Summer Wrap-Up

I've fallen WAY behind in this stuff, so I'm going to do my best to review a lot of movies very quickly, while filling in on what I've been up to for the last three months. In fact, to make things easier, I'm going to put things into "categories" that sort of relate to what's been going on lately. I'm also sure I'm forgetting a few, but what are you gonna do? Here goes:

"Freddie's Movies"
Freddie and his homeboys have started a very cool little club where we all get together in his loft every other weekish and watch a couple films. The only rule is that someone different presents every week, and that we have to give a brief "lecture" as to why the movies we are watching are important. It's this sort of thing that keeps me confident the relationships we all forged in college actually do have a chance of lasting well into the professional world.

1) "Waltz With Bashir" A really interesting doc about an Israeli director and his recurring flashbacks of the invasion of Lebanon. Sequences that would normally be boring talking heads are made interesting by inventive animation, and the horror of the actual event is made all the more effective at the end when we finally DON'T see animation, but instead REAL footage of the weeping victims. Pretty shocking stuff. The opening sequence with all the dogs is also masterfully done.

2) "The Hurt Locker" Yes, this was actually a summer movie, but we all know Freddie, and we all know how he likes to grab copies of movies early.
I frankly thought this movie ROCKED. Jeremy Renner, whom at first appears to be an expendable character, really comes into his own and takes control of the film. I'd love to see him get an Oscar nomination, although the film is probably too small to get noticed.
It's also very inventive how (spoiler) every major A-list star in the film gets killed off pretty quickly, keeping the audience on their toes. At first I assumed this was a Guy Pearce vehicle...boy was I wrong.
I really liked this movie as a refreshing example of a war movie that doesn't show the war as "cool," but doesn't have an agenda on its hands either. It just shows the war for what it is, and it's gripping, exciting, awesome stuff.

3) "Private Parts" I wasn't so excited to see this film, but it's a surprisingly funny movie about Howard Stern's "rise" to the top of the radio world, and features a lot of great side character moments. Howard Stern himself steals the show. I was startled how much I enjoyed it.

4) "Sherman's March" Jason brought in this movie, which starts out as a documentary about General Sherman. Halfway through the film, the filmmaker turns towards the camera and admits, "OK, my girlfriend just dumped me, I'm depressed. I don't know if I can finish this." The film then weirdly transitions into the story of a lonely guy meeting up with all his past loves and trying to find some meaning to his life. A lot of awkward, sad, and darkly funny moments unfold. A weirdly charming movie in spite of its inherent creepiness.

5) "Still We Believe" Chris brought in this documentary about Boston Red Sox fans. Some movies are made ONLY for fans of the genre, and this movie really was only amusing if you were a Boston Red Sox fan. It's like if I forced everyone to watch a movie about dinosaurs (except that almost everyone agrees dinosaurs are really cool on some level). Maybe a better analogy would be to say that I forced everyone to watch a movie about entomologists. Whatever...I'm rambling. The point is...not every subject deserves a full documentary about it, and this film didn't work for the general public.

6) "Used Cars" Robert Zemeckis made this loopy film before he made "Back to the Future." Frankly, it's a movie that barely lurches along, and manages only to stay alive thanks to the sheer charisma of Kurt Russell. It's only until the ludicrous final act where I realized I was watching something special.
In the final act, the "bad guys" change up the car commercial of the love interest, to make it sound like she says, "We have a MILE of cars." She is then arrested for false advertising.
Kurt Russell and his buddies, not to be outdone, then go off into the desert and engage in one of the most bizarre race-against-time scenes ever, as they get all the teenage student drivers to get a bunch of cars from a Mexican salesman and drive them to the lot. There are shots of HUNDREDS of broken-down hunks of junk driving through the desert, as Kurt Russell (usually clearly NOT a stunt double) fights the bad guy on top of his pickup truck while it's being driven, Ben-Hur style. Quite insane stuff.
You kind of just have to see it...

