Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge Harry Potter freak fan. I read a really interesting article that I believe puts a lot of insight into why people, especially those of us in our twenties, are so in love with this story. It points out how we grew up with Harry and matured along with him and his story. When I read the first book at the age of 12 only the lighter, more fun books (one through three) had been published. By the time this epic battle between Harry and Voldemort occurred where they were fighting for the fate of all wizard kind, I was in college fighting to define what course my own life would take. Luckily there was less on the line in my case. I suppose that's enough of my defensive rant about why I love HP enough....on to the film!

I was fortunate enough to get into an advanced press screening the Monday night before the film had actually premiered. I'd already bought my midnight passes to see the film at the drafthouse and was planning on going with some of my great friends so I decided it was necessary to see the film twice! Seeing HP is always worth the cash when you go to the drafthouse anyway. They provide a great atmosphere and show all of the cultish Harry Potter fan made videos. We watched the HP puppets, the Harry/Voldemort rap and even Dan Rad's appearance on Extras.The film was shown in digital 3D which made a huge difference in quality verses at the press screening. The scene where they are
winding along the rails in Gringotts was much more intense and made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. However, at the press screening they gave us these amazing Harry Potter shaped 3D glasses... so it all evened out in the end.

The movie itself was really a great film. I was concerned because I knew as part one concluded, all that was left in the story was basically one huge fight scene. David Yates did a great job keeping the plot moving by slowing down after a huge fight scene for reflection time. He also added some really nice comedic relief that helped lighten the mood. I think that that was especially important for people who hadn't read the books and didn't know what to expect. It's an intense conclusion with important plot points happening left and right so slowing it down and adding some funny really helped.

After seeing the Sorcerer's Stone I didn't know if I'd ever be able to say this, but the acting was absolutely exquisite in this last installment. Our three heroes have definitely had some acting lessons over the past decade and I think they finally paid off. I actually cried a little bit during a scene of good byes before Harry goes off into the forest to search for Voldemort. One of my favorite scenes with Dan Rad was at the end where he acknowledges that a certain wand does belong to him. It was really funny and placed really well. This wand is the same wand that I own and it made me want to leave the theater, go straight to my living room where it's on display, and in what would be a purely poetic symbol of my respect for all things Harry Potter, rip it in half too. And just to clarify, I didn't actually buy this wand myself, my dear friend Melissa bought it for me for Christmas a year and a half ago. I'm not that crazy. She sure is a great gift giver.


However, I think Alan Rickman ran away with the best acting award from this film. The first scene we see him in, as he's standing alone in the tower, he's looking out at what Hogwarts has become and the weight of his duties is clearly evident on his face. That paired with a truly amazing and haunting score made this one of my favorite scenes in the film. I have to say the little montage we had of him from the pensieve had some really great scenes and also some that were a bit over the top. I don't think that was his fault, that had a lot to do with direction and camera angles. Dame Maggie Smith also got much more screen time this go around and she, as expected, was truly amazing. Yates gave her some comedic relief lines in times of great dramatic climax that made you fall in love with her character all over again. I also have to mention how really, all of the British adult actors are consistently great in these films. Especially Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter. They were truly, and expectantly, amazing.

What follows contains spoilers, so I recommend not reading if you haven't seen the film yet.

There were only a few things that bothered me in this film, and they were definitely things that weren't included in J.K.'s book. The main one however was the demise of Voldemort. I think Yates amped it up for dramatic effect in the movie, but I loved how in the novel this last battle takes place between Harry and Voldemort as they circle each other in the Great Hall with everyone watching. I missed the fact that this didn't happen on the big screen. I feel like that would have been more dramatic and would have provided cinematic gold because there would have been ample opportunity for the audience to see the reactions from the characters we love so much as this all goes down. When Harry finally does finish him off, it's not clear that the spell he uses to defeat Voldemort is his signature spell to disarm (Expelliarmus) and not an actual death spell. Voldemort himself causes his own demise when his spell rebounds since the elder wand refuses to kill its own master. (That wasn't explained well in the movie at all!) Also Yates had him disintegrate or something after he died. It
looked very similar to the way in which Quirrel died a decade ago. That's great and all but Yates just got too fancy with it. As the pieces of Voldemort's body floated up into the air, they turned from black to white symbolizing the change from evil back to innocence and purity. While that's all mushy mushy and great, I loved how after all the crap Harry went through to kill this guy who had done everything he could to live forever as more than a mere mortal, in the book Voldemort's body simply laid on the floor motionless as any other man would after his death. I think the simplicity in that is more beautiful than what Yates did.

