On a related note, I highly recommend the crime thriller "Layer Cake." It was directed by the producer of "Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." I enjoyed those films, and was interested to see what Matthew Vaughn would do without Guy Ritchie (especially as Vaughn is also directing the next X-Men movie).
While "Layer Cake" was certainly not as visually flashy as the other movies mentioned, it really got under my skin on an emotional level. It had its funny moments, and it had its cool moments, but in the end it managed to make an interesting movie about crime without ever making it seem like a good idea to be a criminal (which Guy Ritchie's movie always do). I really enjoyed it, and couldn't stop thinking about it for days.
UPDATE: Matthew Vaughn dropped out of directing X-Men 3 on June 1. No word yet on who will replace him, although his interesting casting choices of Kelsey Grammar as Beast and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut will remain. (I had heard that they finalized Maggie Grace as Kitty Pryde, but the IMDB doesn't show it yet. Also no word on who will play Angel.)
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Revenge.
Per my friend Stephanie's urging, I present my current thoughts on "Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."
First, let me say that I need to see it a second time. My first viewing of a film is always VERY critical -- especially ones I have been highly anticipating. Once I've seen it, the second time I go I can stop listening to the story and start appreciating the details. I have not been able to (as Steph demands on her blog), "Drop your disbelief, abandon your desires for perfection in entertainment, and just track this story." :)
(I especially have problems with that part about not demanding perfection!)
So, my thoughts after only one viewing are:
-- Episodes IV, V, and VI worked because they had simple, archetypal characters dropped into an epic plot; and simple archetypal characters are all that Lucas can handle. With the prequels, he wrote a good, solid, interesting story about one man's battle with his fear of loss, but he couldn't script or direct or even cast it in a way that was at all interesting (to me).
-- Lucas is trying too hard to have things both ways. You either write the whole trilogy for kids, or you write the whole trilogy for adults. You don't write Episodes I and II for kids, and then write Episode III for adults, complete with PG-13 rating (people being burned alive, little kids getting killed), but still put its toys into Happy Meals. This is a common problem in Hollywood movies (gotta appeal to as many people as possible so we can make as much money as possible, even if it means that none of the people will actually enjoy the product), and it's one of the things that drives me the most nuts!!! (See also "Goldeneye" and "Shrek" and "Gangs of New York") The original trilogy appealed to both kids and adults by BEING GOOD. Why can't someone in a movie studio figure that out?!
-- Above and beyond the bad dialogue and acting, there were a lot of weird moments in Episode III that pulled me out of the world of the film:
1) Obi-wan saying "Killing Sith lords is our spec-ee-al-ity" (technically that falls under bad dialogue, but it really bothered me).
2) Anakin destroying what looked like an air traffic control tower while trying to crash-land, and no one being at all concerned about all the people he might have just killed -- I thought Jedis "think only of others."
3) Similarly, why all the concern for R2 when he tries to zap the little buzz-droid in the opening space fight sequence? No one cared about the poor astromech on Obi-wan's ship that got his head ripped off, nor did anyone seem to worry about whether they were losing the entire battle by wasting time focusing too narrowly.
4) On the other hand, those stupid droids in the Separatist Army never really seem like much of a threat, so maybe they don't need to worry.
5) Natalie Portman's pregnancy a) varying in size from scene to scene, and b) never slowing her down even a little bit.
6) Vader's Frankenstein moment when he stands up in the mask for the first time.
7) Mace Windu throwing the Jedi code casually out the window and deciding to kill Palpatine.
8) Palpatine being aged and deformed by using the blue lightning was an interesting idea, but why does it only happen to him that one time?
9) I miss lightsabers having some WEIGHT to them -- there's too many damn limbs getting cut off in the prequels. It takes away the intensity and horror of Luke losing his hand in "Empire."
10) Anakin and Obi-wan have flaming bits of lava raining down on them through their entire duel, but nothing's even giving off smoke until the lava touches Anakin's pant leg at the end, and then his entire body instantly bursts into flames.
10.5) And what's with the Jedis' outfits, anyway? It made sense for Luke and Obi-wan to dress that way on Tatooine -- it's a desert planet and those are desert robes. But whose dumb idea was it that all Jedis should dress that way no matter what kind of planet they come from?
-- While I like how the title "Revenge of the Sith" echoes the later title "Return of the Jedi" (which was originally going to be titled "Revenge of the Jedi" until Lucas decided that Jedi don't seek revenge), what exactly were the Sith seeking revenge for in this film?
