Watching...

I watched the following films during my holiday vacation in Baltimore.

War Child – Imagine being six years old and handed a loaded AK-47. You are then instructed to kill the very families who helped raise you.

War Child is a documentary about a former Sudanese war child and his escape to freedom. This film chronicles his journey from boy soldier to globally recognized musician – a lifestyle choice aimed to raise awareness for change. More specifically, advocating for education.

Bonnie and Clyde – Bonnie and Clyde is an American classic; a timeless tale of a predominantly asexual criminal relationship. The plot is far from groundbreaking, but the dynamic of personalities makes this film. Consider it the Raging Bull of the western genre.

Avatar – Avatar is, without a doubt, the Star Wars of today’s generation. It is visually stunning, technologically groundbreaking, and yet strikingly cliché. The epic plot is a composite of countless films, spanning many generations and many genres. And despite being absurdly predictable the audience remains actively engaged for duration of the film. We have James Cameron’s commitment to perfection to thank for this.

From Whoopee Cushions to Electronic Fart Machines: Why "The Hangover" Rocked!

The Hangover [Theatrical Release] by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Very rarely does a comedy have the ability to establish and sustain a consistent caliber of audience laughter for the duration of a film. Typically, these types of films come with high expectations, but are often fluffed with the magic, “Air of Potential.” Shortly after the head hits the pillow and dreams are condensed into reality, our minds wonder, 'What the fuck was that?'

The jokes are exhausted, the writing is lacking, or quite simply, the moral of the story is getting in the way of the comedy! Regardless, the funny is lost and audience expectations are deflated. For lack of a better term, let's call these films 'Whoopee Cushions.'

The Hangover, on the other hand, was far from a Whoopee Cushion. It was the Hansen 222 of electronic fart machines. In other words, the Grey Goose of the vodkas. The fart-kit came with a stealth black speaker (hide-able anywhere) and a WAY COOL remote control to ensure that a good fart-joke opportunity was never missed. Now anyone could, “Fire farts from afar!,” which is exactly what kids did. They took full advantage. They were always on the prowl to make at least one person laugh. The same concept holds true with The Hangover. The film was consistently funny. Every scene had at least one laugh. It might not have been the best laugh, but it was still a laugh. By the end of the film, I found myself, as well as the audience, laughing as hard, if not harder, at every joke than we were at the beginning of the movie. How often does that happen?

Beyond the laughs though, The Hangover exemplified fresh story telling through subtly employed techniques of film-trickery and through the palpable abundance of, “Attention to Detail”; a tone, which accurately depicts the secret to unlocking the ‘code’ of the story. But, what are you waiting on me for?

GO SEE THE MOVIE!!

You’ll LOVE it! Well, maybe not ‘LOVE it,’ but you’re guaranteed to laugh! If not, I’ll happily refund the expense of your ticket.

Enjoy!

Adam

Words I Like.

"being beyond what is normal or expected" - say's your grandmother.

- Uncanny

At a the Mayor's Ball, an intoxicated woman clammers to a sobered couple, "Let's just say he's, 'Wise in practical affairs'" - To which her husband promptly replies, "We should get going."

- Sly

Mark was constantly being laughed at, as his boss insisted that he take time each day to utter successive chirping noises in attempt to ward off the pigeons.

- Twitter

Watching...

Vicky Cristina Barcelona. A witty and quirky romantic dramedy embodying all that is Woody Allen, in other words sex. Vicky Christina Barcelona flirts with the temptation of pursuing lustful relationships at the expense of maintaining cautionary love. This film offers social commentary on a wide range of complex sexual relationships from stale marriage to forbidden love to hot and heavy threesomes. But most importantly though, this movie stars Penelope Cruz, my Hollywood crush whom I had the unexpected privilege of speaking to on the 2007 Oscars red carpet. She melted my heart with the sound of ther disgruntled response, “What? What am I wearing?” as delivered in her beautifully thick spanish accent. Only then did I realize I should be speaking with her publicist and not with her directly. Oops.

Watching...

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Shelter. In the spirit of yesterday's surf session, I decided to continue the positive energy by revisiting Shelter, a 16mm surf documentary from Woodshed Films. This beautifully shot film documents such surfers as Rob Machado, Mick Fanning, Jack Johnson, The Malloy Brothers & Kelly Slater as they travel through Australia.

Watching...

