that was “The Last of the Mohicans” and “The Patriot,” two great movies about America around her birth.

In sixth grade, we spent an entire week watching Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” in my Latin class.  It was very entertaining and informative, plenty worth the wait to understand the phrase “I am Spartacus.”

Beyond that, I really can’t think of other movies.  But when I inevitably remember them, they will make for some easy factoid material.


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Random Factoid #409

10 09 2010

I rarely let you know what my friends think of my blog.  They do know, and the longer this whole thing goes on, the less it becomes a talking point.  Now, it’s just an understood part of who I am, much like some people are football players or others are perfect scorers on the ACT (which I’m shooting to be tomorrow!).

Back in Random Factoid #130, I gave you a rare instance of what my friends think:

I don’t know how many of you use Facebook, but there is an app on Facebook called Social Interview that allows you to answer random questions about a person and then post it to their walls.  Here are some of the most recent question/answer pairs I have received:

Q: What was your first impression of Marshall?

A: Man, this guy really likes movies.

Q: What will Marshall be doing in ten years?

A: Reviewing movies.

Glad to know they get me.

I had to turn in 4 “senior grids” today for the yearbook with some questions for friends to fill out.  Every single person put “his blog” under the category known for.  Two people put that I will be Roger Ebert in 20 years.  So it’s not just you select few that read out there that are enjoying this blog, which is comforting to know.


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Random Factoid #408

9 09 2010

Marriage – there’s one in basically every movie.  And like we’ve been taught since middle school, in order for there to be a plot, there has to be conflict.  Marriages don’t get an exemption. 95% of all movie marriages are, in my estimation, either falling apart or struggling to maintain the façade that they are perfectly happy.

I’ve been lucky enough to have two parents that have been happily married for 19 years, so the only time I get to witness such great marital strife is on the big screen.  It’s there that I get the idea that divorce is this hunky-dory thing that happens to two people when they just can’t get along, and that adultery is perfectly acceptable when marriage isn’t working out.  Just look at us glorifying Brad and Angelina as the perfect couple; he cheated on Jennifer Aniston to be with her, and Hollywood thinks its perfectly OK.

Apparently, I’m not the only person noticing this.  I got this idea (which has now turned into a rant) from Cinematical, who observes this:

I do know about ‘movie marriage’, and I’ve come to the sad conclusion that most movie marriages — for the lack of a better word — suck. This epiphany came to me when I was watching the Tina Fey and Steve Carell comedy, “Date Night,” and I noticed that every time the movie would start to find its rhythm, the fun would grind to a halt as our two lead characters would have a heart-to-heart about their marital troubles (talk about a buzz kill).

I know what you’re going to say: “But there has to be conflict!” Sure, but in the case of “Date Night” we already had a big fat conflict — our lovable duo have been mistaken for a criminal couple and were plopped into the middle of a mob shakedown. Watching masters of wacky like Carell and Fey slow their roll for cliched exposition about how hard it is to keep the love alive was a disappointment to say the least, and I had to ask myself: Whatever happened to the ‘Madcap Marrieds’?

I feel like Hollywood has turned movies of marriage into cautionary tales.  Maybe by showing us enough people who disrespect the covenant of marriage, we will in turn be inspired to choose our spouses wisely.  Heaven knows, I don’t want to end up like Frank and April from “Revolutionary Road.”  The couples that are so bad it’s scary are the only ones I remember; I can’t pull a paradigm of happy marriage from a movie off the top of my head.

So what’s the message you are getting from Hollywood marriages?


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Random Factoid #407

8 09 2010

Today’s entry is mainly for the fellow bloggers, but any movie aficionados are welcome to chime in as well.

I love randomly surfing the App Store on my iPhone for movie-related apps.  The other day, I downloaded a freebie in the top 25 called “Movie Quizzle.”  It sounded like something totally up my alley, so I decided to download it and give it a try.

After quizzing myself for five minutes, I had to delete the app because it was so patronizingly easy.  As an obsessive moviegoer, the questions were an insult to my intelligence.  But sometimes an insult to intelligence is good because it reminds you that you have a brain and are intelligent in the first place.

Movie Quizzle isn’t the only thing I’ve sworn off, too.  I don’t play Scene It! anymore because it’s just no fun to play with friends when I know so much and they so little.  I don’t like to gloat, and it’s all too easy to get a big ego for me playing that game.

Anyone else feel like their cinematic knowledge is so far superior to the average bear that any sort of trivia thrown at us just seems too easy?


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Random Factoid #406

7 09 2010

I have no intention of seeing “Piranha 3D” … really, ever.  But for the sequel (which seems strange to already plan given the movie’s lackluster box office receipts), I might be kind of interested.  The folks running the marketing may have come up with the greatest way for moviegoers to participate in creating a movie.  Sorry, I just couldn’t bring myself to say art.

Listen to this proposition (via Cinematical):

We already know a sequel to Alexandre Aja’s rebooting of the “Piranha” series is in the works, and now comes news that The Weinstein Company is planning to let the fans get involved with the story development.

