Random Factoid #359

22 07 2010

It’s really a shame that “Inception” is going to have this stain on its legacy – the massive backlash and brawling between the movie’s ardent admirers and bitter detractors.

I’m not even going to try to capture what happened: the early acclaim, the backlash, the counter-backlash, and endless counter-backlashes.  Lisa Schwarzabaum at Entertainment Weekly did a great job of chronicling the strange critical saga, so I’ll borrow from her:

Critics and bloggers and blogger-critics and readers who like to post on Internet comment boards about those same critics and bloggers are spending a lot of time trashing one another.  The argument is about the early raves, and the critical backlash citing those early raves with disdain, and the reader backlash to the critical backlash, and the tyranny of aggregate scores on Rotten Tomatoes, and on and on and zzzzzz….

I wish I were dreaming this. Instead, the bickering is a waking nightmare at a time when professional movie criticism is being viewed more and more as a rude, elitist intrusion on the popular preferences of a public with greater opportunities than ever before to be your Own Best Critic and let the world in on your thoughts.

…Can we agree that those who love it aren’t brainwashed? Those who don’t like it aren’t snobs?

I will say that I’m not immune to backlash.  In the early months of 2009, as everyone else was discovering “Slumdog Millionaire,” I kept saying it’s good, but it’s not that good.  Maybe it was just pretentiousness as I had seen it months before these bandwagon fans.  Yet I know that hype has ruined many a good movie.  Anticipation really does mess with your perception of good and bad, often times putting your opinions at polar extremes.

You know where I stand on “Inception” (my A grade should say it all), but as long as someone can honestly give me a reason why they don’t like the movie, I’m okay with it.  But there is no place for people who choose not to like a movie just to spite everyone else.  No reason to lower the Tomatometer just because you want to.

It’s been an interesting lesson on the boundaries and limits of film criticism, although I hope that “Inception” hasn’t become a victim of it.


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Two HUGE Milestones!

21 07 2010

Well, folks, as I approach the big day (in a week! ahh!), I’ve hit two big milestones that I have to thank all my readers for helping me achieve.  I don’t like to use statistical benchmarks to measure success, but these are HUGE.

In the past week, I have hit 20,000 views and 1,000 comments!!  It’s a concrete reminder of all the people that I am reaching, and all the people who feel compelled to share their opinions with me.

While I’m at it, I figured I might as well talk about what’s coming up.  The unexpectedly popular “The Origins Project” will run until the end of the month when I will wrap it up with my own answers and a general overview of what we can learn from everyone’s responses.  The Christopher Nolan extravaganza has come and gone, but you can look forward to a lot of reviews from Julianne Moore’s repertoire that I will contribute to the LAMB Acting School on her.

The commenting contest is still going on for the month, and I’m really encouraged to see how many people have commented even though I haven’t played that up very much.  For those who might not have read the announcement back in June, it’s a contest for the top two commenters.  First gets a poster for a Nolan movie; second gets an Amazon.com gift card.  Maybe later I’ll get an early count for those curious…

And beginning on the anniversary is the “Marshall and Julie Project,” a very in-depth reflection on what really got me started blogging: Julie Powell and “Julie & Julia.”  That will run for two weeks or so, and I really hope everyone enjoys it.  It’s definitely going to be very personal and introspective.

Thanks for making July 2010 my biggest month – in TWENTY DAYS!


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Oscar Moment: “Secretariat”

21 07 2010

“Secretariat” – it looks like a mix between Best Picture nominees “Seabiscuit” and “The Blind Side.”  Translation: someone kill me NOW!

I have now begun to hold the inspirational sports movie genre in the same regard as the romantic comedy genre, which is to say not highly.  They are so incredibly formulaic that they only serve to inspire groans now.  There’s really no way to spice up the whole “underdog comes out of nowhere and becomes a champion” storyline.  And if “Secretariat” is anything like its trailer, we are in for a story so improbable we can see the ending a mile away.  The thing about movies based on highly publicized true stories is that they don’t really have the chance to build any real suspense.

