tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87760314154276633022024-03-05T21:31:32.748-05:00Net-flixationThe low road to high art?Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.comBlogger925125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-79988533596864178922015-06-30T23:45:00.000-04:002015-07-02T20:56:36.729-04:00Tromeo & Juliet Review: The Height of Demented Fun<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Well, if I had known that I would review two BBC series and two Shakespearean adaptations over four days, I wouldn’t have been talking about enjoying my Monocle Time during Saturday’s review of <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/edge-of-darkness-bbc-drama.html"><i>Edge of Darkness</i></a> – I would’ve declared this <b><i>Monocle Week</i></b> and turned it into a whole big thing...<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDyXaLZA33uXC85oA45FWsfYCbauccZNAVeiDs_ElG7Tji7YaCqd9yaqXzW5O213ejjPfr0p8rRYxjZ8ccVQqWnJsOQ1WdU_yt8W5j5HxCUZzJG20t3q0r5unMYPHgMubCE-DhTUOSPg/s1600/tromeo-and-juliet-312143l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguDyXaLZA33uXC85oA45FWsfYCbauccZNAVeiDs_ElG7Tji7YaCqd9yaqXzW5O213ejjPfr0p8rRYxjZ8ccVQqWnJsOQ1WdU_yt8W5j5HxCUZzJG20t3q0r5unMYPHgMubCE-DhTUOSPg/s320/tromeo-and-juliet-312143l.jpg"></a></div>I’ve looked forward to reviewing <i>Tromeo and Juliet </i>since I began this site in 2009. My mission statement from the get-go was to cover unknown gems that you would be unlikely to seek out unless someone suggested them to you. <i>TaJ </i>fits that definition quite easily, and I've been recommending it to friends for ages, which makes this post long overdue. <br>
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<i>Tromeo and Juliet</i> is a creation of Troma Entertainment, a studio that specializes in low budget horror works that have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splatter_film">splatter gore</a>, nudity, wit; their productions always stand out for being so... unconventional. And this adaptation of Shakespeare’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_juliet">most well-known story</a> is certainly unconventional. I mean, how do you inject tension and excitement into a story whose major plot points all of us know? How do you get the audience to get behind these kids and worry whether they’ll get together?<br>
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You change the names of the characters. You change… <i>the ending</i> so it involves Juliet violently murdering someone. You include scenes at a tattoo/piercing parlor, where one of the players suffers a gruesome head injury. You make Count Paris into the billionaire London Arbuckle, whose business is in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meatpacking_District,_Manhattan">the meat-packing district</a>, to the chagrin of his vegetarian fiancé.<br>
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And you make Juliet a die-hard <b>lesbian </b>who, within two minutes of her introduction, gets <i>jilled off </i>by the family nurse. Juliet’s never even <b>thought </b>about a man that way, so how can Romeo win her love?! <b><i>That</i></b>, my friends, is how you create tension.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/tromeo-juliet-review-height-of-demented.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-80566511153638798712015-06-30T18:35:00.000-04:002015-07-29T10:17:56.487-04:00Recommended: Utopia (UK('s Best) Drama)<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Ominious. Gripping. Scary. Thrilling. Funny. Hypnotic. These are all adjectives that apply to Channel 4's recently-departed drama, <i>Utopia</i>.<br>
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The biggest struggle here is not to spoil the teensiest bit of this glorious dramatic series, and yet give you enough reasons to try to see it. I had to go out of my way to watch it in the US, its limited availability making it a little more difficult to experience, too. So how can I entice you? Let’s start with the simple phrase, “Where is Jessica Hyde?” I heard that question dozens of times over the course of <i>Utopia</i>'s 12 episodes. Those words never grew old - even when I knew the answer – often portending great uncertainty and danger.<br>
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Yet that’s sort of skipping right past the premise: A bunch of geeks meet in a London pub. These people all spend time on a web forum where they talk about <i>The Utopia Experiments</i>, a cult comic book independently published in the UK. Ian, as the newest member, is shocked to learn from Wilson and Becky that this colorful and creative work is rumored to spell out the details of a <i><b>real-life</b></i> conspiracy. But how can anyone predict the socio-political secrets lurking inside a graphic novel that predicts global doom? Who could imagine what kind of trouble one can get into just by following a web forum? Why is a fourth forum user absent from the gathering? And do any of these web surfers know that a handful of people <i> died</i> in a London comic shop <b>that same day</b>?...<br>
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From there, we watch as the forum members – Ian, Becky, Wilson, and Grant – find the world around them becoming stranger and more dangerous with each passing hour. They don’t know who’s chasing after them or what those people want, following the slimmest of threads to unravel the threat that might kill them at any moment. All they <b><i>do </i></b>know is that their hunters are so resourceful as to make the stakes extremely high.<br>
