Posts
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"I always wished I was an orphan. Most of my favorite characters are. I think their lives are more special."
- Suzy
"I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about."
- Sam
"I love you, too."
- Suzy
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Cafe Lemon Table, Ilsan
Cafe Lemon Table
Janghang-Dong Ilsan-Dong-Gu Goyang-Si Gyeonggi-Do 868
Western Dom B #221
Telephone: 031.902.2305
레몬테이블
경기도 고양시 일산동구 장항동 868번지 웨스턴돔B동 221호
All week:
11:00 am - 11:00 pm
Cafe Lemon Table is a funny place because it says up front, with a sign near the door, that the food will take twenty minutes to prepare.
Koreans are not a patient breed of people- they expect to walk into a restaurant, peruse the menu for all of sixty seconds, place their order in the following twenty seconds, and have their food piping hot and on the table within five minutes. And that's the way it is in most Korean establishments, as Korean food can be prepped ahead of time to be very quickly served.
Lemon Table is not a Korean place. Their food takes a little while (though not twenty whole minutes) to get to the customers. But it's pretty good, and their bread makes it worth the wait.
Lemon Table isn't extraordinary, not by any means. But the ambience is nice, the restaurant is clean and well-decorated, their service is good (service in Korea surpasses American service, in general) and when I'm in the mood for (fake) cheese, I think of this place.
Again, I don't have pizza or pasta all that frequently in Korea, but when I want it, I do have it. Sometimes a girl just needs some (fake) cheese to make herself feel better or to celebrate some small something!
My brain's not working well enough for a clever segue, so here's my abrupt change of topic:
Last night, I went with two girlfriends to watch "The Cabin in the Woods." That movie was TERRIFYING at moments and HILARIOUS in adjacent moments.
I've been watching thriller, suspense, and horror movies lately, which confuses me because I've never really liked them. I watched "Faces in the Crowd" a couple weeks ago, which scared me (I'm a wimp!) and wasn't that good.
I watched "The Shining" over the weekend for the first time (Jack Nicholson ... holy crap!) which I had to keep muting. (When I watch scary movies, I'd rather see it than hear it, so I tend to put my fingers in my ears and try to block out the screams and the suspenseful music.)
What is it about Korea that's got me changing so much? Is it adaptation or is it conformation?
At least the long working hours haven't changed...? It's one aspect of my personality that won't be changing, at least not until I move to Italy or France or some other like-minded laissez-faire society.
More food posts soon! Read more...
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Bright Star
**spoilers ahead**
I actually did something as mentioned previously- I watched "Bright Star" this weekend. I was a little wary, because I really hadn't heard anything complimentary about the film, but I find that to be the best mental state in which to watch movies. I like having low expectations, so that the film has a chance to pleasantly surprise me.
In this case, the movie most definitely surprised me. First off, I wasn't sure about the casting- Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne? According to Wikipedia:
At eighteen, Fanny Brawne “was small, her eyes were blue and often enhanced by blue ribbons in her brown hair; her mouth expressed determination and a sense of humour and her smile was disarming. She was not conventionally beautiful: her nose was a little too aquiline, her face too pale and thin (some called it sallow). But she knew the value of elegance; velvet hats and muslin bonnets, crêpe hats with argus feathers, straw hats embellished with grapes and tartan ribbons: Fanny noticed them all as they came from Paris. She could answer, at a moment’s notice, any question on historical costume. ... Fanny enjoyed music. ... She was an eager politician, fiery in discussion; she was a voluminous reader. ... Indeed, books were her favourite topic of conversation”.
Abbie Cornish is a lot of things, but "small" and "eyes [of] blue" are not among her qualities. She's 5'8" and hazel-eyed. She's also not "pale"- she's healthily tanned. Plus, there are some people in the world that look like they belong in a period piece (Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth," for instance) and some people that do not (Reese Witherspoon in "Vanity Fair"). Abbie Cornish, even with the muted makeup and the period costumes, looked like a modern-day girl playing dress-up. I just think there are some faces that are more suited to ye olden times than others (this is the same for Korean dramas and films, as well- what is considered to be attractive now is not what was attractive back in the day, after all). Her nose, especially- such a lovely nose, but it seems so ... not appropriate ... for Fanny, or anyone else of that time period.
I wouldn't have minded that Abbie Cornish didn't exactly physically resemble Fanny Brawne, except I just didn't think she belonged in a period piece. Add to that the fact that Ben Whishaw (whom I loved in "I'm Not There") is a little wisp of a thing, and suddenly, Abbie Cornish seems bigger than she really is. They just didn't seem to fit together, and I'm more inclined to think that it wasn't through any fault of Whishaw's. I really, really wish that the casting had been different, because it would have made a huge difference (I also didn't really like Paul Schneider as Charles Brown- he drove that accent into the ground. I liked Paul Schneider's performance quite a lot in "Lars and the Real Girl;" I don't know what happened here).
So obviously, I had a lot of issues with casting. I sometimes have a hard time getting over casting issues (anything with Keira Knightley and her weird intonation- I think there's something wrong with her sinuses), but in this case, the movie won me over. It helps that I like the way Keats' poems feel- even if I don't get the gist of them at first, the way he shapes his phrases is just pretty. It also helps that Ben Whishaw, who felt rather flat in the beginning of the film, completely won me over thanks to one particular scene (involving a Valentine). I think he's actually a remarkable actor- quiet, doesn't over-act, but gets his point across.
Most of all, it helped that I really like the poem "Bright Star"- it's the title of the movie, it's recited in the movie, it's a love poem from John to Fanny that is just too sweet. I'll admit it- I'm a sucker for movies (or dramas) that make me cry (I didn't cry a single tear during "The Notebook," so let me just say that my standards are high- I don't just cry at the drop of a hat) and "Bright Star" made me cry for a good hour. I had to keep pausing the movie so I could wipe my eyes and blow my nose.
The film isn't what anyone would call "fun," I think. It's not a romping film, it doesn't have a brisk plot, and it doesn't really have a satisfactory beginning, middle, and end. It's quiet, contemplative, and just lets the actors inhabit the characters (and here is where I mention that I felt that Abbie Cornish wasn't completely comfortable in Fanny's skin (nor was Paul Schneider really inside Charles), whereas Ben Whishaw seemed like he absolutely inhabited John).
I talked to some co-workers (all Korean) about the movie before I watched it, and they told me that it was a "difficult" film. I actually think it's because of the translation- a lot gets lost in translation, even during modern movies, and there must be an even bigger disconnect when translating a period piece into Korean. The romance and the deeper meanings of the words get lost.
I didn't find it difficult- I found it charming and bittersweet. I knew how the film would end (you can't really change John Keats' life, after all) but I was still saddened and leaking tears when Charles Brown came to the Brawnes one evening and told them that John had died. The worst of it was, the film never showed John's difficult last days (an interesting move, as the film started with a glimpse at John's brother, Tom, dying of the same disease, and I could only imagine how it was for John, without a family member or his fiancee to comfort him- Tom, at least, had John). John's farewell to Fanny before he moves to Italy is also his farewell to the audience, as he doesn't appear again in the film. It felt like a loss to me, which I'm sure was intentional- just a shadow of the loss that Fanny must have felt (that Abbie Cornish tried really hard to portray, but didn't quite get right).
I have the movie on my laptop, and I'm sure I'll be watching it again. As well as reading more Keats (I'm currently delving into "Ode to a Nightingale").
It's gotten slightly less cold this week (thank goodness!) so hopefully, I'll stop lazing about and actually do something.
... And is it just me or are there a billion parentheses in this blog entry?? I need to cut down.
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
"투혼"
Yesterday morning, I tagged along to a screening of a movie that my co-workers worked on, called "투혼" (which is pronounced "too-hone" and means 'fighting spirit'). When I had asked what the movie was about, I was told, "it's a baseball movie." So I was thinking that it would be some sort of sports movie, with men in baseball uniforms running around and getting discouraged and then bucking up, despite their injuries, to win the big game.
