Sunday, June 29, 2014
This is 36.....
So I'm standing in the aisle of a seven eleven and I'm actually scanning trans fat content on a pre maid turkey sandwich. And I'm as scanning the health content on this particular breakfast item and I as frantically try to engage myself in a healthy breakfast...... one thought looms on the horizon like a patch of storm clouds; this must be what adulthood must be like. This must be what thirty six feels like. Counting of calories, a recurring daydream when I put my foot on the gas of an automobile and escape reason and responsibility for awhile. This mist be maturity, the point where I want to find my younger stupid self and throttle him but good for making incredible stupid and or poor decisions. This must be maturity; counting calories and embracing the rebirth of a relationship that I know isn't good for me in the long run. This is maturity; acting out of need and counting calories and dreaming of some magical utopia where I have the power to do nothing while still fulfilling the adult contract that I'm liable for until I breathe my last. This is maturity I guess. I'm Crash Davis, wearily roaming the landscape of the minor leagues of life in search of my reward. Namely, my call up to the big leagues. This is my life, this is maturity. Coffee with processed sweeteners, trans fat awareness, cholesterol counts, Woody Allen like bouts of hypochondria, lottery tickets bought on a whim, thoughts of reinvention, the pondering of what was, a growing romance for baseball, a desire for calm, luggage under the eyes, a deep appreciation of the people who can stomach my company for more than a minute, the scramble to maintain self, work spaces that are my own, bosses who are assholes, thoughts of escape followed by thoughts of sobering reasoning, rent payments, bills, web MD visits, self doubt, realization and the sometimes inviting blanket of solitude.
Stratospheric....
The Fault In Our Stars should be a model of how to transcend the disease of the week genre. Screenwriters Scott Neustadtler and Michael H Weber should be commended for the choices they make. Choices that ultimately lift The Fault In Our Stars above and beyond the level of
of a manipulative tear jerker. One of the more prudent choices made by writers Scott Neustadtler and Michael H. Weber choices is to treat the respective illnesses of the main characters Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort) as a looming elephant in the room and not a button to be pushed whenever the plot needs it to be. The screenplay by Scott Neustadtler and Michael H Weber is aware of the destiny that ultimately awaits Hazel and Gus but wisely, their focus is on the elements of love and pathos and these two extraordinary people who have are blessed with enough awareness to make every moment between them count.
I've read some reviews that have taken director Josh Boone to task for directing this film with a heavy hand. IE, his use of music to evoke a certain tone at key moments in the film. Namely, the payoff scene in the last act. I could not disagree more. Yes, there are few moments when it feels like director Josh Boone is maybe trying to use the sound track as a means to create romantically nostalgic pathos. For the most part though, director Josh Boone functions very well as an observer. He is unobtrusive when the film needs him to be and he is observant when the film needs him to be. There is a great moment when Gus declares his love for Hazel after a romantic dinner. The shot of Hazel's reaction when she hears Gus declare his love for her is handled with such delicateness and such care and such skill. It's like I've always said, a good director knows when to lead and when to simple get out of the way of their actors. Perhaps the best moment in the film is when Hazel and Gus have a rather sour experience with a writer they admire named Van Houten (Wilem Defoe.) Most directors would use this sequence as an excuse to create artifical tension to set up the separation and then the eventually reuniting of the characters. Instead of treating them as pawns in the plot, writers Scott Neustadtler and Michael H Weber instill in their characters an uncanny sense of self awareness that, in my view, lifts this film to greater heights.
Plot: Hazel (Shailenne Woodley) is a seventeen year old who has thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. But thanks to an experimental treatment, Hazel has been blessed with some added time in terms of her survival rate. Forced by her mother Frannie (Laura Dern) to attend a cancer support group, Hazel ultimately meets another cancer survivor named Gus (Ansel Elgort) who lost a leg to a form of bone cancer. What starts as a meet cute blossoms into a full fledged romance that transcends both time and circumstance for Hazel and Gus. I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own.