I also got annoyed after Harry had "died" and was up in King's Cross Station and they showed this close up of him laying on the ground where he's supposed to look all crisp and clean and he had this stray whiskers on the bottom of his chin. I noticed it both times I watched the film and man it annoyed the crap out of me. Seriously? Did no one see that?  How could they not have seen that when they were prepping him for the scene?? Not a huge deal, but still...

And then there was the epilogue. I wasn't sure how this could not be corny, and it was still a tad over the top, but over all well done. Bonnie Wright looked like crap though. I just think that she always looks like she's still 12. It's like they put her in some lame wig and panty hose and called it a day. In real life if you see her at a premiere or something, she looks totally different. Another thing that annoyed me from the epilogue was that Harry's "son" Albus Severus had a ferret in his cage to take to school. A ferret?? No one ever has ferrets at Hogwarts. Cats, owls, rats, and toads are the only animals allowed. What good does a ferret do? I realize it's 19 years later but I'm still not buying it. Another thing I'm not buying is that the Bieber 'do will still be around in 19 years. Seriously...If it is, well then...I will just snap! Albus Severus totally had the Bieber 'do that even Bieber doesn't have any more. Can we please please please let this style go? And never come back? Even in 19 years? Gross. That little kid was so cute though. As I was watching the scene play out I thought to myself that he will probably be in many more things over the years but in my heart I'll always remember him as the kid from Harry Potter.

It really was a great end to the series though. It was very bitter sweet to see the final installment but I'm very happy with what they did. While there were a few things that were annoyingly different, I have to say that I really appreciate the fact that Warner Brothers and David Yates respected J.K.'s vision for the series as well as capturing the very essence of what Harry Potter is for the fans.

I told my friend Carrie a few months ago that I was so torn as to whether or not I was going to see the next installment of the Transformers in theaters. I couldn't decide if I wanted to give more money to the cash cow that is Michael Bay because it frustrates the crap out of me the way he makes these huge blockbusters that make SO.MUCH.MONEY. and are SO BORING as far as story goes. However, he's just so dang good at blowing crap up and it looks awesome on the big screen in 3D. These are the quandaries I allow my brain to fixate on. When my sweet 8 year old cousin Jack was visiting my parents' home in Columbus over the July 4th holiday he apparently told his mom "Transformers. Oh yeah, me and Amanda." Who could say no to such an adorable request, especially when I just needed a little nudge to justify spending $13.50 to see this movie in 3D at an AMC (sheesh! I love the Alamo!) You see, this is what Jack and I do together. We go and see big blockbusters that we know are going to have a ton of action and are going to look really cool, and they're always movies I'm on the fence about seeing because I know that the story line is going to suck. However I was pleasantly surprised after we saw Avatar and Tron together so I thought...maybe I'll be surprised??

Heh...

I remember going to the theater and seeing Transformers Revenge of the Fallen and having low expectations. I walked out of the theater still disappointed with how terrible it was. My hopes were again not high for this film.

I have to say, it was pretty bad story wise. However it was better than Revenge of the Fallen. There were some dynamic plot points that had me wondering what was going to happen next. I mean, I could guess what was going to happen next, but at least I was wondering. The 3d was great, but there's just only so much falling and flailing and blowing stuff up one can take. I think Shia and his buddies fell/flew inside this one building for ten minutes of the movie. I'm not even exaggerating.

Let's talk about Shia. Oh Shia. Did anyone else notice that opening scene where everyone's at NASA in the '60s and one of the main guys there was Shia's dad from Even Stevens? He was basically just an extra in this film! How awkward is that? "Hey remember that time you played my dad on the Disney Channel? Oh yeah, I'm making a lot more money than you now. Thanks for helping me get my career started." I only wish they would have been in a scene together. That would have been so amazingly awkward.

And then of course we have the lack of Megan Fox who bit the rich, arrogant hand that fed her (Michael Bay) and was fired. So they replaced her with a Victoria's Secret model who was actually worse than Megan Fox. Who knew that person existed? Sheesh, MB, you have millions of dollars at your disposal, most of which had to be from Cisco and GM for all of the terribly awkward product placement. You have the cash to hire someone who's at least somewhat legit and you hire her? What did you pay your women with? Bronzer and frozen water? All she did was stand in front of a gold reflector with pouty lips the entire film. She was also half naked/changing clothes a lot. I loved how the first shot we had of her was of her heiney as she walked up the stairs with undies that didn't exactly cover everything. Literally the camera was a few inches below her butt for like 10 seconds. I mean, seriously? I nudged the old guy next to me and told him that's what my ass would look like too if I had a gold reflector following me around all the time. No I didn't, but that would have been funny.