I mean, that's generally what sports movies are like, right? No? Okay, I'm not a big fan of baseball, so I didn't really know what kind of drama that anybody could eke out of a baseball game (seriously, nine innings? That is just excessive). I just went to the screening because I had never been to a movie theater in Korea before and I wanted a break from work.
Turns out, it wasn't much of a break. I had to get up earlier than usual because we had to leave at 8:30. I don't usually wake up until 8:30 or 9:00 (I know, I know, poor me), so I dragged myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7:30 and had myself ready, full of breakfast, and waiting outside by 8:30.
One of my co-workers had one of the company cars, picked up another co-worker, and then picked me up (we all live within a couple blocks of each other). The ride to Seoul was uneventful, but annoying. I really don't get into cars very often here, as I usually take the subway into Seoul (into the city? I feel so 1950s when I say that), and I don't think I've ever been in a car during rush hour.
It took just about an hour and half to go about 30 kilometers (about 18 miles), which is as bad as LA's rush hour traffic. I never thought I'd have to contend with that kind of traffic again (I am really bad in traffic, due to the fact that I get carsick if I'm not driving). By the time we got to the theater in Gwangjin (광진), I was already tired and a little nauseous. Not the best state to watch a movie, but we were there for a screening, so what could we do?
The sports elements to this movie were straight-forward. The main character is a baseball player, and he plays for the Lotte Giants (the screening was at Lotte Cinema, see how it all ties together? Oh, Korean conglomerates). His wife suddenly turned up and hey, she's quite an important character, too. Who knew?
I give Kim Sun-Ah (김선아) a lot of credit. I first saw her in "My Name is Kim Sam-Soon" (or "My Lovely Kim Sam-Soon"), that juggernaut of a drama that made a star of its actors. She's been in a lot of movies and TV shows since, and I always find her believable. She was the only one of the main five or six characters in "Toohon" whose accent was believable.
The Lotte Giants are in Busan (부산), a port city at the very south end of Korea. Busanites (and most people in GyeongSang Province) are known for their dialect, which I compare to the American Southern drawl. It's distinct and different from the Seoul ("accent-less") dialect, which is the standard. I find the Busan dialect cute, though I sometimes have a hard time understanding it.
Even with my somewhat ineffectual grasp of Korean, I could tell immediately that the male lead didn't have a good command of the dialect. It bothered me intermittently through the movie, because when his accent slipped, I would momentarily forget the flow of the story and wonder, "why didn't he practice more?"
The dialects and the varying skill of the actors was a con for me. I didn't like that I would keep thinking about it.
The story, too, didn't flow quite smoothly. I kept thinking that I was seeing an edit that would be changed and addressed, I didn't think that I was watching a final film.
Still, the movie was enjoyable fun. I cried when the kids cried (seriously, they were just squeezing their little eyes out to get maximum tears, and I'm a sympathetic crier), I laughed a couple times, and it was nice that I understood the movie without English subtitles- it really was an easy story to follow and nobody had a good vocabulary.
Despite my obnoxiousness about his accent, I do like the male lead. I had watched a few episodes of "Terroir" (a Korean drama) a couple years ago, and he had made a favorable impression. I think his character was a rather cold, calculating restauranteur with discerning taste in wine and women.
I'm sure I will watch another movie while I'm here, and probably at a newer theater. The Lotte Cinema that we were at is one of the older ones, and it was still very nice. The newer CGV that's over here near my workplace is likely to be even better.
One last thing:
It's Chuseok (추석) this weekend, the Korean Thanksgiving, which means that we get a four-day weekend. The CEO came around today and gave everyone an envelope with their name on it. I opened mine and it contained a crisp 50,000 won note (about $50). Turns out, the company gives their employees the money as transportation allowance for the holiday, since most people go to their hometowns to visit family. As most people take the bus (long-distance buses, called limousine buses here) or trains (the KTX is really fast, but there are "regular" trains, too), transportation would rarely cost over 50,000 won.
What a nice gesture. I wish American companies gave $500 for transportation costs for Christmas break, since most people fly home for the holidays.
I'm finally going to see my grandfather (maternal; my paternal grandfather's passed) during Chuseok, since he's at my uncle's house. Hooray for family ... we'll see, I've never spent a major Korean holiday with my Korean family before. Read more...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tentpole
I've worked on several tentpole movies. This is an insightful article about them, in Variety:
Biz battles crunch on tentpole vfx
By David S. Cohen
The visual effects budget for Warner Bros.' "Green Lantern" has risen by $9 million, with new vfx houses recruited to bolster the team that's been working overtime to meet the film's June 17 launch.
The Warner Bros. pic will no doubt meet its date, but other effects-heavy films continue to scramble. In fact, the kind of sturm and drang that's swirled around "Green Lantern" is actually par for the course on most visual effects-heavy tentpoles these days -- and the problem's growing.
Such pics now routinely fit the description of a "troubled" project, with "troubled" the new normal. And key players in the f/x biz say that with crunches mounting, it's only a matter of time before some f/x-heavy tentpole can't meet its delivery date -- a nightmare no studio has faced since "Titanic." Should a tentpole be forced to change dates, the ripple effects on a studio, its rivals, exhibitors and tie-ins will be widespread and injurious to bottom lines.
"I think the day (the system) breaks is the day everyone will revise their thinking," said Marvel exec VP of visual effects Victoria Alonso. "Until that day comes, filmmakers are going to push it to the limit. I think it's sad that we will have to watch one of us fail to learn our lesson."
The stresses that studio tentpoles are creating for the vfx industry are not new, as Variety reported in its May 28, 2007, issue. But they have worsened across the board.
Warners isn't the only studio grappling with these issues. Alonso said Paramount's "Captain America" is on a shorter schedule than Marvel prefers, and "We are feeling the heat for it." On Par's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," at least one vfx studio has gone to seven-day weeks, 12 hours a day, and canceled the Easter Sunday holiday for its vfx artists.
"Green Lantern" fell under heightened scrutiny after an early trailer showed little in the way of vfx. Fans grumbled, but that was a calculated risk by WB: Rather than rush some shots for marketing (a common practice), the studio held back the vfx for the second trailer. That gamble seems to have paid off, as footage shown at WonderCon and Cinemacon was well received, and buzz is building.
Chris de Faria, Warner's exec VP of digital production, animation and visual effects, defended "Green Lantern" and Warner's process on the pic. "There is no problem on 'Green Lantern,'?" he said. "We try to add things to make the movie better until the 11th hour. That doesn't mean we're risking the movie up to the 11th hour."
Whispers about problems on the production grew louder after schedule concerns early in the new year triggered high-level meetings to get the project back on track. The cost of its roughly 1,400 visual effects is more than $9 million over the $45 million original f/x budget. That budget is on the low side for a vfx-heavy tentpole, but 3D hadn't been taken into account in the original budget.
Sony Imageworks and Rising Sun Pictures are the primary vfx studios on "Green Lantern," and both say they're delivering on schedule or according to contract. De Faria said one all-CG pre-credit sequence had been cut in development, then added back once the studio saw an early cut, so Pixomondo was brought on late to complete it.
Even de Faria said management practices are still catching up to the reality of tentpole production, where effects have to be built before the picture is tested, then vfx have to be added and/or changed as the picture comes together and in response to audience testing, all while marketing demands shots for the campaign.
All of Hollywood seems to be still figuring this out, and as a result, the tentpole pattern is now well established:
• A movie demands you've-never-seen-this-before visual effects both for marketing and story;
•Ambitious plans and a short schedule leave little margin for error;
•Inevitable schedule problems trigger urgent meetings among studio execs, vendors and filmmakers to get the project back on track;
•"911" emergency calls go out to almost any vfx shop in the world that can take on some last-minute work;
•Everyone runs a harrowing race to deadline despite all the extra help.
Collapse, rest, repeat.
With summer and holiday release skeds already crowded and so many tie-ins for these pics, it's unlikely a studio would let a movie actually miss its date. But the alternative may well be a picture coming to release with far less spectacle than the filmmakers and studio had planned upon simply because there wasn't time or resources to finish it. That is essentially what happened with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1" when it couldn't be converted to 3D in time for its theatrical bow.
