Origins: M. Carter at the Movies

2 07 2010

“The Origins Project” continues with M. Carter of “M. Carter at the Movies,” another very early discoverer of this blog. She has consistently been a great commenter and supportive blogger. Recently, she won the Best Blog Award from the Large Association of Movie Blogs’ (LAMB) awards program, the LAMMYs.

Why did you start blogging?

For a few years I worked at a small newspaper in South Carolina, and while there I started writing reviews for the Friday issue of the paper. The reviews proved to be way more popular than I anticipated; because my mugshot ran with each column, I got stopped many times and called “That Movie Girl.” When I took a new job and moved, I couldn’t give up reviewing cold turkey, so my dentist (the South – everyone’s a character) and a friend suggested I start a movie blog.

What has kept you going?

Without the encouragement of fellow bloggers, I’d likely still be blogging just once a week, never watching films outside my comfort genres. They hold me accountable; they push me to watch new things; and they challenge me to explain WHY I love or hate certain films.

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

Without the encouragement of fellow bloggers, I’d likely still be blogging just once a week, never watching films outside my comfort genres. They hold me accountable; they push me to watch new things; and they challenge me to explain WHY I love or hate certain films.

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

Some people watch movies and go on living their lives. Movies ARE my life; I live as much inside that screen as I do in the real world. And the thing I truly love about blogging is it connects me to movie nerds the world over, people who can argue violently about whether Darth Vader is technically a villain or an antihero. The worst thing? It pays peanuts.

Has blogging increased or diminished your passion for movies?

Blogging has added another dimension to my movie love because now, love a movie or hate it, I get to talk about it with people just as nerdy as I am. People in the real world, for example, will give you funny looks if you regularly work “Let’s work up a No. 6 on ’em.”

What’s your proudest moment as a blogger?

Probably I should say “Winning the LAMMY for Best Blog was the highlight of my blogging career.” It certainly was; there’s no mistaking that. But really every time I find someone who loved “Sideways” because of Paul Giamatti’s long look at Virginia Madsen, or can sing “The Ballad of Brave Sir Robin”? That day’s a good day too.

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

Dear Future Blogger: Network like a maniac, but don’t burn yourself out – remember that you’re doing this because you love films. If you write from the heart, people will know and respect that.

Also, don’t ever say you don’t like Stephen Spielberg. People in America get killed for that.

Check out “The Origins Project” when the Mad Hatter talks about his motives for being in the blogosphere.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (July 2, 2010)

2 07 2010

This week’s “F.I.L.M.” is Nicole Holofcener’s probing social comedy “Friends with Money.” If you look at the poster and see Jennifer Aniston and instantly think, “This movie is going to be stupid,” be prepared to think twice. It’s an incredibly, perhaps surprisingly, deep look at the effects of money and social class on four friends in Los Angeles. It rounds all the bases, touching on all the big issues that an obsession with money can bring.

Jane (Frances McDormand) is a successful fashion designer who is perhaps the most money-driven of the bunch. She unabashedly and unashamedly asks people about how much money they make, how much they are donating, and how much they spend. Whether it’s because of her crumbling marriage or potentially entering menopause, she has become increasingly frank and short-tempered.

Franny (Joan Cusack) is a trust fund baby living comfortably with her husband and child. She’s a little shy talking about how much money she has, largely because of its source.

Christine (Catherine Keener) is a television writer, teamed with her husband (Jason Isaacs). Giddy from the rush of money, she decides to expand their house upwards to see the ocean without considering its effect on her neighbors. But marital frustrations begin to take its toll on her work; however, they also open her eyes to how her actions have unexpectedly affected the world around her.

Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) is their idea of a charity case friend. She’s quit her job as a teacher to become a maid. She’s single and hasn’t had a steady boyfriend in years. She still smokes pot and wanders through life with no direction or sense of purpose.

Each of the women undergoes a metamorphosis over the course of the movie’s 88 minutes. Holofcener creates four wonderfully elaborate women whose stories unfold before our very eyes. The character study is incredibly effective and entertaining, largely due in part to the wittiness of the script.

But the movie is carried by the actresses, all of whom give wonderful performances. Joan Cusack plays nothing new – the mildly insecure but ultimately warmhearted woman – but it’s a comfortable territory for her and thus comfortable for us to watch. Catherine Keener undergoes one of the movie’s biggest transformations, and she nails it with her typical pitch-perfect grace. Frances MacDormand is absolutely hysterical as she speaks her mind with no filter.