I've thrown more than a few accolades at the writers and at director Josh Boone, but let me praise the performances of Shailene Woodley (Hazel) and Ansel Elgort (Gus.) The chemistry between Woodley and Elgort is undeniable and Woodley takes a seemingly one dim,ensional role and instills it with depth and vigor. Elgort as Gus pulls off a difficult balancing act of being charming and memorable without becoming obvious about it after awhile. In the hands of Woodley and Elgort, Hazel and Gus aren't just the typical one note terminal cases in a typical one note tear jerker.
I've heard critics say that the scene towards the end of the last act involving the eulogy is manipulative. I say it's genuine and well acted by everyone in the scene. If you've ever faced down the mortality of a loved one, Hazel's eyes tell you all that you need to know. This is a film that is genuine and honest and this is a film that has it's priorities straight.
of a manipulative tear jerker. One of the more prudent choices made by writers Scott Neustadtler and Michael H. Weber choices is to treat the respective illnesses of the main characters Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort) as a looming elephant in the room and not a button to be pushed whenever the plot needs it to be. The screenplay by Scott Neustadtler and Michael H Weber is aware of the destiny that ultimately awaits Hazel and Gus but wisely, their focus is on the elements of love and pathos and these two extraordinary people who have are blessed with enough awareness to make every moment between them count.
I've read some reviews that have taken director Josh Boone to task for directing this film with a heavy hand. IE, his use of music to evoke a certain tone at key moments in the film. Namely, the payoff scene in the last act. I could not disagree more. Yes, there are few moments when it feels like director Josh Boone is maybe trying to use the sound track as a means to create romantically nostalgic pathos. For the most part though, director Josh Boone functions very well as an observer. He is unobtrusive when the film needs him to be and he is observant when the film needs him to be. There is a great moment when Gus declares his love for Hazel after a romantic dinner. The shot of Hazel's reaction when she hears Gus declare his love for her is handled with such delicateness and such care and such skill. It's like I've always said, a good director knows when to lead and when to simple get out of the way of their actors. Perhaps the best moment in the film is when Hazel and Gus have a rather sour experience with a writer they admire named Van Houten (Wilem Defoe.) Most directors would use this sequence as an excuse to create artifical tension to set up the separation and then the eventually reuniting of the characters. Instead of treating them as pawns in the plot, writers Scott Neustadtler and Michael H Weber instill in their characters an uncanny sense of self awareness that, in my view, lifts this film to greater heights.
Plot: Hazel (Shailenne Woodley) is a seventeen year old who has thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. But thanks to an experimental treatment, Hazel has been blessed with some added time in terms of her survival rate. Forced by her mother Frannie (Laura Dern) to attend a cancer support group, Hazel ultimately meets another cancer survivor named Gus (Ansel Elgort) who lost a leg to a form of bone cancer. What starts as a meet cute blossoms into a full fledged romance that transcends both time and circumstance for Hazel and Gus. I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own.
I've thrown more than a few accolades at the writers and at director Josh Boone, but let me praise the performances of Shailene Woodley (Hazel) and Ansel Elgort (Gus.) The chemistry between Woodley and Elgort is undeniable and Woodley takes a seemingly one dim,ensional role and instills it with depth and vigor. Elgort as Gus pulls off a difficult balancing act of being charming and memorable without becoming obvious about it after awhile. In the hands of Woodley and Elgort, Hazel and Gus aren't just the typical one note terminal cases in a typical one note tear jerker.
I've heard critics say that the scene towards the end of the last act involving the eulogy is manipulative. I say it's genuine and well acted by everyone in the scene. If you've ever faced down the mortality of a loved one, Hazel's eyes tell you all that you need to know. This is a film that is genuine and honest and this is a film that has it's priorities straight.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Father's Day,,,,, Nyeh....