-- I hate apologists. Lucas spent a lot of time defending Episodes I and II when they came out. Now I read interviews with him, and he's talking about how he knew all along that they would be bad because he didn't have enough story to fill out three prequel movies and he wanted to save the most interesting parts of the story for the third movie, so the first two would have to be mostly filler. What a dickhead. Either stick to your guns and defend your damn movies, or don't inflict them on us.
-- Good points:
1) Ewen McGregor rocks!
2) Ian McDiarmid was also fan-freaking-tastic.
3) The battle between Obi-wan and General Grievous was really nice
3.5) In fact, General Grievous was cool all around.
4) All of Yoda's stuff was very well done (finally!).
5) I loved the touch that all of the clones were played by the same guy who played Jango Fett (who they were all cloned from).
6) I loved the touch that Anakin's ship was obviously a precursor to TIE fighters.
7) I actually quite liked Jimmy Smits.
8) Thank goodness they killed the most un-scarily named villain ever: Count Dooku.
9) Natalie Portman, no matter how bad the film or her performance, is always a pleasure to look at. Ahem.
10) And of course, all the backgrounds and effects were very well done. I just wish they had been well done in the service of a better film.
That's what I've got for now. If I can think of anything more later, I may write more. I certainly will have more to say after seeing it a second time.
First, let me say that I need to see it a second time. My first viewing of a film is always VERY critical -- especially ones I have been highly anticipating. Once I've seen it, the second time I go I can stop listening to the story and start appreciating the details. I have not been able to (as Steph demands on her blog), "Drop your disbelief, abandon your desires for perfection in entertainment, and just track this story." :)
(I especially have problems with that part about not demanding perfection!)
So, my thoughts after only one viewing are:
-- Episodes IV, V, and VI worked because they had simple, archetypal characters dropped into an epic plot; and simple archetypal characters are all that Lucas can handle. With the prequels, he wrote a good, solid, interesting story about one man's battle with his fear of loss, but he couldn't script or direct or even cast it in a way that was at all interesting (to me).
-- Lucas is trying too hard to have things both ways. You either write the whole trilogy for kids, or you write the whole trilogy for adults. You don't write Episodes I and II for kids, and then write Episode III for adults, complete with PG-13 rating (people being burned alive, little kids getting killed), but still put its toys into Happy Meals. This is a common problem in Hollywood movies (gotta appeal to as many people as possible so we can make as much money as possible, even if it means that none of the people will actually enjoy the product), and it's one of the things that drives me the most nuts!!! (See also "Goldeneye" and "Shrek" and "Gangs of New York") The original trilogy appealed to both kids and adults by BEING GOOD. Why can't someone in a movie studio figure that out?!
-- Above and beyond the bad dialogue and acting, there were a lot of weird moments in Episode III that pulled me out of the world of the film:
1) Obi-wan saying "Killing Sith lords is our spec-ee-al-ity" (technically that falls under bad dialogue, but it really bothered me).
2) Anakin destroying what looked like an air traffic control tower while trying to crash-land, and no one being at all concerned about all the people he might have just killed -- I thought Jedis "think only of others."
3) Similarly, why all the concern for R2 when he tries to zap the little buzz-droid in the opening space fight sequence? No one cared about the poor astromech on Obi-wan's ship that got his head ripped off, nor did anyone seem to worry about whether they were losing the entire battle by wasting time focusing too narrowly.
4) On the other hand, those stupid droids in the Separatist Army never really seem like much of a threat, so maybe they don't need to worry.
5) Natalie Portman's pregnancy a) varying in size from scene to scene, and b) never slowing her down even a little bit.
6) Vader's Frankenstein moment when he stands up in the mask for the first time.
7) Mace Windu throwing the Jedi code casually out the window and deciding to kill Palpatine.
8) Palpatine being aged and deformed by using the blue lightning was an interesting idea, but why does it only happen to him that one time?
9) I miss lightsabers having some WEIGHT to them -- there's too many damn limbs getting cut off in the prequels. It takes away the intensity and horror of Luke losing his hand in "Empire."
10) Anakin and Obi-wan have flaming bits of lava raining down on them through their entire duel, but nothing's even giving off smoke until the lava touches Anakin's pant leg at the end, and then his entire body instantly bursts into flames.
10.5) And what's with the Jedis' outfits, anyway? It made sense for Luke and Obi-wan to dress that way on Tatooine -- it's a desert planet and those are desert robes. But whose dumb idea was it that all Jedis should dress that way no matter what kind of planet they come from?
-- While I like how the title "Revenge of the Sith" echoes the later title "Return of the Jedi" (which was originally going to be titled "Revenge of the Jedi" until Lucas decided that Jedi don't seek revenge), what exactly were the Sith seeking revenge for in this film?
