Thor

Thor was awesome. There that is my review. A lot of people did not like the first half an hour or so, to that I say shut up. This movie was awesome. The special FX, the acting, cinematography, the dialogue, the characters themselves. Kenneth Branagh did an absolutely phenomenal job re-creating this larger than life world. Hemsworth as Thor was the perfect choice. He has the bluest eyes I have ever seen. I will not lie I leaned over to Jen Buddy and told her thatI had gay thoughts for him, cause HE was the part.

Thor has always been one of my favorite superheroes, and in reading Stan Lee's book, I learned that Thor is one of his favorites to write. This is such a unique story. The characters are derived from Nordic myth, as is the setting of their story. It is a unique thing to take something that has been around for thousands of years and transform it into a modern day story, blending it with the new age demi-gods that we have deemed as heroes. The acting in the film lent to the mythos from which these beings sprang. I was involved from the beginning and found myself caught up in the wonder that is Asgard. Anthony Hopkins as Odin worked so well, he has this very knightly air, due to the fact that he is very straight in his actions, but cross him and he can summon a beastly anger. He has the stately manner of a king and in another life would have been a fantastic Caesar.

Middleton as Loki was the perfect choice. He played the part of the mischevious weasel perfectly. I felt that this movie played off of the biblical story very subtlely. Loki was the younger brother who attempted to beguile his way into a position of power. The eldest brother was sent to earth to complete his pre-determined role, dying then receiving the mighty power of his Father and resurrecting. The culmination of the movie was in a final battle between brothers, an Asgardian Apocalypse if you will. Maybe it is a stretch. I think that the progression of the story was very fluid and each of the cast fit in very well with one another and the overall story. This movie is a testament to the thought that Marvel has put into the writing and creation of their comics into movie form. Oh and Stan Lee's cameo was amazing. Well played Generalissimo.

Go see this movie. The world that they created was so visually spectacular you can not help but immerse yourself into this unique character. I think we could all read more Thor, He is a fascinating character who is surrounded by a supporting cast of equally fascinating individuals. The best part is, this story's genesis stems from myths that are thousands of years old. How great of an adaptation is that? It's almost good as the re-telling of War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise... Sometimes I hate Hollywood and their terrible ways.

It has been so LONG!

Hello loyal subjects. I have not posted on my beloved blog since 2010, I have been in better hiding than Osama it would seem. He's dead. Much has happened since I last made my presence known but that is neither here nor there. What is important is that Gears 3: The Beta is amazing, and we have a summer of blockbusters to look forward to. Especially everything with Johnny Depp and Shia LeTerrible. I specifically refer to Transformers and Pirates, because they are both going to be terrible and the studios have drained these two franchises like a fat baby feeding on an anorexic woman's teats. Listen I understand that 86.3% of American movie-goers are easily entertained morons but don't trick them into spending their recession earned money. You wouldn't kick a blind baby seal in the face would you? Would you?

I see Thor on Thursday and I am looking so forward to it. The acting and directing are two areas that i am expecting to be strong. I need it to start off the Summer right, well Summer in movie seasons. Fast Five was obviously so terrible, I mean except for the Rock's ability to not be robotic. I love the Rock as much as the next wrestlingphile, but he was so bad in this movie it shocked me. I couldn't believe that he was allowed to do such a terrible job. If any of us go to work and do a terrible job, on purpose, we would get written up and maybe demoted. He keeps finding work, and this won't deter future employers, i.e. studios, from hiring him. It is a crazy world we live in when people who are completely incapable of doing their job make more than 65% of the people in Africa put together, except for the savannah tribesman. It is much more lucrative than you think, herding sheep and fighting leopards with spears and poverty. Point is Fast Five was not good, Paul Walker is a cheese dick and I was entertained the whole damn time. I was. Justin Lin, the director, filmed it well, the audio was superb and the acting was horrendous. Best part of the movie was the obvious fight between Vin Diesel and Mr. The Rock.

We have some big movies coming out in the Summer, finally I am sick of animated frogs and Brazilian birds. Who honestly gives an animated rat's ass about these filler movies. Pixar of course is amazing and anything that they do is not filler but blockbuster. Rio?! who cares? Not this guy, with the two thumbs. I have missed all of you, my beautiful followers and I am back!

