Although I haven't been seeing too many movies lately, I feel that I have a lot of time to catch up because of the lack of movies of interest coming out within the next while. This is a real disappointment since the winter season is usually the time for Oscar bait, and just for the year to catch up with all of the good movies it can fill in before its end. But as I scrolled through the up and coming movies from this point until the end of December, I just found nothing that I was truly excited about. And nothing that looked promising enough to sweep me off my feet. But then again, there's always the fun in the surprise, eh?
I'm just so disappointed. By this time last year I was scrambling to see all of the great movies that I could before they left theaters, and trying even harder to get in the movies I missed throughout the year. But there isn't much scrambling going on right now. I feel that my movie hunting will be done with within the first few weeks of beginning.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
Robert Altman dead.
Robert Altman is dead.
When I was insanely infatuated with Paul Thomas Anderson (which wasn't too long ago, mind you), I was forced to find out more about Robert Altman. The names were always connected based on PT Anderson's inspirations coming greatly from Altman. I viewed an Altman double feature of The Long Goodbye and California Split. I thoroughly enjoyed The Long Goodbye, though I must admit that by the time California Split rolled around I was dozing off for most of the film. I loved The Player. And I made an effort to watch A Prairie Home Companion upon its arrival this past summer. Not a very thorough run in with the acclaimed director, but he was always on my list of "who I've got to check out." In fact, I remember missing another double feature that included Nashville, one of his most talked about films and one I've been dying to check out. I was very let down.
In honor of the death of a director I wish I had known more, I'm moving Nashville to the top of my Netflix queue. I'm sure as my knowledge of his filmography increases I'll feel worse and worse as I realize what a loss this was.
When I was insanely infatuated with Paul Thomas Anderson (which wasn't too long ago, mind you), I was forced to find out more about Robert Altman. The names were always connected based on PT Anderson's inspirations coming greatly from Altman. I viewed an Altman double feature of The Long Goodbye and California Split. I thoroughly enjoyed The Long Goodbye, though I must admit that by the time California Split rolled around I was dozing off for most of the film. I loved The Player. And I made an effort to watch A Prairie Home Companion upon its arrival this past summer. Not a very thorough run in with the acclaimed director, but he was always on my list of "who I've got to check out." In fact, I remember missing another double feature that included Nashville, one of his most talked about films and one I've been dying to check out. I was very let down.
In honor of the death of a director I wish I had known more, I'm moving Nashville to the top of my Netflix queue. I'm sure as my knowledge of his filmography increases I'll feel worse and worse as I realize what a loss this was.
Happy Feet
Because of business for the past couple of weeks, I haven't been able to watch too many movies lately. My return to the cinema (for the first time since the opening of Borat) occurred with a viewing of the latest animated penguin musical, Happy Feet. I don't know what I was really expecting with this, but I was a bit let down. It was a fun little romp of a film, but it just lacked something. The dancing wasn't very exciting and the songs were just oddly amusing, if anything. I'll admit that the film won my heart during a few of the fun scenes, but it was just everywhere. I couldn't relax with it. Kids will enjoy it, if they're at the age where anything upbeat and musical will get them jumping up and down and screaming.
When watching the beginning of the film, I was reminded of last year's March of the Penguins. Happy Feet covers a lot of the same ground with the mating patterns and the warming of the eggs and such, with one exception: no deaths. I'm sure viewing the films consequetively would cause a stir about the little emphasis on the harshness of the penguin life. But, then again, it's a kids movie. An animated feature, at that. And to top it all off, it features songs ranging from Prince to 98 Degrees to Steve Miller Band. I'm sure people will be able to let if off a little easy.
Top movie of the box office in its second weekend? I really thought Casino Royale would have had it beat. But then again, I didn't see Casino Royale, and what I do determines everything.
C+
When watching the beginning of the film, I was reminded of last year's March of the Penguins. Happy Feet covers a lot of the same ground with the mating patterns and the warming of the eggs and such, with one exception: no deaths. I'm sure viewing the films consequetively would cause a stir about the little emphasis on the harshness of the penguin life. But, then again, it's a kids movie. An animated feature, at that. And to top it all off, it features songs ranging from Prince to 98 Degrees to Steve Miller Band. I'm sure people will be able to let if off a little easy.