Yet I must say, the movie has several good horses in the gate for an Oscar run.  First and foremost is Diane Lane, playing the tenacious sports-loving housewife role that won Sandra Bullock an Oscar last year.  The Academy may not fall head over heels for a one-year-old rerun, but they do love Lane.  She has a prior nomination (for 2002’s “Unfaithful”), and Bullock did not have any sort of history with the Academy.  I don’t think the “she deserves it” factor will be very high with only one nomination, yet they could surprise us.

There’s also John Malkovich, the three-time nominee who is overdue for a statue.  He’s been known for his more powerful characters, and it would be strange to see them reward him for a fairly docile performance as Secretariat’s trainer.  But the ways of the Academy are strange, and if there’s a weak field, Malkovich could always squeeze in for Best Supporting Actor.  The category tends to be pretty sentimental; past years have seen winners like Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin.

And then there’s the movie itself, which probably wouldn’t have a great chance without ten nominees in the Best Picture category.  Yet out of nowhere, the box office hit and mildly well-reviewed “The Blind Side” stunned on nomination day with a nomination.  That movie overcame its mediocrity by playing well with middle America, who doesn’t want to “get” the pompous artsy fare, and becoming a true word-of-mouth phenomenon.  It did help balance out a field of nominees that included “A Serious Man,” “Precious,” “An Education,” and “The Hurt Locker,” to make the list seem to represent the whole of 2009’s cinematic landscape.  So if “Secretariat” manages to garner good reviews and play well all over America, we can’t count it out.  (And hey, “Seabiscuit” did it with five nominees back in 2003 with half the money, although it did have slightly better reviews and a weak field.)

Then again, after “Seabiscuit,” we saw “Dreamer” with Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning, another horse racing movie which bombed financially and critically.  So there is by no means a steady pattern in Academy taste for sports or horse racing movies.  Let’s just hope they don’t start a trend this year.

BEST BETS FOR NOMINATIONS: Best Actress (Diane Lane)

OTHER POTENTIAL NOMINATIONS: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (John Malkovich)


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Random Factoid #358

21 07 2010

Last night, I added a new moviewatching experience to my extensive collection.  But it wasn’t one I wanted to add.

I was fortunate enough to receive passes to an advanced screening of “Salt” last night (review coming tomorrow), but I made the mistake of not reading the time of the screening on the pass.  I assumed it would be 7:30 like every other screening I go to, yet for some reason, this one was at 7:00.  My friend and I got there a little before 6:30 and stuck it out in the standby line until showtime.  We were two of the last three people let in and thus had to sit on … the front row.

I had sat up close before, as I described in Random Factoid #66:

I really like to get to movies early because I prefer sitting in the middle and towards the top.  Usually, I am able to get a reasonable seat.  I can, however, think of two horrible moviegoing experiences that were strongly affected by my seat.

  1. I have described this experience in a previous factoid, but for my 8th birthday party, the theater reserved us a row right behind the railing for “The Grinch.”
  2. I saw “The Reader” from the second row.  I had to crane my neck for two hours to watch a lackluster movie.  Also, Kate Winslet doesn’t look quite as good from such an angle.

But never had I been forced to endure the torture of sitting on the front row.  For those of you with a little bit of geometry under your belt, imagine looking up at the screen at a 60˚ angle of elevation.  Looking straight ahead, I could see the bottom tenth of the screen.  That’s how miserable it was.  It wasn’t watching a movie; it was looking up at a skyscraper that was Angelina Jolie.  It messes with your perception of things too.  People’s heads looked disproportionately small compared to the rest of their body.

Honestly, it makes so mad that theaters put in seats like that.  If I’m going to pay $10 (which I didn’t in this case), I want to be able to actually see the movie.  I feel like the theater should be paying me to sit there – or at the very least not make me pay full tilt.  Or maybe give me a neck massage or something because even today, my neck is SORE!

So has anyone else been the victim of the theater’s front row sadism?