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There must be some cultural zeitgeist pushing creative people in this general direction. For one thing, <i>Utopia</i> has a bit in common with the CW‘s <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_(TV_series)">Cult</a></i>, wherein the events on a popular TV show were connected to a larger conspiracy of unknown purpose and power. More aptly, however, <i>Utopia</i>’s cast resembles that of BBC’s <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2011/04/survivors-netflix-streaming.html"><i>Survivors</i></a> – a disparate team that comes together to form a de facto family, one that struggles to keep on living and to understand what’s happening around them. Unlike <i>Survivors</i>, we’re not thrust into a post-apocalyptic catastrophe, but perils grounded in real world situations. And, ultimately, <i>Utopia</i>’s sheer quality far outstrips that of <i>Cult</i>, and its storyline is much smarter, more driving and more engaging than the <i>Survivors</i>' story was.<br>
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The central mystery is compelling and handled magnificently by the writing staff. The individual plots that you follow from week to week can start to take on the urgency of a countdown. In addition to laughing, feeling outraged, or the semi-constant state of awe I experienced, <i>Utopia</i> actually managed to give me an adrenaline spike on occasion. <br>
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It’s incredibly rare for a series to have such a powerful, palpable physical effect on me. Alongside successfully promoting social change or making a viewer think about serious issues, can a TV series aspire to more than that? Can you shoot higher than to hold your audience, completely?<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/recommended-utopia-bbcs-best-drama_30.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-76486145289268664702015-06-30T17:15:00.000-04:002015-07-04T23:44:42.397-04:00Avengers 2 Review - You Can't Go Avenge Again<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">As some of you may recall, I wrote <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2012/05/avengers-review-not-to-50.html">a terribly positive review</a> for Joss Whedon’s <i>The Avengers</i> three years ago, but I must inform you that I’m not so enthusiastic for this year’s follow-up, <i>The Avengers: Age of Ultron</i>. It <b>is </b>a good action film – yet it’s hard not to feel that the sequel is inferior to its predecessor. <i>tA:AoU</i> just seems to have <b>slightly </b>less snappy dialogue, <b>slightly </b>less tight plotting, and action scenes that are <b>slightly </b>less impressive than what came before it. <br>
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As <i>Avengers 2</i> begins, Earth’s mightiest heroes are a united force, one dealing with the aftermath of the events of the first picture. Specifically, the scepter that Loki used against the team is missing - so Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) track down the group that stole it: Hydra, the evil nemesis of SHIELD. The attack succeeds, but Hydra used the scepter to give powers to two twins, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who proceed to sow dissension in the team! And then Tony Stark uses the scepter to create Ultron, an AI robot that chooses to <b>destroy </b>humanity instead of serving as a global protector. Oops!<br>
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I’m in the mood to cut right to it, so I will: <i>Avengers 2</i> is full of nice elements that don’t always mesh together so well, producing a sum that is <b>less </b>than its constituent parts. To some extent, this is because this movie has <b><i>so many more</i></b> moving parts, creating more opportunities for it to fall a little flat. The more fundamental flaw here, I think, is that the characters and story are filled with too many unknowns.<br>
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That last point is kind of a big deal. Audiences understand what a punch does, what nukes are, and that a bullet to the head usually means death. In <i>Age of Ultron</i>, however, we never understand the capabilities or nature of the main antagonist, Wanda has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin">MacGuffin</a> powers and a mid-story turn that isn't quite built up properly, the action sequences don’t hit so hard because we don't know what anyone's abilities or limitations are, and there's a diminished sense that our heroes can really get (physically) hurt.<br>
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Many viewers had problems with the moment in <i>The Avengers</i> when Captain America gets shot. It's a good idea and a great fight sequence - but Steve Rogers is shot by an alien weapon, and there's no blood. He's just knocked down and a bit winded. However, Cap is <b>exactly </b>as durable to, say, gunfire as Hawkeye and Black Widow. If the bad guys can't really hurt him, that deflates the stakes of a scene, and thus (possibly) the tension of the whole film. Ultimately, <i>Avengers 1</i> is so entertaining that you just go with it... Yet that sort of "do these guys even get hurt" flaw appears <b><i>far </i></b>more often in <i>A2</i> - and it stands out more.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9_h_ii8U8ZY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/avengers-2-review-you-cant-go-avenge.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-79966126429967912182015-06-29T14:35:00.000-04:002015-07-05T00:31:30.611-04:00Question (+ Review) for the Week of Jun 28-Jul 5: Film Promo Both Bad and Good<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><blockquote>What piece of film promotion did you find equally bad and good?</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXsQGwD5PBeE7MdsrDr39_CnCe_Xq4-2KbMKkNiF0Kotd3G9-NVfOszLoS3X5_91A7lEHmbGamA1cM6nhCPzpRARnNDgpkQ-O_syuftjnd2JYe7aUCy_0TBGMhyPdSBvVRXGBDtOIftQ/s1600/KBranaghHamlet_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXsQGwD5PBeE7MdsrDr39_CnCe_Xq4-2KbMKkNiF0Kotd3G9-NVfOszLoS3X5_91A7lEHmbGamA1cM6nhCPzpRARnNDgpkQ-O_syuftjnd2JYe7aUCy_0TBGMhyPdSBvVRXGBDtOIftQ/s320/KBranaghHamlet_001.jpg"></a></div>This entry, which will also double as a review, takes me way back to 1996. At the time, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson were my favorite film couple, something they had earned with their work in <i>Dead Again</i>, as well as their cinematic adaptations of Shakespearean works. And it's really the last part that cemented their place with me.<br>
