Stranger Than Fiction: A Thought About The Film

 
I think it's a beautiful thing to engage in something, anything, with such passion that you lose yourself as you hone your skills to reach a goal, perfection or an ending.

This is the same in any media chosen to express whatever your passion is. I love reading books or stories that introduce characters so likable that you feel the pain of their loses or the enjoy of their accomplishments. The same goes for movies and the film Stranger Than Fiction is no exception to that rule.

I loved Will Ferrell's portrayal of the lonely, fated protagonist Harold Crick. Here is a character who is plain and hapless in his monotonous life that we see a reason to follow his story. The fact that Emma Thompson's character Karen Eiffel narratives his daily activities further provides a more in-depth understanding of Harold's narrative archetype that we, as the audience, find more compassion. Even Thompson's role as the eccentric writer and narrator are so rational, for writer's at the very least, and I personally find a weird connection with her character. Being a fiction writer has allowed me to really comprehend and also sympathize with the plight of creation and responsibility of fulfillment.

What do I mean by responsibility of fulfillment? It is the act of creating and the art of skillfully providing a reason for existence. Even if your character is to die, such is the case with Harold Crick, the writer still has to provide meaning and justification for the characters death. Writing endings are not easy by no means, let me tell you. So many aspects of narration, character development and story must be taken into account when you slowly reach those final pages and bring your written masterpiece to a close. I always find it difficult to end a story after I have provided such a fond and in-depth look at something that I poured my heart and soul into.

I feel such a great deal of responsibility in capturing and expressing a story with profound visualization and emotion that not only speaks to me but also hits a definite chord with readers of all kinds. The film Stranger Than Fiction does this on many levels. Mind you that what you're watching is a literary tale told visually and every aspect of plot, narration and arch are presented. At times I felt as though this could have actually been a graphic novel, a manga maybe, because it is literally a developing story that is in motion.

I liked the contrasts that progressively appear and further change and enhance the characters lives. Harold and Karen's lives are some what identical in the sense that they work in systematic fashion to approach situations. Harold operates in a corporate and mathematical/computational environment while Karen provides us with the common, at times unorthodox, method of story creation. When Maggie Gyllenhall's character Ana Pascal enters Harold's life it implements a vast contradiction to the life and organization that has ruled Harold's life. She is his opposite and Ana compliments, or in this case unbalances, his perspectives very nicely.

Another aspect of interest is the character of Prof. Jules Hilbert, played by Dustin Hoffman. I always look at this Hilbert as the mage or all knowing guide that helps Harold through his dilemma. He is instrumental in grounding the protagonist in a reasonable reality where Harold can attempt to find answers to his plight. Hoffman is just a lot fun as Hilbert; the kind of literary specialist I wish I had in school, ha! 

I think the one moment that has stuck with me about this film is Harold and Karen's meeting. It is the moment where Karen as an author not only realizes that one of her fictionalized creations turned out to be real, but also her responsibility of giving him a meaningful and justified existence appears. On top of that, she also went further to provide a rational excuse to change. It is something that all us writers go through when we create. We always change where it is necessary while keeping in mind how it will effect the choices that we have made up to that point.

Even in writing, it is all about making choices and decisions and being responsible in making sure we fulfill those intentions.

Bridesmaids: Movie Review

So here I am with another movie review. Believe it or not I'm talking about a chick flick this time around. I don't see a lot of chick flicks, so this is a little weird, a little strange to talk about. Then again, maybe not. I actually really enjoyed how this came out!

I sometimes enjoy watching former Saturday Night Live cast members transition from the small screen to the big screen. Honestly, at this point, the only another person I can think of Will Ferrell. I know there are knows, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd. That's all at the time, for now!

Anyway, Bridesmaids was really a lot of fun and the comedic scenarios were well placed, and who doesn't enjoy "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips? Tell me, who doesn't?

What I really enjoyed about this movie is that while it is a chick flick, the story really focuses on the relationship between Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph's characters. Their moments together on screen brought forth some of the movie's best comedic and introspective moments. Since the movie really directs most of its attention on Annie (Wiig), we see a lot of moments where she really reveals what her character is experiencing and what she hopes to achieve. While marriage may be one of the central themes in the movie, it is over shadowed by the friendship and romance angles that that bring out the laughs and heart felt moments.

I mean, really, I laughed pretty hard during the bathroom scene at the wedding dress store. I'm sure this place is called some thing else, but I don't know what it is and don't really care to find out. Just so you know. Ha!

