What have I been up to, you wonder? Well, I moved for the summer. It is the first summer I have not had to work in 11 years. While I do feel a little weird with so much time on my hands, I have plenty of friends that have been itching to see me and have been busy almost every day since returning home. So far I have gone shopping in Freeport, ate grilled shrimp and asparagus, saw Star Trek Into Darkness(again), saw Now You See Me, drank way too much coffee, watched my friends in the YMCA Fitness Fest, and acted/held the boom mic for a zombie film.
Ah yes, zombie film. A majestical time between May and June when students get together for five weeks to watch and study zombie films, learn filming/editing software, bang out a script, and then spend several tight-packed days filming. All leading up to the showings this Thursday. The last time this class was offered was two years ago, when I was taking a 300 literature class(May Term) called Detective Fiction. Now that I have graduated UMF, it is being offered again. Thankfully, my good friend ABAB(of yes, a four part name that sounds lovely) is taking it and needed a few extra hands. So, I played a small bit as a hiker and was covered in blood. It was a good time with my friends. On the days I was not in the film, I discovered how fun it is to be the boom mic (human) stand. And yes, I kept it out of the frame. Easy to do when you closely read the writing on the mic and discovered that if you twist it and re-lock it, it will become really really tall.
So I am looking forward to Thursday, the editing occurs today and tomorrow and I am keeping away so that I will be uber surprised for the showing. In the meantime, I am trying to iron out a kink with my school- the final straw before England. I have (ermahgerd!) 16 days until I go to London. I fly out to various airports June 27th. I'm quite nervous. Its not the flying, its the getting on the plane. In the last year, I have taken so many trains and T stops that I have learned to calm down because I know what I am doing. I can also verify this when I give my friends directions or explain how I did it. The last time I flew, I was not in charge. When I went to England for a high school trip(a too brief ten days) my teacher was in charge. When I went to Florida for the Friday-Sunday class trip, also not in charge. Now I head to England on a very tight schedule and it's all me. Everyone tells me the signs are large enough to read and that I will have time, but I'm still concerned. Once I get on the plane I will easily sleep- not only because of the jet-lag time-change, but because I have to hit the ground running from Heathrow at 7:45AM, board a train, and then go to orientation.
Once I get there, everything will be hunky-dorey. In the Facebook group, the librarian students are already anticipating the planning of several trips. Cardiff(the home of the Doctor Who site tours), Loch Ness in Scotland, many tours within London. I made a list for myself of the top five or six things I need to do. In no particular order: 1) go to the Hardrock Cafe in London, 2)try to see a game at the London FIFA soccer stadium, 3) go to Platform 9 3/4 at king's Cross(they made it exist! trust me!) 4) HP Warner Brother's set/pros tour, 5) see Phantom of the Opera on West End, 6) see a play at the Globe Theatre. And on and on. Thankfully, there are many tours and trips provided within the class itself and we have weekends as well as a mini break to see the rest of things(of which there is much!)
There really isn't much to report besides the above. I can tell you that I am reading Simon Pegg's autobiography(not just for dead people anymore!) Nerd Do Well. Its very funny and I love his perspective for story telling. He gives it his own twist, as one might expect. I am hoping it tides me over until The World's End is released in August. A very good read that any Pegg fan would enjoy. Next up? Richard Castle's newest Derrick Storm novel. ( He's not dead?!) Again, hoping it tides me over until the fall when the next season of Castle airs.
In other news...
Sci-Fi/Comics news:
Pop over to slash film for many things, but mainly good comic book/insider articles. This includes photos from the set of X-Men Days of Futures Past, which is shooting in Montreal, Canada at the moment. I won't say who the fight photos are between, but I will say they're badass. They also have articles about The Amazing Spiderman 2 and many rumours for Justice League.