The as yet untitled sequel will take a page out of the Paranormal Activity playbook — not by asking viewers to demand the film, but instead letting them vote on which celebrity they’d love to see turn up in the sequel and die a horrible death. Sounds fun to me — and the possibilities are endless!

The author of the post suggested some great dramatic actors like Meryl Streep, Judi Dench, or Robert DeNiro.  If I had to cast my vote, and I think I will because the opportunity is just too good to pass up, I would choose someone very unlikely to ever take such a role.

So here are my picks.  For female, I’d love to see Tilda Swinton do it because she is so serious about everything.  She stated her days as a “Hollywood spy” are over, which would make taking this role all the more hilarious.  Female runner-up is Marion Cotillard, mainly because I want to see how great a swimsuit they could put her in (hey, I am a guy).  And for the same reason, I’d love to see Leonardo DiCaprio do it as well because like Swinton, he’s made editorial headlines for his stubborn insistence to only take on intensely dramatic roles.  Runner-up for males would be Steve Carell, but only if he played Michael Scott.  The real exit of Michael from “The Office” – he goes on a beach vacation and winds up getting mauled by piranha.


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Random Factoid #405

6 09 2010

Can a movie be too intense?  After premiering at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend, medics have labeled Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” just that.  According to a rep from Fox Searchlight, this is precisely what led to the label:

From what I understand, an older gentleman was light-headed at the first screening (Galaxy) and the medics helped him calm down. Second screening at the Palm was a young woman (maybe 19 or 20) who had a panic attack. Paramedics attended to both people. I didn’t even know about the second incident until after the screening was over and someone told me (I was sitting in the first half of the theater).

The movie is the story of climber Aron Ralston, played by James Franco, who was trapped under a boulder for over 5 days.  He wound up having to take drastic measures to escape, but seeing as he is still alive, it’s hardly a spoiler to say that he was successful.  I won’t ruin how he escapes for those that may not know; however, he didn’t walk out of the canyon unscathed.  Boyle has stated that he wants the movie to be “a challenge for moviegoers.”  I’m very curious to see how he turns being trapped for 5 days into a good movie.  According to the reviews, he uses his typical energetic directing style to do it.

Is there really a need to label a movie “too intense?”  There has been discussion recently to change ratings for 3D movies, which I understand because it can freak little kids out when something comes flying at them from the screen unexpectedly.  But for a hard-hitting, 2D drama film?  Some people can’t handle certain experiences at the movies.  I got motion sickness from “Cloverfield” (as I described in Random Factoid #2–), and it was definitely hard to watch movies with tough subject matter like “Precious,” “Schindler’s List,” and “The Pianist,” just to name a few.

There are certain movies, though, that I believe are made in a stylistic manner that is meant to engage our senses.  The best director out there utilizing such techniques is, in my mind, Darren Aronfosky.  You can’t tell me you didn’t feel a little sick at your stomach watching “Pi” or “Requiem for a Dream.”  I feel like the MPAA ought to include some sort of advisory in their rating that these movies have such stylistic power.

So what do you think?  Does the establishment need to advise the moviegoing public about movies that are going to be intense?


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Random Factoid #404

5 09 2010

Somehow at a dinner conversation tonight, the topic of VHS tapes came about, and I was forced to retrieve the tape of “The Sound of Music” to prove my point.  I opened up the secluded cabinet where the VHS tapes have always been in my house and was absolutely stunned to see the volume of tapes we still own.

Technology is very temporal, and I understand that.  There was the LaserDisc and the BetaMax before the VHS, and you don’t see those being sold at your local Best Buy any more.  As the times have changed, people have adapted.  They might still have their library of LaserDiscs, but chances are they have bought into VHS tapes … and then DVDs … and perhaps now Blu-Ray discs (although my money is on a digital library).  Eventually, novelty becomes necessity, and we look back and see all the money we spent on the technology that has gone the way of the dinosaur.

I looked into that cabinet tonight and saw upwards of 30 VHS tapes that haven’t been watched in well over half a decade.  My family hasn’t owned a VHS player in at least three years, so we haven’t been able to watch them.  But I looked into that cabinet and saw the movies that defined my childhood because VHS was the technology that made moviewatching possible when I was younger. It’s kind of sad to see all those movies sitting there that simply can’t be watched.  I feel like Andy in “Toy Story 3” right now; I can’t just throw them away, can I?

Does anyone else still have their VHS tapes?  If yes, do you still have a VHS player to watch them with?

P.S. – If the “Random Factoid” series wasn’t so rigidly set in terms of titles, I would have called this post “Requiem for a VCR.”


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Random Factoid #403

4 09 2010

This factoid is about 175 too late, but better late that never, right?

I made my first “Marshall and the Movies” licensed product back in March as a thank you to someone who saved my hide during a performance by finding a misplaced prop.  My thank you was two CDs featuring my picks of the best movie music of 2009, both songs and score.  I won’t be making you all one because that would be piracy, but I’d be happy to share my selections with you all and link to any YouTube videos I can.