What I really want to point out is that there are two things that stood out for me while watching this film. One is a universal point that everyone will agree on, and the other is personal. Okay, Megan played by Melissa McCarthy, was just a hilarious tour-de-force! She pretty much stole the show with her in your face, say anything and hold nothing back attitude. She reminds me of that friend that we all have that just behaves and acts according to how they feel. The only way I can describe the character of Megan is by associating her to Seth Rogen's character in Knocked Up. I think the moment that really brought her character out for me was the scene at the Brazilian restaurant, where she starts describing the Fight Club theme bridal shower.

When McCarthy's character started talking about beating the shit out of Rudolph's character, I just fell over and laughed. You just knew that one of them would have the over-the-top idea, and you knew it would be her, but had no idea what she would say. And, BAM! She drops it in like a plate of nicely cooked meat. Just lays it out there for everyone else to pick on and enjoy, and I took it and ran, ha! The other point is a little more personal and it has to do with Kristen Wiig's character.

You could say that I have a soft spot for Kristen Wiig here, like I did in Paul. 

I enjoyed Annie as a character and there were moments where I could almost see someone that resembled her. I think we all can, right? I loved her drunken, high on medication performance on the plane. But, what I loved the most about her was the car she drove. A Toyota Corolla, an AE86 for God's sake! She is my dream, both her and the car! Well, I actually prefer the three door hatchback model, but man, that was an 86! And, it was an old car but it could still roll and burn rubber with the best of them! I cringed when her car got hit from behind. I felt Annie's pain when her car bit the dust temporally. It like the sadness I felt when Takumi's 86 broke down. Those who know me well enough will know what I'm referencing. That car, especially the hatchback model, holds a very special place in my heart.

Not related to the 86, but I felt sad when Annie started crying while watching Cast Away. I liked that one too, and felt sad and heartache when Wilson floated away.

What made this movie work, I think, is a great story which was written in part by Wiig, but also having Judd Apatow as producer. Some of the female bonding humor that worked in this movie can be found in Apatow's other work like Step Brothers, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Superbad just to name a few.

In the end, Bridesmaids was a fun flick, just under two hours, filled with great comedic moments and fond memories of long-time friendships.

Bitter Wintery Blues

Hey all,

So, can you believe the north east got hit with a freak (I might be exaggerating) winter storm and it's only October, and Halloween's tomorrow! It's crazy that a storm like this hit so early. In all my years of existence, I have never seen snow this soon. The earliest at least here in NYC is early to mid-November. Of course, we get cold temperatures, so most of us here are bundled up or in the first stages of winter preparedness. However, this year, it seems as though we been preparing a lot sooner as cold temperatures arrived faster, and then this snow storm!

And here's the kicker! It's sunny today, as I am sure it is over the rest of the north east, and there's practically little or no snow left on the ground! The only indication that anything happened is the snow still on the roofs of buildings and cars. It's still pretty cold out, so that there. Whew! If it were 90 degrees I might go crazy!

But seriously, yesterday was the beginning of wintery discontent. I don't enjoy the winter, or the summer, no, let me restate that. I hate the extremes of both seasons. I always prefer a nice mid-combination of both; although, if I had to choose, I prefer summer temperatures and climate. Some place tropical though.

Despite the ugly weather yesterday, I still went outdoors - first to downtown Manhattan then to the Bronx. What a trip! Freezing temperatures that my hands were freezing even after I put on gloves. The snow came down in large clumps and stuck to ever thing. I honestly didn't think it would be this bad, but I guess I was wrong. But, the snow didn't last for long as it turned to sleet then pure rain! I was miserable during my excursion downtown. People were out in full force though and that's what you have to love about New Yorkers, we don't really give a damn! We'll complain but we'll get stuff done no matter what conditions are like. However, personally, I hate being cold!

Then I get to the Bronx to visit a good friend of mine, and unfortunately, I was still freezing. The best part, wouldn't you know it, there was no heat in his building! That sounds just about right because there was no heat in my building as well. Damn it! We sat around, talked politics, and how freakin' crazy this weather had gotten so suddenly. All the while, my feet and hands were icy cold.