Man of Steel is still looking promising. I love Zack Snyder's work in 300(which has a sequel out soon) and Watchmen. I also really like Hans Zimmer and while I haven't had time to sit down with the soundtrack for Man of Steel(something I typically do after seeing the film) it should be lenty easy to do what with the ability to stream it from the site. Again, I am intrigued. I have been watching plenty of Smallville recently, I am at the tail end of season three, and still can't believe how much I love this show or how I could have ever walked away before the halfway point(season 5). I also loved Brandon Routh as Superman, he has the perfect look for it and I love his sense of humour. I think I need to rewatch that and then maybe create a blog post where I compare/contrast the three...
Monster Movies/TV news:
Dracula, starring Jon Rheys Myers, comes out this fall. It's looking like it could quickly becomes a new favourite. When classic literature is given a contemporary spin and it works(see Sherlock & Once Upon a Times) it's brilliant and exciting!
When an actor dies, sometimes their legacy(i.e. their grubby children) go bleak. That being said, I hope Daniel Radcliffe's part in a Frankenstein adaptation can still happen in the near future.
A couple of months ago, I started seeing article postings on /film about Movie 43. But just as quickly as they came, talk about the film went silent. I didn't know why- the trailer had Emma Stone, Kieran Culkin(Macaulay Culkin's cousin), and a bunch of other funny people. The concept of the film was pitched as night of a thousand stars meets New Year's Eve, many groovy people in one feature length film. But, like I said, it came and went and I never saw any theaters in my area advertise a showing.
Then I found Movie 43. Just this afternoon I got around to watching it. I now know why it couldn't last in theaters. Let me give you an almost scene-by-scene sketch to save you the time. Despite it's start-studded glory, there are only two saving moments to the film.
The concept of the film is that these three boys are "April Fools-ing" each other. To install viruses on the nerdy younger brother's computer, they make up the illusive Movie 43(a film that will make you lose your intestines and go crazy). The little brother then becomes intent on finding this "banned" film. On his way, he discovers other movie clips or shorts. This is where all of the supposedly funny moments from TV/trailers come in. Kate Winslet is there, sure, she goes on a blind date with Hugh Jackman's character. This multi-faceted, prosperous man of Gotham(not kidding, they use Gotham as a general city) but there is just one thing wrong with him- he has testicles on his throat and everyone seems to be okay with it except Kate Winslet. At this point, I almost stopped watching, I love Emma Stone, but not enough for this, I thought. But I kept watching.
Then there is a segment about homeschooling parents. These two parents are entertaining their neighbors and tell them just how they homeschool their child. I think it was meant to be funny but somehow missing somewhere amongst the parents pretending they are in high school(throwing parties, trying to have the "awkward first kiss" with their son) and their all-around bullying of their son(detentions, pushing, all-around confusing him). The scene ends with the neighbors meeting the son, whom is going out with friends and a girl- we think, oh okay they were kidding and he's normal. NOPE, instead his "girl" is a scarecrow(read:like in the fields) with his mom's face taped to the bag-head. Overall, a painful-not funny scene.
Now we get to meet Anna Faris' character. We start out at a lovely picnic scene, with chocolate covered strawberries and the probability of a proposal. The couple have been dating a year: the man wants to propose and Faris wants...him to poo on her..in the bedroom. We the watch a scene between his friends and him, who are totally cool with the idea of what she wants. We then have to watch him shovel burritos. And then instead of just getting the act over, she flirts it out and eventually is offended and leaves the house. It does end in a proposal, but not before he gets hit by a minicooper and poos in the street. This scene, if I wasn't cued in before, should have been where I stopped.
In between all of these, keep in mind the boys are still hunting for Movie 43 and instead start being intercepted by people who don't want them to watch it- turns out Movie 43 exists somewhere...
Shortly after this, we get to meet Stone and Culkin's characters. They have an odd relationship, she seems to be the one that got away. They have an exchange in a SuperMarket that catches everyone's attention. A couple of funny moments, also thinking how hard it must have been to keep a straightface as Culkin feels up her face and delivers some cheezy lines. The scene ends with the other customers covering for him so her can 'get the girl.' But we don't get to see that. Again we are transplanted.