-- I hate apologists. Lucas spent a lot of time defending Episodes I and II when they came out. Now I read interviews with him, and he's talking about how he knew all along that they would be bad because he didn't have enough story to fill out three prequel movies and he wanted to save the most interesting parts of the story for the third movie, so the first two would have to be mostly filler. What a dickhead. Either stick to your guns and defend your damn movies, or don't inflict them on us.
-- Good points:
1) Ewen McGregor rocks!
2) Ian McDiarmid was also fan-freaking-tastic.
3) The battle between Obi-wan and General Grievous was really nice
3.5) In fact, General Grievous was cool all around.
4) All of Yoda's stuff was very well done (finally!).
5) I loved the touch that all of the clones were played by the same guy who played Jango Fett (who they were all cloned from).
6) I loved the touch that Anakin's ship was obviously a precursor to TIE fighters.
7) I actually quite liked Jimmy Smits.
8) Thank goodness they killed the most un-scarily named villain ever: Count Dooku.
9) Natalie Portman, no matter how bad the film or her performance, is always a pleasure to look at. Ahem.
10) And of course, all the backgrounds and effects were very well done. I just wish they had been well done in the service of a better film.
That's what I've got for now. If I can think of anything more later, I may write more. I certainly will have more to say after seeing it a second time.
YIKES !!
In "My Dinner With Andre," there are two moments that always give me chills. The one that's applicable here is when Wallace Shawn asks why people are so blasé about the world's problems (I may be paraphrasing a touch):
"Are we like bored, spoiled children who've been playing with our bathtoys in the tub all day and now just can't be bothered to care?"
And Andre Gregory responds:
"Alright, yes. We're bored. But has it ever occurred to you that a person who is bored is basically asleep? And that a person who is asleep will not say no? And that we are being kept in a state of perpetual boredom by a world totalitarian government based on money? And that all of this is much more dangerous than you might think?!"
I was reminded of that quote after reading this article. (You can read the full text of the Amnesty International report here.)
UPDATE: It's been pointed out that the article linked above is one-sided, only recapping the Amnesty report. The New York Sun has an article that offers critics of the report a chance to weigh in. It still didn't sway me, but we should at least let them defend themselves.
"Are we like bored, spoiled children who've been playing with our bathtoys in the tub all day and now just can't be bothered to care?"
And Andre Gregory responds:
"Alright, yes. We're bored. But has it ever occurred to you that a person who is bored is basically asleep? And that a person who is asleep will not say no? And that we are being kept in a state of perpetual boredom by a world totalitarian government based on money? And that all of this is much more dangerous than you might think?!"
I was reminded of that quote after reading this article. (You can read the full text of the Amnesty International report here.)
UPDATE: It's been pointed out that the article linked above is one-sided, only recapping the Amnesty report. The New York Sun has an article that offers critics of the report a chance to weigh in. It still didn't sway me, but we should at least let them defend themselves.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Geekdom.
So the three most interesting news stories of the day have to do with:
a) wormholes and time travel;
b) downloading your brain into a computer; and
c) people injuring themselves trying to make their own lightsabers.
I was going to post about seeing "Star Wars: Episode 3" over the weekend, but I'm feeling a little too geeky at the moment. ;-)
a) wormholes and time travel;
b) downloading your brain into a computer; and
c) people injuring themselves trying to make their own lightsabers.
I was going to post about seeing "Star Wars: Episode 3" over the weekend, but I'm feeling a little too geeky at the moment. ;-)
Friday, May 20, 2005
Anglophile.
Man, the British are just so much cooler than we are. When this guy hung his "fake" art in American museums, it was removed right away. The British Museum's response? "Thanks for the free artwork." They praised his piece and his ingenuity and found a permanent place for it. They are cooler than we are.
[It reminds me of the whole "F for Fake" thing -- in the 70's there was a guy forging artworks and selling them. An art dealer was concerned that he might have some forged Picassos in his gallery and asked the real Picasso to come over and verify them for him. Picasso was sorting the paintings into piles of real and fake. As he put a certain painting into the fake pile, the dealer said, "Wait a minute, Pablo, I was there when you painted that. I know it's not a fake." And Picasso famously replied, "Well, I can fake a Picasso as well as anyone else can."]
[It reminds me of the whole "F for Fake" thing -- in the 70's there was a guy forging artworks and selling them. An art dealer was concerned that he might have some forged Picassos in his gallery and asked the real Picasso to come over and verify them for him. Picasso was sorting the paintings into piles of real and fake. As he put a certain painting into the fake pile, the dealer said, "Wait a minute, Pablo, I was there when you painted that. I know it's not a fake." And Picasso famously replied, "Well, I can fake a Picasso as well as anyone else can."]