And bring on the puzzled looks – the star of “Friends With Money” is Jennifer Aniston. Her Olivia is by far and away the film’s most complicated character, and in the hands of Aniston, she is completely realized. We can buy every move she makes and feel the emotion behind each line. All you Jennifer Aniston haters out there, watch this movie. You may not be silenced, but it should shut you up for a little while.


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Random Factoid #339

2 07 2010

Even from a young age, my mom knew how to use my obsession with movies to get me to do what she wanted.

She noticed that in most of the movies I watched, the villains had disgustingly long nails. We both noticed how nasty Ruber’s were in the 1998 animated film “Quest for Camelot,” and from that day forth, she has called long nails “Ruber Nails.”

12 years later, when I slack on nail hygiene, she’s still there saying, “Gross! You have Ruber Nails. You need to go trim them!”

Although after seeing “Doubt” and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s nasty nails, they could easily have been renamed “Philip Seymour Hoffman Nails.” But “Ruber Nails” had been in place for too long, and it’s also a lot easier to say.


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Origins: Central Florida Film Critic

1 07 2010

“The Origins Project” begins with James DeAmara, the Central Florida Film Critic. James was the first blogger to comment on “Marshall and the Movies.”

What movie began your love affair with cinema?

That is tough to say. The Disney classics had a profound effect on me as a child, as we all did, and the original “Toy Story” made me re-think what was possible. I happened upon “The Royal Tenenbaums” when I was only 13, and even though I did not understand it, I fell in love and became known as the kid who likes “weird movies”. It was “No Country for Old Men”, though, that completely blew the mind and led to the obsessive type of film-watching that I do today.

When did you start blogging?

I had begun writing reviews on a football forum in November of 2008, but I officially started “Central Florida Film Critic” on January 14th of 2009.

Why did you start blogging?

Christopher McCandless, immortalized in the splendid “Into the Wild”, famously wrote “Happiness only real when shared”, and that explains it. Film needs to be discussed in order to refine our appreciation of its positives and negatives, and to challenge our opinions on the quality of the product. While I adore my real-life circle of friends, they are not cinephiles, and as a result I have no one to discuss these things with. A blog allows me to rant about how great or bad a film is and allow the commenters, often very smart and astute bloggers themselves, to tell me I am crazy or right on target.

What has kept you going?

A few times I have thought of giving it up for more real pursuits, but there is nothing like getting positive feedback on a lengthy criticism or a defense of a film I dismissed that makes me re-think its strengths. I do not think I could function without the type of immediate impact I can get from blogging. I can write a rant, post it, go to sleep or to class, and come back and have someone who has read my entire post and given me feedback. It is great stuff.

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

I have been inspired by many different people, and I fear I may leave them off the list. Emily of Cinebrooding.com showed me that a blog is more interesting when the author is open and loud about their favorites, rather than trying to play it like some sort of objective approach. In that same vein, M. Carter of mcarteratthemovies.wordpress.com showed me a type of more personal reviewing style, rather than approaching it like a research paper, as I often had and still do sometimes. Your [Marshall’s] random factoid segments inspired me to structure the whole thing less formally, and to just go with whatever is on my mind, which is what blogs should do.

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

The best part is getting acclaim for a point made or generally liking the correct movies. That always feels nice. The worst part is feeling a certain obligation to watch things I would rather not. Anyone who reads my blog knows I am more passionate about arthouse and foreign film than most mainstream fare, but when everyone is talking about a certain film, I sort of need to see it to stay relevant. It is what led me to break my theater ban and go see “Toy Story 3”, which while I certainly did not regret, upsets the natural order of things.

Has blogging increased or diminished your passion for movies?

It is hard to say, but I think I look at films more structurally knowing I will eventually write about them. Being a blogger has increased my film snob elitism, which makes it harder to relate to my friends who were wowed by something like “Jonah Hex” or are excited for the newest installment in the albino vampire movie series.

What’s your proudest moment as a blogger?

Easily, when Chad Hartigan became a regular commenter. He is probably best known as the box office analyst for the Oscar site InContention.com, but he is also a director of some promise and skill. Also, he has fantastic taste.

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

Firstly, never trust a policeman in a raincoat, and secondly, just be yourself. If you are trying to do things the way you think they ought to be done, you will be miserable and people will be uninterested. Passion shows, so go for that.

Check out “The Origins Project” when M. Carter talks about why she blogs.


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Shameless Advertisement #15 – July

1 07 2010

Well, folks, Anniversary Month has arrived. But before we start all those festivities, it’s time to start off the month like I do any normal month – with a shameless advertisement. Because like it or not, us movie bloggers wouldn’t be here without the movies.