There are several explanations for why the studios persist in an approach that regularly leads to cost overruns and inspires dire warnings from their f/x vendors.
De Faria said that in order to remain competitive, studios must be very responsive to the audience, and that means condensing the time from the inception and development of a project to its release.
"Movies this year, like the movies last year, are more spectacular, the vfx are more ambitious than ever before," de Faria said. "The stresses that it places on production management are very real. I feel them every day, but our job is to develop new tools and new systems for dealing with that."
He said post skeds that used to be 21-26 weeks are now 36-40 weeks to accommodate visual effects, but in order to keep that responsiveness, they can't get longer.
Alonso said Marvel tries to do its movies in a 32-36 week post. The short post schedules, he said, are dictated by release dates announced before there's even a shooting script. "So you are always chasing your tail. You work backwards from that release date, then you add production not being ready to shoot or location complications and you shave the weeks you push from post."
Paradoxically, these pressures arise in part out of an attempt to save money. Studios and producers don't want to pay for vfx that will end up on the cutting-room floor. So they prefer to have a cut before handing over shots to vfx. If the editor and director spend a long time cutting, vfx work piles up, which forces the artists to work overtime and drives up the costs per shot.
A less generous explanation, from the anonymous vfx expert, is "visual effects is just another way to not make your mind up." The can-do attitude of vfx companies and vfx artists have brought these projects in on time -- somehow -- and that has given studios and filmmakers the sense that they can delay or backtrack on decisions almost indefinitely.
Alonso's advice for anyone seeking to avoid these crushes is "have a shooting script before you announce the release dates. If you push the shoot due to any reason, do not compress the post schedule. Don't take the time from post, because chances are the post needs will double, not shrink."
De Faria regards that notion as somewhat utopian. He said the challenge is "to continue to deliver mind-boggling high-level visual effects in an environment where scripts are constantly changing, stars' availability is constantly changing and release dates are changing."
Even pushing a release date, he notes, wouldn't necessarily ease the crunch or cut costs, since that time will inevitably be used to improve the film, adding extra work to the schedule.
Over the next year, films that will be angling to avoid a last-minute crunch will include Warner's "Superman: Man of Steel," Disney-Marvel's "The Avengers," Warner's "The Dark Knight Rises" and Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man." Beyond that, Weta Digital will certainly have its hands full with Warner-New Line's "The Hobbit," in 3D at 48 fps.
All of these movies aim to give audiences something they've never seen before, and as de Faria said, "When the bar is raised, we can't refuse to jump over it." So the movies are bound to get more complex, especially with higher frame rates and 3D, and this pressurized process isn't likely to change.
"Nor should it," said de Faria. "This isn't applicable to a Mike Nichols film, but this is the business of the tentpole film."
I will not be adding my two cents. This is the business I'm in, and this is its current state. Things change more rapidly in post-productions than they do at any other stage, and that's just how it is.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Green Lantern Trailer
Longer, greener trailer is now out here.
Lie to me and tell me it looks awesome, because I refuse to listen to anything else while I'm still mired in this movie!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
R.I.P. Elizabeth Taylor
I thought Elizabeth Taylor would live into her 100's. She had that grande-dame-dripping-with-diamonds essence to her that made me think she would just keep going.
I've only watched a couple of her movies, but she was a legend for her beauty, rightfully so. There's nobody that's really ever had the same look, the same style.
I know she suffered a lot of health problems, so I hope she is at peace. I'm glad we have her movies to remember her by.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
2011 Oscars: The Clothes
I watched the Oscars this past Sunday without all that much interest. Yes, "Alice in Wonderland" was nominated, but I didn't think it would win (though I was excited to see my bosses in their couture during the telecast), and I didn't have any overwhelming favorites.
I did rather favor "The King's Speech" because I love Brits and I adored Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter at the BAFTAs. They were darling. Add in Tom Hooper and David Seidler, the cutest little old man ever, and I melted into a puddle. So I was really glad they got their Oscar, even though I haven't seen "The King's Speech" yet.
Anyways, the dresses are what women want to see, aren't they?
Anne Hathaway did a fairly decent job as MC, along with her completely stoned co-host, James Franco. ("127 Hours" looks so frightening, I cannot even fathom sitting through that movie.) She had very lovely costume changes, which I won't include since she was working.
My favorites from Oscars 2011 (click on the pictures for bigger versions):
I can't even talk about the dresses I didn't like, because they were many and varied and some of them were hideous. I didn't like as many of the sparkly dresses as I thought I would (shiny!) because they were either styled badly (Amy Adams), weirdly boring (Anette Bening), or just ugly (Melissa Leo, why??).
I'm sure I would have more to say if I were feeling 100%, but I'm still not quite there yet. And I'm really craving samgyetang (삼계탕), which I don't usually even like. Time to pop another pill and try to focus on work. Blech. Read more...
Sunday, January 16, 2011
2011 Golden Globes: The Clothes
The 68th annual Golden Globes aired this evening. I watched, pretty casually, but was immediately grabbed by some of the clothes. These are the clothes that I liked and remembered (if I remember who the designer is, it usually means that I loved the dress or the dress was hideous).
She's wearing color! My lament from the 2009 Oscars! The dress has a great, retro feel- the sparkles, the color, the blouson top with gathered waist, the strong shoulders- it could have been cheesy but it looks very nice. I actually really like the long sleeves. And I really like her darker hair- she should never be a blonde again.
Her acceptance speech was really cute. I think she comes off rather cold and aloof sometimes, and that speech just disenchanted me of that notion completely. "Mila "Sweet Lips" Kunis" was the best part. And she is obviously so in love with her fiance, it's really rather sweet.
I hate the pink color of this dress. I know the sparkly rose put off a lot of people, but on a girl that usually wears strangely unflattering clothes, I actually liked it. I just don't like it with the pale ballerina pink.
More sparkles with strong shoulders! Definitely not as retro as Angelina Jolie's gown; this one is in a more modern color with rounded rather than pointed shoulders. Anne Hathaway seems to really favor Armani Prive, and for good reason- she can pull off head-to-toe glitter like nobody else.
Her acceptance speech was also rather sweet. And yes, another sparkly, strong-shouldered dress. I think this one lands somewhere between Angelina Jolie's and Anne Hathaway's. I like the cap sleeves on her- a long-sleeved black dress covered in sparkles might have been a bit much.
Yes, yes, I love sparkles. Don't judge me. I really liked this Marchesa- I like the color, the ombre effect, everything. The only thing that put me off was her hair. I mean, really? Stick-straight long hair with heavy bangs? In this fluffy confection of a gown? Olivia Wilde, please go back to "House" and regain your senses.
Last sparkly gown, I promise. I love Helen Mirren, she can do no wrong. Even with the sparkly gown combined with a $1.6 million-dollar necklace. And I like her sassy shorter hair.
Time for the plain, non-sparkly stuff!
Claire Danes, I think, looks best in really simple dresses. Even with makeup on, she has a really sort of spare, minimalist look. I loved this dress on her, with the low back, and I loved her hair. Her acceptance speech was great, especially because Temple Grandin was there. (If I haven't mentioned it before, "Temple Grandin" was amazing.)
She looks great, even though the dress isn't insanely tight and revealing. She even managed to look elegant, despite the hot pink.
I know she's naturally blond, but I hate Emma Stone as a blonde. I love her with red hair. (I know it's for the Spider-man reboot, but still. Couldn't they just have changed the character to be a redhead?) If she had her red hair, this dress (and that color!) would have looked even better on her.
Still, I love this dress. Calvin Klein Collection had a great showing between her and Claire Danes.
Yes, I know. And I agree. The dress is so twee. Ruffles. Flowered straps. Daisies, for crying out loud. And yet, somehow, Michelle Williams looks adorable. I wish it was a different color- she looks good in color (remember that yellow Oscars dress from Vera Wang?) and this beige is washing her out a little.
How the sum of these (crappy) parts is so amazing, I will never know. And I love her pixie cut.
And here, I start the big gown-y dresses section.