Somewhere amidst all of this we watch a commercial for the "iBabe," an MP3 player in the shape of a full-figured naked woman. The commercial is just like an iTunes one, except this naked woman hangs out amongst them. A bit later in the film we have a somewhat funny scene that discusses how boys buying the iBabe try to ..."play" with it and therefore are loosing fingers, hands, and their penises. This scene has Richard Gere and Aasif Mandvi. It's a sort of funny concept and I admit I had a chuckle or two.
After this we have a chance to laugh, hopefully, when Justin Long appears on screen dressed as Roin- boy wonder. In a terrible costume, he is at a Gotham Speed Dating session. And, of course, Batman is there to foul it up. Batman is Jason Sudeikis. Robin ends up going through no successful dates because of Batman, who is there to stop a bomb, and even misses shots with Lois Lane(UMa Therman) and SuperGirl(Kristen Bell). When the Penguin presents the bomb on SuperGirl, Roin saves the day! And gets to make out with SuperGirl! Sounding like fan fiction? Don't worry, Batman unmasks SuperGirl as the Riddle and the whole thing was a sham. End scene.
Somewhere after this, we have a scene that I genuinely thought was the highlight of the scene. It stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Patrick Warburton. Middleschool boy kisses middle school girl. Middle school girl gets her period. Middleschool boy and older brother flip a lid and try to figure out how to stop the bleeding, which s only like a small spot but obvious in white pants. Warburton is the boys dad and he tries to explain to them what s happening to her body. Middle school girl's dad drops in and thinks they are bothering his daughter/poor hosts. Anyways, it's all pretty comical and totally realistic, at least to me.
I could go on because there is still a scene with Halle Berry(which ends with her blind date having gone in for surgery and looking Asian and her totally Botoxed out) and Gerard Butler playing a leprechaun who is super foul and a birthday present for Sean Williams Scott from Johnny Knowxville(who's pretty cute when he's not being a jackass). Whatever you do, do not watch the bits in the credits. Jason Duhamel owns a cat who wants to do him, that's all you gotta know. It's not sexy and brinks on the edge of a horror-movie when his cat tries to kill Elizabeth Banks, his girlfriend. But the kids next door do that for the cat.
If you're curious about an ending, Movie 43 is found despite all of the warning not to, and the kids are part of a Terminator Parody. Future travelers whom made a movie to stop themselves from finding Movie 43 in the first place. By watching the movie, they have brought on the Armageddon their future selves were trying to prevent.
My rating? 1.5 stars out of 10. Why 1.? Justin Long and Emma Stone did not disappoint. And I was honestly laughing at the period scene. Besides that, I paused the movie so many times, I was not into it. I went around my house, made lunch, did dishes, went on Facebook. I feel like some of the crap I have seen on YouTube's Comedy week were funnier than this, and those were by amateurs! Anyways, before I dig too deep a comedy hole, save yourself the time and go see The Hangover 3 or something.
Better review days have been had.
Obviously, spoliers. Read at your own risk.
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GO!
From the moment the film started, playing a typical 90s song , I knew I was in love with this movie more than the last film. Now don't get me wrong, I like ACDC, but it was too much to theme an entire movie's soundtrack around them. Rather than keep moving forward with the Tony Stark we see, we were transplanted to the Tony Stark from the first movie(much of his comic book life(origins story)) I loved the narrative for this. Robert Downey Jr. has a very funny acting style(straight-faced sarcasm) and a way of enticing you to listen. Which I did, straight through from 1999 to Present.
For a story, the arc of Iron Man 3 was much stronger than Iron Man 2. Iron Man 2 had it's moments, but it was not as memorable as, say Iron Man(the original). Why? Well when Rhodes was changed I was a little thrown and it also felt like everything was okay and Iron Man always had a handle on things. Which, we want the super hero to make things okay, but it didn't really feel like he was ever out of control. That fight, that willingness to prevail, is what makes us love comic books. Amongst many other things, of course.