Monday, May 16, 2005
Curtain's rise.
Wow - a chance to see some theater. Who knew? It's more difficult than you'd think; and not just due to scheduling. Something akin to people who work at an ice cream shop not wanting to eat ice cream when they're at home.
Thursday was a going-away party for my friend Brendan Dowling, who's going off to perform for Second City on a cruise ship for four months. I'm happy for him, proud of him, envious of him, and scornful of the whole idea all at the same time. But it was a great party! Not a performance per se, but there were a lot of actors there.
Friday I saw "Dark Ride" by the Box Theater Company at the Actor's Studio of Chicago. It was a scrappy low-budget production of a script that could have used some judicious editing, but I really enjoyed myself all the same. My friends Chris and Jarrett were in it and both did excellent work.
Saturday I got to catch up with some old friends from the Aardvark Artistic Collective at this year's "Estrogen Fest." The show has moved downtown to the Storefront Theater, which is a really nice space, so it looked a lot more polished, but still was a true "fest," which means you go to watch a lot of different stuff and hope that the good outweighs the bad. The fest is performed in two programs, but on Saturday nights you can catch both back-to-back. Since I wasn't sure I'd have another chance to get down to the show, I saw both that night. My friend Mandy went with me, and we had a good time dissecting the performances and planning how we would have done it better (how many theater people does it take to change a light bulb? eleven -- one to change the light bulb and ten to tell you how they would have done it better). It was a very enjoyable evening, and let's just say that if you ever get a chance to see the band "Soft Serve" in concert, don't let them pull you up for the audience participation part!
Yesterday I had rehearsal (which is still going really well -- knock on wood). And then I bought a grill. It's getting to be that time of year, and I wanted to have one for Memorial Day. We're planning to try it out on Wednesday. Yum!
Thursday was a going-away party for my friend Brendan Dowling, who's going off to perform for Second City on a cruise ship for four months. I'm happy for him, proud of him, envious of him, and scornful of the whole idea all at the same time. But it was a great party! Not a performance per se, but there were a lot of actors there.
Friday I saw "Dark Ride" by the Box Theater Company at the Actor's Studio of Chicago. It was a scrappy low-budget production of a script that could have used some judicious editing, but I really enjoyed myself all the same. My friends Chris and Jarrett were in it and both did excellent work.
Saturday I got to catch up with some old friends from the Aardvark Artistic Collective at this year's "Estrogen Fest." The show has moved downtown to the Storefront Theater, which is a really nice space, so it looked a lot more polished, but still was a true "fest," which means you go to watch a lot of different stuff and hope that the good outweighs the bad. The fest is performed in two programs, but on Saturday nights you can catch both back-to-back. Since I wasn't sure I'd have another chance to get down to the show, I saw both that night. My friend Mandy went with me, and we had a good time dissecting the performances and planning how we would have done it better (how many theater people does it take to change a light bulb? eleven -- one to change the light bulb and ten to tell you how they would have done it better). It was a very enjoyable evening, and let's just say that if you ever get a chance to see the band "Soft Serve" in concert, don't let them pull you up for the audience participation part!
Yesterday I had rehearsal (which is still going really well -- knock on wood). And then I bought a grill. It's getting to be that time of year, and I wanted to have one for Memorial Day. We're planning to try it out on Wednesday. Yum!
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Life
Things have been busy at work. Two big student productions going on: "Angels in America, Part 1" (in the Classic!) and "Lovers & Executioners;" as well as tech rehearsals for the next mainstage show, "She Stoops To Conquer." As I get more and more involved with the department, I'm spending more time here. It's fun :)
Rehearsals for "Amerikafka" are going very well. What a great group of people! I can't wait to get the show in front of an audience and see what they think.
Saw the newest Redmoon show, "The Cabinet," last week. It was very good, although I did think that $20 for a one hour show was a touch steep. It was the first time they've held performances in their new space, however, and it was neat to see that.
Dad and Wendy were in town for a visit over the weekend. Dad and I went to see "Lost Land" at Steppenwolf. It was good and it was certainly pretty, but ultimately it left me a little flat. I'm feeling a little jaded lately -- everything I see has a "been there, done that" feel to me.
Then we had dinner at Flattop (my favorite). It was excellent as always. I just never tire of eating there! My current favorite sauce combination is 2 parts Korean barbeque, one part peanut sauce, and one part hot mustard. It's delicious.
Rehearsals for "Amerikafka" are going very well. What a great group of people! I can't wait to get the show in front of an audience and see what they think.