7) "Playtime" Sometimes I really don't get the French. This sequel to "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" (which I also hated) was purportedly one of the most expensive movies ever made for its time, and it's famous because the director had complete control over the entire production, to the point that he individually was able to tell each extra how to move in each particular shot.
Frankly, the movie SUCKS. Perhaps there's a reason directors shouldn't be given this much freedom. Especially French directors. Ironic French slapstick is the stupidest thing ever.

8) "Unfaithfully Yours" This was an awesome movie that was WAY ahead of its time. Made in the 1940s (yes...the 40s!) Rex Harrison plays a jealous orchestra conductor who suspects his wife of cheating. As he conducts, he imagines different ways of dealing with the situation/murdering her, and each version changes based on the emotional tone of the music. In the end, he tries to act out his revenge, but it all goes horribly wrong. The movie reminded me a little bit of a comedic version of Hitchcock's "Dial M For Murder."
Anyway, this a very under-appreciated movie that I think plays a lot better in today's darker, more cynical times. Highly recommended.

9) "Kingdom of Heaven" I saw the director's cut of Ridley Scott's epic movie. David seemed to think this counts as Ridley Scott's best film, but I didn't see it at all. First off, as a sci-fi geek, it's impossible to top "Alien" and "Blade Runner," but those notwithstanding, it's still not even as good as "Gladiator." Not a bad movie really, but very very long, and smacking of too many other movies I've seen before. It's part "Gladiator" (as expected), part "Batman Begins" (Liam Neeson as the old mentor), part "Return of the King" (Orlando Bloom fighting off massive armies in a climactic end hold-out battle behind large walls), and even part "Pirates of the Caribbean" (Orlando Bloom is a lowly blacksmith who rises to power). I was lukewarm about the entire film, although I hear the version I saw is miles better than the theatrical cut.

"Summer Movies"
You can't leave these out! I think the big releases of this summer were disappointing, but there were a lot of fun surprises hiding amongst the blockbusters.

1) "Up" OK...this movie was pretty damn good. It's impossible to argue which Pixar film is better at this point, but I think this is one of their best. I'd probably place it in their top five, although it's a really tough call.
I've rewatched the film several times since it hit theaters, and it gets better and better. I still get tears in my eye at certain points, and the overall adventure-serial feel, twisted to be about crazy old men instead of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle/Indiana Jones types, is whimsical, heartwarming, and fun. Perhaps the best film of the year so far. 2009 is shaping up to be a great year for animation.

2) "Drag Me to Hell” Sam Raimi’s triumphant return to his horror roots is (almost) enough to make up for the travesty that was “Spider-Man 3.” I say there are three types of horror:
a) The truly terrifying, psychological type that gets under your skin (my favorite type)
b) The torture-gore-porn (worthless in my book) and...
c) The scary yet funny kind.
“Drag Me to Hell” is one of the best of the latter kind, as half the time I didn’t know whether to scream or laugh, and was often doing both at once. I jumped clear out of my seat a few times, but still had a blast, and a lot of praise must be given to the sound designers, who did an excellent job of adding an extra layer of terror and creepiness.
My only complaint is that I guessed the end twist pretty easily; so easily, in fact, I thought there was going to be another twist on top of the twist, and there wasn’t. (spoilers) I assumed that when Christine gave the old woman the coin, it would mean that Justin Long would instead get dragged to hell, or that Christine would have one final face-off against the Lamia-monster, where she would ultimately defeat it. Instead…BOOM…she dies. A bit disappointing, partially because I’m totally in love with Alison Lohmann and wanted to see her survive so I could marry her.

3) “Moon” An incredible low budget film (directed by David Bowie’s son!) where Sam Rockwell plays an isolated man up in space gathering fuel for the Earth. As little as possible should be said about this movie so as not to spoil the fun (although I did guess the twist a little early), but I’d love to see Sam Rockwell get an Oscar nom for playing his character(s) so well. Kevin Spacey is also awesome as the ship’s computer. See it!!!