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Origins: CyniCritics

21 07 2010

It’s another two-for-one special today for “The Origins Project” with Matt and Luke for “CyniCritics.” I’m only just discovering their site, but I sure do love their honest and often brutal takes on movies.  The two writers are good friends, and their two takes coexist beautifully.  They have a very versatile site that sports much more than just reviews.  They give especially great answers, and it’s fun to read them play off each other.

What movie began your love affair with cinema?

MATT: When I was really young, I loved Batman Returns and the Lion King. I think the “moment” when it happened was the beginning of the Lion King in the movie theater.
LUKE: The first film I went to on my own was Pirates of the Caribbean in sixth grade and I remember just how fantastic it looked on the big screen. The beautiful landscapes, the Hans Zimmer score and Johnny Depp were all too much for me to forget. I starting paying attention to how the movie was put together rather than just what entertained me, which ended up entertaining me in a whole new way.

When did you start blogging?

MATT: February 2010.
LUKE: That’s the date we started on WordPress with CyniCritics, but we blogged on MySpace years earlier unofficially with a few movie entries.

Why did you start blogging?

MATT: Luke and I thought it would be a good way to develop our skills for our (hopefully) future careers
LUKE: I saw a really nerdy friend on Facebook do music reviews on video and they were just awful. I figured it was about time I started doing film reviews now that there were better mediums than MySpace out there and I could for sure put together something better than that kid did. Besides that, I really like writing about movies.

What has kept you going?

MATT: I enjoy writing about movies.
LUKE: Matt. If I didn’t have him to push me this would never work out. On your blog you don’t get graded, paid or told what to do by your mother. With him around, I feel obligated to post things in a way. Also the success keeps me going. Knowing that when you put out something interesting or well written, people will read it and respond. That’s a good feeling.

Has there been a particular person (or people) that has helped you along the way?

LUKE: Like I said, Matt has help motivate me and does some proofreading for me now and then because I am awful at spelling and grammar.

What’s the best part of being a blogger? The worst?

MATT: The best part is having discussions about the things you are passionate about. The worst is that it doesn’t pay, and also when people view your opinion as stupid just because it’s different than their opinion.
LUKE: The best part is when you write something you know could be published in Entertainment Weekly or the paper. There are sometimes when I feel I could write seven pages about a movie, and it’s great writing. But the worst part is when it is the opposite of that, when you go to start a review or post and nothing comes after hours of sitting in front of the screen.

Has blogging increased or diminished your passion for movies?

MATT: I would say it’s stayed the same, but my writing about them has improved a little bit.
LUKE: I have the same passion. I no longer have the passion to make them, but that is because of something else. Now my passion would be to get to write about them.

What’s your proudest moment as a blogger?

MATT: I can’t really think of a “proudest moment.” I guess I would say looking back at the beginning and looking at now and seeing improvements.
LUKE: My proudest moment is when our negative Fight Club review got a huge backlash. Matt’s analysis and discussion was too valid, educated and well written for a few people to be content with because they loved the film so much so they resorted to saying “you are the over-protective mother figure proud of her inbred child” which gave me a great laugh. It’s like whenever somebody like Lady Gaga becomes so unstoppable yet humble they spread teeny weeny rumors because they are defenseless. When somebody resorts to playground tactics like that, you know you are on to something.

What advice would you give to someone looking to follow their passion? To someone starting a blog of their own?

MATT: Do it… if you’re starting a blog of your own, just write. That’s the most important thing, never mind interactivity or layout. The writing is what they’re there to see, and if it’s good the rest isn’t important.
LUKE: This is where I have to disagree with Matt. Nobody is going to find your blog based on the writing. You have to have the appeal, either an efficient site, networking skills or some type of promoting skills to get people to your site, otherwise nobody is going to be reading s**t. Once you hook them though, you better bring the bait.


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Random Factoid #357

20 07 2010

George Grube (left) with wife Cherri (middle) and Tom Moroch (right)

I’ll be weighing in with more about my origins on my one-year-“blogoversary,” but I had to write about something that has been weighing heavy on my heart recently.  Yesterday, I found out that a man who played a large part in shaping my obsession of movies had passed away.