Saw the newest Redmoon show, "The Cabinet," last week. It was very good, although I did think that $20 for a one hour show was a touch steep. It was the first time they've held performances in their new space, however, and it was neat to see that.
Dad and Wendy were in town for a visit over the weekend. Dad and I went to see "Lost Land" at Steppenwolf. It was good and it was certainly pretty, but ultimately it left me a little flat. I'm feeling a little jaded lately -- everything I see has a "been there, done that" feel to me.
Then we had dinner at Flattop (my favorite). It was excellent as always. I just never tire of eating there! My current favorite sauce combination is 2 parts Korean barbeque, one part peanut sauce, and one part hot mustard. It's delicious.
Entertainment 2
I saw "Sin City" on Sunday. I liked it a lot, but I have to say that CGI effects still leave me cold. They still look like animation most of the time. They're getting closer and closer, and I know that people have to keep trying to use them or they won't ever get to the point where they're completely indetectable, but I'd still rather see a movie that was all animated or all live action. I think "Sin City" could have been done with a technique like that used on "Waking Life," where they film the actors live and then layer the animation over the top of them (it's called Rotoscoping). I would have liked that better.
Entertainment 1
In this week's Entertainment Weekly, they have an article about the series finale of "Everybody Loves Raymond." In it, Patricia Heaton is reminiscing about an episode where her character gave birth in the backseat of a car. She had this to say:
"I got to spend hours in the backseat of this car with Ray and Brad looking up my [skirt]."
So, what I want to know is: what did she really say instead of skirt?!
This is a woman who is famous for her conservative views. She refused to appear on the Emmys because Eminem was performing. She walked out of the AMA telecast after being offended by rude jokes told by Sharon Osbourne and Ryan Seacrest (!). She organized a fast in protest of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube being removed. So it gives me a little thrill of joy to imagine the Republicans' foremost booster in Hollywood saying something vulgar to a reporter.
"I got to spend hours in the backseat of this car with Ray and Brad looking up my [skirt]."
So, what I want to know is: what did she really say instead of skirt?!
This is a woman who is famous for her conservative views. She refused to appear on the Emmys because Eminem was performing. She walked out of the AMA telecast after being offended by rude jokes told by Sharon Osbourne and Ryan Seacrest (!). She organized a fast in protest of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube being removed. So it gives me a little thrill of joy to imagine the Republicans' foremost booster in Hollywood saying something vulgar to a reporter.
News 2
Yesterday's Chicago Tribune front section contained this headline:
"Dim sum warning hard to swallow
In a fast-paced culture steeped in tradition, an official advisory that some dim sum is unwholesome nearly gags Hong Kongers, who revel in the meals' noisy society"
Sounds pretty dire, yes? I have had dim sum on a number of occasions and really enjoy it. In fact, my roommates and I have a dim sum brunch planned for the 21st. (You have to schedule pretty far ahead when you're as busy as we are) So I was anxious to read the article. Do you want to know what the shocking news was? Scientists have discovered that the deep fried parts of dim sum contain -- brace yourself -- fat and sodium!!!
I mean come on, people. I was expecting salmonella risk at the least. Fat and sodium?! Hell, my toothpaste contains that. Just another example of American media scare tactics. ("Bowling for Columbine", anyone?)
"Dim sum warning hard to swallow
In a fast-paced culture steeped in tradition, an official advisory that some dim sum is unwholesome nearly gags Hong Kongers, who revel in the meals' noisy society"
Sounds pretty dire, yes? I have had dim sum on a number of occasions and really enjoy it. In fact, my roommates and I have a dim sum brunch planned for the 21st. (You have to schedule pretty far ahead when you're as busy as we are) So I was anxious to read the article. Do you want to know what the shocking news was? Scientists have discovered that the deep fried parts of dim sum contain -- brace yourself -- fat and sodium!!!
I mean come on, people. I was expecting salmonella risk at the least. Fat and sodium?! Hell, my toothpaste contains that. Just another example of American media scare tactics. ("Bowling for Columbine", anyone?)
And we're back.
So, I know it's been awhile. Twice during the time between my last post and this one I've written a lenthy diatribe, only to lose it into cyberspace. It's frustrating, but it's the way computers are. So I'm going to endeavor to keep my posts short and sweet, maybe even making multiple posts in a day, in order to avoid losing everything all at once.
Today's first subject: criminals. Why can't American criminals be more like Australians? Remember the running joke in Austin Powers about Dr. Evil never knowing how much ransom to ask for? He's got nothing on these guys!
Today's first subject: criminals. Why can't American criminals be more like Australians? Remember the running joke in Austin Powers about Dr. Evil never knowing how much ransom to ask for? He's got nothing on these guys!
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