The 3d was awesome but I felt that it could have been more effective. There's this part where Josh Duhamel was flying out of a helicopter and I really felt that with all of home girl's butt we girls had to look at jealously for two hours they could have at least had Joshy flying towards us in 3D instead of away from us. I mean, give me something to compliment you on Michael Bay. SOMETHING.

All in all, I'm glad I got to see stuff being blown up for over two hours with my cousin Jack. It was great bonding time and I hope that this tradition of seeing action movies with baller 3d continues.

I don't normally blog about tv, I tend to stick to film because I'm snobby that way. Disclaimer/Actual Truth: I watch way more TV than I should and most of it's trashy so I don't like to broadcast shows that I'm obsessed with. However there is one show in particular that I'm going to have to share with whoever it is that actually strolls across this blog.

Swamp People.

I  love the treatments they did on the footage. Made it interesting.

I know, you just laughed out loud didn't you? Over the last 48 hours any time I ask some one if they've seen the show,  EVERYONE chuckles (or gives me an lol via text) and EVERYONE says yes. How in the world have I missed this phenomenon until Tuesday evening? I was perusing through Instant Netflix on my TV and I was like "what the heck...I'll give this show a try" and oh my word, I'm so glad I did. I'm sorry but I'm a huge fan. Everyone laughs because of how silly the coon asses are (their own description of themselves, not mine) and sure the producers probably found some of the extreme personalities within this sub culture but that's their job. Have we ever heard of a little show called Jersey Shore?? Seriously though, if you're from the country, you know more than one person exactly like the people on the show. In my case, being from Columbus Texas, the accent is different but the comparison is still pretty powerful. Perhaps this is a reason why I like the show so much but techically, there's a lot these producers did well.

First of all, the pacing and story telling in each episode is very well done. We clearly have a beginning, middle, and end for each person's story line in the meta-narrative playing out before us. The problem is clearly laid out with what is probably an exaggerated sense of urgency, but nevertheless effective. It's a great show to work out to because you're so transfixed on whether or not they're going to catch one specific gator or find someone who's been poaching their land, you almost forget you're out of breath and tired. I said almost.

The exploration of the sub culture and the relationships between each family of hunters is fascinating. I really like that the producers decided to focus on this so heavily because it makes the suspenseful hunts that much more intriguing. The medium of film/tv is such a great way to observe the way humans react to each other. I love it. Speaking of suspense, they did a great job building up the pressure and making it so that you as an audience member HAVE to know what's going to happen at the end of the show so that almost nothing can deter you from finishing that episode. Forget the fact that I had chicken cooking on the stove probably drying out from being over cooked, I just had to know if they were going to capture that cannibal gator. It's paramount for their season that they catch him!! He's going to eat all of the gators they need to catch to tag out at the season! I really do feel that some of the urgency is forced a tad multiple times throughout the show, but oh well.

The main reason I suspect I like this show so much is actually much more personal. If you're reading this post and you don't want to hear about how it forced me to relive a lot of my child hood over the past few days, which you probably don't, now's the time to shut this browser tab and go back to perusing facebook.

Papa Dean and Nanny Peggy

So here we go. There's one character on the show in particular who eerily reminds me of my grandfather, Papa Dean. I mean, it's uncanny. I asked my sister and cousin Jennifer if they thought the same but they weren't nearly as creeped out by it as me. I'm pretty sure this guy Troy on the show is a long lost cousin somehow related to the Venghaus' or Brokmeyer's. The way he acts and reacts in different situations brought me back to summer days as a child when we would spend time with him and my Nanny Peggy on their farm. While my grandparents are no gator hunters, they did raise cattle for a living, had a garden, fished, made their own sausage, and other things that allowed them to live by their own means.  Before I was born I think there were many more farm-y activities going on over there but in their age they slowed down.

While Papa wasn't quite as hard core as Tony as far as the accent and living off the land goes, pretty much everything else is just crazy similar. Both men love to joke around and poke at you, teasing you about something you're probably a bit self conscious about. But you instinctively know by their charisma alone not to be offended and you can't help joining in with their unique old-man chuckle. This one time Papa teased my cousin Jessica for "walking so slow, you old grandma,'' and although she has Down's syndrome without at beat she replied, "Quiet. You gonna give me a heart attack!" Oh, I thought he was going to fall on the floor he was laughing so hard. I remember this moment so precisely, I can clearly recall us all sitting at the dining table eating chicken stew. With this contagious sense of humor comes a pretty intense temper, noticeable in both men. When Troy is on the boat and it's go time, time to shoot the gator before you lose him, he doesn't play around. Papa was the same way. We'd be trying to pen cattle or who knows what else and in a moment we can go from chatting to yelling at the cows telling them to "move it, you son of a *****, you stupid piece of ****, God ******!!" In that moment, you know you're not supposed to laugh but you can't help it. There's nothing funnier than an old man losing it on some cows (who might be the stupidest animals on the planet, by the way) but at the same time it's scary to see your sweet grandpa that pissed off. I may or may not give him credit for teaching me to cuss. If he's mad at you, he'll tease you a few minutes later to let you know it's ok. Thankfully I was never at the end of one of these temper fits with him. :) Both men always know what's best too, and they're not afraid to tell you. They know they have a lot of experience and know what they're talking about (even if they don't) and you're going to hear all about it.

