Avatar One Line Review

For a three dimensional movie, there sure were a lot of two dimensional characters.

I hope I didn't just rip off some reviewer.

(500) Days of Clarification

I really liked this movie, though I'm not sure that came through in my last post. There were just a lot of moments where I felt the guy's pain. And as Briggie pointed out, there is this one part that is so amazingly awesome that I'm hoping it happens to me some day.

Also, this was the 2nd movie in a week that contained Ingmar Bergman references that I knew, despite never having seen an Ingmar Bergman film (the other being Love and Death). Perhaps I should correct this.

Confessions of an Indy apologist

So, what with all the Indiana Jones quotes I've been putting up, it seems pretty natural that I'd drop a review on you all. Don't worry, I'm keeping this one spoiler free, so feel free to read on. Yeah, I know. Most of you have seen it already.

So, I've seen Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull twice now. Yeah, twice. I guess that says something about what I thought about the movie, but don't make too many assumptions just yet. I decided opening night at the Ziegfeld was as good a place as any to experience Indy 4, and I was constantly geeking out about how it was being shown in digital projection. Turns out I shouldn't have been. The biggest negative impression that I came out with was, "it really could have used some film grain." The digital effects (especially the kooky lighting) mixed with the crystal clear projection just made the movie look so... new. And for an Indy movie, that just didn't fly with me. I was also a little worried by some of the dialog which seemed forced and a generally lightweight feel to the whole event. Thoughts like, "can't these people act?" and, "Indy would have never paused there," flew through my mind more often than I'd like. But, there were also parts where I couldn't help but smile and really feel like I was on another adventure with the coolest PhD ever to grace the screen. Though I didn't feel ripped off, as I left the theater I couldn't help but feel more than a little let down.

But...

Then I saw it a second time. I'd had a day to mull it over in my mind. It seemed as if every passing hour I grew to like the film better. After all, it was another adventure with Indiana Jones, right? It's not like these things come around all that often anymore. I met with some friends and headed to the Battery Park theater where, mercifully, the film was not digitally projected. Hooray for a dimmer picture and gritty film! Not being so nervous this time, I just sat back and enjoyed. And enjoyed! All the things that I'd had a problem with before just seemed to melt away. Gone were the strange exchanges between Indy and his costars. Gone were the cringes at kooky plot elements (except for one, but that's allowable). Everything just seemed better. Had I become that much of a movie snob? I mean, it's not like this was meant to be Wild Strawberries. This is Indy does B-Movies. Yes, the original three might have been canonized by many (myself included), but I don't think it was ever meant to be anything more than an entertaining movie. And I was entertained.

Of course, this is a debate that will most likely go on for decades. There will be the critics and the apologists. The ending of Last Crusade was a more fitting end to the franchise, for sure. It's going to take me a long while to think of Indiana Jones as a tetralogy rather than a trilogy. And yes, it's my least favorite of the four. But it's still pretty darn fun. If you'll indulge me the use of William Safire's famous term, I'd like to say to all those nattering nabobs of negativism out there one thing: see it one more time, then let's talk.

Post Oscars Thought

From the desk in my room, I can see 3 movie posters: Vertigo, From Russia With Love and Octopussy. I'm noticing a progression in these posters: the newer the poster, the more information. The Vertigo poster is minimal with its info. Actors, director, screenplay and music. Fast forward 5 years to From Russia, and you add producers. Here's an example from 2007. You can see some significant poster inflation.

These people work very hard to bring us entertainment, and I know if it were me, I'd be thrilled to have my name on something everyone could see. But posters are advertisement, and as such, I ask the question - Has anyone in the general public ever decided to see a movie based off of, say, who the music supervisor is? How about because you like the producer? I ask in the spirit of curiosity - this isn't some kind of Seinfeldian rant. Comment away.

Really Massive Irish Rockers

Just got back from U2 3D. If anyone can take you on a mindbending multi-dimensional rockstraveganza, it's Bono. In fact, there were moments that I was worried that the man was going to fall off the screen and in to my lap. I don't know if I could handle that. He even used his multidimensionality to try to wipe away each audience member's tear during "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Thanks Bono.

OK, all joking aside, it was a pretty awesome movie/concert/experience. I'm not a huge U2 fan, but I like them enough to sit through 1.5 hrs of concert. The 3D effects were done tastefully and worked to great effect. Sure, Bono's pretentiousness seemed bigger in 3D, but so did The Edge's awesomeness which provided a nice counterbalance. I get the feeling that he's the one that helps Bono keep it real. The best numbers on the film are: (Musically) "Where the Streets Have No Name," which is saying something since I'm tired of hearing the recorded version, and (Visually) "The Fly," where they managed to take the stuff shown on the billboards behind the band and make them work on the screen. So, basically what I'm saying is that if you even kind of like U2, it'd be worth your while to get yourself a ticket. Just don't cry during "One" like the guy in the corner of the screen was doing. How embarrassing.

Wouldn't you say my collection's complete?

I know that in 3 years, I won't have regretted this purchase at all, but right now, I'm trying my darndest to justify it. Stupid Borders and their 40% off coupons!

Yeah, so I bought this big Alfred Hitchcock box set. I have been wanting to buy several of the films separately for awhile (Psycho, The Birds, Shadow of a Doubt, etc.), and the cost of the set was a few dollars cheaper than buying them separately... (justification continues).

Just in case you were wondering, here are the other titles included:

• Saboteur
• Rope
• The Trouble With Harry
• The Man Who Knew Too Much
• Marnie
• Torn Curtain
• Topaz
• Frenzy
• Family Plot
• Rear Window
• Vertigo

It's a pretty good collection all in all, and when you add to it the films I already have (Dial M For Murder, I Confess, Strangers on a Train), I have the start of a nice little Hitchcock collection. I actually already have copies of Rear Window and Vertigo, so for anyone out there who is interested in buying a used DVD or two that are in excellent condition, they're going cheap! I'm thinking $10/DVD, but that's negotiable, as long as you're willing to go up.

If only I'd stayed one more day...

So, I'm finally back from my scientific conference/vacation, and though I'm glad to be back in the city (and blogging again), I really should have stayed in Seattle one more day. The weather is better, there is food at my parents house (there isn't any in my apartment), and most of all, if I had stayed, I could have met Steve Wiebe.

That's right folks - I could have met the star of "King of Kong." Now, I know that some of you have seen this film, so you will know how big of a deal this could have been. You see, as those with whom I saw the movie are painfully aware, he lives very close to where I grew up, and in fact teaches in the school district where I went to school. I was headed out to Seattle the next day, and after a bit of detective work, found an email and sent him a note requesting a meeting to shake his hand and have him sign a Donkey Kong figurine (which I got in my early teens as a game tester for Nintendo). A week went by and yesterday I received a very nice reply stating that he had just got to my email and that if I were going to be in town on Wednesday (today), he would love to meet with me. Man! If only! Well, I guess it was never meant to be, but it just goes to show that he really is as nice of a guy as he is portrayed in the movie. So, if you haven't seen this movie yet, let me join the others in strongly encouraging you to go and see it. Seriously.

"My car just hit a water buffalo"

In other news in my suddenly very boring life, Amazon has finally decided to ship an order that I placed early last week, which includes a few great Jazz CDs, and the new "Jane Doe" edition of the movie Fletch. What a great flick. Glad to see it's been re-released. If you haven't seen it, go see it. I'll let you borrow it. Fletch even goes to Provo in it. Convinced?