Top movie of the box office in its second weekend? I really thought Casino Royale would have had it beat. But then again, I didn't see Casino Royale, and what I do determines everything.
C+
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Movie title fun
I can't be the only person who finds it funny that A Good Year and Harsh Times are coming out at the same time. C'mon.
That reminds me of when Little Man and Little Miss Sunshine were in theaters at the same time. The marquee at the theater I work at could only fit 10 letters, so two different movie choices were "Little Man" and "Little Miss."
That reminds me of when Little Man and Little Miss Sunshine were in theaters at the same time. The marquee at the theater I work at could only fit 10 letters, so two different movie choices were "Little Man" and "Little Miss."
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
The best news I've heard in a while.
Ben Affleck turned down a Daredevil sequel.
You'd think that the horrible Elektra would be enough for them. But a sequel is still being considered. I know it's one of the industry's most overused jokes, but I have to say it: if Ben Affleck turns it down, it has to be pretty bad.
You'd think that the horrible Elektra would be enough for them. But a sequel is still being considered. I know it's one of the industry's most overused jokes, but I have to say it: if Ben Affleck turns it down, it has to be pretty bad.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Grindhouse! Rejoice!
Who isn't excited about the Grindhouse double feature that directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are collaborating on? The two directors are mainstream masters of gory bliss, and they're coming together to revive the grindhouse genre that is wittling away in this day and age. The two feel that the genre is what they grew up with and have been inspired by, so they don't want to see it die. I have faith that the two will pull together something very fun. After all, this time they carry with them a mission. Even if that mission is to create the best in campy, gory entertainment, it is a mission nonetheless. It is slated for release on April 7, 2007.
Here's the RottenTomatoes Story.
As for the other projects the directors are supposed to be working on (Rodriguez's Sin City 2 and Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards), it's hard to say what will be going on with those. We'll just have to hold on to what we can get.
Here's the RottenTomatoes Story.
As for the other projects the directors are supposed to be working on (Rodriguez's Sin City 2 and Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards), it's hard to say what will be going on with those. We'll just have to hold on to what we can get.
Out of Order Out of Order Cinema
My brother was telling me a funny story about something that happened at the movie theater that he works at. A girl, who was newly trained to run projectors, threaded her first movie. That is, she put all of the reels together and prepared it to be played. All seemed to go well for her. Oh yes, and this film that she threaded was The Prestige.
I loved The Prestige. I really liked it a lot walking out of the movie, but the extra layer of the mixture of the storyline made me love it even more later on. After having a long conversation with my brother the day after we had both seen it, I started to appreciate the depth of the movie so much more. And by the time we were done discussing, we were blown away. It is just an amazing piece of work.
But, for those of you who don't know, The Prestige is told out of order. This is one of the things that makes the story so much more complicated (yet more fun). It's a very jumbled film. Time and narrator shifts around based on the progression of the plot. So if the movie happened to, for some reason, be out of order, it would take a long time for the audience to really realize this.
A week and a half, in fact.
Yes, the new girl threaded the movie out of order. An entire reel was placed too early. This basically means about a fourth of the movie was just in the wrong spot completely. And it took a week and a half for this to be realized. People actually walked out of the movie and understood it, even loved it, and it was not in the right order. I'm not sure whether that means people are just stupid or the movie is that brilliant. Perhaps a bit of both.
I loved The Prestige. I really liked it a lot walking out of the movie, but the extra layer of the mixture of the storyline made me love it even more later on. After having a long conversation with my brother the day after we had both seen it, I started to appreciate the depth of the movie so much more. And by the time we were done discussing, we were blown away. It is just an amazing piece of work.
But, for those of you who don't know, The Prestige is told out of order. This is one of the things that makes the story so much more complicated (yet more fun). It's a very jumbled film. Time and narrator shifts around based on the progression of the plot. So if the movie happened to, for some reason, be out of order, it would take a long time for the audience to really realize this.
A week and a half, in fact.
Yes, the new girl threaded the movie out of order. An entire reel was placed too early. This basically means about a fourth of the movie was just in the wrong spot completely. And it took a week and a half for this to be realized. People actually walked out of the movie and understood it, even loved it, and it was not in the right order. I'm not sure whether that means people are just stupid or the movie is that brilliant. Perhaps a bit of both.