Troy Landry

Troy wears the SAME polo in every episode, every time he goes out on the water he's wearing the same shirt. Papa Dean had multiple Hanes plain white v-neck tshirts he'd wear when he was working every single day. I suspect Troy smells like my grandpa too...Ivory soap and Old Spice. Even these two guys' mannerisms are exactly the same...they way they hold a fork, the very recognizable way that they walk, their reactions, etc. Their faith in Jesus is also something you figure out about them really quickly as well as the fact that they'll give you the shirt off of their back in a heart beat if you really need it. Unfortunately they're both hard workers to a fault. At least Papa Dean was, I can't say the same for Troy but it seems that way.

Papa Dean, Nanny Peggy, Evan, Morgan, Hannah, Jenn, Me, Jessica. I'm pretty sure this was our last Easter together in '04. Maybe it was '03...

So if you've stuck it through this massive post, good for you! I think I just needed to get all of that out because I've been in a bit of a funk these past few days, missing my grandpa like crazy. I always thought there was no one like my Papa Dean, but luckily there is. I enjoy being reminded of these great things about my grandpa even if it makes me miss him. He's partying with Jesus up in heaven, so it's all good. I feel really blessed that I grew up in a situation that has allowed me to get to know and love all of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, extended cousins, etc so well. Unfortunately I don't think that's common any more except when you're from the country. :)

This movie, as expected, was hilarious. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting, even though I had been warned by various film blogs who'd seen advanced screenings that it was no "Hangover for girls." I have to admit though, I wish that that's what they would have done. While the movie was certainly full of laughs, they attempted to have a serious story line about how pathetic Kristin Wiig's character Annie was, and quite frankly, it was boring.

This is my main complaint about the film, and then we'll get into the good stuff. The addition of the serious sub plot concerning Annie's so-sad-single life is one that is exhausting and frankly, it's also a cheap one. It's too easy to comment on a single woman in her thirties who is struggling with wanting to settle down with "the one." I mean...yawwwn! Plus, this movie was LONG...125 minutes LONG. These scenes, while always interspersed with humor, took away from the pacing of the film. The energy gained from the scenes that were hysterical was quickly lost after we switch to sad Kristen Wiig. The one upside to these pacing issues is the fact that we got to see Wiig really act. We all know she can play a slew of funny, quirky characters from watching her on SNL, but she was able to really perform in a way that made us realize that she's even more talented that we would have guessed.

Another thing I really didn't like was the opening scene where Wiig and Jon Hamm are getting it on. I thought it was a pretty cheap way to get us immediately attentive as to what's going on in the story and otherwise not really necessary. Wiig and her friend Annie Mumolo wrote the film, and it was pretty obvious that this was their first feature. The plot was all over the place, but the humor...oh the humor, it was very well developed. Paul Feig (also known as Tim from Heavyweights ;) ) who also directed great titles like Knocked Up and a few episodes of Arrested Development and Freaks and Geeks (also produced by Appatow), has great comedic timing and really understands what makes audiences laugh.

While the writing and directing definitely deserve credit, the casting was also exquisite. Kristin Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Melissa McCarthy were simply amazing. Wiig played a combination of all of her SNL characters I believe, while Maya Rudolph played a more straight laced character.  However, she played this part as only Maya Rudolph can. While her role was often times setting up jokes for Wiig, whom she had excellent chemistry with, she definitely had a large amount of subtle hilariousness. There's one scene in particular where she wasn't being her goofy self, but her quiet, realistic portrayal of a terribly mortifying situation was one of my favorite scenes ever.

If Bridesmaids had been The Hangover for Girls, Melissa McCarthy would have easily been the Zak Galifianakis of this movie. I mean, where the heck did she come from? Like the Hangover, out of nowhere comes this chubby brunette that, like Galifianakis, I had no idea existed but was instantly intrigued by and ready to start a facebook campaign demanding an SNL hosting gig in the near future. I mean, she was hilarious. There was no line she delivered that I didn't laugh out loud at. She fit right in with comedy veterans like Wiig and Rudolph. After I got home and imdb'd her I realized she didn't actually come from left field, and that she has in fact been around and doing some way legit stuff (such as Gilmore Girls Mike and Molly) for quite some time now but I've never personally seen her in anything. Cudos to casting director for finding that gem.

