lookin' up...

Since my last post, I like to think that I've got my life a bit more in order. I have a looser plan for myself now, which has really helped keep me grounded. I am going to...

A) Move out of the shithole I'm living in now when my lease ends. But take my time doing it. Sometimes it's hard to realize how important it is to enjoy where you live with people you get along with, until you DON'T do that for a while. Hopefully I can find some others out there who are also unhappy with their living situation, and when the time is right, I can move in with them. I hate to be distrustful of strangers, but in LA I've come to find that most people out here are slobs, hipsters, idiots, or one of a variety of other unsavory labels. I'm going to try and only go with people whom I know are chill from now on.

B) Take the GRE. Soon!

C) Apply for the Disney Associates Program in April. There's a good chance I won't get in at this point in my career, but I'll never know if I don't try, right?

D) Seriously apply to USC and CalArts graduate programs next fall. That way if I'm accepted, I can go to school the following year (which will be what, Fall 2010?). And by that time, it should also have been long enough time finally have had some success at my current job anyway.

E) Never stop working on my own projects, and if something good comes out of one of them, go for it! But hey, that's sort of a given, right?

Anyway, here are some reviews...

1) "The Searchers" I was honestly expecting a tad more from this classic, but it's still a landmark western either way you look at it. I've heard that the movie is known for being one of the first westerns to question how "good" the cowboys were in their attack on Native Americans, but frankly they still made the Injuns look like a bunch of savages. I've also never really "got" John Wayne, and though he is better than usual here, he still speaks in that swaggering drawl that just comes off as comical. How did anyone ever find this guy sexy? It always looks to me like he needs to lose some weight.
Even so, this movie is beautifully photographed, and it is definitely more complex than most westerns of the time. Maybe I was expecting too much.

2) "Sex Drive" Unfortunately this movie didn't do too well in theaters due to its lack of big stars, and that's too bad because it was much better than I was expecting. I was laughing all the way through, and there are several scenes that are absolutely uproarious, including the (no pun intended) climax. The cast all does a very good job (especially Clark Duke and Amanda Crew), but it's James Marsden who steals the show. Between this and "Enchanted," Cyclops has really gone to show he is one of the funniest and most versatile actors out there. Put him in more stuff! The cinematography is also surpisingly good for a goofy movie about teenagers getting laid. It's not "Superbad" good, but this movie is well above your average raunchy teen comedy.

3) "Bolt" I'm a little bummed this movie got smashed by "Twilight" at the theaters (don't get me started on Twilight), but it has gained momentum in its second weekend, so maybe it will do well overall. Pixar may have been striking gold almost non-stop, but it's been quite a while since their home base Disney came out with anything worthwhile (other than the aforementioned "Enchanted"). I really hope "Bolt" puts them back on the train-tracks to doing better things in the future. It's a fairly predictable movie with premises we've seen before, but it's still all very well-handled; think Buzz Lightyear meets Rin-Tin-Tin meets Homeward Bound.
I'm usually against big-name actors doing animated voice-over work because I consider it cheap cash for them that they don't need, while taking away from the voice-over people who are really trained at that stuff. And often when big-name actors DO voice acting work, there is not any special quality to their voice that fits very well (I'm talking to YOU, "Madagascar"). However in rare instances, the right big name actor can really bring a character to life correctly. Pixar is very good about their voice casting. And Jack Black is terrific when he does voice work. "SharkTale" was a piece of shit, but Jack Black was its saving grace. And from what I've seen, he's pretty damn solid in "Kung Fu Panda" too. Similarly, in "Bolt" John Travolta is perfect as the titular character.
I also liked this movie because I'm also a sucker for dogs, but I'm sure you knew that already.

4) "The Mindscape of Alan Moore" If you didn't know, Alan Moore is the guy who wrote "Watchmen" (which Zach Snyder is currently in the process of butchering...maybe), "From Hell," "V For Vendetta" and a number of other great graphic novels. He is arguably the best comic writer out there. He is also bat-shit crazy.
In this interesting little doc, some lucky guy got to interview Alan Moore and see what he has to say. It's nice that all we get is just a view of the world from Alan Moore's perspective--we don't get anyone else's opinions about his theories or beliefs; it's just Alan Moore. And actually, as nuts as a lot of the stuff seems, I really like a lot of what he has to say. His ideas about polytheism, what it means to be an artist in today's world, and how he grew up are particularly fascinating. Other times he totally lost me. If you have an open mind and are a comic geek, see if you can find this little doc somewhere (I actually watched it for free online, so it can't be TOO hard to find).

5) "Primal Fear" This was Edward Norton's break-out role. I don't want to say too much about it because I'll spoil several interesting twists. Richard Gere and Laura Linney are also both good in the movie, if not somewhat cut-and-dry (but that's mostly the script's fault). And it's cool to see a younger pre-"Lost" Terry O'Quinn on the sidelines, as well as the always sharp Frances McDormand.
For a while the movie seems like a well-thought out procedural courtroom drama. Which honestly had me bored to tears, because after living with Boston Chris last year, I have had about as much courtroom drama as a man can handle due to his incessant "Law & Order" watching.
Luckily mid-way through the movie things take a pretty weird and creepy turn, which was fully welcomed (and the reason Norton got the Oscar nom). The movie ends with another weird turn that is pretty shocking and unexpected (though in hindsight I should have seen it coming a mile away), but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So I dunno...A+ on Norton's performance, but the dark ending left me feeling a little cold, even though I'm aware that was the point.

6) "The Band's Visit" It's always nice to see a movie and go, "Hey, if I had the right script, I could probably make that." This foreign film, about a band of Egyptian Arabs who find themselves stuck in an Israeli town, is short and sweet. The whole "simplicity" mantra often recited at film school is a good one, but sometimes I worry that if you make a movie TOO simple, then what's the point of making it? Yet this is an excellent example of where simplicity means everything.
This movie probably could have been shot in a week (two weeks to be safe), and has no big-name actors that I know of, but overall it was a great slice-of-life that didn't outstretch itself, but hit all its beats on the money. And any would-be cinematographers out there should check it out as an example that good cinematography does not mean a lot of money--just creativity and well-composed shots.
Not an Earth-shattering film by any means, but I think that was exactly the point.

Later, filmgoers! And Happy Turkey Day.