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I had been reading Shakespeare a lot at the time, and Branagh's movies were all excellent productions. <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2009/04/much-ado-about-nothing-one-of-my-all.html">My love of <i>Much Ado About Nothing</i> is already well-documented</a>, and I can only state again that it's one of my favorite films ever. And Mr. B also directed an exceptional version of <i>Henry V</i>. Even aside from the romance between Kenneth and Emma, that picture made me want to rush out and see everything that Branagh had ever been involved in.<br>
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Then the news came that KB would be helming <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_(1996_film)">a new version of <i>Hamlet</i></a>. Although I won't give Shakespeare's most famous tragedy <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-scene-with-many-faces-romeo-juliet.html">the same treatment I gave to <i>Romeo and Juliet</i></a>, I <b>also </b>can't tell you how eagerly I anticipated this latest iteration. Unlike <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_(1990_film)">Zeffirelli's 1990 adaptation</a>, this one would cast British folks who had been in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Shakespeare_Company">Royal Shakespeare Company</a> <i>and</i> it would feature the complete text.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/y-question-review-for-week-of-jun-9-15.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-84986602311528279232015-06-27T19:00:00.000-04:002015-07-06T12:47:29.970-04:00Edge of Darkness (BBC Drama)<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">You can take the boy out of the hood, but you can't take the desire to <b>escape </b>the hood that was in the boy in the first place. That's why I decided to get my Monocle-Time by watching a revered BBC drama/sci-fi/political thriller, <i>Edge of Darkness</i>.<br>
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I discovered this movie because I was doing research on <i>Jurassic Park</i>, specifically <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Peck">Bob "Clever Girl" Peck</a>, who played the hunter/gamekeeper. Peck died far too young, in 1999 of cancer (f--k you <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/and-then-my-father-died.html"><b>again</b></a>, cancer). As I went through Wikipedia entries, I caught notice of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_of_Darkness"><i>Edge of Darkness</i></a>, a BBC 2 miniseries with a stupendous amount of acclaim. Since the program was so lauded, and listed as a great influence on all the shows that came after it, I felt that I <b>had </b>to give it a spin.<br>
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I could not have made a smarter choice.<br>
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<i>Edge of Darkness</i> begins with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_inspector#United_Kingdom">DCI</a> Ronald Craven questioning a man. Craven is looking into voter fraud for a mining union in Yorkshire, not far from London; it's a relatively trivial matter, and the subject, James Godbolt, asks Ronald to do him a favor and proceed slowly, gently. From that meeting, Ronnie goes to meet his daughter, Emma (Joanne Whalley), a physicist at a local university. She participates in a group, GAIA, one dedicated to environmental causes. You can tell that he doesn't share her views, and yet enjoys seeing his child be so active and vital.<br>
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So you can imagine that he doesn't take it well when they get home, a man comes out of the shadows cursing Ronnie's name, and Emma steps in front of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-barreled_shotgun">double-barreled shotgun</a> blast for her pop. Cradled by her father, Emma mutters a few words before she breathes her last. And <b>this </b>is how BBC 2 kicked off six hours of one of the most acclaimed political thrillers ever made. <br>
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<i>EoD </i>was billed by Wikipedia as a drama/political thriller/sci-fi effort. While it may not belong in that last category, it's the epitome of the former two genres. Peck's unofficial investigation of the murder takes him to London, where he's soon contacted by city cops, in addition to a bevvy of unexpected figures who have some information relating to, or stakes in, his work. The more that Ronnie tugs at the threads that will help him find the killer, the more he becomes entangled in politics, big business, and matters of the highest national security. And it's all because of what DCI Craven finds in his daughter's bedside dresser.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/edge-of-darkness-bbc-drama.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-47970236903072601152015-06-26T12:43:00.000-04:002015-06-27T13:38:53.941-04:00Mad Max Fury Road: It Made My Pants Pee THEIR Pants<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">I was extremely skeptical when I heard about <i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i>. For one thing, the last installment in the series was <i>Max Mad Beyond Thunderdome</i>, and even if I had thought that <i>MMBT</i> was good (I didn’t), I still would’ve seen this as yet another pathetic attempt to make money off of an extinct franchise. It didn’t take more than 30 minutes to show that my assumptions were completely incorrect – and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed being wrong this much in my whole life.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hEJnMQG9ev8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">This trailer is so damn good. I even love the "bwaaamp"-like horn blares.</div><br>