The cast in general was really great. All of the other bridesmaids did a really great job. And of course, the ever beautiful Jon Hamm was fantastic and played the douchebag you love to hate exquisitely. As for the role of Wiig's other love interest, Officer Rhodes, Chris O'Dowd did an adorable job but I couldn't help thinking during the movie that I wished it was John Krasinski up there instead, or Jason Sudekis. I didn't think he did anything spectacular with the role, but he was cute none-the-less.

I went and saw this film twice with two different people last weekend and I noticed that in both screenings, then men were laughing much more noticeably than the women. Perhaps it's because it was full of the gross, boyish humor you'd expect from anything attached to Judd Appatow's name. And let me tell you, it was some gross, boyish humor that was hysterical. If you don't like lots of poop and vomit jokes, this is not the movie for you. My enrollment in cotillion lessons that tried to teach me how to be a "proper lady" and shake me of my tom-boy ways as a pre-teen did nothing to break me of my disgusting sense of humor. You'll just never be able to convince me that a good poop joke isn't funny. Never. Sorry. Never mind, I'm not going to apologize for that. :)

This movie is definitely worth a watch. I have to say I initially didn't think I liked it as much as I was going to because of how off the pacing was, but I find myself ready to see it again just to laugh at all of the ridiculousness.  I'm not sure that it's worth the money to see it on the big screen since it wasn't by any means visually or audibly exceptional. I doubt I'll shell out another 7-10 bucks, but I'm quite certain I'll own a copy of the blu-ray as soon as it comes out!

I know, I know. I hate to admit it, but I went and saw Something Borrowed last week. Romantic comedies frustrate the crud out of me...I think they're just a cheap way to make a lot of money without really trying to do anything new or creative with this incredible medium we have in film.  I crept into the theater all stealth-like in hopes that no one I knew would see me in the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse. I saw the trailer months ago, and there was just something about it that was intriguing to me. I confessed this cinema-blunder to my fellow radio-television-film grad friend Carrie and she told me she kind of wanted to see it too. Instant relief...

With that being said, what's possibly even more embarrassing is that I actually liked the film. No, I didn't love it...I didn't think it had a unique or creative story line or anything. I could predict every single plot turn. I didn't think that the directing or mis-en-scene was particularly fabulous, but it was engaging and entertaining. The plot moved along nicely. If there's any way to ensure I like a film, it's to make sure the plot doesn't drag. When you don't have a great story, you had better have great casting. And luckily this film's casting directors Sari Knight and Mandy Sherman did a great job.

Let's start with Ginnifer Goodwin. She is just so precious, and I think the fact that she starred in this film was one of the main reasons I wanted to see it. Also John Krasinski. Oh, John Krasinski. He played his typical type-cast John Krasinski role, but he just does it so well that I haven't yet tired of it. I think he should start playing some more challenging roles now though, lest he be caught in Amy Adams' blunder and not be believable as any other sort of character. He was really funny and really endearing. Kate Hudson played Kate Hudson. She does it well, but I just don't like her very much. I want to, but she is just annoying. One of the other major stars was Collin Egglesfield whom I've known about since his All My Children days. Yes I watched that show, and yes I'm devastated it's cancelled...even if I don't watch it any more. On a side note, I always feel this odd internal sense of pride whenever I realize an actor/actresses is about to get super famous after I had been watching them for years on soap operas. Take Josh Duhmal for instance...I was totally in love with him before Fergie was ever around and way before he ever started doing some-what legit stuff. And Kelly Rippa...Holla! She will always be Hayley in my heart.

Ok, soap box done...pun intended. :) As you might know, this film is based off of a book. I haven't read it myself but my friends told me that it stayed true pretty closely until the end. There was one scene that was particularly annoying that occurred between Krasinski and Goodwin's characters, and apparently it never happened in the novel. Also, if I never see another Heineken bottle I'll be completely fine. There was so much product placement for this brand that I never want to drink that beverage out of sheer annoyance!

I don't really have anything else to say about this film. It's your standard run of the mill rom-com.  I wouldn't spend $7-$10 to see in in a theater, but it's worth a watch at some point. The reason why it was successful in my opinion, is that it was cast really well. I enjoyed watching these people play these characters. There was a lot of chemistry and I appreciated the people who made the film's recognition of this.