It's only logical to start with my kooky favorite, Helena Bonham Carter. She's wearing shoes in different colors, for crying out loud. And say what you will about Vivienne Westwood, but her clothes are always interesting.
Catherine Zeta-Jones in Monique Lhuillier.
It was nice to see Hollywood give a standing ovation to Michael Douglas, and his dry comment "there's got to be an easier way to get a standing ovation."
I love that Catherine Zeta-Jones seems to take every awards ceremony as an excuse to wear the fairy-tale princess ballgowns that every little girl wants. This one is actually really gorgeous, with a great color and an eye-catching pattern.
I love that she wear major earrings and not a huge necklace.
Very "awards ceremony gown," but gorgeous. I love Christina Hendricks; she's my favorite on "Mad Men." She gets is wrong so much in terms of clothes (not on the show, of course) that it was great to see her in a well-fitted gown. And whoever said redheads shouldn't wear red was so wrong.
I love her hair like this, I love the enormously gigantic shoulder flower, and I even appreciate that the hem is trimmed in a matching fabric- the hems of dresses are always kind of sadly neglected.
She's TEMPLE GRANDIN.
She wears the same thing every day, she eats the same things every day, she is autistic. She doesn't like people touching her, but she grabbed Claire Danes in a tight hug just before Claire went up to give her acceptance speech. It brought a tear to my eye, and my undersized heart grew four sizes.
Overall, a good Golden Globes that finished on time (with a couple minutes to spare, even!), with rather a lot of snarky quips by host Ricky Gervais, who's hilarious. Read more...
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Black Swan
I've got some sort of disease right now that is making me very hazy (maybe it's the combination of an anti-histamine and a cold medicine?) and loopy. I'm very coughy and it's pretty disgusting, but still, I dragged myself out last night to watch "Black Swan."
My sister had warned me about the fact that this was not a movie to be trifled with. Not a pretty little ballerina tale, but a rather traumatizing film that is far scarier than I would expect. I considered myself duly warned and scampered off (like a flu-stricken squirrel) to watch, unsure of what I should prepare myself for. (After all, Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream," for its pretty title, was nothing if not unexpected.)
** SPOILERS AHEAD!! **
You've been warned. Spoilers galore.
I was rather leery from the get-go about Natalie Portman. I suppose she is really perfect for the role, since I, too, could only imagine her as the white swan. I didn't think she would make a convincing or even interesting black swan (she didn't really cut it, for me, as Alice in "Closer.") And I could definitely see Mila Kunis as the black swan, but not, perhaps, as the innocent white swan. With their superficial resemble, it was an intriguing casting choice. By the end of the movie, I was sold on both of them. I can see why there's already so much Oscar buzz around this film.
Vincent Cassel, to me, is one of those suave Europeans that don't seem nearly as crass as an American, no matter what his words or actions. He played to that in this movie, doing some rather terrible things but with such a French manner that I found that I didn't hate him as much as I probably should have. I actually rather liked his character, which I think means that I have some mental issues.
I guess the surprise factor of this movie was that it was rather gory. The first instance of the gore (and the first clue that Nina (Natalie Portman) is losing her mind in this role) is during a party, given to usher out "old" ballerina Beth (Winona Ryder, who was just 'meh') and welcome in the newer, younger version, Nina. Nina's wearing this pristine, sparkling white gown and notices during company director Thomas's (Vincent Cassel) speech that she has a hangnail. She runs off to the bathroom and tries to get rid of the blood, but washing her hands doesn't seem to help. She finally grabs hold of the hangnail (I cringe while typing this) and yanks, pulling back a strip of skin all the way to her middle knuckle. It's shocking because it's sudden and unexpected, and something about the very red blood with her in a very white dress is jarring.
The gore just goes from there. I knew from the moment I saw a pointed nail file that no good would ever come of it, and I was right. Beth stabs herself in the face with the nail file while she is in the hospital, phyiscally (but not mentally) recovering from a suicide attempt (she jumped into the street and got hit by a car). The worst part is that Beth turns into Nina right in front of Nina's shocked eyes. She sees herself stabbing herself in the face. The stuff of nightmares.
The visual hallucinations get more frequent as the movie goes on- Nina's reflection moves indepently (and more viciously, passionately) than Nina herself is moving. Her (insanely smothering) mother's paintings, all of her daughter, begin speaking to Nina, in a babble that makes her scream and try to take down all the artwork. Nina has a (much ballyhooed) sex scene with Lily (Mila Kunis) that turns out to have been a dream or hallucination. Nina's skin breaks out into gooseflesh, at first confined in a small patch on her shoulderblade, then spreading. Small barbs begin thrusting through her skin, and she pulls one out to see that it is a still-developing feather. Nina feels something rippling over her skin on the premiere show during Act 2 (when she is the black swan) and finds that the feathers are sprouting, coating her back, shoulders, and arms, turning into large wings.
This movie was hard to watch because it never let up. It just kept throwing surprises in, making me feel off-balance and worried. I was tense because of the moments that made me jump in my seat and not knowing when the next shocker would come.
I was also tense because there was a time in my life (I think during college? perhaps into when I first started working?) when I used to have such vivid dreams that I really, actually thought that they had happened. For periods of one to two weeks at a time over the course of probably two years, I walked around in a fog, confusing reality with my dreams. I don't know why that didn't worry me at the time, because when I think back on it, that is an insane way to live. But I didn't worry at the time, I assumed things would get better (and thankfully, they did). I remember that confusion, that feeling of uncertainty, and this movie brought it all rushing back into my mind. I had actually forgotten about those times until last night.
It was a thought-provoking movie, for sure. I think I'll need to watch it again to really know how I feel, so that the shock value doesn't factor in as much. Not that it's the perfect film; not at all. But movies are meant to evoke emotion, make people feel something, make them think about things, and this movie did that very well. The way a failed ballerina became a smothering stage mother, swinging in wide arcs between jealousy and maternal love, was rather twisted but also so sad (Nina never called her anything but "Mommy," a creepy indication of their relationship). The way Nina's bulimia was dealt with, her contented little smile when the costumer told her "you've lost weight," was not over-wrought but matter-of-fact. The way Thomas abused his power, seduced a helpless Nina, then pushed her away, was beautifully rendered.
I certainly did not like many of the visual effects shots, which I can't help, since it's what I do for a living. Particularly bad was when Nina hallucinates that her legs snap and break so she has inverted knees, like a bird (that was just terrible- less than a second of crap visual effects). I didn't really appreciate when the goosebumps spread up and down her body in ripples, it looked odd and rubbery. Story-wise, I didn't like that Nina saw herself- she sees herself in a tunnel or a subway walkway or something (I don't know New York, don't judge me), hair down, dressed in sharp black. She sees a watery version of herself hovering over her while submerged in the bath, again with hair down. Those hallucinations didn't seem very much in line with the rest of her visions, and weren't really ever explained.
The black / white was a bit obvious and over stated, Nina always in soft, pale colors, Lily always in dark colors with dark make-up. Nina in her prissy bun, pink tweedy coat and fluffy cream-colored scarf, Lily always with her hair down, in grays and blacks, exuberant and passionate. To the last, when Lily has been "killed" by Nina, they are in opposite colors, with opposite attitudes. Even their names, though inverted- Nina, what I consider a rather fiery name, and Lily, a virginal white flower. For about half the movie, I thought Lily wasn't real, that she was an elaborate hallucination brought on by Nina's feverish mind, reflecting the "black swan" inside herself.
It was a particularly fascinating movie to me because it dealt with an inside stressor. Nobody brought this mental breakdown onto Nina except for Nina herself. She pushes herself harder than anyone else does, and demands more of herself than anyone else ever would. It's a literal breakdown, mentally and then physically, and that slow collapse between the real and the surreal is what was so great to watch. Frightening, but great.