George Grube was a movie promoter in Oklahoma City, my childhood home.  I go back often and visit family that still lives there, and as a child, my uncle would always take me down to his office, knowing that I loved movies.  The annual visit was a day that I always looked forward to like Charlie anticipated going to Willy Wonka’s factory.  For me, his office was just as magical as any movie set.  They had contacts with Hollywood head honchos, and that was about the coolest thing in the world to me.

He always encouraged me, always applauding my latest efforts.  I wouldn’t be surprised if I came in there with a six-page script asking him to turn it into a movie.  I do know for a fact that in 2002, I came loaded with a sheet of movie slogans that I suggested that he run in his ads.  He was always kind to me and always showed me respect.  I’ll never forget the giddy rush of when he and Michelle, another benevolent movie lover working in his office, would dig into the promotional closet and shower me with all sorts of movie merchandise.  I remember in 2000, they gave me a whole set of stuffed chickens from the movie “Chicken Run,” and I still have one to this day.

George Grube was a man who loved movies and loved sharing that love with everyone else.   That included me, who saw him as not just a man but someone doing what I loved as a career.  While other kids wanted to be firemen or sports players, I wanted George Grube’s job.  His kindness whenever I visited his office was definitely something that kept my love of movies at such an extremely high level, and he is easily one of the early shapers of the fanaticism I still display to this day.

So here, I give a cheer to the incredibly influential man and the great life he lived.  Without him, you might not be reading this blog.


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REVIEW: Cold Souls

20 07 2010

Paul Giamatti is usually a pretty funny guy; his facial movements alone can illicit a few good laughs.  But not even he has the power to fill the emptiness of “Cold Souls.” Giamatti hasn’t exactly shied away from some pathetic characters in the past, and he has infused them with plenty of neuroses.  Yet for some reason, the whole act just falls flat here.

I get that the movie is a criticism of the capitalist society that we live in, and it’s one of those “intelligent satires” that aren’t exactly meant to entertain us so much as make us think.  It wouldn’t bother me so much had I not seen an excellent movie called “Being John Malkovich” that does everything that this movie so desperately wanted to do, and it does it flawlessly.

Apparently, writer/director Sophie Barthes wants us to think that soul extraction is the new therapist’s couch.  Giamatti, that is, a fictionalized version, undergoes this operation to make his work on a play easier.  He becomes disappointed at how small his soul looks in its glass container and throws a nice little fit.

And from there on out, it’s pure agony to watch Giamatti soullessly sulk around the screen, barely saying a word.  The plot collapses as there is some sort of “soul trafficking” issue going on in Russia that we are supposed to care about, but by that point, it’s so easy to just tune out everything that’s going on and be thankful you have a soul.

Strangely enough, I really enjoyed the movie whenever David Strathairn was on screen.  Too bad that was only for a few minutes.  C- /


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Origins: Dan the Man’s Movie Reviews

20 07 2010

Today’s entry in “The Origins Project” comes courtesy of Dan the Man – or as his comments say, CMrok93 – of “Dan the Man’s Movie Reviews.” Gotta love the few 17-year-old movie bloggers out there, and Dan is doing it big over at his site. I really enjoy reading what other people my age can write, and I most certainly love reading Dan’s reviews. Want to know what gets other teens started? Read on, my friends.

What movie began your love affair with cinema?

The one movie that began my love affair with cinema would have to be “Saving Private Ryan.” The film had me so mesmerized by how great and beautiful cinema could actually be.

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging around the summer of last year. I had a terrible first site, I was part of Freewebs and it just didn’t work out, and since October of last year, I have been here, writing day in, and day out.

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging cause I wanted show people my love for films and most of all for writing. I had opinions on movies that I really wanted to get out there, and the best ways to let it out there, is by writing.

What has kept you going?

The one thing that has kept me going is the support I get from the viewers. If it weren’t for the fellow reviewers and viewers who constantly comment, and give me pointers on how to get better, my job would have been done a long long time ago.