Brick

Brick is a phenomenal movie which happens to be one of my favorite modern noir films. The dialogue and the verbiage is so fascinating and helps to create for an interesting twist on the Othello story. If you watch this film make sure that you select the subtitles. if you do not do this you will miss many of the important story elements. Pay attention to each of the scenes, this is not a film that you can be multi-task watching. put away the computer, homework and in Chad's case the graphic novels.

The strength of the story is the complex weaving of character depth manifested through intensly quirky dialogue. The speak of the film is very off-putting at first, due to the common usage of slang and shortcuts. Once the film gets going and the story begins to develop, you really become drawn to the language of the story. Surprisingly enough the intensity of the film is helped along by the way that the characters of the movie relate to each other through their language.

Inception is a great example of the sleek sensibility of Joseph Gordon-Leavitt. In Brick it is evident that he is starting to develop his "cool" and hundred yard stare. He expresses so much anxiety, intensity and raw emotion in his eyes and jaw line. He is able to help not only the story to move along, but the co-stars with whom he stars are able to feed off of his uncanny acting abilites. He is able to build the story, through his unique screen presence. You are not sure if he cares or if there is a deeper sense of purpose to his character in relation to the story. He maintains a distanced, very calloused perspective on the characters as he pieces together the intricate story line. As unrelateable as he is to the everybody in the story, I really found myself bonding to his cynical perspective. Everyone has motivation and not all of it is for his benefit.

The story of this film is a predatory gyro. You are never sure who is the prey and who is on the prowl. The setting of the film is rather fascinating. A film noir in a high school? Very unique. It really adds to the complexity of the characters and the way that they navigate through the turmoil. I hope that my kids are not within fifty miles of any of the characters in this film. Frigging crazy! The whole time I watched this film, I had to keep thinking this is all from the perspective of adolescense and not that of veteran old-doggism. That is not even a word. Good. Good.

Go see this movie or borrow it from me, because it is fantastic. And IIIIII helped! But seriously this movie rocks. Great Indie flick.

Spies Like Us

The movie that I have chosen to analyze is Spies Like Us, one of the greatest 80’s comedies ever. If you haven’t seen it, rent it or buy it and watch it immediately. I would classify this film as a satirical comedy with lots of Chevy Chase slapstick. Much of the comic situation is narrative as Aykroyd and Chase build a relationship in which plays off the other. Remember when Chase was funny, well until Community; it seems like so long ago. Fortunately his talk show worked out….

This movie is great from top to bottom. Each character has some great lines and the supporting cast really puts in to words what the audience sees as we watch their interaction. Just after the testing center scene, which is filled with gag humor, the General comments that they are,” a couple of absolutely self-involved bullshit artists who got caught cheating on a departmental exam” this is a perfect summation of the prior scene, helping the audience to articulate what they had just seen.

It really is a great satirical comedy on the state of government espionage and deniability. You get a couple of douchers to play the fall guy for the government on a secret mission; all the while putting themselves in to harm’s way under the pretense they are serving their country. Despite all of the situations in which they find themselves, they somehow bumble their way through the mission successfully accomplishing the assignment. The physical humor is fantastic, during their training phase they are put through the rigors of threshold testing which creates some great gag humor, all of which is totally ridiculous and hilarious. The faces they make and the one-liners they spew have really made this a total classic, right up there with Three Amigos, What About Bob?, Caddyshack and Ghostbusters.

The best comedies are definitely the most well-rounded, that have nothing to do with Adam Sandler, which seamlessly involves all aspects of comedy. This movie has gag humor that plays off the observational set-up that was done between the two main characters and the secondary characters, all while poking fun at the issue of our Cold-War beast of a government.

Dogtown and Z Boys

This film is one that was brilliantly edited and put together. The story of the Zephyr Skate Team, the team that forever changed skateboarding, is one of high adventure and real danger. They did things on boards that no one else had even imagined, translating surfing moves and form, to the pavement. They did everything bigger, faster, higher and more powerful, first. This movie is their documented history.