Since we’re at the point where movies are being rebooted constantly (will the real <i>Spider-man</i> please stand up?) and studios seem desperate for any familiar name that will guarantee a certain number of tickets sold, I can’t blame myself for my response. My expectations rose a little when I heard that Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron would be the leads, but actors are no guarantee of a film’s ultimate quality, and those two names alone couldn’t totally mollify my skepticism. I do know, however, that I should’ve paid attention and noticed that it was being made by <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Miller_(director)”>George Miller</a> – the writer-director of all the prior <i>Mad Max</i> films.<br>
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Miller’s presence on the project was a virtual guarantee that this wasn’t just a cheap cash-grab, both because he’s so intimately familiar with the series, and because the man does good work. Not perfect work – but very distinct, very consistent in tone, and of very good overall quality even if the subject matter isn't appealing. The first film was a depressing “every man’s worst nightmare” experience – the worst-case scenario in which your best friends (the only lawkeepers in the area) are picked off one by one, and then your wife and infant are killed. The second film saw Max losing everything that he had <i><b>left</b></i>, and then wandering off to be by himself - which pissed me off, because he could have stuck with those people he rescued <b>at least</b> long enough to get e.g., a new car and a new dog.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ8OTiWGI23XTqZurEMy1SYEDmplkP2hPx2sayduFhqhyLT15-LZk1C9gpbigx55I3alK7T7-L4VSVPW8LSgKjFjScf3wOOi6DMUCU93oWdbiJvEn2DuLzcfJbIgl-X227RSVX7AmVy4/s1600/mad+max+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQ8OTiWGI23XTqZurEMy1SYEDmplkP2hPx2sayduFhqhyLT15-LZk1C9gpbigx55I3alK7T7-L4VSVPW8LSgKjFjScf3wOOi6DMUCU93oWdbiJvEn2DuLzcfJbIgl-X227RSVX7AmVy4/s320/mad+max+poster.jpg"></a></div>So <i>Thunderdome</i> didn’t work for me because it was excessive in all the worst ways of 1980’s excess, and I didn’t like the subplot with the children. When that film ended with Max completely losing what little he had, totally screwed and wandering off into the desert <b>once again</b>, I just decided that I had had enough. None of that meant, however, that Miller didn’t have a dedication to telling a story well, and filling it with good characterization. Some of my opinions boiled down to some stylistic choices, and how old I was when I watched these pictures.<br>
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<i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i>, however, is nothing less than a stellar achievement, one all the more laudable for feeling <b>of a piece</b> with a series that began <i>in 1979</i> and last appeared <i>in 1985</i>. Numerous elements call back to prior entries - the intimations of Max's murdered family hearken back to the first movie, towns dedicated to creating one precious resource was the crux of <i>Beyond Thunderdome</i>, while the second and the third appear in the form of the cold open (<i>The Road Warrior</i> especially), as well as the truck vs. convoy battles, which now dominate the endings of all three sequels. And the title character remains the same: damaged, self-concerned and yet incapable of truly abandoning people in need, always pushing forward to survive...<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/mad-max-fury-road-it-made-my-pants-pee.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-58735420950493824392015-06-25T08:30:00.000-04:002015-06-26T17:53:04.526-04:00Ex Machina - Spoilers start at paragraph 8<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">In <i>Ex Machina</i>, corporate programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) has won a contest held within his company, Blue Book – the internet’s biggest search engine. The prize is a week with Nathan (Oscar Isaac), the reclusive genius who owns the business. After a long helicopter ride and a solo trek through the forests around the boss’ palatial home, Caleb is greeted warmly by the pumped-up, hungover man behind it all – and with an incredibly detailed and invasive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement">non-disclosure agreement</a>. When Caleb balks at the demand for secrecy, his superior has the perfect response: if you sign this form, you get to test out Ava (Alicia Vikander), the <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence”>artificial intelligence</a> that I just created. The choice is a no-brainer.<br>
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<i>Ex Machina</i> has so many things in its favor that it's almost a bit unfair. The cast is great in their individual roles (much praise goes to Sonoya Mizuno as Nathan's silent servant, Kyoko), displaying fine chemistry in their various scenes together. The fx are super-fine, backed by some admirable camera work and shot composition – especially on a modest budget of $15M (which is really modest, given CGI costs). And the overall story is fun and smart and immensely applicable to the concerns of this modern age.<br>