This film, in typical Aronofsky fashion, made me a bit nauseous at times- those hand-held shots following a person walking are particularly nausea-inducing to me- but was beautiful in a gritty, faux-raw sort of way (all those different grains, not so much). I have always said that I will force my children, should I have any, to watch "Requiem for a Dream" as soon as they hit puberty, so that they will see what kinds of horrors different addictions can have (no kid wants to lose an arm). If I have a daughter, perhaps I'll make her watch "Black Swan" if she decides she's going to become the perfect ballerina, no matter what the cost- no daughter of mine is going to die in a self-induced breakdown of epic proportion.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Green Lantern Trailer
The trailer's been out for a while now, but I haven't been paying all that much attention. Here it is in all its glory:
Nothing's really done yet. Trailers are generally created quite early in the process, so don't judge too harshly. It's just an idea of what the movie will be.
I would think that there will be another trailer at some point, closer to the release date (June 17, 2011) that will be more indicative of what the real movie will look like.
It's really cold here lately and I've been working pretty consistently 10-hour days, so I'm tired almost constantly. Add to that an inability to sleep (I can't fall asleep until 2 a..m. most nights), and I'm basically a walking zombie.
Plus, co-workers are annoying me and I don't want to just rant on and on. That's not healthy, nor do I want to spend any more time thinking about them than I already do.
I can't wait for Christmas break. If only it started sooner!
Monday, December 06, 2010
Lorelei Lee
I prefer Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell is divine and I always root for brunettes over blondes), but Marilyn Monroe, as Lorelei, has the best line in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes":
"I want you to find happiness and stop having fun."
That feels true sometimes, oddly enough. I am crazily homesick and can't wait to go back. I miss the most unexpected people and want to see them, hug them, talk to them, laugh with them.
For now, I count the days and try to focus on work, watching random movies and craving my mother's kimchi in the meantime.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sex and the City 2
So last night, I bit the bullet. In what way, you ask?
Well.
I watched "Sex and the City 2," despite the scathing reviews. The first review I read of this movie was, unfortunately, Roger Ebert's. He gave it one star. One star!
The review was sharp and funny, really- he calls the girls "flyweight bubbleheads." The very first sentence is "Some of these people make my skin crawl." !! In writing about a scene where Charlotte is having some troubles with motherhood, Ebert: "Any mother who wears her vintage Valentino while making muffin topping with her kids should be hauled up before the Department of Children and Family Services."
There are spoilers ahead, in case you wanted to ever watch this movie. But since the plot was thin ... there's not really much to reveal.
And yes, he's mostly correct. The movie is fluff, definitely summer fare, when the weather's hot (and it's HOT here), the popcorn's buttery, and the peanut M&M's are consumed by the fistful. Three of us girls, the brave female contingent in a workplace full of men, went to watch this movie after work yesterday. I was expecting the worst, fully preparing myself for a nice nap in air-conditioned plushiness.
Perhaps because of all the bad press, my expectations had sunk to a level that would have been amused by a children's movie about euthanasia. That's the only explanation for the fact that I actually enjoyed myself. The puns were terrible. TERRIBLE-
"This is an inter-friend-tion!"
Then a short time later, "This is an inter-fun-tion!"
"Broom- bride, groom, broom."
"She's Erin Go Bra-less!"
"There ought to be a law against having a nanny that looks like that."
"Yeah, a Jude Law."
I mean, really. How many puns can you squeeze into a movie? Granted, the movie was overly long (2 hours and 15 minutes), which only served to provide Patricia Field with an opportunity to dress the ladies in outfits that got zanier with each passing scene. The shoes were, of course, fantastic. Some (read: most) of the fashion choices were strange, but that's to be expected.
There was a short but weird flashback about how the girls all met, back in the 80's, with requisite 80's hair and clothes. Carrie had a chance to put on that iconic Dior newspaper dress again. Samantha and Carrie both wore hideous harem pants. Charlotte wore a sequined, strapless, full-length gown to karaoke. And Miranda, bless her red-headed soul, looked MUCH BETTER than she did in the series or the first movie.
If you want breezy, silly, and a nice fashion show with dialogue, this is the movie for you. It met my expectations and kept me pretty much entertained (at least there was always something to look at). That's all I needed from this, so I like it just fine.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
(500) Days of Summer, For the Love of LA
(I'm warning you now, if you haven't watched this movie, this post will not make any sort of sense.)
It's been almost a year since I first wrote about "(500) Days of Summer."
Lots of things have happen since last August. I find that when I watch movies, a lot of what I take away has to do with my emotions at the time. When I watched "Paper Heart," I was feeling rather chirpy and optimistic, so I felt buoyed and cheered by the movie (review some other time).
I knew that I really liked "(500) Days of Summer" when I re-watched it and found that I was carried away by the film, without being unduly influenced by my own internal thoughts. I fell back in love with Tom Hansen, I rekindled my love of The Smiths and Regina Spektor, and I re-listened to the soundtrack, which I had purchased after my first viewing of the movie. Still good.
More than anything, the way Los Angeles is portrayed in this movie is amazing. I don't know if this would be the same if I didn't know the city, but I do know the city, and I love the city, and this movie really beautifully displays honest parts of the city without Vaseline-smeared lenses of googly-eyed love. One of the scenes in this movie that really sticks out in my mind is when Tom goes to a rooftop party at Summer's apartment and, realizing that she is engaged and his fantasy of a romantic reunion are kaput, leaves in a cloud of tears and self-hatred. He emerges from her building, banging through black iron bars, behind which are green plants and pretty flowers. He's back out on the concrete, outside of Summer's cage, the confines of which are where he wants to be. He doesn't want to be released back into the city, he wants to stay trapped.
It's a sad scene, to be sure, and the side-by-side of Tom's expectations versus the reality of the party are depressing and poignant. I love that. I didn't really get that until the second viewing of this movie because the first time I saw the film, I was too distracted by the fact that Summer lived in the Barclay, a building that I almost lived in. I looked at places in both the Barclay and the Piccadilly and ended up at the Piccadilly, for a year of living amongst the worst drivers in the city. There were a lot of those distractions for me when I first watched the movie, and it took me away from the story. This time, I was better prepared for it and less distracted, to discover new depths to the film that I very much enjoyed.
When Tom dances in glee after a big night with Summer, with cartoon bluebird, UCLA marching band, and pedestrians in blue, he trips merrily through the Civic Center Mall and right in front of the Arthur Will Memorial Fountain, places I have been. Regretfully, I have not danced in any of the places Tom dances in, though I did have a memorable dance in a bookstore once to an Etta James song. (For all the LA locations, see this handy Google map.)
The gray cement tunnel that Tom and Summer drive into as they listen to Carla Bruni, the ugly parking structures, the cracked sidewalks, the suburban soccer fields, the douchey bars, all of these are background blips in the movie but such strong indicators of LA. As much as the movie is about a relationship between two people, it's also about this flawed but interesting city. There's a vibe and an energy that the movie really captured, that isn't really describable but very palpable as soon as you set foot in LA (downtown, really, the westside does not have the same sensibilities at all).
I don't go to downtown often, but I always find it immensely absorbing every time I do. I used to go downtown for art shows, where wine and cheese were served alongside avant garde and often gruesome pieces of art. I don't pretend to have like all the shows, but I loved the people: the weird, the ugly, the incredible, and I always enjoyed how the art crowd devolved into a party crowd by the time the liquor was dwindling down to its final dregs.
Tom and Summer and all their friends are definitely the softer side of downtown LA. There are plenty of harder-edged people there, that wouldn't give a second glance to a sweet boy like Tom. It's part of what makes downtown so fun, and gives it its unique energy.
For a movie made on a shoestring budget (less than $10 million), it's amazing how well everything was depicted. Marc Webb, thank you for the love sonnet to LA, it makes me miss home.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Inspired to Read
I have books on the brain!
First of all, I am currently reading "The Season of the Witch," by Natasha Mostert. I'm in LA, I needed a bit of a mental reprieve from anything too thought-provoking. It's good so far, full of just enough angst and weird witchy incidents to keep me interested. It's fluff, nothing life-altering, but fun- something like a beach read, but for dark and gloomy days, when staying in is so much nicer than going out.
Plus, she gets bonus points for having games on her website. Any author committed enough to figure out how to get two themed games onto their website is okay in my book (har, har).