This film was directed by Stacy Peralta, an original member of the Z boys, edited by Paul Crowder. Vans produced the film and it was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. This film went from start to finish in 6 months, and was highly successful in the Indie film circuits. Peralta won Best Director at Sundance, in 2001, and the film won an Audience Award at both Sundance and the AFI Film Festivals. This film inspired the film Lords of Dogtown, and inspired stylizing of the skate industry.

Description: this film has a very different feel to it. There was so much old surf footage and skating shots, mixed with interviews, graphics, stills and a superb soundtrack. Sean Penn narrates this gritty film, and does so with such a natural feel. I was curious as to why he was such a perfect fit as the narrator, in the director’s commentary Peralta states that,”he was from Venice, about 30 minutes from where the film takes place, as well as being a surfer/skater himself.” (Dogtown) The stylization of this film fits so perfectly together, giving it an unpretentious feel, immersing one in to this unique culture.

The form of this film, shots and historical, is so unique. They limited computer editing in this film as far as adding stills to the film, and filmed them with the video cameras. The zoom ins and pull outs on the maps are all done with the camera, not the computer. Many of the stills have the Burns effect, pans and lifts on the pictures, with obliquing and tilts. There is a sequence of stills used to describe the once Coney Island boardwalk feel of Venice, and it paints a unique history of this seaside community.

Peralta and Crowder use the graffiti of Venice as a landscaping for this movie, really creating powerful visuals. It helps to give a feeling of hostility that these young men had for outsiders and visitors. I have never seen a documentary that relied so much on old footage to set the scene of what happened to create the topic of the film. The footage is mostly that of the 70’s, archiving the scene that the interviewees are describing. Margaret A. McGuirk says,”Mr. Peralta's filmmaking style is charged with driving, video-style energy, frantic cutting, intense music, and a strong dose of romantic nostalgia.” (Cincinatti.com) Much of the footage is overlaid with old reels and post-production blips, adding to an archived aesthetic.

Many of the interviews are fast-forwarded, getting that person to the point of emphasis. There are a lot of footage transitions and stills that are fast-forwarded maintaining an interesting uniformity throughout. I think that it helps to drive home the final point, or theme of what is being shown. Several of the interviews were shot in black and white, which is a strong contrast to the bright colors of the old footage and stills from back in the day. This film feels like urban warfare. The skaters were so hardcore dedicated to their craft they didn’t give a shit about anything but skating, and that raw passion translates through gritty imagery, both moving and still.

Between the archival footage of surfing, many of the interviews had the sound of the tide overlaid on it, tying in the visuals and words to a common theme. With the sounds of the surf, the jump cuts from the interviews to the corresponding surf and skate footage, creates a memoir or visual diary of a time long since passed, yet maintains a commonality with the viewer. The obliquing of the surf and skate footage gives it a hard edge, an extreme feel and puts the audience at unease. At the end of this sequence of footage, it clicks like film separating from the movie reel and then appears to catch on fire. Brilliant. With this editing and footage it helps to reinforce the sense of urban warfare that this group of young men declared on the streets and swimming pools of southern California.

Interpretation

The way that the film was put together reflects the people whom it depicts. Stacy Peralta really captures a rough guerrilla feel that defined this rag tag bunch of athletes. Many of the Z boys came from broken or damaged homes and used skating as an escape from the difficulties of growing up in the community known as Dogtown. Skating offered them the chance to leave tough circumstances and become something more, and the raw footage, language and interviews really gave me a sense of that desperation. Skating was their lifeline and most let it slip through their hands, while a few succeeded and overcame the perils of this existence.

Two of the interviews took place in a junkyard, signifying decay and difficulty, while establishing a style of triumph and dignity; and others took place in surf shops or at homes, removing the pretense and self-importance that one would expect in a biographical documentary. I was watching people that had an effect on millions of people, but I was able to connect with the humility and individualism portrayed in their interviews. As they talked about some of the struggles that each of them had, it helped to reinforce the humanity that they have and proved that no matter what the success or recognition, everyone can slip and fall; but those that get back up and move forward are heroes and icons.