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And, while I wanted to love <i>EM</i> and give it a glowing review, I just can't do that. For one thing, the screening that I attended placed me next to two drunken idiots who, by the halfway mark, were making loud jokes every 5 seconds. For another, the movie actually fails its sci-fi premise in a way that made it impossible for me to take this film at face value. Until I get to watch it again, I'll never know whether my experience was ruined, my standards are too high, or that no one else noticed the flaws that were so obvious to me.<br>
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So my review has to be taken with a grain of salt. I would’ve paid money to see this, given the trailer and the critical buzz, but I got passes to a free screening in one of NYC’s best theaters – and I couldn’t have predicted what would go wrong (haha, scifi irony). As such – sweet f--k, my dedication to fairness is so strong that I <i>am compelled</i> to state things <b>that may undermine me</b> – you should keep in mind that it was nearly-impossible to be pulled into, roughly, 40-60% of the story. <br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/ex-machina-spoilers-start-at-paragraph-7.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-30040209483987901832015-06-23T12:45:00.000-04:002015-06-24T13:24:34.116-04:00And then my father died<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Well, the other shoe finally dropped - my father has passed away, well before his time. Over the past year, my family has dealt with one of the worst possible vicissitudes of life... a brain cancer diagnosis for a loved one. He was just shy of 80, survived by several siblings, his longtime spouse, and his children.<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1koa2xAxCAw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">For those of you who relate better to films and tv than real-life emotions, (a) seek help soon, and (b) this is how terrified you feel when your relative has cancer.</div><br>
Pop, the man in question, served in an army for <a href="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Trujillo">Trujillo</a> (basically, <a href="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin#Cult_of_personality">Stalin</a> of the Caribbean), who tried to have my father killed for speaking out of turn, forcing my dad into exile (and my father outlived that dictator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Trujillo#Assassination">by 44 years</a>, so hahaha <i>fuck you very much, </i>Trujillo). This same man was later dragooned by another army in the 50's. As a soldier, he saw Hiroshima <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibakusha">survivors</a> a decade after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima#World_War_II_and_the_atomic_bombing_.281939.E2.80.931945.29">the bombing</a> (his descriptions of which were horrifying). He was also a doctor who became both a successful businessman and an active community leader. <br>
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Last Spring/Summer offered ample time for fears, regrets, and introspection - even time to freak the hell out about the times I raced to the emergency room on my own behalf (as many hospital trips as in my whole life <i>combined </i>before 2014). But Autumn '14 was full of overnight stays in hospital rooms after working 40-60 hours, because we wouldn't let my dad sleep alone. And the past Winter was <i>supposed </i>to be an oasis - getting our loved one out of noisy hospitals, and continuing his rehab in a beautiful new apartment. Given the circumstances, we hoped to get him in the best possible shape for the remainder of our time together - yet, after some weeks, it didn't really work out that way. My father's condition simply deteriorated... until, finally, a good man was extinguished.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/and-then-my-father-died.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-52720586304324371402015-06-22T15:20:00.000-04:002015-06-22T18:31:06.748-04:00MRQ XVII: Great Directors Edition<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Well, by now, you should k kw what an MRQ is - and my struggles to keep these entries pretty concise. This time out, if I go on too long, just know that I think I chose the right films to go on about. And all of these, save Aronofsky's <i>Black Swan</i> are available to stream, so you can watch them as soon as you please.<br>
<br>
This time out, we're taking a quick stroll through: <i>Black Swan</i>, <i>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy</i>, <i>The Grifters</i>, <i>The Verdict</i>, <i>The French Connection</i>, <i>The Brothers Grimm</i>, and <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i>. Enjoy, if you please...<br>
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<i><b>Black Swan</b></i><br>
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It's... somewhat impossible for me to review this movie properly, because I'm not really sure how to approach it in the first place. Since I'm unable to assess the story (e.g., how much of this is hallucination? Does that even matter?), I have to confine myself to its content.<br>
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<i>Black Swan</i> was filmed as effectively as anything before it. Seldom have I seen a camera move in a way that really reflects what it's like when you're dancing or running. Everything looks beautiful - the tracking shots in the old-style NYC apartment, the ballet scenes... And the sheer extent of the careful editing, much less the way it's utilized, sets Aronofsky on a special pedestal; I have to think other editors felt like they'd never see such fine work ever again.<br>