It's been a while since I've sat down and watched a new doc, and I thought that the subject material for My Flesh and Blood was incredibly intriguing. The film follows super mom Susan Todd who has 13 children, 11 of whom are adopted, 9 of whom have special needs. Even though the film boasts some impressive awards, I was worried that the director would apply some lazy film making. Let's face it, with a film description like that, you're automatically curious. I have to say though, the director Jonathan Karsh did an amazing job telling the story through the excellent employment of visual effects and sound.

This film was made in 2003 and unfortunately it's very obvious. The quality was a bit distracting for me...I felt like the color wasn't the best and whatever it is they shot with just didn't yield a professional result. There were no formal interviews or anything...all of the characters spoke to the camera in their natural settings. I think that this was necessary because we could still hear all of the constant noise from the 9 or 10 other people in the background. We were brought into their world of chaos and lack of peace and quiet really effectively. They just weren't exactly shooting on Canon's new line of dslrs. :) However Karsh used a very interesting technique to switch between the different acts. He used video of the kids doing things like swimming or playing...scenes where they were obviously happy and having a good time, but he slowed it down to make it look really beautiful. In contrast, he added some slow, eerie music behind this visual which gave you the sense of an impending sadness. It was a creepy score that made you appreciate their happiness despite their disability, yet it was like you couldn't stop your heart from aching for them. It was a really intriguing technique that was incredibly successful.

As far as the overall mood of them film, it was cut in a way that really made you feel so sorry for these kiddos. They live in this big family on the edge of dysfunction, but still make it work. You can tell that it's just so hard for the people who don't have disabilities to cope. I sat on the couch watching and eating my whataburger feeling like a real jerk for not having the level of selflessness this family had for one another as they ate a whole crate of ramen noodles happy to just be in each other's presence. I think I was expecting a happy go lucky movie that made me feel like there was still some hope left for humanity (joking....) but it really just made me sad. I can't put my finger on why.

In the film, one of the children of the family passes away. I'm not going to say which one, but the way the experience was cut was really brilliant. There was a lack of dialogue...you didn't know for sure what was happening, and you didn't know for sure which child passed away until after the funeral. It was an amazing scene...one of the better ones I think I've ever seen. I may or may not have cried...and let me just say that if I of all people  had infact cried, there was some fantastic film making taking place. And that my friends, is why I love film so much. The ability of a filmmaker to make you feel exactly what he or she wants you through story is an incredible, difficult thing to acheive.

I think that's all I've got. It was a solid film but I definitely had to watch Easy A (now on instant netflix!!) one more time to get me out of the funk I was in. Don't let that last sentence stop you from seeing the movie though. It was a definite testament to the amazing, selfless people who find joy in helping out those who aren't loved by other people in our society.

I realize it has once again been for-ev-er since I've updated this blog but I simply haven't had time. For this same reason, I also haven't seen very many new movies...whomp whomp! One that I first saw a few months back and has been revisited numerous times (I really should buy that blu ray...) is Easy A.

I'm going to keep this review short because, let's face it...it's not critically cinematic-lly gold. That's exactly what I loved about it though. I wasn't expecting much, and no, the cinematography and score weren't astounding or anything, but it was just an easy to watch, quirky, clever comedy. It's basically this decade's version of Mean Girls, except that the cast was much stronger.  Let's face it, as great as Mean Girls is (long live Tina Fey!!),  there's no way you can watch it without thinking, "man what happened to Lindsay Lohan? She used to be so...not...hot-mess-ish" It's crazy distracting.

Emma Stone...man I can't wait to see everything that girl does. She's hilarious. They hit the nail on the head with the casting for her part. I cannot even imagine anyone else who would have better played that role. Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson played her parents and they were, as usual, adorable. Lisa Kudrow and Amanda Bynes were in the cast and they were fine, but Thomas Hayden Church again put on another hilarious performance.

As far as the story line goes, it wasn't anything spectacular. Anyone who went to public school will be able to relate to the stress and frustration of the rumor mill. The only thing I didn't like was the role Christianity played in the plot. Amanda Bynes' character was the typical, hypocritical jerk who one minute proclaims her love for Jesus in the most corny and obnoxious way possible, but who later does everything possible to make Olive's life miserable. That bugged me a lot, but I think most people can appreciate the character in a way that doesn't reinforce any ill-conceived notions of what most Christians aspire to not be like. I hope so at least...

All seriousness aside...my favorite part of the movie was the quick paced, quick witted dialogue. It keeps you on your feet and intrigued the whole time.  Please watch the movie, if for no other reason, than to see this video on the big screen:


And if you've already watched it, don't EVEN pretend like you haven't tried making a fo-hawk with your hair in the shower...