I got home later that evening and the heat was still absent. No surprise there. What the hell Mr. Super? Why don't you turn on the heat? Why is it that you only turn it on for an hour at a time and/or only at odd hours of the evening? Ahhh, winter is such a great, bone-chilling, miserable time of the year, don't you think so? I know that further upstate and up north the storm has been much worse then what I'm complaining about here. I hearing story of power outages in certain areas and that is just horrible. With no electricity or running water in some cases, the conditions are literally below standards. Yet, I envy and admire those who endure under such undesirable extremes. Real troopers!

Well, that's it for now. Stay safe and warm out there!

Hanna: Movie Review

 
What up, Movie Lovers,

Well, I pulled out another movie that I bought months ago and finally watched it. This time the selection happened to be the film Hanna. Now I have to say that I only heard about this movie because the stars of the film were at the San Diego Comic Con a couple of years ago promoting its release in theaters. I didn't know much about its premise except that it centered around a young girl assassin.

Of course, the premise attracted my curiosity. I mean, why not? A young girl, long blonde hair, blue eyes, trained in weapons & hand-to-hand combat and special intelligence tactics! What more could I want?

Despite these intriguing details, which I didn't know about at the time, the film interested me. I caught the trailer for it several months after, but like every other movie I am only now watching it for the first time. Saoirse Ronan plays the title character Hanna, and Eric Bana takes the role of her father Eric Heller. The movie begins by establishing Hanna as a rogue nature hunter as she hunts, kills and gathers the meat of a wild buck. Her father confronts her and engages her in a series of offensive and defensive fighting techniques. As I watched it, the scene opened up the idea of remote training and survival skills, but the intention was not made clear yet.

During the next 15 minutes, the film continues to reinforce her father's training as Eric tests and attacks her with a series of different tactics. The only clue we get from all this is that her father has been preparing her for when she has to venture outside of the sanctity for their secluded shack in the woods of Finland. When Eric finally believes she is ready, the first plot is revealed that he was part of a covert CIA group. Certain other details are withheld, but an intelligence officer, Marissa Wiegler played by Cate Blanchett, is now pursuing them.

I'm going to skim though most details to move along forward with this brief review. Well, Hanna and her father part ways, and the film follows Hanna as she escapes from the underground CIA base, travels through most of Europe with the help a vacationing British family and ultimately confronts Wiegler. The interesting aspect of the film is how we're shown Hanna's immersion into modern society. She interacts with and is genuinely surprised by the foreign technology, scenery and experiences that she is encountering for the first time. Many of these moments are captured in Hanna's interaction with the vacationing family, especially with their daughter Sophie. The two bond and share brief moments of attraction and curiosity.

One of the complaints I had was the secret agenda surrounding Hanna. The reason her father trained her and why Marissa is after her are the same. Hanna is actually an experiment to create a super soldier with heightened speed, strength and intelligence making her an elite special forces agent. I just kept thinking that the idea was nothing new and over used. When it was revealed, it didn't have the impact that I thought the movie was aiming for. However, that minor point is, for the most part, irrelevant because Hanna's journey is what I found to be the most interesting part of the film.

The action during the movie is fast and gritty in some cases. You see Hanna take her bumps and bruises, but she also delivers the intense hits as she battles foes. Saoirse Ronan really puts on a performance and shines as she both explores her characters motives and fights with such precision that Saoirse could've fooled me with her expertise. I know its all about choreography but it really shows in how well she moves and the editing. She fun to look at. In addition to the visual display of action, the music, composed by the Chemical Brothers, also added a fast beat of electronica that helped to raise the tension and/or pace of many of the scenes. The score played during the scene where Hanna is fleeing from her pursuers in the shipping yard is my personal favorite. While electronic it also felt very playful and upbeat. The music in that scene mirrored the fact that Hanna was playing around against her enemies.

In recollection, Hanna was a fun action, spy, young girl assassin movie with a lot of spunk and clever storytelling. In a way, I would almost consider it a story that took the Mathilda character from Leon: The Professional and based it on her. So, I would say that it was time that I spent being well entertained.

Surrogates: Movie Review

 
Hello all,

Another movie review coming at ya! This time it's the Bruce Willis Sci-Fi film Surrogates.

I have to say that my interest was piqued about this movie when I first saw the trailer a couple of years ago. However, I never got to see it in theaters at the time. Now that I think about it I don't watch that many movies in theaters, and I just catch them after they come out on Blu-ray or DVD. It wasn't until about a  month ago that I saw the trailer advertised on TV that I went out and bought it.