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The performances are all excellent, from Hershey's work, which is like a toned-down version of Piper Laurie's part in <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/carrie-you-cant-top-or-recreate-this-one.html"><i>Carrie</i></a>, to Cassell, who hits the perfect balance of privilege, faux sophistication, and salaciousness. Kunis is so good that I almost wonder if the script does all the heavy lifting. I doubted Portman repeatedly because she resorted to her "small voice" so often, but she really does establish her part, and the unraveling that occurs to her. God, is it even an unraveling, or is it more like a collision between herself and the oppositional elements in her subconscious?<br>
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<i>Black Swan</i> was incredible. It did a hell of a lot, not the least of which was crafting a thriller/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_horror">body horror</a> film out of a ballet story. I also joked to my friend that maybe <i>this</i> movie should've been called <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/05/birdman-review-what-f-was-that.html"><i>Birdman</i></a> - and it may have actually been an apt comment, as those two pictures have a lot in common. Bonus points go to the director for using the Black Swan for a laugh right near the climax, when a fine bit of humor would have a great impact.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5jaI1XOB-bs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br>
<i><b>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy</b></i><br>
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Tomas "<i>Let the Right One In</i>" Alfredson may not qualify as a great director, given the others on this list. Yet I have to think this movie is a sign that he might get there, some day soon. <i>TTSS</i> is an incredibly slow, long drama that gets you engaged with the story at the same time that it undermines the importance of the events therein.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/mrq-xvii-great-directors-edition.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-43304207792789641422015-06-22T07:30:00.000-04:002015-07-11T00:05:30.176-04:00Carrie - You Can't Top or Recreate This One<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">There’s a lot to say about Brian De Palma’s 1976 film, <i>Carrie</i>. As I discovered while researching the movie, it came out only two years after Stephen King’s novel – which was the book that turned King from an unknown writer to one of the most successful (and adapted) novelists in American history. There’s a lot to say, but I wanted to write a more stripped-down review for this well-known movie, and so I will try to be brief.<br>
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<i>Carrie</i> is a surprisingly-delicate tale – surprising in that it’s directed by a man, and based on a man’s book, and yet handles its primary subject with a delicate sensibility. It’s also delicate in that it tackles a sensitive time: when a girl becomes a woman. In a moment of daring perv, the movie opens with a long shot of a high school locker room. The camera pans across young women as they remove or don their clothes... And then it settles on the shower, and Carrie White (Sissy Spacek at 26, but seemingly much younger).<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VSF6WVx_Tdo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br>
Carrie soaps herself up, her head twists to let the water spray along her form... And then she notices the blood that’s seeping straight down her legs. Apparently, Carrie has had no manner of sex ed, as she <b>completely freaks out</b>. Ms. White runs from one girl to another in a panic, screaming for help. But she’s already unpopular, all the other ladies can’t believe that she’s this ignorant, and Carrie makes the mistake of getting her blood on the white sweater of Sue Snell (Amy Irving), which is received quite poorly by Sue's alpha-female friend, Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen).<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/carrie-you-cant-top-or-recreate-this-one.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-60345955648299114582015-06-21T11:00:00.000-04:002015-07-03T00:49:36.111-04:00Recommended: Nikita (2010 CW Series)<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-jjRUVyw18WiCAgipPCaOjGTDYLT5OtXQ78LkOKAomdINHbA0BjjCGuY4zFeH2KqVpLFhEaKcJUMoPX-vmOWwxDsfmlOKFQmPI2zkaGwRVMaefqsS0tkpKRDBEZ4umw3j2xFA531ZD0/s1600/nikita-the-complete-first-season-dvd-cover-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-jjRUVyw18WiCAgipPCaOjGTDYLT5OtXQ78LkOKAomdINHbA0BjjCGuY4zFeH2KqVpLFhEaKcJUMoPX-vmOWwxDsfmlOKFQmPI2zkaGwRVMaefqsS0tkpKRDBEZ4umw3j2xFA531ZD0/s320/nikita-the-complete-first-season-dvd-cover-02.jpg"></a></div>If you're surprised that I'm recommending this series, then know that I join your emotion; I intended to make TV recommendations for a variety of genres, but this didn't have to be my action entry. To be honest, this post nearly went up four years ago, and was to be titled "Stripper shoes = go away now." Just look at that DVD cover on the right. Maggie Q is a lovely woman and a good actress, but the sight of her in those clothes and <b>those lousy shoes</b> is contrary to (a) my dislike of objectifying or mistreating women and (b) the fact that those are probably the least practical things that a secret agent could ever don. Even if I were still a horny teen, it would be senseless and excessive.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ySr1u6jguHQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br>
And, as a fan of <i>Alias</i> before it, I would've expected CW's version to have more hyper-tragic origins, more ridiculous stakes, and even more stupid fetish costumes for the lead to wear. And I would've been almost completely wrong. <br>
<br>