Has there been a particular person (or people) that has helped you along the way?

Many people have helped me out, but the main person has to be Aiden R., from Cut the Crap Movie Reviews. He was the main person who influenced me to get into movie reviewing, and when he gave me tips on how to get better as a reviewer, and even better blogger, it was just perfect. It’s even weirder how he knows my sister, but hey it’s a small world after all.

What’s the best part of being a blogger? The worst?

The worst part is probably the time it takes up. Usually when you watch movies some of them are incredibly long, and can almost take up half of your day. However, the best part is actually getting to see your material finished, and see the people who respond back to it. Also, getting linked by other bloggers is cool, because you actually feel like someone took their time to read your certain piece of material, and put it out there for everyone to see.

Has blogging increased or diminished your passion for movies?

Increased a buttload. I have never looked at films the way I do now. I know so much more about the detail, effort, and production that is put into film, and I have came to respect almost every film for what it is.

What’s your proudest moment as a blogger?

My proudest moment so far, has probably been getting accepted into LAMB. I was a blogger for over a year, and asked if I could join like 3 times, until I finally got in. I was so happy, I couldn’t believe it that I was now part of the big group. I know it all sounds dumb to some, but for me, as much as I tried, it was basically someone saying “here’s the credit for all your hard work, welcome”. I’m still waiting for that Lammy though.

What advice would you give to someone looking to follow their passion? To someone starting a blog of their own?

Always write your exact feelings on a movie. Don’t be afraid to express your feelings if you hate a movie that everybody else likes, or a movie you like that everybody else hates. Keep on writing all the time, cause you’ll keep your material fresh. And most importantly, stay true to yourself. And never let other people tell you what to write or how to write it. Your heart and your soul is the one thing that should always go into your work.


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Random Factoid #356

19 07 2010

I thought that perhaps Christopher Nolan had performed inception on me and that I might start having dreams about the movie.  Surprisingly, it hasn’t happened.  Mal hasn’t jumped out to kill me … yet.

But I have started to feel like I’ve been hallucinating – or in a dream – a little bit more often than usual.  Almost as soon as I left the theater, I feel like a pedestrian came out of nowhere and walked in front of my car.  A projection?  Doubtful.

And then there was the other day when I was reading my book out in the sunshine.  A cloud had covered up the sun for a little while, but then I felt those rays hitting me with their fiery Houston intensity.  I looked up and saw the cloud – moving in the opposite direction as if it had just done a 180.  A paradox?  Perhaps.

No one try to shoot me to wake me up or anything.  Now I know all these weird moments from here on out I will blame on “Inception.”


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REVIEW: Grown Ups

19 07 2010

In “Grown Ups,” Adam Sandler and friends have three stages: childish, adolescently juvenile, and grown up.

When they are childish, the movie is old and trite.  We’ve seen all the bathroom humor, boob humor, fat humor, hot girl humor, and racial humor Sandler can throw at us.  It was funny in the ’90s whenever movies like “Billy Madison” and “Happy Gilmore” were rocking the comedy scene.  But Sandler hasn’t changed his game much since then, and it’s time to move on from the silly and stupid just to get a quick laugh.  In fact, I usually just groan now.

When they are adolescently juvenile, the movie takes flight.  I assume that a lot of this is outside the lines, improvisational stuff.  I felt like I was watching them brainstorming one-liners for SNL in the writer’s room.  It’s like they are reaching out and including us in these creative sessions as they just rattle off joke after joke.  They have some clever wordplay and witty situations when they are at this level, and it’s where they should dwell more often.

When they are grown up, the movie is corny and laughable.  There’s that obligatory “oh, we’ve been joking the whole time, let’s grow up quickly and have a lesson” scene towards the end that derails all the comedic momentum the movie built up.  And this one is so bad and so out of place I can only hope Sandler and pals meant it to play off as a giant joke.