The graffiti and vulgar language really helped me to entrench myself in the rough side of town. It gave a dimension to their life that I would not have experienced but for the graffiti of hate and negativity for outsiders. In bold letters the words, “Not Welcome” and “Go Home” were common place on walls and buildings. This hostility towards those looking in was something that disconnected me from them, but reinforced the importance of the barriers that are now gone. When I say vulgar language I do not just mean obscenities but syntax and verbiage. They speak without education and yet the honesty with which they speak touched me as a viewer, enabling me to remove judgment and build appreciation. How is it that young men and women from a poor area in a rundown, forgotten community could change the world? Amazing. They were real life Lost Boys, sans the vampirical hunger.

The surfing footage and the old stills that were used really reminded me of a scrap book. Like I stated Peralta filmed the stills, and the camera work gives it such an eclectic feel. This method demonstrates honesty and keeps in line with the subtle humility that this movie sustains. It would have felt completely different had he gone with fancy computer editing and effects. The bare bone, simplistic edginess is what defines this documentary as ground-breaking and iconic. As I watched this over and over, in order to prepare myself for this paper, I could not help but reminisce about the old skater videos that I watched as a kid. This was no mistake and much of the feel of this film was derived from those early amateur videos.

Like Skip says in his interview, “Little blond chicks named Buffy weren’t my scene.” (Dogtown) The culture that is reflected is heavily influenced by Hispanic and Polynesian heritage. Being in a poorer community, they had access to alcohol and drugs from a young age, and for some that transformed in to a life of crime and waste. Jay Adams, arguably the most talented of the bunch, was in prison for his interview where he has been for quite some time. He has several tattoos and his hard life was visible on his face and in his voice. He shunned the big money for the purity of “just skating” but this seemed to have damaged him. Peralta on the other hand seized the day and was the highest paid skater of all-time pre Tony Hawk, who he discovered and sponsored. The strong contrasts portrayed in this film, really helped me to visualize the battles that many of them faced while on top of the world; fame and fortune or anominity and passion?

This film had such an impact on the world of extreme sports. Mainstream surfers and skaters came from fairly affluent backgrounds, and this group of young scallywags tore down barriers and stereotypes. When Stecyk wrote his first of the Dogtown articles for “Skateboarder Magazine”, kids from all over really connected to them. This type of athlete no longer had to be white and clean cut, but they could be street urchins with talent, what mattered most became the love of something. Tom Sims was a professional skateboarder in the 60‘s and is the proprietor of Sims Snowboards and Skates and had this to say about the Z boys [at their first competition],” They were unconventional and they didn’t care if they got judged well.” (Dogtown) This mode of thinking helped to establish the beginning of skateboarding as we know it and shaped countless other extreme sports, both winter and summer.

This film was received at Sundance with a lot of fan and celebrity gusto. People began to really look at this sport as one that was truly American. Skating is a sport that spans the globe, and it was started and perfected here.. This film is truly the story of America, kids with not much hope in the future, grabbing a hold of something and changing the world forever, through passion and guts, living an impossible dream, attainable it seems for almost anybody. Shogo Kubo states,” We were treated like kings at every place that we went to.” (Dogtown) Allen Sarlo states,” We were all hungry for recognition, so we all put forth our maximum effort.” (Dogtown)

Stacy and Paul had both spent considerable time in television, and in their own words, “Were not really forced to be creative.” (Dogtown) They had a schedule and an expectation for TV that they had to meet, and they really had worked for quite a while with little or no artistic freedom. This was a challenge that they faced, as Vans gave them $400k and zero supervision. During the director’s commentary Stacy and Paul said that Vans never asked to see any daily’s or had any timeline structure, but left everything up to them. The amount of discipline that one must have to complete a project with little if any accountability is pretty considerable. One of the biggest concerns that they had while completing this film was purchasing music rights and finding those songs that best maintained the integrity of the old footage and stills. $400k is not that much money to work with if you consider the purchase of music and old surf and skate footage. Rounding up and editing all of that footage was pretty difficult as well. Paul said that he went through hours and hours of old Z boy footage and random surf footage to capture the right images in the film. What a marvelous job he did in editing it together to create a seamless documentation of SoCal history.