Only three movies managed to get votes for the most anticipated of July. Second place, with two votes, went to M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender.” I hope you’re onto something; maybe it will be a return to form for the battered director. Sneaking in at the last minute to gain one vote was “Predators,” another reboot in a summer replete with them.

But, with a whopping six votes, and convincing me that everyone who reads (or at least votes) is sane, the winner is…

Read the rest of this entry »


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Random Factoid #338

1 07 2010

I’m not much of the investing type.  I stay interested in the stock market, but I’ve never really given any serious thought to buying any stock.  At my age, I’m more interested in keeping my money in the bank and taking it out when I need some extra moviegoing money.

But thankfully, someone thought about investing for me.  Probably about a decade ago, some family members got me a $10 share of Disney stock.  They picked a stock that obviously had more sentimental value than monetary value.  The certificate sits nicely in a drawer in my room.  I think I saw it a few days ago doing some cleaning.

But sure enough, once a year, I get a tiny check from Disney.  It’s little more than pocket change, but I happily deposit it.  The check is always good for a smile, if nothing else.


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REVIEW: Green Zone

30 06 2010

Let’s just clear up the misconceptions from the get-go: I won’t be reviewing “Green Zone” as if it were the fourth installment of the Bourne series. Just because it’s a reunion of Matt Damon with director Paul Greengrass does not mean that they are going to keep making shades of the same movie. Assuming so would mean that you see no difference between “Taxi Driver” and “Goodfellas” – both were directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Robert DeNiro.

The only similarity you might see between Damon and Greengrass’ latest collaboration and the Bourne trilogy is the shaky camera action. Directors usually shoot their movies in a similar style save that it fits, so there’s really no grounds for a comparison. Unless, of course, you like to relate potentially nauseating experiences.

Call it “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” for the Iraq Era, if you must find some movie to compare it to. Instead of having its heart rooted in the wholesome simplicity of small-town values, though, “Green Zone” is rooted in CNN cynicism. Damon’s Roy Miller is a captain leading the unit searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) who sees his duties as very black and white. Either the WMDs are at the site or they aren’t. But he is operating in a decidedly gray moral atmosphere, where war wages between the CIA and the Pentagon once the Iraqis are defeated.

The debate rages on how to incorporate the native people into the new regime in post-“Mission Accomplished” Iraq, yet Miller can’t stop thinking about the past. Questioning American motives at a time when the country is still trying to justify their invasion doesn’t make Miller very popular, and he is forced to wander slightly outside his boundaries to get the answers he wants. He doesn’t so much as go Sarah Palin-style rogue as he tracks down the truth, but he’s hunted as such.

Or maybe you should call it the anti-“The Kingdom,” Peter Berg’s 2007 film that presented a fictionalized version of the Riyadh compound bombing in Saudi Arabia. As Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, and Jason Bateman work to hunt down the terrorists who took innocent lives, you can’t help but feel a surge of confidence that our country is doing whatever is necessary to prevent the monstrosities of 9/11 from ever happening again. Unlike “The Kingdom,” we are meant to feel ashamed of our country in “Green Zone” for doing what it thought was the right thing, even if it might not have been for all the right reasons. All politics aside, it never feels good to be ashamed of your country. B- /


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Random Factoid #337

30 06 2010

I love a good surprise.

Some of my favorite movies are ones with twist endings.  It’s always such a thrilling feeling to be headed one direction for an entire movie and then have filmmakers pull the rug out from under you.  We celebrate plot twists, and they have made two directors with huge movies coming out in July – M. Night Shyamalan and Christopher Nolan.

But as I watched “Memento,” which I knew had a plot twist, I felt strange.  I was expecting the unexpected, which obviously makes the twist much more … expected and less effective.

Ditto for “The Sixth Sense,” which did actually get me though, and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” whose plot twist I managed to call because I knew it was coming.

So is it really fair for us as bloggers to say that a movie has a twist?  Do we rob the thrill from the next moviegoer, who would be caught much more off-guard had they not been alerted?

Should I have even mentioned “Memento” and the movies that I did?


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Shameless Advertisement #14 – Banks Lee & The Three Clicks

29 06 2010

I have to give this guy a shameless advertisement.  I’m calling it right now – this could be the next Julie Powell and “Julie & Julia.”

Banks Lee was featured in an article that ran on Yahoo’s frontpage on Friday, and I caught wind of his blogging project through that article.  Listen to his quest:

My name is Banks Lee, and I’m a big guy. Not obese, but still big. I’m 6’2″ and weigh roughly around 310 lbs. Why am I telling you this? Because I am not able to fit onto the new Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey attraction at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, FL.