All comics are not created equal, as the movie shows us.  Sandler writes the best for himself, making he and his wife, played by the gorgeous and incredibly out of place Salma Hayek, the only normal ones.  Compared to him, the successful Hollywood agent, we are supposed to assume that everyone else is a loser in comparison to him.  There’s the Mr. Mom played by Chris Rock, the obese therefore butt of jokes played by Kevin James, the creepy bachelor played by David Spade, and the just plain creeper played by Rob Schneider.  Spade’s bits are stale, Rock is fair, Chris Farley’s doppleganger James is good enough not to make us yearn for the late star, and Schneider is as good as he’s ever been – which is to say that he wasn’t funny then and he’s not funny now.

So in the end, it’s that creative spark that comes from just reeling off one-liners and playing off each other that saves the movie from being a total disaster.  It’s that more refined immaturity that we don’t get nearly enough of that keeps us coming back to Sandler’s movies.  Because we don’t want Adam Sandler to grow up so much as just move on.  C /


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Origins: Paragraph Film Reviews

19 07 2010

Today’s “The Origins Project” entry chronicles Paul of “Paragraph Film Reviews.” He’s been providing succinct takes on movies for quite some time now, and I love reading them as a nice change of pace to everyone else’s (often myself included) long and verbose reviews.  He even included his own screenshot for the post.  Now there’s a guy that’s on top of things.

What movie began your love affair with cinema?

Not one, but the entire James Bond series. Seeing such a suave character living on the edge, saving the world, getting the girl, kicking ass and trotting the globe was just the best kind of movie experience and escapism you could hope for as a kid. Watched the VHS box-set every year when I was a nipper and just bought the DVDs to re-run the fun and get a Bond feature for the site.

When did you start blogging?

July 2009; I had a few days of sickness at home and had been toying with the idea for a while so collated all of my short reviews from a local music forum then posted them up online.

Why did you start blogging?

Main reason for the site is to document every film I ever watch. At university I was hitting 3 per day and trying to remember which films were which (let alone good or bad) is a nightmare. Between a review and the tags I have a much better chance at remembering what ‘that good Asian cop flick’, ‘that one with the car chase’ or ‘that one good Ryan Reynold’s film’ was way down the line.

What has kept you going?

Being able to look back to my year-old reviews and remember watching a film like it was yesterday means the site’s serving its purpose. The community aspect is fantastic too, a lot of readers will tell you what they think of a film and your review – good or bad – which is always great to hear. Sure the site would still be going without the comments and contributions, but it would be hella boring.

Has there been a particular person (or people) that has helped you along the way?

My girlfriend’s been really supportive of the site; especially seeing as my new natural state is either watching a film or being hunched over the laptop writing / reading / commenting on the site and my awesome blogroll. She has also sat through some god-awful films, for which I could never repay her!

What’s the best part of being a blogger? The worst?

Best: having a legitimate excuse to get into advance screenings! Discovering new films through other review sites. Engaging with people that have as much passion about movies as you have. Being involved in huge arguments & debates.
Worst: Wish the reviews would write themselves. I always say that taking a page full of notes on a film then trying to cut it down to a single, concise paragraph is probably as time consuming as writing regular reviews. Also, thinking about your review in the middle of watching a film is also quite annoying.

Has blogging increased or diminished your passion for movies?

Increased. Dramatically. I was always a film buff before but now I feel withdrawal symptoms if I go a couple of days without watching a film or posting on the site.The BluRay/DVD collection has expanded three-fold since starting up the site.

What’s your proudest moment as a blogger?

A small, self-serving, site like Paragraph Film Reviews will be under the radar forever. I don’t have major aspirations of going pro, getting published or winning awards (although wouldn’t turn stuff like that down if they came my way!!). Knowing there’s a hardcore of about 20 people who care enough about what I write to check the site regularly and chip in with their own comments and opinions is always reassuring.

What advice would you give to someone looking to follow their passion? To someone starting a blog of their own?