4) “Imagine That” Sometimes I want to slap studio execs. I understand the big studio heads are obsessed with money…it sucks, but it’s true. I understand when a bad movie gets made, but has enough mass appeal to do well (i.e. “G-Force”), and I also understand when somebody will take a risk on a strange idea, just because they have faith it might be made into an interesting film. But this was a film that anyone with an ounce of common sense would tell you was a piece of garbage even on paper. Eddie Murphy (no longer a box-office draw, mind you) plays a father who uses his daughter’s magical blanket to help his stock investing career, and in the end “discovers” the importance of being a real father.
Who was this movie made for??? Kids? What do they know about stock investments? Parents? The movie is too stupid and insipid to interest adults. With the multitude of films pitched every year, why the hell did anybody green-light this?
The movie is poorly-written, poorly-directed, and practically all the actors are in sleepwalker mode. The only bright light comes from Thomas Hayden Church, who steals every scene his in (and it’s pretty clear it’s just him having a good time, and not anything the director asked him to do).
However, while THC is a funny dude, his cameo appearances can’t save the movie. This piece of drivel totally blew. And it didn't help that a movie about stock investing was released in a recession either.

5) “The Hangover” Surprisingly funny, though not as amazing as a lot of people make it out to be. Definitely director Todd Phillips’ best work thus far.
I actually went to a screening where the director did a Q&A afterwards (cool guy, by the way), and he had some interesting things to say. He kept mentioning how he changed the script around, as it was originally just something in the same vein as “Bachelor Party.” It was his idea to cut from the roof of the Vegas hotel to the morning after, turning the entire thing into some sort of bizarre film noir. “But it’s really the writers’ movie” he’d say.
Then he’d mention, “Oh yeah…the tiger, I came up with that. And the baby…that was my idea too. But it’s really the writers’ movie.”
Don’t kid yourself Todd Phillips. I’ve looked at what other things the writers of this film wrote…you made “The Hangover” good, and deserve all the credit.

6) “Bruno” I actually found a lot of “Bruno” funnier than “Borat” but unfortunately the novelty has worn off, making it not feel as fresh. Still some pretty good stuff though. My favorite bit was the two-second piece with Harrison Ford.

7) “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” This movie was like empty sex. A lot of fun, but really nothing behind it. I suppose I liked it a bit more than the first movie, only because a lot of the robots were given a bit more personality and things to do (Optimus really finally shines and becomes his own character). Still, the movie smacks of Michael Bay idiocy, and it’s a shame this will be the top grossing film at the box office this year. Seriously, are you really that hard up for giant robots, America?
Also, Roger Ebert’s review of this movie is amazing.

8) “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Pretty much every Harry Potter movie can’t be as good as the book (with the exception of “Order of the Phoenix”), but this was the only time I’ve left the theater feeling a bit disappointed. “Half-Blood Prince” was my second-favorite Harry Potter book (after “Goblet of Fire”) but the choices that were made for the movie didn’t work.
I appreciate trying to make this a far more adult film and compelling drama than the last few movies, but ultimately it just wasn’t as fun…this is Harry Potter, and we do want to see magic happen before our eyes.
Not enough focus was given to the crux of the story, which is really about how Harry becomes connected to his Potions textbook, without realizing it’s Snape. This entire subplot was turned into one throw-away line of dialogue at the end.
Also missing was the sense of urgency the film needed. In the book, you feel that time is running out…that Dumbledore NEEDS Harry to help him discover Voldemort’s past. And at the end, we realize it’s because Dumbledore was dying, and was trying to pass the torch to Harry.
In the movie, we just get that all this memory-collecting is some sort of bizarre extracurricular activity; “Hey Harry, check out my new Pensieve toy…pretty cool huh?” There’s no sense that anything is at stake. Even the added action sequence at The Burrow fails to heighten the sense of danger.
Even the ending is mucked up. When I read the book, there was a huge sense of doom when the Harry and Dumbledore return to Hogwarts (as Dumbledore is dying) and they see it is under attack. Harry feels completely lost, helpless, hopeless. The movie has no such attack, because a similar thing happens in the final book, and they likely didn’t want to repeat themselves. However this means all the energy of the final moment, culminating with (BIGGEST SPOILER EVER) Snape killing Dumbledore, is deflated.
Regardless, performances are very strong across the board. Alan Rickman is always excellent, but it’s nice that he’s given a bit more to do here. This was the first time Michael Gambon really FELT like Dumbledore, and the biggest surprise is Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, who has physically grown into his role to look very lean, mean, and menacing. He also gets to be the most versatile, as shown in my favorite scene where he breaks down during the bathroom, yet still fights back against Harry. Great work!
There was a lot I liked about the movie, but overall I think they dropped the ball on what I think could have been the best of the Harry Potter films. Oh well.