But don’t worry. This blog is not to criticize Universal Orlando for not making the ride vehicles roomier. No, this blog is to chronicle my journey to get into shape and lose enough weight to be able to get on Forbidden Journey. Even when I achieve this goal, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop exercising or eating right.

The name “The Three Clicks” comes from a rule that Universal Studios has that the shoulder restraint has to click three times into the belt.

The whole project has a whole bunch of stuff that Americans love.  We love people losing weight.  “The Biggest Loser” is a hugely successful show and Jillian Michaels is a celebrity because it makes us feel good to see people transform their lives.  It gives us confidence that we can take off a lot of weight if we put ourselves to it.  And it involves “Harry Potter,” a literary phenomenon that pretty much everyone has read.  And if they haven’t read it, they’ve probably seen the movies.  It seems like a golden combination.

So go over to “Banks Lee & The Three Clicks” and support what could be an enormously popular quest to be fit.  Even if it doesn’t succeed or become a pop culture phenomenon in its own light, you’ll be helping someone become healthier.


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Random Factoid #336

29 06 2010

Ok, just ignore the graphic to the side.  It’s just meant to look good … it doesn’t have what I want to talk about in it.  I couldn’t find any picture with what I needed, so I picked the one with Samuel L. Jackson.  He’s usually good enough to make up for flaws.

Anways, ever wonder what people do that you see in the credits?  Whenever the director decides to put the key figures in the opening credits, we get to see a whole bunch of assorted production figures first in the ending credits.

When that happens, the first person we see is almost always the “unit production manager.”  So the other day, I started wondering to myself, “What on earth does a unit production manager do?”

Well, for those of you wondering like me, here’s what they do (according to IMDb):

An executive who is responsible to a senior producer for the administration of a particular movie. Unit Production Managers only work on one film at a time. Only DGA members can be called Unit Production Managers.

If you didn’t know, now you know.  So the next time you go to the movies, brag to the people you came with that you know what a unit production manager does.


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LAMB Alert: “My Best Friend’s Wedding” Casting

29 06 2010

As you may recall in my post announcing my victory in the “LAMB Casting” contest for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” I had the option of choosing the next movie to be recast.  I have chosen. I decided to take “LAMB Casting” in an entirely different direction that I hope will be fun and enjoyable for all.  The movies that have been recast in the past have been very serious, Oscar-type movies like “Doubt” and “The Color Purple.”  My choice is in an entirely different genre: romantic comedy. “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” released in 1997, remains one of my favorite romantic comedies because it is charming, funny, and does not adhere to the formula.  It features Julia Roberts, who was achieving superstardom at the time, and Cameron Diaz, just beginning her own rise.  Dermot Mulroney, the romantic interest, used the movie as a catapault out of indies and into mainstream.  And then there’s Rupert Everett who is just an absolute laugh riot. I want to encourage every LAMB to participate in the event because it’s just too much fun to miss out on.  So as a kick-off of sorts to the challenge, Andrew from “Encore Entertainment,” did a little write-up of each of the roles to be recast.  Read it and submit your cast.

Julianne Potter, our heroine originally played by Roberts: assertive and outspoken, but still insecure it shall be tough to one up Julia
Michael O’Neal, our leading male but not the hero originally played by Dermot Mulroney: good looking and bland (as far as I could tell) really Mulroney was a bit of a bore, let’s see what you can do to improve
Kimberly Wallace, the ingenue originally played by Cameron Diaz: ostensibly naive but not an idiot, personable but just  a little annoying Diaz was golden here, but there are some good options out there
George Downes, the best friend originally played by Rupert Everett: smart, suave and a lot of fun this will be the tough one I think…

Let the games BEGIN!  I’ll say a little prayer for you.


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Random Factoid #335

28 06 2010

I was flipping through the channels two weeks ago, and something interesting caught my eye.

“In the Bedroom,” a very heavy and dark drama that was nominated for Best Picture in 2001, was the primetime movie on the CW.  Yes, the same channel that gives the world such serious fare as “Gossip Girl” and “90210.”  It seemed a strange movie for them to show because it something that totally does not connect with their usual target audience.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather them be showing a Best Picture nominee than some horrific romantic comedy from the early 2000s.  It was just … odd.

So it got me to thinking, what is the ideal TV movie?  What’s the movie that I would stop and watch no matter what I’m doing?

I’m so tempted to give it to either “Baby Mama” or “The Dark Knight,” the two movies that are seemingly always on HBO/Cinemax.  They always provide me entertainment, and I end up watching both of them quite a bit.  But I think it’s a little too early to crown them king.