So what did Iron Man 3 do right? The first thing is the humour. From the narrative to Tony Stark's uncanny ability to just not give a damn, or the "villain" in his natural habitat(yes I mean Mandarin), there was always a splash of laughter. Maybe some of it was not meant to be funny, like Tony Stark crash landing in Tennessee, but when a child in the theatre laughs- it makes it okay for you to do the same. Once you see the film, or maybe if you have, you will find many moments hilariously pleasing. It goes without saying, Robert Downey Jr. is definitely back and a solid Iron Man.
Next, things were well thought out. Here I mean the script and the practicality. Not everything from The Avengers was solved and there was a lot that happened. Normally in a film, the film ends and everything that happened is in the past. Not this time; In The Avengers Tony Stark finds himself having to deal with going into galactic space(facing near death once more) and coming to terms that there is more to handle than life in his world. Thor's world is the unimaginable, but what comes for The Avengers is beyond that. I think that would give anyone anxiety attacks. Which is what makes this superhero flaw work- it is realistic and gives Tony Stark that much more to work through. He's got Pepper and he needs to keep her, but when past history and recent history collide it makes for some epic character discovery. Not to mention he got 42 suits out of it...
Lastly, graphics. I know, CGI. A feature that many movies rely on too much. But from the botany/ficus flame-ons, to the many versions of Iron Man, I never found myself getting hung-up on the graphics. I didn't see the film in 3D, I am not sure that is an option for this one, and I didn't need to. The stunts were great, the fight to survive Tony's house was heart-racing, and everything just felt like it came together. This is a second addition to the idea that things were thought out. So not only did the plot make sense, the 300+(an exaggeration, but did you see that Design Graphics list?!?) graphic designers had me convinced that Iron Man was real.
So, go see it. Please watch Iron Man 1& 2 as well as The Avengers. The references to New York and the Pepper Potts' relationship won't make a heck of a lotta sense if you don't. Nor will the zinger after the credits for that matter. It's well worth the $9 I paid!
Good night!
End Spoilers.
Yes I know it's not clever. Yes I know it's the title of a movie- I just watched it. And yes, I know every other woman has already felt what I'm feeling because I myself have been there too. At least a few times.
This evening my friend Kim introduced my roommate and I to a film called Lost in Austen. It has many memorable faces, one of which is Alex Kingston and the other two are Jemima Rooper and Christina Cole. I am a big fan of novel adaptations that are done well and by adaptation I do not mean novel to film, word for word. Here I simply mean that these ideas from the novel transpire in a fashion to the film (or tv) that we might not expect. Typically, the contemporary ones grab my attention. For example, I would classify Sherlock under this and love the show immensely. Once Upon a Time also does this and, again, I have seen every single episode. Now and again, a film does this and is quite good. As is the case of Lost in Austen. Mr. Darcy might not be my ideal mate(GASP!). I think I am more of a fan of Mr. Bingley. But both of them have a swooning courtship and they end up with their ideal mates.(The film twists this a bit, but it's okay because we identify with Amanda Price.) And I think that's why most women get lost in the works of Jane Austen.
Now I have been to Bath, England. And it is stunning. The Roman Baths are full of history. I know this is where Austen spent much of her time writing, and it is reference in the text. But it has nothing to do with what my mind is truly thinking. No, my mind is still stuck on the idea of honest romance. The picture she paints we find ourselves crying when love is denied and overjoyed when everything clicks into place.