9) “District 9” One of the best surprises of the summer, I LOVED this movie (though the fact that it includes aliens always helps the cause). It’s so refreshing to see someone like Peter Jackson greenlight an original story with a new visual look and daring new concepts. After a half hour of setting up a unique and interesting world via documentary style, Neill Blomkamp takes you on one of the most incredible sci-fi adventures ever, and rocks your face off. The special effects are top notch, and the lead actor delivers a performance that might be another Oscar long shot (and it’s his first feature film as an actor!). Keep in mind this movie was also made for $30 million, but is 1,000 times more exciting than most films I’ve seen with six times the budget.
Unlike Michael Bay’s hand-held action which just gets frenetic and confusing, here the action style, while still hand-held, has a fluidity and grace that just adds to the excitement. This movie ruled. Thank you Peter Jackson. You’re still my hero!

10) “Under the Sea 3D” IMAX 3D films are perfect for the ocean. I’ve seen several IMAX movies in 3-D, but the ones that take place underwater are always the best. Somehow, things emerging from the blue murk and heading towards you really gives you a sense of wonder that works better than other things do in 3-D. Movies like this rock. See it if you’re a nature lover, and are passing by your nearest IMAX-equipped museum (LA Science Center, guys).

11) “Gamer” I actually liked this movie a lot more than most of the critics did, although it’s still far from perfect.
Made by the guys responsible for “Crank” it’s sort of an update of “The Running Man,” as Gerard Butler is a death row inmate forced to fight people in a live-action video game to win his freedom.
The movie has a lot more on its mind than the “Crank” movies (though that isn’t necessarily saying much), and it’s definitely a more complex plot. Yet at the end of the day, it just isn’t as much fun. Plus, Jason Statham is entertaining even when he takes a piss, and sadly Gerard Butler is no Jason Statham.
The best part of the movie is actually not the “Slayers” game Gerard Butler is forced to play, but another game, “Society,” that spoofs “The Sims” and “Second Life.” Here people are forced to walk around in outrageous outfits, acting as living avatars. Of course, most people use this game for weird perverted sex stuff, so it’s darkly funny to see these avatar-people being forced to say “sexy” things with intense sadness and pain in their eyes. Peter Petrelli from “Heroes” even shows up as a character named…Rick Rape. Yup.
All in all, not a great film, but fun. Plus, my girlfriend Alison Lohmann shows up in the movie, and that’s always nice (she IS my girlfriend, even if she doesn’t know it yet).

“Other Movies I Saw”
1) “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” A chilling documentary that actually gave me nightmares afterwards (when a real horror movie won’t). Quite well made, but truly heart-wrenching. Also worth watching from an editing perspective. A good film, but it goes on my “I only need to see this movie once” list (also includes “United 93”).