Here’s a quick list of the stuff I wish I had known on day one:

Start as soon as you can; you’ll wish you’d done it years ago.
Don’t worry about your first few weeks/months; it takes a while to get into your stride and hone your own style.
Be honest with yourself; a lot of movie reviewers ‘go with the flow’ and mark a film depending on how it’s generally received. Don’t worry about being the stick in the mud, tell it like you see it and readers will genuinely respect you more.
Watch a film just before you review it: remember how awesome you thought a film was when you were ten years old, drunk or stoned? (you’re a legend if it’s all three) Watch it again to make sure you’re still in the same camp!
Review the movie, don’t re-tell the entire plot. Easily the biggest and most infuriating mistake of many ‘review’ sites – a sentence or two should cover the plot, any more and you’re probably in spoiler territory anyway.
Persevere; you won’t get 1,000 readers instantly, but once you’ve been discovered and indexed by google the growth is steady.
Drip drop; post semi-regularly instead of bunching reviews together. Start aiming for 2-3 posts a week to keep people interested and coming back to your site.
Most importantly, enjoy it! This should be a fun hobby, not a chore. If you ever feel like you may loathe watching films GET IN ZE CHOPPA and escape before it’s too late!!!!


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Random Factoid #355

18 07 2010

Relax, no “Inception” spoilers here.  Although if you were like me a few days ago and want to know literally nothing about the movie, I’d stray away from this post.

And if you were expecting me to shut up about “Inception” once I saw the movie and posted my review, dream on.  I’m just getting started.

What a crazy ending.  Didn’t want to talk about it in the review, but it has everyone talking.  The internet is aflutter with theory after theory, and all I can say is woah.  I could barely take in the plot in one sitting, and you all were able to take this away?

Moviegoers like that absolutely astound me.  And by that, I mean that I don’t understand how people can get so deep into the core of a multi-layered movie like “Inception” in one setting.  No, I am not one of them.  I can only look with amazement at the people on the open InContention thread or the EW PopWatch post.

I doubt I will ever be able to come up with a sophisticated theory on a movie, mainly because I’m just not that kind of a person.  I can piece together my own theory but only after reading several others.  I’m not capable of watching a movie and then coming up with my own with only what I have ingested as my guide.

If anyone wants to post their thoughts on the ending, I guess I can open up the comments to theories and what not.  Spoilers are fair game and welcome, in fact, there.  So if you haven’t seen the movie, DON’T LOOK AT THE COMMENTS BECAUSE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!


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REVIEW: The Kids Are All Right

18 07 2010

Lisa Choldenko’s “The Kids Are All Right” may not have everything right, but it’s most certainly better than just alright. Her witty and insightful script is enormously entertaining, finding that perfect median between comedy and drama that so many filmmakers struggle to achieve.

Perhaps the most impressive facet of the film is how effortlessly it nails family dynamics. Nic and Jules (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) are a married lesbian couple with two children, Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson), whom they have raised to success in academics and athletics, respectively. No matter what your take is on Proposition 8, you have to admire how much this family can be any family. They hug, they kiss, they laugh, they banter, they bicker, they argue, and they love just like any other family. And it’s also incredible how Cholodenko manages to tranquilize any sort of awkwardness that might ensue from the whole “two moms” situation.

For reasons that are never quite fully explained, Laser and Joni decided to make contact with their biological father, the ungrounded Paul (Mark Ruffalo). He’s more put together than the trainwreck Ruffalo played in “You Can Count On Me” but not by much. A college drop-out who gave his seed to the sperm bank mainly for the money, he’s coasted by on casual relationships to get by. When the kids enter his life, he feels a sort of connection that taps into a longing for something more significant in life. At first, Paul meets the kids in secret, just coming to the reality that his own seed could produce something living. But looking to forge something deeper, he finds that there’s just no way around meeting Nic and Jules. He becomes a presence in the life of the family, not always welcome, and definitely causing dramatic changes for everyone.

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Origins: Top 10 Films

18 07 2010

Today’s “The Origins Project” post spotlights Dan of “Top 10 Films” (.co.uk).It’s a site for all those who don’t get enough Top 10 list action each night on David Letterman.  It’s a site full of fascinating lists ripe for reading.  He’s just making an appearance on my radar, although I can’t speak for anyone else, as of a few months ago, but I can’t wait to read more from him.