When a woman reads an Austen novel, their favourite likely being that of Pride and Prejudice, they are instantly swept up in feelings of desire, passion, and courtship. The Austen era, while maybe a bit too focused on the who knows who or the attention to a monetary marriage, is still a world we desire to be in. We read these books, or watch these movies, and this is exactly how many of us live. Pinterest allows us to give our lives organization and an expression of what trends we would like to adhere to(an app I use often). Facebook allows us to "be up on" the who's who and we find ourselves looking to money in our perspective careers. The women of today are independent, thank god, so it's not that we need a man's money(unlike Austen's marriages) but we desire the passion that these characters feel. With texting we have almost lost site of letters, or what once might have been a phone call. And when a text is not received promptly, we carry on as if someone has slighted us. We don't take our time anymore, exploring the depths of a person(also known as courting) but instead we expect things to be instantaneous. I too fall guilty to this, I get it. For crying out loud, I've been talking to a guy for a few weeks and just when I have started telling my closest friends about him, he goes MIA for the weekend. All of this started to dawn on me throughout the movie. WHen it began, my friends were talking about how confusing men were. I kept quiet, which they noticed, because I am so in the middle of what I should be thinking. My friend looked to me, she also knowing of my "courtship" and said "well I guess not you though, huh?" and I said, "well I don't know what to think about not hearing from someone for a weekend." By the end of the film, the only thing I could think was that the romance of the movie seemed so simple.
Part of me thinks on how I want that courtship, but the other part of me is caught up in my desire of this man and I find myself wanting constant connection via mobile. And I hate that feeling. Not the desire for a person- that's quite fun- but the inability to not overthink when a person takes their time responding to me. I constantly rant about how (women especially) cannot unplug when they are spending "quality time" with their friends. When out to dinner or watching a movie, there are screens constantly separating that connection between the people. Often times we call this multitasking, but I feel that it's more that we've become unable to come to terms that something might happen if we leave the social media behind for a night. I digress... And what's more, for someone coming around to the idea of letting someone in their lives again, relationship or no, trusting someone new is hard for me; it's even harder to know when I'm being crazy about my expectations of that person. (If you've read my earlier blog posts, say this summer, that might make some sense. A quick recap: I don't trust easy anymore. I find myself constantly worrying about when someone will become tired of me because it has happened more times than...)
I think my want to start romancing again is something I can relate to the works of Austen or at least the movie I saw tonight based on her works. I feel like I can relate with Amanda Price, I'm a little out of touch with some of the women around me but, in the end, we just want to be loved and in love. So, do we let that curiosity for another person come out of our lips? Or do we play it cool and undemanding? Seemingly letting others act upon us. And that, dear readers, is how the mind of a woman works. Do I know if the mystery of where this guy went for the weekend is simple, no? But I want to keep reading anyways.
I saw Jurassic Park 3D tonight and, in two words, I say "clever girl." I watched it in IMAX and found myself jumping at scenes that I hadn't jumped at in years. 3D really brought this film an extra set. It was epic to begin with, starting with logical and well thought out science(on the part of Michael Crichton) and great actors, a soaring score, and ending with brilliant animation/puppetry.(I really wish I could find the brontosaurus footage from /film's page 2!) After all these years, Dr. Malcolm(Jeff Goldblum) is still my favourite character. Anyways, you've all seen the film and I don't need to prove to you how great it really is. Go check it out this week in 3D if you are able.
As my semester gets calmer, I am going to be reading more of Michael Crichton and will be posting reviews here along the way. Stay tuned!
This post is being written just having gotten home from seeing The Call. The Call stars Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin, with Roma Maffia from Nip/Tuck.
This story needs a proper set-up to shake some of the tension and adrenalin I am feeling right now.
About two weeks ago, my girlfriends and I went to see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. It was really funny, but this blog isn't about Steve Carrell's newest flick. While waiting for the movie, a few trailers played including one called The Call. Sarah, Kim, and I watched the trailer in suspense and fear. When it was over, we looked at one another and said things like "that would make me pee my pants," and "we are not seeing that." My girls and I don't do horror movies(our thoughts at the trailer). Flash-forward one week and five days. Plans to hang out started on Facebook and by text and, by the end of the night, we have decided to hit the theatres for a 7'o'clock showing of The Call.
So my girlfriends meet up, we buy our tickets, and discuss the weeks events. As it is getting closer to movie time Kim admits she hasn't seen a trailer for this movie and Sarah said she rewatched one and thought it looked good. That's when I point out that we saw a trailer for this movie the last time we hung out and refreshed their memories of what we saw and how we weren't going to see it. As this starts to sink in, we all get panicky. It was the three of us towards the back and one snuggly couple in the far front of the theatre.