Second of all, my sister and I had a very nice, relaxing dinner at home last night, bunny hopping about underfoot, and then watched "The Jane Austen Book Club." It's actually based off a book (of course) of the same name, about a group that gets together and starts up a book club, solely reading six books by Jane Austen. (Yes, I plan on reading the book.)
The film is very simple, very easy, but still sweet and cute. These six people decide to read one Jane Austen book each month, then gather to discuss it. And as the movie proceeds, we see that each person becomes the embodiment of an Austen character (my favorite being Mario Bello as Emma).
Nothing insane or completely cliche really happens- it does a pretty good job of portraying everyday life, with the mundane things that happen to us all. There is a montage in the beginning of the movie that's very ho-hum and really set a great mood- things like credit cards not working, and having to slide the card over and over again in the card reader.
Each character is, out of necessity, rather a caricature of someone. Exploring the depths of six people is near impossible in a film, after all- but the caricatures were done well, with a delicate touch. I liked each character, flaws and all, which is pretty impressive, since I'm a very critical movie watcher and have been known to instantly dislike a character based off their voice or their opening line.
Most importantly, this book reminded me of the existence of Jane Austen. I've read "Emma," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Sense and Sensibility," and I enjoyed all of them. I think at the time, I had also read "Jane Eyre" and was much more into the drama of that book, but I distinctly recall laughing during "Emma." So why haven't I read them again? Me, the stubborn re-reader of books?
I'm not sure, but I have no good reason not to pick them up again. I will read all of Jane Austen's books this year- my first resolution of this year, and one that is quite easy to keep.
I'm having a bit of a faltering of faith in my personal life at the moment, concerning some people around me. It's been made worse by my visit to LA, since they are in this city, so I'm struggling to deal with that in a logical way before I leave. Once I get back to Albuquerque, I feel like things will settle.
Who knew that I would actually miss Albuquerque?? Here I am, missing it!
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
2010 Oscars Nominees
I care about the Academy Awards. Truly, I do.
I even worked on two movies that won Oscars. I celebrated those wins and loved that experience, the headiness of knowing that something I had worked on was being recognized by people all over the world.
So I'm perplexed as to why I can't muster up any enthusiasm this year, particularly for the visual effects category. The nominees:
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
I am sort of anti-Avatar just because it's the big behemoth that stomps over everything else. I had the chance to work on the movie and I turned it down, knowing full well that I was turning down the chance to work on an epic, enormous film. I also turned down the dubious honor of working for a temperamental director that (allegedly) abuses his crew to no end.
For me, choosing to work on a film is all about timing and even more about the people that I will be spending countless hours with. If I like a particular producer, I will follow that producer to hell and back and probably even have fun along the way. If I don't like the producer ... let's not even speak of such things.
Even the nominees for animated features didn't stir me much:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up
Granted, I've only watched two of the three (Coraline and Up), and though I enjoyed them, I'm still not feeling much oomph. I'll be surprised if Up doesn't take it- it was beautiful and very meticulously executed. It would be amazing if Up were to win both the animated feature and best picture categories- I would feel somehow vindicated, I would feel that animation is not an outside industry, but a real part of Hollywood. Bullied younger sibling no more!
I'm really tired. My exhaustion from the past couple months has finally caught up to me now that I've had a minute to sit still and rest and let the buzzing in my brain take over. I haven't had to squash my thoughts or run around every minute of the day. It's wonderful, but also really tiring. There's no adrenaline to keep me going anymore, it's just willpower at this point.
I think by the time the Oscars actually roll around, I'll probably have more passion for movies again. I just need to finish working on this one before I can find that emotion again, I suppose.
For now, I'm planning my future (interviews, job scouting, resume-editing, all that jazz) and trying to squeeze in some travel- definitely a wine tour with my sister, definitely a trek to San Francisco to see my two best friends, and, if I have the bravery and monetary ability to, I'd like to take a long plane journey to the motherland (William, I'm looking at you!).
So close to leaving the rabbit hole ... it's making me a bit sad, really. I think I have Stockholm Syndrome- I was held captive and longed for escape, but now that the day of escape is near, I'm afraid to leave.
We'll see where life takes me from here.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
I Blame My Job
I blame my job for a lot. Let's see...
- Pale skin (though it's a bonus to Koreans, so perhaps this is a good thing?)
- The beginnings of carpal tunnel
- Terrible eyesight that's getting worse and worse
- Lack of time to do anything but work
- Frustration, anger, panic
- Pavlovian response to a ringing phone
- Steady diet of Diet Coke and saltines
- Horrible people
Not that it's all bad, after all. The pros:
- Money- it might stink and corrupt the best of us, but we all need it!
- Ability to type 75 words per minute
- Opportunity to work on movies
- Wonderful people
Okay, so the cons outweigh the pros. But still, it's a start!
Another big con is the fact that I will not and do not watch movies solely based on the appeal of said movie. No matter what kind of film it is, save for documentaries (and even that's iffy), all movies have visual effects in them. Maybe not a lot, and maybe only for necessary things like wire removal or to fix damaged film, but almost every single film? Altered in post-production in some way.
The problem with working on movies is that it has made me overly critical in the field that I know. That is to say, any digital effects are scrutinized and taken through the wringer, emerging with either a pass or fail. I don't have shades of gray when it comes to movies that I have not worked on, though I can fake it pretty well- "How was "Wanted," you ask? It was okay. The digital doubles weren't ... so ... great, but some of the explosion stuff was nice." Sounds so civilized, yet is so untrue. I hide my true colors beneath a veil of propriety.
This is all a rather long introduction to explain my reactions to a couple films that I've seen recently. I took advantage of Thanksgiving to catch up on TV (and mercifully delete some crap off my DVR) and watch movies.
First up is "Blood: The Last Vampire." I fully admit that the only reason I bought (!) the DVD is because (a) it was cheap and (b) I'm supporting my Koreans. Remember the Korean? Jun Ji-Hyun (전지현) was supposed to be part of the Hallyu Wave of 2009, one of the breakthrough Korean acts that 'made it' in Hollywood.
The limited release of "Blood" in the United States made it difficult to catch while in theaters. And because of the limited release, the marketing was non-existent. Unless you knew about the movie and sought it out, you weren't going to watch it.
It didn't do half-bad, considering, but it certainly didn't do well. And it was not the vehicle to propel anyone to stardom. I mean ... did you watch it??
I did. I did, and I laughed. Not because it's funny (it's funny) but because it's so funny without meaning to be. Jun Ji-Hyun (or GIANNA, as she was credited in the movie) was appropriately brooding and angry and kicky with her sword and pigtails, but she didn't quite get the cadence of American English. Because her character was Japanese and actually spoke Japanese during flashbacks, I thought leaving an accent would have been fine. But nooooo, she went and tried to be as American as possible, and it didn't really work. I'm sure the French director confused her plenty, along with the Japanese actors that spoke minimal English and then the English actors with their own accents, some more posh than others.
The visual effects. I don't know what to say, it hurts my brain just conjuring up the memory. So here are some snippets: fake blood, ghastly. Fully demonized vampires, even ghastlier. Color correction for mood and atmosphere, less ghastly but still regrettable. Shudder. On a sidenote, the poster! Why does Jun Ji-Hyun look like she dislocated her arms?? This is all they could come up with??
I also watched "Get Smart,"a movie that I missed purposefully when it came out. I refuse to pay $15 for a screwball comedy starring Steve Carrell. I love the guy, really, and I think he's funny, but he cannot hold my attention for the duration of an entire film. His movies somehow ... bore me. They're funny, but not so funny that I'm engrossed. They're not dramatic enough to pull me in emotionally. They're not over-the-top enough to repulse me. They're just ... there.
Better vfx than "Blood," of course, as there are no fully-CG characters and they had more money to play with. "Blood" had more of a distinct look and feel, though, whereas "Get Smart" was kind of generic, like all the other rollicking caper movies ("I Spy," "Johnny English," "Sky Kids," etc.). I respond very instinctively to lighting, which I think separates the amateur filmmaker from the paid professionals. Lighting and sound are two things that drive me bonkers in student films.