Monday, November 06, 2006
So apparently I like The Meaning of Life better than Holy Grail...
I saw a Monty Python double bill at the New Beverly last night. It was Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Meaning of Life. I had seen Holy Grail before, but not Meaning of Life. I had been in denial up until last night about how funny Holy Grail was. I knew when I saw it before that I felt it was overrated. It took a second viewing to reveal that I actually did feel this. Although I do enjoy the movie a lot, it is no where near as good as the movie quoters will lead you to believe.
But Meaning of Life... that's a different story. It is probably the least talked about of the Monty Python movies, but I enjoyed it more than the rest. Perhaps the fact that it wasn't following a steady storyline gave it more room to spread the Monty Python wings and have a level of humor more similar to the Flying Circus stuff (where the genius truly lies). I haven't laughed as much as I did during the Sexual Intercourse Class scene in a long time (and I just watched Borat the night before, which has buzz of being the possible "funniest movie ever").
But Meaning of Life... that's a different story. It is probably the least talked about of the Monty Python movies, but I enjoyed it more than the rest. Perhaps the fact that it wasn't following a steady storyline gave it more room to spread the Monty Python wings and have a level of humor more similar to the Flying Circus stuff (where the genius truly lies). I haven't laughed as much as I did during the Sexual Intercourse Class scene in a long time (and I just watched Borat the night before, which has buzz of being the possible "funniest movie ever").
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation
I love Borat on the Ali G Show. I loved the trailer for Borat. I figured it had to be really good. There were crowds of people to see it. I had to sit on the floor because the theater was sold out. I was pumped.
But the movie itself was disappointing. While the Borat character works so well in interviews, about half of the movie is Borat setting up plotpoints so that the movie isn't directionless. The segments of plot just make the movie more pitiful and the jokes don't seem very funny when they're not used in a satirical way, as they are in interviews. I just wasn't entertained by a lot of the lame excuses at creating a plot. They were pretty bad. But I must admit that the legitimate Borat moments that included interviews and/or hidden cameras create some of the most genuine laughs created in a movie theater. It's just impossible to gather up all of those moments and create a movie without A) doing what they did here, or B) making a random collection of segments (ala Jackass). Either way the film would not have been perfect. They did what they did and it works for a lot of laughs. It's just not perfect. Hardly.
But the movie itself was disappointing. While the Borat character works so well in interviews, about half of the movie is Borat setting up plotpoints so that the movie isn't directionless. The segments of plot just make the movie more pitiful and the jokes don't seem very funny when they're not used in a satirical way, as they are in interviews. I just wasn't entertained by a lot of the lame excuses at creating a plot. They were pretty bad. But I must admit that the legitimate Borat moments that included interviews and/or hidden cameras create some of the most genuine laughs created in a movie theater. It's just impossible to gather up all of those moments and create a movie without A) doing what they did here, or B) making a random collection of segments (ala Jackass). Either way the film would not have been perfect. They did what they did and it works for a lot of laughs. It's just not perfect. Hardly.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
The necessary welcome.
This is my blog. I will be using it for movie related things. I just have all of these thoughts about movies in my head that I want to spread around the world like manure... but instead, I'll just use this.
I am Jon DuBos. I'm 17-years-old and I watch a lot of movies. Based on that sentence you can make opinions as you will.
I used to write reviews for Epinions.com a lot, but I kind of stopped. I felt too pressured to write under that website. Sometimes I just feel like spilling out thoughts... and that's what this is for. Spilling out thoughts, reviewing the latest movies I've seen, and spreading the word. I hope this can be appreciated by more than just myself.
Enjoy!
I am Jon DuBos. I'm 17-years-old and I watch a lot of movies. Based on that sentence you can make opinions as you will.
I used to write reviews for Epinions.com a lot, but I kind of stopped. I felt too pressured to write under that website. Sometimes I just feel like spilling out thoughts... and that's what this is for. Spilling out thoughts, reviewing the latest movies I've seen, and spreading the word. I hope this can be appreciated by more than just myself.
Enjoy!
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