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Along Came Polly. Not gonna lie, I love this movie. Despite being cheesy, it's arguably one of my favorites. Why? I'll tell you. In order to appreciate the comedic magic of this movie, one must look past the two most obvious flaws: 1) Ben Stiller's pathetically cliche character type suffering from personal neurosis and 2) Jennifer Aniston's beautiful looks, but mundane acting ability. You see, the greatness of Along Came Polly exists solely in Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, an overweight, egotistical, selfish, has-been actor who's completely out of touch with reality, and that's just the beginning. I'll let you be the judge. Watch it for Philip and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I'll leave you with "I sharted" and "Let it rain."

* Commencing with this "Watching..." post, all future movie related posts on my blog will link to Netflix rather than Amazon.

Watching...

The Ice Harvest (Widescreen Edition). A failed attempt at a film noir, mobster movie. Needless to say I was very disappointed with this film, despite being highly recommended by a fellow filmmaker friend of mine. My vote: Pass.

Watching...

The Conversation. Another sick day home from work, and thus another movie. The Conversation is Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece about a paranoid surveillance expert (Gene Hackman) struggling with the moral fabric of his latest detail, when the misinterpretation of a conversation leads to murder.

Ranked as number 195 on IMDB's top 250 movies, this film can be classified as the Raging Bull of spy movies. Actually, that's a stretch, but it does focus on the psychological deterioration of the human psyche.

Watching...

The Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition). Uncanny are the parallels between the hierarchy of power in the fashion industry and that of the entertainment industry. Fortunate for me though, I've yet to experience such a demanding supervisor. However, should the occasion present itself, I'm confident that I can rise to the challenge and exceed expectations.

As a movie, The Devil Wears Prada was littered with small but noticeable structural holes, which I attribute directly to the lack of novelistic latitude, as discussed in my previous posting.

Novelistic Lattitude in TV and Film

A friend of mine recently sent me the link to a Variety article addressing the evolution of character/story arc in both TV and Film. The final verdict; TV shows, rather than films, provide a stronger foundation for believable character development and elaborate story arcs. While I believe this argument to be true, one must take into account relativity, or the context in which TV shows and movies are developed. Not all TV shows exercise the option for elongated story arcs, simply because the show's premise doesn't fit to the mold. For example, a sketch comedy show like MADtv doesn't have grandeur story arcs, but shows like The Wire, Lost and Mad Men take full advantage of the "novelistic latitude."

The same relativity holds true for film. Movies such as Date Movie or Disaster Movie have minimal character depth, while on the other hand, films like Lost in Translation or American Beauty offer stronger, more developed story arcs and character revelation. In other words, as with TV, a film's substance is largely dependent upon any number of factors, but predominantly the Writer's voice. This being stated, film (typically with a 90-120 minute time limitation) can only accomplish so much, where as a full season of TV (anywhere from 12-24 hours) offers greater latitude for development.

The original Variety article can be found here.

Watching...

Slumdog Millionaire [Theatrical Release]. I never thought I'd see the day when the scripted byproduct of a reality television series held the potential for winning an Oscar for Best Picture. Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire offers a controversial glimpse into the slums of Mumbai, India. But don't be fooled, this beautifully photographed film is no structural wasteland. Slumdog recounts the exceptional tale of two orphaned brothers as they journey from poverty to fortune and fame, encountering along the way the devastating truths that define Life.

Be sure to catch this film in the theaters while you still can.

Watching...

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I've had One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in my possession since August 6th 2008. I'm almost certain Netflix suspects the disc being returned will be a newer copy than what they originally mailed me. However, I assure everyone, this is certainly not the case.

Unfortunately, I repeatedly postponed watching this movie for no valid reason, but today, being worn thin from a cold I contracted while in Mammoth, CA last weekend, was the day I jumped the hurdle. Ranked at #8 on IMDB's Top 250 list (as generated by IMDB users), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is well deserving of the propper time and attention as it portrays the mystery and magic of Ken Kesey's original novel, with the added bonus of Jack Nicholson delivering a comical and wildly adolescent performance.

It was worth the wait.

Watching...

Two movies on this Christmas evening...

The Big Chill. Well scripted with an incredible character dynamic.

Charlie Wilson's War (Widescreen). Philip Seymour Hoffman was excellent and I loved Mike Nichols' style, which resembled his 1967 masterpiece, The Graduate.