2) “The International” An overall solid movie, mostly thanks to the likability of Clive Owen. One major failing of the film is that it drops you right into the middle of the action from the beginning. This is fine, but then there is never any moment where they step back and explain everything. Act I is nonexistent.
Spielberg often does something similar, where he’ll drop you in an action scene, and explain everything immediately afterward (i.e. “Jaws” “Jurassic Park” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”). However here we’re never given a chance to breathe, and as a result we never really get a sense of any of the characters.
Still well acted, executed, and shot otherwise. And the scene where they shoot up the Guggenheim is pretty awesome.

3) “Dial M For Murder” A really cool Hitchcock movie that’s a bit more plain in its shot selection and formal storytelling format than some of his other work, but still psychologically interesting. A man blackmails another man into murdering his wife for him. Of course, things don’t go as planned. I don’t want to spoil this classic, so just go see it if you like Hitchcock.

4) “Farwell My Lovely” A Philip Marlowe film noir from the 80s that was honestly a bit dull. It is neat that, by this time, film noirs could poke fun at themselves and be a bit more self-reflexive than before, and that certainly happens a lot in this movie. Overall though, it failed to grab me in any way otherwise.

5) “The Wild One” Hey everyone! The secret movie Will and I are working on? It has a lot in common with this movie.
Honestly, this movie was fun, but it hasn’t aged well and feels pretty dated. Yet in some ways that adds to the fun. The “rowdy’ biker gang is very well-behaved by today’s standards, and the love story feels pretty forced and ridiculous. Not a great film, but luckily bikers in the 1950s are always watchable.

6) “The Wolf Man” Yup…even as a fan of horror, I had never seen this movie until very recently. It’s a classic for a reason, and very much the quintessential werewolf movie. Can’t really say more (although I was surprised how plump Lon Chaney actually was). I’m curious about the remake starring Benicio del Toro. I’m hoping werewolves don’t become TOO popular too soon, because I really want to try and get a werewolf movie out the door soon.

7) “Spy Kids 2” Sometimes I really don’t get Robert Rodriguez. At this point, the guy can make any movie he wants now that he’s set up his own studio in the Texan desert, and a lot of his adult stuff such as “Sin City,” “Planet Terror,” and the “Mariachi” movies are a lot of fun.
And honestly, I enjoyed the first “Spy Kids” movie for what it was. But I fail to see why a guy with the power to really create his own stuff wastes his time on a movie like this worthless sequel (and don’t get me started on “Shorts”). Is it just to entertain his kids? Probably. But is that worth pouring tons of money into a stupid movie?
"Spy Kids 2" is meant as an homage to the old Ray Harryhausen classics, but the CG effects are far less-convincing than the old stop motion ones they’re emulating, and they have none of their charm either. Bad Robert Rodriguez…bad!!! Give me access to your studio and I’ll make something better. It can't be too hard.

8) “Horton Hears a Who” I really like the guys at Blue Sky Studios (at one point I almost went to work for them). Sure, they aren’t quite Pixar, but who is? Most of their stuff at least feels more original than what Dreamworks generally churns out (the occasional “Kung Fu Panda” notwithstanding).
This movie looked absolutely gorgeous, and Dr. Seuss’s visual style works for animation far better than the live-action shit like Ron Howard’s “The Grinch.” Yet at the end of the day, the story doesn’t fit for a feature film (and I LOVE Dr. Seuss, for the record). Despite some talented voice work, most of the characters are pretty forgettable, and don’t have the staying power of their “Ice Age” characters. Honestly, “Ice Age” isn’t an earth-shattering film by any means, but I at least got a lot more wrapped up in the adventures of those animals than anyone in this film.
Eh, maybe I’m just a sucker for prehistoric creatures.

9) “eXistenZ” David Cronenberg has some weird perverted fun and fucks with your head a bit more in this mind-bending, quirky movie. It’s a weird crazy ride, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of Croneberg’s best. I enjoyed both “Scanners” and “The Fly” a lot more. All this plugging in to diseased bio-ports as a clear metaphor for sex got to be tiresome after a while, and the whole “game within a game” thing has been done before, and better. And I honestly don’t think it’s that interesting a premise to begin with.
Actually, check out “Camera” one of my favorite shorts by Cronenberg.