So imagine my wonderment when I watched the show in order to trash it, only to realize that it's a minor treasure trove of solid performances, great plotting, good characters, and excellently-executed action sequences. <i>Nikita </i>surpasses the trappings of its genre - and that damn DVD box cover - to stand as a strongly-written action series and (gasp) one of the best ever examples of a female fighter on film or TV. I know that last part is a <i>big</i> statement, but I am confident in being able to back it up...<br>
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First, a little background. Back in 1990, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Besson">Luc Besson</a> released his fourth feature film, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_(film)"><i>Nikita</i></a> (also called <i>La Femme Nikita</i>, like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on:_The_Professional"><i>Leon</i></a> was <i>The Professional</i> in the US). The movie didn't receive unanimous critical praise, but it was a box office hit in France, and grew very popular Stateside - probably once Siskel and Ebert gave it a positive review. I remember enjoying the hell out of it, myself.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MploONnAKhI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Please ignore the 80's-porn-esque music.</div><br>
<i>La Femme Nikita</i> stood out for a lot of reasons. It had a fresh, interesting story: a French secret agency takes young violent convicts, fakes their deaths, and then trains them to work off their societal debt as highly-skilled assassins. It had some amazing action sequences, as well as some intense violence - like when "Victor the cleaner" takes Nikita's victim and uses chemicals to dissolve the body in a bathtub. And it gave a great arc to its strong female lead, a wild person who is molded into carrying herself with grace and style. Nikita's many flaws made her both more credible and more likable to audiences, which was already a lock because she's almost getting the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovico_technique"><i>Clockwork Orange</i> treatment</a>.<br>
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Three years later, the movie received <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_No_Return_(1993_film)">an English-language remaking starring Bridget Fonda</a> in the lead role. And then four years after <b>that</b>, Besson's pic was turned into a Canadian TV series called <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Femme_Nikita">La Femme Nikita</a></i>, which starred <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0933959/">Peta Wilson</a> and ran for five seasons. I recall watching <i>Point of No Return</i> and liking the original better, but I was never tempted to tune into the television show. So now it's been reworked on a level similar to what <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2013/06/hannibal-and-hannibal-and-hannibal.html">DJ described in his <i>Hannibal</i> post</a>.<br>
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In fact, those two English-language efforts were part of why I rolled my eyes fairly hard when CW's <i>Nikita</i> was announced 9 years later. At that point, it seemed like <b>a black hole of remake-itis</b>, and I didn't know any of the cast, and CW Networks' offerings seemed pretty inferior back then. But, oh, how the times have changed - the Maggie Q program is practically an object lesson in not prejudging things...<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VUEVdNtlVeU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br>
</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/recommended-nikita-2010-cw-series.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-52649377388627808682015-06-21T07:00:00.000-04:002015-06-21T12:13:10.030-04:00Bill Murray Caricatureness<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">This final installment of Bill Murray came to my attention some time ago, in <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/many-faces-bill-murray-loving-tribute-comedy-legen-204298">a post written by Katie Rife</a> (who was herself working off <a href="http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/03/14/the-many-faces-of-bill-murray-an-illustrated-compilation/">a <i>National Post</i> article</a>). The contents were most welcome news: someone took the time to make a caricature-style drawing of every role Mr. Murray has portrayed on film. <br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/bill-murray-caricatureness.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-4275868248106418592015-06-20T22:30:00.000-04:002015-06-20T22:31:26.013-04:00Inherent Vice, Wolfcop Extra Thoughts<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Just two brief notes on my recent posts: <br>
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I suppose I left this out of <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/inherent-vice-review-fumbling-face.html">my <i>Inherent Vice</i> review</a>, but the principal sex scene is one of the worst I have ever seen. Now, I'm sure it's intentional on PTA's part, but it's hard to over-sell how bad it is. I wish I could find a clip of the moment, but in its absence, let me just describe:<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/inherent-vice-wolfcop-extra-thoughts.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-35726826483706297572015-06-20T17:55:00.000-04:002015-06-20T17:56:17.203-04:00Gone Girl Gender Issues - GGG in the worst way<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjDJ1ywo9f-3HcJCtamAP19PcXugMc8ilmWhJN4AR78_o_DGvkoxT6GyZy_TSNlNFkaB1VGIsj2bDjG9Jix6IEFnfOJ-6C9AcP0eke5hOREEW0-F7_eXiayPiZTGS7a7xbm9hE4gZjuU/s1600/gone-girl-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjDJ1ywo9f-3HcJCtamAP19PcXugMc8ilmWhJN4AR78_o_DGvkoxT6GyZy_TSNlNFkaB1VGIsj2bDjG9Jix6IEFnfOJ-6C9AcP0eke5hOREEW0-F7_eXiayPiZTGS7a7xbm9hE4gZjuU/s320/gone-girl-poster.jpg"></a></div>So the voting’s done, and the Academy Awards were handed out with great ceremony and very little decent humor (I couldn’t believe NPH was unfunny so often). No laurels were laid at the feet of Gillian Flynn, who was robbed of a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for some exceptional self-editing, much less given to David Fincher, who’s quickly become one of the best American directors of the last 40 years or so. My race to cover the big 2014 films before the Oscar winners were announced is over, and I’m happy to have had a little break – or, at least, as much break as I’m going to get, given present circumstances. It’s nice to know that I (and DJ) took great pains to talk about the year in film, and that I don’t have to push myself to do more when I have only so many hours in the day.<br>