Have any other bloggers made unofficially licensed gear?  Or am I some sort of pioneer?  While you ponder those two questions, let me lay out my lineup for you below.

Best of 2009 – Songs

  1. This Land Is Your Land (Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings) – “Up in the Air”
  2. Us (Regina Spektor) – “(500) Days of Summer”
  3. Fallin’ and Flyin’ (Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell) – “Crazy Heart”
  4. Almost There (Anika Noni Rose) – “The Princess and the Frog”
  5. You’ve Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger (Beth Rowley) – “An Education”
  6. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths) – “(500) Days of Summer”
  7. Stu’s Song (Ed Helms) – “The Hangover”
  8. Angel in the Snow (Elliott Smith) – “Up in the Air”
  9. All Is Love (Karen O and the Kids) – “Where the Wild Things Are”
  10. Cinema Italiano (Kate Hudson) – “Nine”
  11. All My Days (Alexi Murdoch) – “Away We Go”
  12. Hold On You (Jeff Bridges) – “Crazy Heart”
  13. You Make My Dreams (Hall & Oates) – “(500) Days of Summer”
  14. Help Yourself (Sad Brad Smith) – “Up in the Air”
  15. Three Best Friends (Zach Galifianakis) – “The Hangover”
  16. Cat People (David Bowie) – “Inglourious Basterds”
  17. Smoke Without Fire (Duffy) – “An Education”
  18. I Can See In Color (Mary J. Blige) – “Precious”
  19. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (She & Him) – “(500) Days of Summer”
  20. The Weary Kind (Ryan Bingham) – “Crazy Heart”
  21. I See You (Leona Lewis) – “Avatar”
  22. Candy Shop (The Dan Band) – “The Hangover”
  23. Up in the Air (Kevin Renick) – “Up in the Air”

Best of 2009 – Score

  1. The Green Leaves of Summer – “Inglourious Basterds”
  2. Waltz in the Street – “An Education”
  3. You Don’t Dream in Cryo – “Avatar”
  4. Stillness of the Mind – “A Single Man”
  5. High-Speed French Train – “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
  6. Married Life – “Up”
  7. Discombobulate – “Sherlock Holmes”
  8. Jake’s First Flight – “Avatar”
  9. Jenny’s Theme – “An Education”
  10. Enterprising Young Men – “Star Trek”
  11. Carlos – “A Single Man”
  12. Carl Goes Up – “Up”
  13. Rabbia E Tarantella – “Inglourious Basterds”
  14. Finale – “Nine”

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Random Factoid #402

3 09 2010

Cinematical brought up an interesting topic – foreign movie titles and their relevance.

I’ve had plenty of exposure to them, as anyone who has been reading this blog since January knows.  I spent three weeks in Argentina, driving past plenty of movie theaters and billboards.  Some movies kept the same title (“Sherlock Holmes,” for example, needs no translation).

But there were plenty of wacky titles, my personal favorite being the change from “It’s Complicated” to “Enamorándome de mi Ex,” translated to “In Love with my Ex.”  Not even kidding, I think that’s actually a better title.  I did a whole report before my trip on movies, and an important part of my presentation was the changes in titles.  Since both Argentinians and Americans love movies, they would make great dinner conversations.  It helps to know that “Avatar” is still “Avatar” and “Despicable Me” is “My Favorite Villain” (“Mi Villano Favorito,” for any Spanish scholars out there).

Here are some findings based on the articles report:

“Get Him to the Greek” has received a limited release in Paris, retitled as American Trip, while “Youth in Revolt” has been changed to “Be Bad!”. The former sounds vanilla, though the German version, pictured above, looks better; I prefer the Spanish title, “Todo Sobre Mi Desmadre,” which sounds positively decadent (“All About My Total Chaos?”). But I like the idea of Michael Cera trying to “Be Bad!” (love that added exclamation mark, and the phrase comes straight from the movie). In Mexico it’s known as “La chica de mis suenos” (“The Girl of My Dreams”), which sounds pretty sappy.

It’s interesting to see how movies play under different titles in different countries.  A lot of times it’s because our cultural lingo doesn’t read well outside of America, but sometimes it’s for other reasons.  Any titles you wish you could change in English?  I know I’d change “Knight and Day” to … well, something else.


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Random Factoid #401

2 09 2010

I’ll take “Over-The-Top Movie Promotions” for 400.

Question: What’s the most ridiculously extravagant way to promote “Tron: Legacy?”

What is throwing a massive neon dance party at Disney World?

That is correct!

I’m not slamming the idea, just to be clear.  I see nothing wrong with lavish promotion because clearly Disney is trying to have their “Avatar.”  I’ve never been to a big movie promotional event because those don’t usually happen in Houston.  If I lived and blogged in Los Angeles, then maybe I would have.  I certainly like the idea of studios trying to reach an audience in more creative ways that a TV ad or a trailer.

But this, to me, just seems like a huge expenditure.  It will surely be a sight, have no doubt about that.  As for how effective this will be in marketing the movie is more suspect.

If I was headed to the Disney park, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to see this.  How about you?


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