So. Flop and flop on both accounts. Not bad movies, necessarily. I knew exactly what to expect with each one and got it. Eh.
But now that I've happened upon my Hallyu Wave post, I feel compelled to comment on how things turned out, nine months after I wrote the thing:
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine," with Daniel Henney. It was a huge hit, very successful, made lots of money. I still have not seen it because frankly, I never found the time to. I'm sure that the next time I see it in a store than I'm shopping at, I will buy it. I bought "Blood," of course I'll buy "Wolverine," I obviously have no standards! With a budget of $150 million or so, it grossed more than $370 million just in ticket sales. Counting in DVD's and other peripherals, it's a very tidy profit for Fox.
"Dragonball Evolution," with Park Joon-Hyung (박준형) came and went with a whimper, didn't it? I still don't know what Chow Yun-Fat and Emmy Rossum were thinking when they agreed to be in the movie- perhaps they both lost bets with someone or other. It's rumored that the budget was anywhere from $45 to $100 million, which is pretty reasonable- it was a very vfx-heavy show, with lots of fire fx, which costs lots of money. It didn't even gross $60 million while it was out, a very disappointing showing. It never got enough marketing or air time, and April is a tough month for a movie that's really summer fare.
"GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra," with Lee Byung-Hun (이병헌), did very well, though not as well as "Wolverine." It had more money than "Wolverine," about $20 million more, but made $60 million less. Still not bad at all, and I'm sure that Paramount is more than happy to extend the franchise into as many films as they can. It's what studios do, after all. I had, strangely, no interest at all in watching this movie. Maybe because I knew people working on it, maybe because I never watched the cartoon or played with the toys, maybe because I don't like Sienna Miller for no good reason. Still have no interest in watching this one. Meh.
After the mega-hit of "Wolverine," Daniel Henney got cast in "Three Rivers," on CBS. I don't watch a single show on CBS. I watch NBC, ABC, HBO, TNT, even FOX shows, but not CBS. I have no idea why it is, but I've always considered CBS to be "old." Even with my best friend, Neil Patrick Harris, doing his hilarious thing on "How I Met Your Mother," I cannot bring myself around to CBS.
Between my CBS-based bias and the fact that "Three Rivers" looks like a lame and less-dramatic version of "ER" or "Grey's Anatomy" or "Private Practice," I never watched the show. And now, since it's been canceled as of yesterday, I'm never going on. Valiant effort, Henney- with a blockbuster under your belt, TV would have been nice to conquer.
It's been a long day at work today, starting with me waking myself up in a panic, thinking it was 10:00 when really, it was only 6:00, then with a very long and tedious meeting that ate up five hours of my life. Having a blog is great for the times when I just want to spew stuff out and I need an outlet, to give my poor family and friends a reprieve.
I'll update as more Hallyu Wavers try to break into Hollywood, but given this past year, I ain't expecting much. "Ninja Assassin" and Rain are next, and they're already getting a beating from the critics. I don't expect to watch it until it's out on DVD, but I do think it'll make some money- with the relatively low budget (for a bigger studio) of $40 million, it'll turn a profit. It's already made around $30 million, I think, and has no where to go but up. I kinda like the poster, which obscures Rain's face. Not that I don't like his face, but the composition is interesting:
Thursday, November 12, 2009
100 Noughties Films, x2
I was inspired by William's post. He did the Times UK list, while I am doing both that list and the Telegraph's list of the 100 best films of the noughties (the first decade of the 2000's). There are surprising overlaps, and quite a lot of them (51, to be exact- no, I didn't count, Excel did!).
Movies I've watched in bold. Lots of notes in italics. Movies that I will never watch are crossed out.
I know there will be those that are judgmental- I'm fully aware of the fact that I have lowbrow taste in movies, I can't help it. If you look over the history of the films that I've worked on, it should really tell you something. I like to enjoy movies. I have strong opinions about actors, and will not see movies if an actor that I don't like is starring in it. I also don't like horror movies or, generally, war films. Or anything too dark or angsty.
The Times UK: The 100 Best Movies of the Noughties:
the best films released in the UK from 2000 - 2009
100. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
99. Battle Royale (2000) The synopsis makes this sound like "Lord of the Flies" in Japanese. No, thank you.
98. Crash (2004) I will never watch this movie again. I don't even think I made it all the way through the first time.
97. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) I really, really want to watch this movie!
96. Movern Callar (2002) I love Samantha Morton, another movie for my must-watch list. I'll probably read the book first, by Alan Warner.
95. Amores Perros (2000) Gael Garcia Bernal. Wonderful. The movie? Meh.
94. An Inconvenient Truth (2006) No. If I wanted to learn something, I'd be in school right now.
93. House of Flying Daggers (2004) Lovely. I adored this movie and own the DVD.
92. Dirty Pretty Things (2002) Immigration, black market organs ... no.
91. Lantana (2001)
90. Wedding Crashers (2005) Funny. More than the male leads, I thought Isla Fisher just acted with pure abandon and joy.
89. School of Rock (2003) Funny. Jack Black? Meh. The kids? Awesome.
88. The Royal Tenanbaums (2001) I overcame my distaste for Gwenyth Paltrow to watch this, and mostly loved it. It helps that I was supposed to dislike her character, because I really did. Can't wait for Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox."
87. Time and Winds (2006) Sounds intriguing, but I don't know when I would ever watch this.
86. The Orphanage (2007) No horror for me.
85. The Piano Teacher (2001) I'm scared to watch this one. But I think I want to.
84. Hotel Rwanda (2004) Genocide, not a topic I embrace in movies.
83. The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) IRA? No. Thanks, though.
82. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (2000)
81. In The Loop (2009)
80. Me, You and Everyone We Know (2005)
79. Le Grand Voyage (2004) I know I won't watch this. Religious movies are also not my thing.
78. About Schmidt (2002)
77. Bowling for Columbine (2002) I dislike Michael Moore. I do not support him.
76. Control (2007)
75. Talk to Her (2002)
74. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) This film terrified me. But it was beautiful and I own the DVD.
73. The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)
72. The Hurt Locker (2008) Iraq. No.
71. Monsters, Inc. (2001) Love this film, as I do all Pixar movies!
70. The Class (2008)
69. Persepolis (2007) I own this DVD and have still not watched it...
68. Memento (2000) Won't be watching this again, once was more than enough.
67. Gomorrah (2008)
66. City of God (2002) It was good, really, but once was enough.
65. Waltz with Bashir (2008) War movie.
64. L’enfant (2005)
63. There Will Be Blood (2007) Have no desire at all to see this.
62. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) Funny, easy to watch, and I loved Christina Applegate.
61. Spirited Away (2001) Adore this movie, as well as "Princess Mononoke."
60. The Squid and the Whale (2005)
59. Etre et Avoir (2002)
58. Shaun of the Dead (2004) Surprisingly funny. I actually went to a screening where the director spoke about his experience and we asked him questions. He was a really funny guy.
57. The Consequences of Love (2004)
56. Volver (2006) I do not like Penelope Cruz.
55. Chopper (2000)
54. Bad Santa (2003) Not that funny. But okay.
53. Milk (2008)
52. The Constant Gardener (2005) The only reason I would ever watch this is Ralph Fiennes.
51. The Son’s Room (2001)
50. The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Good. I work in VFX, I'm a nerd.
49. Knocked Up (2007) Funnier than I thought it would be, with some sweet moments.
48. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
47. My Summer of Love (2004) I love Emily Blunt, I need to see this!
46. Traffic (2000) Not as great as people said it was.
45. Touching the Void (2003) Mountain climbers? In the '80's? No.
44. Under the Sand (2000)
43. The Dark Knight (2008) Loved this. Was so upset that I did not work on this! Yes, I own the DVD.
42. The Incredibles (2004) Adore Pixar.
41. Children of Men (2006)
40. Syriana (2005) Serious movie about corporations and oil. Nope.
39. Lost in Translation (2003) Okay, but not really as amazing as people kept saying it was.
38. Mulholland Drive (2001) I have a strange aversion to this movie. Perhaps because the real Mulholland Drive is so drab?