127 hours was pretty good. Not something I'll ever see again, mind you, but something I'm glad I did see. It is a good story, but I just thought it was dreadfully slow. I mean, going in to the movie we can guess it's basically just going to be James Franco with his hand stuck under a boulder for a long time and in that sense, the film didn't disappoint.
     Going into this film, I'll admit, I was terrified. I'd heard soooo much about how terrible and how gross the scene was where Ralston cuts off his arm that I was really expecting to faint, vomit, have a seizure or something... Can we say LET DOWN? Seriously, if you puked or fainted or had to leave the theater because of that scene, you're weak. Sorry, but I was just so disappointed. I waited for a full hour and fifteen minutes in utter fear and agony, and when it was over (like 30 seconds after it started) all I could think was, "that's it??'' I found it way more gross when he drank his own pee. And yes I have seen Bear Grylls drink his own pee too, but it's still nasty.
     Other than that, I thought that the color was ridiculously over saturated. I get it Danny Boyle, you want to be "stylish," but I just found all of the over the top color correction to make everything really blue or really orange distracting. It didn't make me say "wow how beautiful" it made me say "wow how obnoxious." This mainly happens in the beginning whenever Aron's character is happy and excited to be out in nature and it's dumbed down later when he's trapped and not quite so happy any more. At that point I thought the footage was beautiful.
     I thought Franco's portrayal of Aron was fine. He did do a good job, but I don't really understand all of the Oscar buzz. I mean, let's face it...he pretty much just stood in a cave and grunted for an hour. He did occasionally talk to himself or his camera, but that was about it. If that's what defines an Oscar worthy performance, then shoot let's give it to him now. He was great for what the role called for, I just didn't think that it was anything earth shattering.
     I think my favorite part was this close up of Franco who was sleeping while ants were crawling on his face. We're zoomed in so tight and the theater screen is so big you can actually see the ant pinch his skin. It looked really cool.
     That's it folks. It was an ok film, just don't go in expecting to see a lot of action or a lot of blood. There's a good 30 seconds of it but it's really not that bad...

    I thought this was a pretty solid film. Maybe it wasn't spectacular, but it was really entertaining and engaging. I didn't think there was anything stand out-ish about the camera work, but I did really like the sets and costumes a lot and I will definitely watch it again. David O. Russell did a good job over all.
      I've heard a lot of people saying that they felt it was slow, but I thought the pacing was fine. I just felt like it lacked high enough stakes...the climax wasn't climatic enough. As we could have guessed, this important part of the film is centered around one last big match between Micky (Markii Mark) and a big steroid-y, intimidating other boxer dude who he probably should have lost to, but doesn't. If he had lost the title he was just going to go back to "regular life", and he had already quit boxing and gone back to "regular life" one other time in the film and just hung out with Amy Adams' character Charlene.
     It's garnering some Oscar buzz because of Christian Bale's performance and in my opinion, he's the front runner so far. It was so nice to see Bale in such a high-energy roll. I think of him in movies like The Prestige or 3:10 to Yuma....he did great in those films but this time he was different. He had a lot of spunk and portrayed a very solid role that mirrored the actual real life person's personality very well. He had to lose a lot of weight to play Dicky as a crack addict...his transformation was very impressive. As far as other characters go, I thought that the inclusion of the tacky white trash sisters of Dicky and Micky were hilarious. Melissa Deo played the Eklund matriarch and she did an awesome job. Very nice comedic relief throughout the film. Amy Adams played Micky's love interest. She had to curse a lot and wear skimpy clothes throughout the film and it just didn't feel right. She did a good job, I don't think the problem was with her acting but I do feel like she's just been so
type cast as the sweet, innocent girl in most films she's been in that it was hard for me to feel that this character was real. I think that's unfortunate because I like Amy Adams a lot and I love that she's trying to step out of her box a little bit, I just think she may have done it a little too late in her career. Of course our leading man was Markii Mark Walberg and I thought he did an ok job. His character was very calm and reserved, so he had to be very calm and reserved. I feel that although he was portraying a role different than his norm, I love his norm and wanted to see more energy from him. I also thought he was too old for the role. His character was supposed to be 31 but he looks more like 45...or as my coworker Nicole put it...."FORTY FINE." You can't really argue with that...

 **I apologize for the poor formatting, I don't know what is going on with Blogger tonight...

I cannot believe no one else has picked up on this. 
 
Perhaps I've just seen Center Stage a few times too many (very possible) but as I was watching Black Swan I couldn't help but notice some major similarities. Of course the endings are quite different but as Black Swan was getting started I found some things pretty interesting....