I wish I could tell you that I'm sitting in a darkened corner bemoaning the loss of my father on father's day but I'm not. Remember when Red crossed the border in The Shawshank Redemption as a free man? That's the feeling that I had when my dad passed. Not that I hated the man.... well..... maybe.... kinda.... sorta.... I don't know. It's kind of like that scene in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where Frankstein stumbles onto the ship and hears the echo of the beast in the distance. I know that my dad is somewhere bitching about something in some sub division of the afterlife but every once in awhile I hear the echo of the monster beneath the fog that is sometimes known as my adult life. In my mind, the best thing that I can do is to NOT become like my father. So here's hoping that when or if I get married, I don't make my mate's life a living hell the way my dad made my mom's life a living hell. Hopefully, when or if I get married, I will be more communicative and not walk around the house in my underwear with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth. As I'm prone to do I'm looking on the bright side on Father's Day, this day of ambivalence and leisure. Since I'm a writer or more to the point, TRYING to be a writer, I have my father's collection of self esteem crushing moments in my head. All I need to do is bring them out of the archives. Thank you for telling me that the college diploma I had just earned wasn't worth shit and thank you for asking the one person I had a deep and meaningful connection with why she was with me. Thank you poppa. Thank you for telling me to go all color purple on the live of my life if she got "mouthy." I never hot her pop and I never quote on quote "put her in line." I never did what you told me to do poppa because I'm not you and I never will be. Happy Father's day my albatross, I'm happy to say that I am nothing like you. At. All.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
The wicked one
The Wicked One
I'll say it right here and now. The ending for maleficence is a cop out, an obvious attempt by Disney give the adults enough sub-text to keep them interested while not alienating the kiddies that Maleficent is obviously marketed to. I give Disney some credit for not fully lobotomizing Linda Wooverton's script for the sake of outright commercialism. The ending is a good example of this. Well, at least the first act of the ending is at least. There are sequences in the middle of the last act where Maleficent (Angelina Joliet) is unmercileslsly pummeled by her former flame Stephan (Sharlito Copley) with such fury that you wonder who Disney greased at the MPAA to get this film a PG rating. After an incredibly breath taking sequence in which Maleficent drops a vanquished foe off the top of a castle, the next shot is a compromised ball of glossy pomp and circumstance pandering that makes you wonder what this film could've been if Disney had full taken their foot off of the gas.
Now normally this would be a seething two star rating bemoaning a film that didn't have the guts to fulfill its own destiny. The thing about Maleficent is that it works. This film not only works, it actually has enough adult sub text to make it as fascinating as it delicious. Writer Linda Wooverton's script doesn't treat Maleficent as a disposable pawn in which to move the plot. When Maleficent does make her inevitable about face and discovers her humanity beneath the ice that was once her heart, writer Linda Wooverton ceases this opportunity to explore the pathos of revenge in a very grown up manner. There's is a great moment in the second act where Maleficent's unbridled thirst for revenge is held up to her like a mirror and she realizes what she is becoming.
Plot: Young malefience (Isabella Molloy) is a magical fairy creature who develops a crush on young Stefan (Michael Higgins.) As the years go on, Maleficence (now played by Angelina Joliet) finds her romance with Stephan (now played by Sharlito Copley) flagging a bit as Stephan's ambition to become king starts to take precedence over his romance with Maleficient Further complicating matters is the war that the mortals and Maleficent are waging against one another. After single handedly vanquishing the blood thirsty king henry and his royal army, the wounded emperor offers the throne to anyone who is willing to take out Maleficent. In the Stephan accepts the bounty and ends up betraying Maleficent. It is this act of betrayal that leaves Maleficent seeking revenge against not only Stephan but also his first born, Aurora (Elle Fanning.) Upon locking eyes on young Aurora, Maleficent curses the child with a prophecy; young Aurora will fall into a death sleep upon her sixteenth birthday and only a kiss of true love is to being her back from deaths door. I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own.
I've thrown a few bouquets at writer Linda Wooverton but Angelina Joliet deserves some high praise for her work as Maleficent. Joliet is a perfect blend of wickedness, smoldering sensuality, and tempered vampishness that keeps the performance from wandering into a state of pandering or outright parody. Jolie's performance keeps this film afloat because she never over plays the material. In the hands of a lesser actress, Maleficent becomes an empty shell of pre programmed fury/ In Jolie's hands, Maleficent is a wounded soul whose sense of justice blinds her to the collateral damage that revenge often leaves in its wake. Indeed, Jolie's transformation from wide eyed romantic to scornful sorceress seems very organic and unforced. While Jolie deserves the plaudits, credit screenwriter Linda Wooverton for giving Jolie a fully developed character to work and not just a hastily sketched outline. Jolie is given the ball and she runs with it.