37. In the Mood for Love (2000) I need to watch this!
36. Capturing the Friedmans (2004)
35. Y Tu Mama Tambien (2002) Good, but disjointed.
34. Finding Nemo (2003) Adore Pixar.
33. Monsoon Wedding (2002)
32. Gladiator (2000) WHY?! Ew. I lasted 10 minutes and then fell over in a stupor.
31. Iraq in Fragments (2006)
30. Irreversible (2002)
29. Being John Malkovich (2000) Charlie Kaufman. Genius.
28. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
27. Sideways (2004) I didn't expect to like this movie, but I did.
26. Minority Report (2002) I thought this movie was too slick. The VFX looked like they had been shellacked. Still, I own it on DVD.
25. Dancer in the Dark (2000) I have the soundtrack but have never seen this movie!
24. 28 Days Later… (2002) It was really a solidly good film, not something generally associated with zombie flicks.
23. Man On Wire (2008) I would be so tense through this entire thing. I can't watch tightrope walkers.
22. Far from Heaven (2002) Beautiful and quietly poetic. Julianne Moore and Dennis Haysbert were perfectly cast.
21. Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) I love David Strathaim, I need to watch this.
20. Donnie Darko (2001) Overrated. Yes, it's good, but not so good it deserves cult status.
19. United 93 (2006) Scary. Can't do it.
18. Let the Right One In (2008) The synopsis sounds intriguing...
17. Brokeback Mountain (2005) Missed this somehow. I will watch it someday, I'm sure.
16. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) One of my favorite movies. Love.
15. Downfall (2004)
14. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, & 2 Days (2007)
13. This Is England (2007)
12. The Lives of Others (2006) Scary. I am a wuss.
11. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) Okay, Sacha Baron Cohen, you're funny. I get it, I really do.
10. Hunger (2008)
9. The Queen (2006) I love Helen Mirren, I don't know how I missed this one.
8. Casino Royale (2006) Great movie. I don't want to talk about the VFX, though. Why, yes, I do have the DVD.
7. The Last King of Scotland (2006) Scary.
6. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) For no reason at all, I've always been adverse to this film. Apparently, I am a terrible person. I can't help it- I'm caving to my psyche.
5. Team America: World Police (2004) Funny but without any real thought behind the humor.
4. Grizzly Man (2005) Unhinged man plus bear attack? Um, no.
3. No Country for Old Men (2007) I like the Coen brothers, but I have to be really superficial for a moment: Javier Bardem's bowl / pageboy haircut made me dislike this movie from the very first trailer.
2. The Bourne Supremacy / The Bourne Ultimatum (2004, 2007) I really liked this films and liked Matt Damon in them. Surprise! I have all three of the DVD's.
1. Hidden (Cache) 2005
The Telegraph: Top 100 Movies: Defining the Noughties
(Films in italics are on the Times UK list above.)
100. Avatar (2009) The movie's not even out yet. This is ridiculous.
99. Together (2000)
98. Crash (2005) Can't believe this made both lists.
97. Tropical Malady (2004)
96. Shrek (2001) I really was so glad that Dreamworks made this film. The sequels ... not so much.
95. Michael Clayton (2007) George Clooney is lovely, but this movie looked so dour.
94. The Brown Bunny (2003) Ew.
93. Grizzly Man (2005)
92. The Wrestler (2008)
91. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
90. Bent It Like Beckham (2002) The only movie in which I could tolerate Keira Knightley.
89. Munich (2005) Another scary one.
88. The Pianist (2002) I own this DVD. Have never watched it.
87. The Child (L'enfant) (2005)
86. Let the Right One In (2008)
85. Erin Brockovich (2000) Not as good as I thought it would be. Julia Roberts underwhelmed me.
84. Sin City (2005) Loved this movie. Loved how similar it was to the graphic novel. Yes, I have both the graphic novel and the DVD.
83. Good Bye Lenin! (2003) Sounds like "Life Is Beautiful" but without the Italian exuberance.
82. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
81. Milk (2008)
80. The Return (2003)
79. Spider-Man (2002) Shocked that this movie is on the list. Yes, I work for the company that made it. And I own the DVD. Still ... shocked.
78. The Hurt Locker (2008)
77. Children of Men (2006)
76. Antichrist (2009) No, thank you.
75. The School of Rock (2003)
74. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)
73. Master and Commander (2003) Like "Gladiator" but on a boat? Pass.
72. Uzak (2002)
71. A History of Violence (2005)
70. Mulholland Drive (2001)
69. The Class (2008)
68. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
67. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
66. United 93 (2006)
65. The Departed (2006)
64. Spirited Away (2001)
63. The Piano Teacher (2001)
62. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
61. In This World (2002)
60. Kill Bill (2003)
59. Wall-E (2008) Love. Love. Love!
58. Donnie Darko (2001)
57. Sideways (2004)
56. Atonement (2007) Keira. Knightley. No. Never.
55. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
54. Talk to Her (2002)
53. No Country for Old Men (2007)
52. Hunger (2008)
51. Lagaan (2001) It has cricketing!
50. Russian Ark (2002)
49. Far from Heaven (2002)
48. Gladiator (2000) WHY?! Why is this on both lists??
47. Gosford Park (2001) Subtle and very English. I liked it very much.
46. Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
45. District 9 (2009)
44. Hidden (2005)
43. The Dark Knight (2008)
42. Ratatouille (2007) Remy! Linguine! So cute.
41. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
40. Moulin Rouge! (2001) I know people either love this or hate this. I adore it and know all the lyrics. Yes, I am a dork.
39. Casino Royale (2006)
38. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
37. Billy Elliot (2000) Such a sweet, unassuming little film. I thought it was great and Jamie Bell played the role superbly.
36. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
35. Knocked Up (2007)
34. Moolaade (2004) Sounds scary but also like it could be really good?
33. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Wonderful. I watch this DVD occasionally just to see the cinematography.
32. Oldboy (2003) So! Good! I was spellbound. And how I love Yoo Ji-Tae (유지태).
31. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) Jack Sparrow made this movie for me. I don't even want to think about that wretched Elizabeth.
30. Downfall (2004)
29. In the Mood for Love (2000)
28. The Queen (2006)
27. Star Trek (2009) I can't believe I missed a VFX movie in the noughties, but I did.
26. Etre et Avoir (2002)
25. Up (2009) I still have not seen this. It makes me sad.
24. The Gleaners and I (2000)
23. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
22. City of God (2002)
21. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
20. Lost in Translation (2003)
19. Capote (2005) I really like Philip Seymour Hoffman, I think he does unexpected things with roles. I should watch this one.
18. Mamma Mia! (2008) So fun, so charming! I wish Pierce Brosnan had been dubbed, but oh, well. Meryl Streep makes it all worth it.
17. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007)
16. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
15. Before Sunset (2004) I don't like Ethan Hawke or Julie Delpy. So ... probably not going to see this, but it takes place in Paris ... so I'm waffling.
14. Saw (2004) Scary.
13. West of the Tracks (2003) NINE HOURS long?? Oh, no.
12. Amelie (2001) One of my all-time favorites. My DVD is getting positively worn out.
11. The Lives of Others (2006)
10. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
9. The Passion of the Christ (2004) No, no, no. I don't need to watch this one.
8. Amores Perros (2000)
7. Borat (2006)
6. Memento (2000)
5. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
4. There Will Be Blood (2007)
3. The Incredibles (2004)
2. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
1. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) Michael Moore. No.
Well, the good news is, it's past 1:00 in the morning and I'm done with work. Hooray!
The bad news is, I get to go to work by 8:30 tomorrow (today) morning. Booooooo.
All I want to do tomorrow is curl up on the couch and watch some movies from the noughties. Maybe re-watch some old favorites and even discover new favorites?
Instead, I shall be trying to contribute to the making of what will potentially end up on a few "best of" lists in the future. I'm a little sad that none of the films I've worked on qualify as the 100 best, but at least two of them have won Academy Awards. So HA, English newspapers, HA on you.
Bedtime for me, otherwise I would be expounding upon the poor choices in both these lists...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