So, the premise is humanity has become completely dependent on the use of artificial robots/cyborgs to function or interact with society. In other words, when you get ready to go to work, you plug yourself into your robot/cyborg, known as a Surrogate, and go about your daily outdoor activities. Sound familiar? It should because it is the exact same plug-in/jack-in function used in The Matrix. Only, instead of plugging into a computer, you plug-in to your artificial clone. It's really a very intriguing idea. The movie explains that this new technology and mode of human interactive function has revolutionized humanity to the point that such things as crime are non-existent.

Of course, like any revolution or new concept, there are going to be opponents. These are known as Dreads, normal people/humans that refuse to allow technology/robots to replace man kind. I may be making this sound too much like the premise for Terminator, but its not this extreme. It has this feel much like Stephen King's The Stand where you have the two factions or social groups. In Surrogates, you have the society that accepts the robots as a means of social image, and the other society hates the robots for the same reason.

The story takes shape when a murder is committed with a device that not only destroys the surrogate but also its human operator. Bruce Willis plays FBI agent Tom Greer, and with Radha Mitchell (Agent Peters) the two investigate the crime which has roots reaching all the way into the surrogate manufacturing company VSI. I don't remember what the full name was, or if it was even mentioned, ha! Surrogates is a very decent detective story but at its core are the major themes that the concept of artificial dependence implies.

For example, all the surrogates are young while their human counterparts are older or aging. The reason I say this is because part of the story focuses on Bruce Willis' character's relationship with his wife Maggie played by Rosamund Pike. From very earlier on, we are shown a disconnect between the couple, especially after Tom is forced to pursue the investigation with out a surrogate. He realizes that his wife may have grown so dependent on the use of the artificial persona/image that she's lost sense of reality.

Another interesting point shown in the movie is that it is a comment on some of society's idea or need to display or appear young or perfect. As a matter of fact, the modern surrogate society is visually represented as a stylish, and artificial rendition of what a perfect society would appear as. The surrogates represent every human operator's own ideal self image of perfection. It's vanity in its purest sense. Even more intriguing is the reaction that Tom gets when he emerges into society in his actual 'flesh' form. Even though it is not revealed how long it as been since he actually set foot out of his house, we see the immediate disconnect with human interaction. Tom has a huge sensory overload that he nearly collapses as he tries to physically move in a space which he only interacted with through artificial eyes.   

Again, I was really impressed by the detective story that revealed the ethical question of extreme dependence on artificial technology. Surrogates was an entertaining film with many thought provoking ideas. And the scene where everyone drops to the ground in unison was pretty cool to see, and the ending provided a ideal awakening.

A Perfect Getaway: Movie Review

Well, here I am with another movie review from my personal library. Actually, I bought this movie several months ago and only recently watched it.

Ahhh, I still have several other movies that I haven't watched yet, and my library will most likely keep getting bigger, ha!

Ever since The Fifth Element and the Resident Evil series, I developed a liking for Milla Jovovich and her bad ass take on female action heroines. I think many people were attracted to her portrayal of bright orange/white headed Leeloo and her tough super soldier persona of Alice, and I'll admit that I became one of the people who found her irresistible. So after reading the synopsis for A Perfect Getaway, I wondered how Milla would handle playing a character as normal as you and I. In other words, she won't have powers or speak a foreign language.

The results, in my opinion, were quite surprising and enjoyable.

The movie opens to a video replay of a wedding, and the happy couple isn't shown. However, by the next scene, the audience is introduced to the newly weds Cyndey (Jovovich) and Cliff, played by Steve Zahn, as they enjoy their honeymoon on the remote Hawaiian island. Right from the start, the two things that catch my attention are with Milla's performance and her character's last name. After being used to Jovovich playing a commando-like heroine, it was weird seeing her play a down to earth normal woman, very giddy and all smiles, like someone I'd like to spend a Sunday afternoon with. The other is the character she plays is named Cyndey Anderson. The reason I point this out is because it's ironic as seeing that Jovovich is actually married to writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil series).

I found her performance interesting and carefree, again, like someone who's enjoying their honeymoon.

The story takes its first indication of - bump in the road - when Cydney and Cliff encounter another couple along the road and offer to give them a ride. There's a bit of a disagreement and both sides go separate ways on rather uncomfortable terms. This may seem like a minor hiccup, but when the news of the suspects (also newly weds) to a double murder is brought to their attention things turn awkward and suspicions begin to rise. The story takes another turn with the introduction of a third couple, Gina (Kiele Sanchez) and Nick (Timothy Olyphant). To keep this from getting too long, Cydney and Cliff suspect the first couple they met to be the killers and so they seek security in numbers by staying with Gina and Nick.