I said that Maleficent has adult sub text sprinkled about and nothing is more indicative of this than the battle between Stephan and Maleficent. Like Maleficent, Stephan is a two dimensional character and not simply a caricature for the screenplay to manipulate at will. If it is revenge that blinds Maleficent, it is both power and hate that eat away at the man that Maleficent once knew and ultimately loved.
I'll say it right here and now. The ending for maleficence is a cop out, an obvious attempt by Disney give the adults enough sub-text to keep them interested while not alienating the kiddies that Maleficent is obviously marketed to. I give Disney some credit for not fully lobotomizing Linda Wooverton's script for the sake of outright commercialism. The ending is a good example of this. Well, at least the first act of the ending is at least. There are sequences in the middle of the last act where Maleficent (Angelina Joliet) is unmercileslsly pummeled by her former flame Stephan (Sharlito Copley) with such fury that you wonder who Disney greased at the MPAA to get this film a PG rating. After an incredibly breath taking sequence in which Maleficent drops a vanquished foe off the top of a castle, the next shot is a compromised ball of glossy pomp and circumstance pandering that makes you wonder what this film could've been if Disney had full taken their foot off of the gas.
Now normally this would be a seething two star rating bemoaning a film that didn't have the guts to fulfill its own destiny. The thing about Maleficent is that it works. This film not only works, it actually has enough adult sub text to make it as fascinating as it delicious. Writer Linda Wooverton's script doesn't treat Maleficent as a disposable pawn in which to move the plot. When Maleficent does make her inevitable about face and discovers her humanity beneath the ice that was once her heart, writer Linda Wooverton ceases this opportunity to explore the pathos of revenge in a very grown up manner. There's is a great moment in the second act where Maleficent's unbridled thirst for revenge is held up to her like a mirror and she realizes what she is becoming.
Plot: Young malefience (Isabella Molloy) is a magical fairy creature who develops a crush on young Stefan (Michael Higgins.) As the years go on, Maleficence (now played by Angelina Joliet) finds her romance with Stephan (now played by Sharlito Copley) flagging a bit as Stephan's ambition to become king starts to take precedence over his romance with Maleficient Further complicating matters is the war that the mortals and Maleficent are waging against one another. After single handedly vanquishing the blood thirsty king henry and his royal army, the wounded emperor offers the throne to anyone who is willing to take out Maleficent. In the Stephan accepts the bounty and ends up betraying Maleficent. It is this act of betrayal that leaves Maleficent seeking revenge against not only Stephan but also his first born, Aurora (Elle Fanning.) Upon locking eyes on young Aurora, Maleficent curses the child with a prophecy; young Aurora will fall into a death sleep upon her sixteenth birthday and only a kiss of true love is to being her back from deaths door. I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own.
I've thrown a few bouquets at writer Linda Wooverton but Angelina Joliet deserves some high praise for her work as Maleficent. Joliet is a perfect blend of wickedness, smoldering sensuality, and tempered vampishness that keeps the performance from wandering into a state of pandering or outright parody. Jolie's performance keeps this film afloat because she never over plays the material. In the hands of a lesser actress, Maleficent becomes an empty shell of pre programmed fury/ In Jolie's hands, Maleficent is a wounded soul whose sense of justice blinds her to the collateral damage that revenge often leaves in its wake. Indeed, Jolie's transformation from wide eyed romantic to scornful sorceress seems very organic and unforced. While Jolie deserves the plaudits, credit screenwriter Linda Wooverton for giving Jolie a fully developed character to work and not just a hastily sketched outline. Jolie is given the ball and she runs with it.
I said that Maleficent has adult sub text sprinkled about and nothing is more indicative of this than the battle between Stephan and Maleficent. Like Maleficent, Stephan is a two dimensional character and not simply a caricature for the screenplay to manipulate at will. If it is revenge that blinds Maleficent, it is both power and hate that eat away at the man that Maleficent once knew and ultimately loved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)