Stacy stated in the director’s cut that locating everybody on the original team was pretty difficult, because he had lost contact with several of them. He said that he had flown in to Hawaii to interview the founder of the Zephyr team, Jeff Ho, and had gotten totally lucky in contacting Shogo Kubo, who reached out to him in the eleventh hour. (Dogtown) Up until I heard this it had never occurred to me the problem of rounding up people that one had not seen in twenty plus years. So, picture all of these struggles. Now imagine from start to finish you collect all of these pieces and have a finished product in 6 months! That is unbelievable!

This film used a lot of footage shot by onlookers and third party members of the Z boys. Those with the cameras had hopes of becoming part of the team, and filming the competitions and swimming pool scenes were the sure ways that they could be involved with their hometown heroes. The stills of the Z boys were shot by craig Stecyk who wrote many articles about their exploits for skateboarding magazines. Through the images that he captured as well as the stories he wrote, the boys became legendary and he perpetuated their success.

Meredith Brody states,” Stacy Peralta incorporates interviews with the grown-up boarders, and his accomplished (if occasionally overcut) film combines nostalgia for the group's artistry with a poignant examination of the inevitable loss of innocence: lucrative deals with skateboard manufacturers swiftly broke the group apart.” (Chicagoreader.com)

This documentary would be considered poetic, expository, observational and participatory. First, Poetic: This film has many aesthetic qualities that make it standout from so many documentaries that I have seen. There are intense cuts between rough skate and surf footage, sandwiched between black and white interviews, strung together with intense, harsh music. Peralta uses graphics and shot manipulation to intensify the experience of the audience, throw in some editing tricks and you get a mashed array of vivid images that sticks with the viewers. The colors in this film help to clarify time periods and attitudes of those individuals and settings being filmed.

Second, Expository: Sean Penn as the narrator really gets in to some of the nitty, gritty details of the way things were in Venice. He describes the creation of Venice, its rise in Americana, its fall and the rubble that remained, both physically and emotionally within the community. The way that he explains that segment of history sets the scene for the attitudes of the young people being portrayed. When their story begins you feel like you know them better based on the circumstances that were previously discussed. Like I mentioned earlier Penn brings honesty to the narration, because of his roots in the area and culture.

Third, Participatory: during the interviews you can hear the cameramen laugh and react to the dialogue of the interviewee. The archived footage of the Z boys was very hands on and they were aware of the “objective” party filming. They gesture and speak in to the camera, and those filming react to the tricks and circumstances being documented. There is a unified feeling between those being documented and those documenting, and this awareness supersedes the two dimensional nature of the film, it is palpable.

Fourth, Observational: this is interesting because participatory is the preceding subject. Much of the footage is filmed from a distance or in the background and it captures the natural setting that the boys and surfers had with their environment. In much of the footage you can sense the oneness that the individual felt with his/her environment, much like watching an animal in its natural habitat. The reactions and events are completely unscripted, and the athlete doesn’t realize the observational value of what he/she is doing, allowing the individual to perform at high level.

The mixture of all of these elements is what defines this film as such a marvelous documentary. Peralta created a film that mimicked many of the attributes of those that were documented, and really what made them so great; intensity, focus, raw, passion, tough, hard-edged, to name a few.

Dexter Analysis: Opening Credits

This show is so money it is redonkulous! The opening is really a unique mixing of everyday objects, shot in a startling array of colors, angles and lighting. The first scene is of a mosquito landing on Dexter’s arm, symbolizing immediately his thirst for blood. He swats it and splatters the mosquito full of blood on his arm, and watches with a morbid fascination. The title than appears as splattering blood, evoking more of this blood thirsty imagery. He then looks in the mirror, but the image is very blurry, helping to establish his skewed sense of self. He then prepares his neard, neck beard, to be shaved and then he cuts himself the blood running down his throat splattering in the sink. I believe that this is representative of his almost self inflicted sense of pain, emotional and physical. It is very self masochistic, he has hurt and cut himself due to this insatiable appetite for blood.