Now, the trailers leading up to our film did not help. The first one was some action flick, I don't remember the second one, but the third one was the new Evil Dead remake. Now, like I already said, we don't do horror. I have been graced enough with exes, cousins, and friends that have gotten me to sit through a select through. One friend from college actually got me through the original Evil Dead trilogy and she was a good friend to watch it with because I felt encouraged to laugh and poke at the campy B-Movie effects...instead of cower under the sofa. The trailer holds the camera at the stairs, flies us through the woods with things moving in the distance, and takes us in and out and in and out between the cabin and the road away from the cabin. Anyways, this really got us going, as if we hadn't been before.
The movie starts and as we settle into the idea that we are doing this aren't we, things seem okay at first. We're set into an Emergency Police Call station where the magic behind 911 calls happen. We see many types of calls, earning red, yellow, or green status in order of importance. The film set me in a place I had never seen before- usually with cop films we are driving to the crime scene or we are already at the scene. So, that was kind of cool. Regardless, while things start sort of blaze, sh*t hits the fan quickly. This is something you see from the trailers, so don't worry about spoilers(I will tell you). And the mood is very tense and unsettling. Kim, Sarah, and I were not holding hands yet, but we were holding our breath. The movie progresses forward, a chase ensues, and we are hooked and scared all at once for this girl(Abigail Breslin's character). Needless to say, by the end of the movie we were making out-loud shouts and "oh f**k!" expletives.
Here is where some spoilers will occur, to skip the spoilers skim forward for the "END SPOILERS" that being said...:
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So Halle Berry loses the call and is going through all of the emotions that the previous case has made her feel when she stumbles upon a noise from the phone call that she cannot place. In all of her vase police knowledge, like you do in "horror/suspense" flicks, she drives BY HERSELF to one of the suspects houses. Here the girls and I are allowed between anxiety and focus as we realize just what the (I'm going to call him killer because of all the guys he kills to return home) killer's motivation is. And, at this point, we've only gotten a glimpse of his hideout. Exploring the grounds, Halle Berry hears the sound from the tape and, incidentally, finds his lair. From here we are held by baited breath as she 1) drops her phone 2) takes bad turns through the lair and 3) has a close encounter with the psycho- seriously, he's got a hair fetish and we've seen enough at this point to drive us up a wall. Just when the killer is about to dig his claws into Breslin, Berry smashes him with concrete and the three of us (in unison) all of "OH!" and then continue to cheer for the girls. Through much struggle and a fight scene, it's finally over. And we end the movie with validation.
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END SPOILERS
So, it was a tense movie. We thought we were going to have to go see Admission to calm us down. As we exited the theatre, we caught ourselves watching every person and every car with suspicion. We talked defense techniques, mace, and considered the potential of taking a kickboxing and/or self-defense class. Needless to say, we walked Sarah to her car(Kim and I had parked front to back) even though she was a stone's throw from the door. It really put things into a different perspective. I moved states and never once, living on two campuses, did I feel like I should watch out or be on guard. I go to my car with my keys in my pocket or my purse and sometimes I am on the phone, sometimes not. I mean really, where do you buy mace? I found myself happy to have a roommate and on what I believe is a pleasant street. When I sat down to write this blog, I was still on an adrenalin push from having to fumble for my keys; just wanting to get in the door. Like I said, I was happy to have a roommate tonight. I highly recommend The Call, it is a suspense thriller(not horror by any means). And it might be good for you, reader, to think about protection. We're so unobservant sometimes in our average day and I think, if only for a short time, this movie will be in my head. It managed to get in my head tonight and it has taught me that I would have, before tonight, been very unprepared if someone with a twisted mind thought I was for the taking. We'd like everyone to nice, but that's not the way of the world. And while we shouldn't live in fear(even though I will be on edge for the next week) it doesn't hurt to consider a plan of action and take a look at your flight/fight skills. Aaand begin running again.
And now I am going to play Dragon Age with the graphics level up, because I need to fight to chill.