What movie began your love affair with cinema?

Great question. My earliest memories of cinema are of the horror films that scared me as a child. Of course, I didn’t know it then, but they were the films that fully immersed me in the wonder of cinema. Spielberg’s Jaws and John Landis’ An American Werewolf In London were two of the most prominent films I remember from childhood. But I think the film that really began my love affair with cinema was James Cameron’s Aliens. I saw it when I was seven years old and it was one of the most exhilarating cinematic experiences of my life.

When did you start blogging & Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging in 2006 with my blog Strange Conversation. I had been a critic for DVD Times in the UK for five years and through a combination of finishing university and the desire to set up a website of my own, I started writing entirely for my blog. In 2009 I wanted to make use of the domain name I had bought over a year previously. So Top10Films was born – a site originally set up to post top 10 lists with paragraph-long reviews but has grown since then to include features on classics scenes, double features, film reviews, articles, reader’s votes, and more.

What has kept you going?

I think most bloggers are, first and foremost, writers. It’s that enjoyment of the written word and putting it out there for an audience – big or small – that keeps the passions burning. A friend once said being a film critic justified watching an unhealthy amount of movies. I tend to agree with that.

Has there been a particular person (or people) that has helped you along the way?

I wouldn’t say there has been one person who has helped me along the way. The encouragement I received while writing for DVD Times (now known as The Digital Fix) was great, and my time writing there certainly improved me as a film critic. It also introduced me to hundreds of films I hadn’t seen. Of course, receiving free DVDs to review was an added bonus!

What’s the best part of being a blogger? The worst?

The best part is the community you become part of. You meet like-minded people who appreciate your work. I suppose the worst part is the feeling that you’re not being read, or the fact there’s little monetary value to the hours of hard work. But it goes back to why you do it in the first place. If the passion is still there, you enjoy doing it, and you’re continuing to grow as a writer and a person, the good things far outweigh the bad.

Has blogging increased or diminished your passion for movies?

Writing about film improves your appreciation of the medium and art in general. For this reason I think blogging can only increase your passion for movies.

What’s your proudest moment as a blogger?

Although the Meme awards are passed around like the common cold the first one I received after only a couple of months of the site been up and running was definitely a proud moment. To receive others since then really makes the hard work worth it. Total Film magazine in the UK put together its 600 Blogs You Might Have Missed and Top10Films is one of them which has certainly brought in a few more hits, and the site was also recently added to Flixster’s Certified Blogs list which was great.

What advice would you give to someone looking to follow their passion? To someone starting a blog of their own?

You know if a blog is getting a lot of readers if it is receiving a lot of comments. Write about what interests you and know that blogging is as much a way of learning as it is an outlet for your creativity and interests. But blogging is also hugely communal and that means reading and communicating with other fellow writers. My advice would be to reach out to bloggers with similar interests – comment on their blogs, share links, offer advice. And if you want to get more readers use social networking as a tool for promotion. Twitter is great for this.


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Categories : Marshall and the Movies, The Origins Project

Random Factoid #354

17 07 2010

This picture was taken from the post.

This is a question mainly for WordPress bloggers – mainly because I don’t know how Blogger/Blogspot does things.

You know that weird section on your “blog stats” page called INCOMING LINKS?  It’s where you see who has linked to you; I guess a sort of alternative pingback.  Mine is usually filled with LAMBscores, LAMB Chops, etc.

But recently, there has been a strange link in there that just will not go away.  It’s a post from a sketchy looking site called “The Blog Conglomerate” called What Are New York’s “Boyfriend Politicians” Doing to Single Women…

Now, I don’t write about anything other than the movies, so it struck me as very strange that I would be linked to from this post.  I looked around and eventually found that my Random Factoid #325 was listed under their “Related Websites.”  That factoid, for everyone’s information, was about the late Pixar animator Joe Ranft.  Nothing to do with politics.

So I have to ask – has this happened to anyone else?  This is just really, really strange, and I don’t quite know what to make of it.


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