Slicing in to the pork chop is the next scene and it represents that preparation for the hunger about to be temporarily filled. He then rams the chop in to his mouth taking great pleasure in each large bite. You get the feeling of his relishing the fleshy texture of the pork, as he thinks of his next victim. Very raw and animalistic. The egg cracks open, similar to a human skull, and they are cooked in a searing pan, maybe representing the heat of hell, and then it is consumed with Tabasco sauce dripped on like blood with identical splattering occurring. Coffee is grinded and the close-up shot gives it such a violent feel, like a drill is being pressed in to someone’s temple. As he cuts in to a blood orange, representing both a human heart and possibly his own, juice squirts everywhere, really playing on this violent theme. As he juices the orange, I cant help but think of his own heart/feelings being drained of all their juices/emotions leaving an empty rind/shell that is Dexter. As he flosses and ties his shoes and puts on his shirt you really get a sense of how meticulous he is in preparation for the day and his killing. As he leaves his apartment he smiles and you get a feel for his sick derivation of happiness.

The Cider House Rules

Cider house Rules

Michael Caine does a fantastic job expressing the message of the film. In this film he has been created to be a father figure, not just to the orphans, but the audience as well. He is a wise man with what seems to be infinite love and patience; if a man like this has dedicated his life to an orphanage and its occupants, how then can he be in support of abortion?

The director has effectively created a scenario where, as an audience, we can buy in to the debate of abortion, due to the character creation in this film. Wally in this film gives a look in to the emotional trauma that one must feel as they go through this difficult procedure. Especially in an era when abortion was such a taboo subject, one broached only through desperation. The window that this movie looks into is a difficult one, abortion when it was illegal at a mid-century orphanage? Let’s put as many social issues dealing with children as we can in one movie.

Charlize Theron has red nails, lies in a convertible with red leather, is this a warning or sign about her character? Mr. Rose explains to Homer the importance of picking the apple, minding the spur, for if the spur is picked then you have inadvertently picked the apple for next year as well. Homer has educated hands that do not betray him, all a metaphor for the work that he did at St. Cloud. If you do not do the abortion right or your hands betray you, you could destroy the womb of a woman and any future progeny.

Wilbur makes a comment to Homer as they are driving in the car, that is the perfect metaphor for this movie, as they argue about abortion. He says,”happy to be alive no matter what the circumstances?” as the movie progresses you can see his growth and experience grow, arguing his point about the importance of life. The movie they see is Wuthering heights, which is interesting because in the novel they have children and in the movie they don’t. the connection that Homer has and the atmosphere that is created in this movie is a mimicking of the womb, fuzzy and his bronchitis compartment, the orphanage and migrant workers quarters; many of the characters form such deep emotional bonds and have habitat in such close proximity with one another.

King Kong may be a representation of this principle as well, ripped from his natural environment to meet his demise. The back and forth that homer and Wilbur share is a very compelling as well as strongly emotional. The love that they have for one another is a great thing. That one could be raised by the other and have such differing opinions about such an important theme. I love the dichotomy in this movie and the creation of good and evil, black and white; yet they mix and weave, leaving a rope of entangled stories and characters. And of course we see the impossible happen, Mr. Rose was sleeping with his daughter and got her pregnant, so now what with the illegality of abortion. Life is not an easy thing; decisions are to be made at times that conflict with our deepest sets of moral standards.

It seemed like Wilbur had a tough time coping with what he felt like he needed to do, I realized it at the end of the movie, the ether helped him to sleep or to remove him from that in which he was engaged. Destiny and the rules by which we abide don’t necessarily apply to who we are or who become. Before Mr. Rose dies he says, “Sometimes you gotta break some rules to put things straight.” The many themes on which the movie touches make it an interesting study on many of life’s circumstances, but I think that the major message of the film is just as simple as,” life is not in black and white, there is uncertainty and doubt, and sometimes you gotta break the rules to make things straight.”

One of the interesting pieces with which this movie corresponded is David Copperfield. The new life and change that is wrought upon many of the characters in this movie, this movie speaks of journey and the lost or orphaned finding themselves and their path. I loved this movie, very compelling plot and written with strong metaphors about life in general. This film is chuck full of societal themes and topics ranging from abortion to self-discovery and moral conduct.