• One of the main characters being an uptight, fearful of imperfection, innocent ballerina who is the most talented member of her respected company/school

• Nina in BS and Maureen in CS
• Because of the pressure to be perfect, this character is extremely skinny and has an active eating disorder  

• This character's mother is a single mom who had to give up on her own dream of being a successful ballerina.

• The character who is a somewhat rebellious ballerina that doesn't follow the rules but is extremely talented and respected as a dancer.

• Lily in BS and Eva in CS
• Both of these characters light up a cigarette in a building where they're not supposed to and are told to put it out by the Nina/Maureen character 

• The heroin having a weird love interest in a superior. This man teaches them about sex and its importance to their role portrayal on stage.
• Jody with Cooper in CS  and Nina with Thomas in BS

• The ballet directors being referred to specifically as a "prick"
• Thomas in BS and Jonathan in CS

• The first montage of the film being one of getting ballet shoes ready...Stripping them down, wearing them in with a knife, wetting the front of the foot. Then a pretty little shot of some blistery feet thanks to point-shoes.

I'm just sayin...

Holy Crap. That's all I could say at the end of this film as the credits rolled. Ho-ly crap. I just don't even know where to start with this review. This is definitely one of the best films I think I've ever seen. It was just so well rounded: great acting, great camera work, great costumes, great sound...the director
Darren Aronofsky really paid attention to every little detail, every little thing he needed ensuring that we as audience members had the exact experience he wanted us to have.
     Let's start with the acting. I'm going to get the whole Mila Kunis thing out of the way first. I didn't think she was all that special. I want so much to like her, but I just don't. Her voice really gets on my nerves and I just think of her as Meg Griffin. Barbara Hershey, whom I've loved loved loved ever since I saw Beaches (don't judge) did a great job also. Winona Ryder and the guy from the Ocean's movies (aka Vincent Cassel) were fine as well. Natalie Portman is currently the headliner when it comes to the Oscar race in her category. I mean, she was amazing. She did an excellent, excellent job.You could just tell she lived the part in order to portray a character on screen. Her body language was the main reason she was so successful. You could tell she felt like Nina felt. She didn't have a lot of lines, at most she would speak 5 or 6 words at a time. Her real performance came from the way she interpreted the action around her.
      I think Portman's success however, was aided immensely by the camera work. Aronofsky wanted us to feel extremely tense throughout the film and he achieved this through a variety of different means. For one, there's a lot of hand held camera work. Normally I get annoyed when directors use this method because it's just done to be "stylistic" or in my opinion just pretentious, but its employment in this movie was extremely effective and made it feel more gritty over all. There are a lot of close ups of the back of her head, we feel as though we are following her and peeking into her world for a great portion of the film. There were also an insane amount of close ups of every main character throughout the film. We definitely get to experience every little bit of fear in Portman's eyes.
     The sound also helped her out in this aspect. When she's alone or when she's dancing we can hear every little breath she takes. Usually there's a quiver hidden in there which illustrates her tenseness and/or fright. The score was also great. It was very effective when it came to making me feel something without realizing it. The sound effects were much louder than in other films, especially when coupled with a generally quiet film. There's not a whole lot of talking and instead we hear every movement. This in turn exemplifies the fact that the scene was other wise very quiet.
 
    The special effects and post production elements were great also. As the film goes on, Nina starts to become the black swan in her own personal life. Whenever she does anything "bad" her skin gets scaly in places. It comes and goes and is pretty stinking awesome...it's subtle but definitely very effective. The harsh lighting in the opening scene was really great too. I loved the use of mirrors which again was subtle but effective. We see how Nina and other characters view themselves through their reactions to their reflections. There was also a color theme of black and white throughout (mainly in Thomas' office) I thought it was a kind of cheesy homage to the white/black swan...but that's just my opinion.
     I suppose I need to mention the girl-on-girl scene since it's receiving so much attention. All I'll say is that I generally feel as though bedroom scenes like that are pretty unnecessary. I don't really enjoy them and I think it's a cheap ploy to market attention. I will say that I thought this scene was necessary in the plot. The "event" never happens and it's one of Nina's many hallucinations. I think it was important because it illustrated sick she was. Not because she imagined getting it on with another girl, but because of how vivid the hallucinations were. And that's all I'm going to say about that.
     This was definitely a great, well rounded film. Be prepared to feel uncomfortable. I've heard people saying that it was scary and that's not the case at all. Aronofsky just does a great job of making you experience situations as Nina does. She's fearful of imperfection in every sense of her being and we can really feel her tension and the pressure she puts on herself for 108 minutes.