10) "Across the Universe" A friend had me watch this because they knew I really liked The Beatles, but frankly, I hated this film, and I think it completely missed the point of what The Beatles were all about. A bunch of Beatles songs are loosely strung together for what feels like four hours, with very little actual plot connecting them. And each song generally just reminds you, "Boy, I really liked this song...when THE BEATLES sang it." The covers are terrible, the acting bland, and none of the characters interesting at all. The movie just wanders and wanders and wanders and NEVER ENDS. And so many of the songs are useless, clearly added because somebody liked the song, not because they were incorporated into the movie for any real reason. Dr. Casper (yes, I'm going there) said that, in a musical, people sing as an outward manifestation of their inner feelings, but the filmmakers clearly didn't make this film with any of that in mind. It's very obvious the filmmakers just put in as much Beatles music as possible, and tried to find a way to make a plot out of it afterwards. You really realize how stupid the movie is during "Dear Prudence" when a girl named Prudence, who has no connection to any other character as of yet, starts walking through a field and singing. She then disappears later in the movie, clearly only there so they could squeeze this song in. Stupid!
Joe Cocker is OK on his cover of "Come Together" (because he's actually a REAL singer), and Bono was pretty awesome as the stoned-out hippie guru. But honestly, they should have just made a bunch of Beatles music videos and had that be the end of it. Trying to milk an entire movie out of the whole thing really sucked. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time, if just for the fact that it took something I loved (The Beatles) and made me want to tear my eyes out.

“Battlestar Galactica”
I finally finished this show! It’s awesome!!! Possibly one of the best shows to ever grace TV. Even if you don’t like sci-fi, give it a chance. As far as I’m concerned, the show never really jumped the shark.
I’d write more about this, but I’m getting tired.

OK…that’s good for now. Now for a LIFE UPDATE:
After escaping from those crazies in Burbank, I moved in with Logan for a while and finished out Freddie’s lease. It was a lot of fun…Logan was a great housemate.

However that lease ended, and I hunkered down on Jason and David’s couch for a while, until we all FINALLY got a really awesome three-bedroom place together in Culver City. I really like it here, and am SO excited to finally be living somewhere where I can settle in and not move for an entire year. Plus, the place is nice and the rent is cheap. It should be good for my writing and general sense of well-being. The nomadic lifestyle was getting to me.

I also had some pretty interesting experiences house-sitting that aren’t safe for the internet (ask my friends), and have now successfully lived for a year on my own without my parents’ money. Work has been difficult, my pay has been low, and my job has been thankless, but I’m keeping my chin up and looking to the future. I think I’m on the right path.

I wanted to end on the most rewarding event of my summer, which was going to Santa Cruz Island for what I think is the 11th time. While there, I saw…ISLAND FOXES!!!

For those who don’t know, Island Foxes are found ONLY on our Channel Islands, and they almost went extinct. They are super cute, and about the size of a house cat. When I was little, I used to see them everywhere. However DDT wiped out the bald eagle population on the islands (bald eagles only eat fish). With no bald eagles, the golden eagles flew out to the islands to start eating the non-native pigs, which the Park Service were also trying to get rid of (pigs are very bad for rare endemic island plants). However, the golden eagles also started eating all these cute little defenseless foxes.

Anyway, the pigs were finally eradicated, the golden eagles relocated, and the bald eagles reintroduced. However the foxes were almost completely wiped out. When I went out to the islands in my later years, I would never see them anymore.

However, this time I saw many foxes, including several baby ones, meaning the foxes are breeding, and alive and healthy on the islands once more. A true preservation success story (which are sadly, very rare). I love the Channel Islands, and it’s very rewarding to see those foxes out there once again. It fills my heart with nature-y joy. In my lifetime I've watched a species almost go extinct, and come back from the brink to flourish again.