The first hour of the movie is spent Cyndey/Cliff getting to know Gina/Nick, and let me tell you, during the first hour I thought I was watching a comedy. The character of Nick was so over the top as a ex-special agent with so many anecdotes that he's hilarious, and hearing that Cliff is a screenwriter, Nick starts pitching ideas that 1) serve to humor and intimidate Cliff and 2) set the plot for the rest of the movie. Now, I don't know if this was done intentionally to guide the audience along in suspecting that Nick and Gina are an illusive couple. Or, if is was done to create this interesting fun and dynamic interaction. Either way, I enjoyed Olyphant's performance, and with Milla's giddy, happy California girl nature I found myself enjoying the movie more that I forgot that this was still a suspenseful thriller.

The twists and turns continue as the real killers are identified, and I won't ruin it here just in case others want to discover it for themselves. I will say that there is one strange moment toward the end where Nick goes through a moment of introspection and certain truths are put together. However my grip with this is when Nick's introspect switches to that of Cliff's. As this happened, I kept thinking about how this was possible. Were we in Nick's head or Cliff's, or both through some miracle of telepathy.

All together, A Perfect Getaway truly entertained me. The suspicions about who is really telling the truth about who they say they are, and Olyphant's mysterious yet hilarious performance kept me hook and laughing. Steve Zahn had a note worthy role. Of course, Kiele Sanchez was quite a sight, and Milla Jovovich's smile looked radiant when caught on film.

In the end, it was a time well spent!

The Walking Dead: Season Two, Episode One Review

After about a whole year, I'm delighted to see the first episode of the new season. It felt like so long ago since I saw the last episode from season one and now zombie goodness is back on AMC.

If you've seen the trailers advertising the new season, the one word that described the mood and feeling was intense. The show picked up where the last left off with our group of survivors leaving behind the smoldering remains of the CDC in Atlanta and heading for Fort Bennett.

30 minutes into the 90 minute season premier, the entire group found themselves trapped on a congested highway when a herd of zombies arrives and has everyone scrambling to hide underneath cars. The fear that arose during this scene was so gripping that I found myself holding my breath at certain points. Each time the camera focused on a character all I saw was panic. To top it off I kept getting a feeling that here was where one of the survivors would meet their unfortunate demise.

The threat passed and everyone was safe except for a few bruises, zombie killings and a severely lacerated forearm. The rest of the episode took shape when Sophia was chased into the woods by a zombie, and the whole party took off in search of her. While the entire episode was spent navigating the woods and a secluded church, the real cliffhanger came at the end. Seriously, during a moment of peaceful serenity the unexpected occurred. When it happened I was shocked. The episode ended and I was left wondering why it ended so soon.

Yeah, I know, after an hour and a half, how could I say it ended so soon. Well, it just did.

There were some pretty intense moments and the writing continued to keep me grounded and interested as each of the characters developed further. One of the goals that this episode focused on was showing that while the entire group escaped together certain differences and objects weren't shared by everyone. For instance, Andrea's resentment toward Dale's decision to guilt her into escaping the final blast at the CDC led her to further lament remaining alive. In addition, Shane's growing frustration and envy of Rick causes him to start outwardly displaying his anger. Basically, the group begins to divide itself and it created a dynamic that leaves the viewer guessing who will remain and who will finally burst.

Other questions remain like what Dr. Jenner told Rick before they escaped from the CDC. At the beginning of the episode, Rick continues to radio his progress to Morgan and he is about to mention what Jenner told him but stops claiming it wasn't important at the moment. Also, speaking of Morgan, I'm still wondering what became of him and his son Dwayne. We left them during the first episode of season one and we don't ever hear or see from them again. Rick keeps communicating with them although we never hear Morgan return Rick's messages. 

The gore level is what we would expect with special make-up effects guru Greg Nicotero as lead supervisor. So I know that the effects will be top notch, and believe me this episode had one heck of a highlight with a zombie autopsy. It wowed me when Rick and Daryl cut open that zombie and started pulling out its innards to check the contents of its stomach. Talk about full on gross!

All of these elements came together nicely to provide a great first episode to the new season. Previews to the following week's episode only continue to provide glimpses of what is to be more drama and suspense. I'm looking forward to it and hope the writing continues to drive it as it has so far. It's good to have new zombie goodness back on TV!