I’d have to say that I will always stop and watch “You’ve Got Mail,” no matter what I am doing.  It’s sweet, charming, and full of laughs.  It has a heart of gold, and I think it may still make my mom cry (don’t quote me on that, though).  I’ve seen it about a million times, and it has yet to get old.

I can probably recite the whole movie to you if you asked politely.  About once a week, I will say “thank yours” instead of “thank you.”  Every time I hear the word caviar, I say to myself, “That caviar is a GARNISH!”  If I hear of someone named Rose, I think, “Rose – that is a great name.”  (These are jokes you would only get if you have seen the movie.)

So what’s that movie that can always make you drop everything and watch?


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REVIEW: In the Loop

28 06 2010

I feel like I should be littering F-bombs throughout this review to keep with the tone of “In the Loop,” a movie where every other word literally was a profane one. But the language isn’t just thrown around indiscriminately. This movie is probably the best thing to happen to the F-word since its invention. Peter Capaldi and the screenwriters use it in such inventive and hilarious ways, none of which are all that irreverent.

But beyond all the profanity, there’s so much more that the Academy Award-nominated script of “In the Loop” has to offer. It’s a brilliant satire of an organization everyone loves to roast – the government. The movie shows politicians struggling over doing what is best for the country or doing what is best for their own interests. Everyone is struggling with this inner conflict, and it ultimately pushes the Britain and the United States towards a military conflict that no one really wants.

We see all sorts of government officials, from elected officials to their advisors to the interns toiling away below them. After Britain’s Minister for Internal Development Simon Foster calls war “unforeseeable,” the fiasco begins.  And once that one word flies, everyone from the Pentagon to the state department in America to Britain’s Foreign Office and Internal Devlopment is involved in a war of words.

Of the countless generals and government officials, my favorite tiny storyline was the rivalry between two twenty-something American aides, played by Anna Chlumsky and Zach Woods, both intent on destroying the other.  The Academy Award-nominated script has all the key aspects of a great screenplay: engaging dialogue to keep a well-organized plot moving. The plot shapers tie together all these plot lines in a very interesting way, although it gets a little exhausting to watch by the time the movie is over.

But the movie’s star is Peter Capaldi’s foul-mouthed enforcer Malcolm Tucker, who has a new obscenity for every time he opens his mouth. No matter what you think of the movie as a whole, it’s pretty hard not to enjoy Tucker. His unabashed speaking of his mind always makes for a good laugh, and his shameless dialogue enables his fellow actors to have their own hilarious moments by calling him out on his excessive profanity. Really, it’s Capaldi’s foul-mouthed antics that make “In the Loop” fun to watch; the satire takes a thought-provoking backseat.  B+ /


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Random Factoid #334

27 06 2010

As you might know from January when I spent three weeks in Argentina, I am a student of the Spanish language.  My goal is to ultimately become bilingual because it is a useful skill to have when you live in Texas.

I also love foreign cinema, and a lot of what I watch happens to be in the Spanish language (mainly because there are so many cinematically vibrant countries that are mostly Spanish speaking).  Pedro Almodovar, Guillermo del Toro, and many more.

The farther I get in my study of Spanish, the less I need the subtitles.  For the most part, the characters speak fairly simply.  I usually only need them for vocabulary that I am unfamiliar with.  In fact, sometimes I can listen to the characters speak and find a more literal translation than the subtitles.

I also use watching these movies as an exercise in learning more Spanish.  I try to take away vocabulary from each of the movies and incorporate the words into my speaking.  For instance, I only know that carcel means “jail” because of “Talk to Her.”


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LAMB Alert: Tom Cruise “Acting School”

27 06 2010

There’s another exciting event going on over at the Large Association of Movie Blogs (LAMB).  About this time last month, I alerted you to a series called the “Acting School” to celebrate the career of Robert Downey, Jr.  This month, it focuses on Tom Cruise.

It’s a great event and there are most assuredly going to be many amazing posts, so I implore you to check it out.  I myself have two pieces in the event written especially for it – mainly because I had no reviews on my site of any of his movies.

The entire series of posts is called “Cruise Control” (because I love wordplay), and I decided to split it into two parts to provide two unique glimpses at the actor.  The first post focused on the Cruise that could have been, highlighting roles the actor almost took.  The second post, on the other hand, focused on the Cruise that I know based on his movies that I have seen.

So go over and celebrate the career of Tom Cruise by celebrating all the fantastic bloggers that submitted their own pieces.  Click on the picture below to be taken to the event.

Large Association of Movie Blogs


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