<br>
But the awards scarcely matter when it comes to <i>Gone Girl</i>. It made a big splash in the box office, received great critical acclaim, and it fostered many metric tons of conversation. Just look at my dear friend <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com">Sati</a>, who <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/08/amazing-amy-is-gone-anticipating-gone.html">wrote</a> seven <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/09/are-you-ready-to-meet-amazing-amy-5.html">posts </a> which <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/10/gone-girl.html">were dedicated</a> to <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/09/soundtrack-wednesday-gone-girl.html"><i>GG</i></a> (as well as <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-audiences-misogyny-amy-dunne-cool.html">other posts</a>, <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/12/101-things-i-love-about-gone-girl-that.html">some</a> of which <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/2015/01/105-things-i-love-about-gone-girl-that.html">were</a> or <a href="http://cinematiccorner.blogspot.com/search/label/Gone%20Girl">weren’t</a> focused on it exclusively). Although I like <a href=”http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/02/gone-girl-review-gone-girl-gone-wild.html”>the review I wrote for Fincher’s movie</a>, there are still some other issues I wish to address regarding that picture, and the time to discuss the roles played by its leads is <i>now</i>. <br>
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Hang the f—k on, please. I’m about to get all word-y.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l-1wldsq8_8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">The only thing I won't argue is that their one problem is Amy's insanity.</div><br>
Amy Dunne (played by Rosemund “Hot Yoga” Pike) is a fantastic fictional character. She’s a very damaged and untrustworthy human being, but she’s also far more complex, intelligent, and fascinating than many filmic women of late, and certainly more so than Ben Affleck’s Nick Dunne. As an easy “great film” reference, let’s just say: she plays a woman with a Salieri-type personality, but with the gifts that Mozart has, whereas Ben plays a guy with a Mozart-style personality, but with Salieri’s level of talent.<br>
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My attitude does not depend on the quality of the actors, mind you – it’s in the writing and the specific roles assigned to each person in this twisty story. Amy is active, gifted, and f’ed up, while Nick is reactive, embarrassingly unskilled, and an objectively terrible person in the absence of lifelong trauma. For me, then, one of the big issues is when I read other people describing Amy as “fierce” (one of the lousiest and lamest popular words since “epic”) and “unbelievable” (as in “strong”).<br>
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I have to concede the point that both of those words do apply to Amazing Amy, <b>literally</b>. As a cold-blooded murderer, she is “fierce”, and I <i>cannot</i> believe her personality or behavior, so the actual meanings of those words hold up. The problem is when folks make this sound like Amy is a strong and empowered woman – that’s when it all falls apart.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/gone-girl-gender-issues-ggg-in-worst-way.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-12408189246336671332015-06-19T13:40:00.000-04:002015-08-05T21:21:02.106-04:00I Understand Rachel Dolezal<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">And when I say that I understand <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/us/rachel-dolezal-nbc-today-show.html">Rachel Dolezal</a>, I don't mean that I necessarily approve or that I've engaged in behavior that may be seen as deceitful or culturally/ethnically insensitive. <br>
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I'm not even talking from the perspective of a Latino who: <br>
-(I think) looks like a total white boy, has been guessed to be everything from Italian to Indian to Syrian to Greek and more,<br>
-who's got both white and black ancestry,<br>
-who's been subject to discrimination from Latinos, and Blacks, and Whites who have all mistook me for White, White, and as a Latino/Not Pureblooded White, respectively.<br>
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No, I understand Dolezal because obviously movies are to blame here. <br>
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And by "movies" I mean "a specific era of movies.'<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDL4yUWZXB5L8OnxSN3XS7KcAM-5RKPUGk2_QDJIHecvl_5EK7DCuGzmp62vjTqBmDzGnz8IRgfmgSPRjogKXCJBm3wxR8KUdkruwT9rU91YX3uqNzQep4E3RmvIvGoPJJKXmciC0jHf0/s1600/Tootsie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDL4yUWZXB5L8OnxSN3XS7KcAM-5RKPUGk2_QDJIHecvl_5EK7DCuGzmp62vjTqBmDzGnz8IRgfmgSPRjogKXCJBm3wxR8KUdkruwT9rU91YX3uqNzQep4E3RmvIvGoPJJKXmciC0jHf0/s320/Tootsie.jpg"></a></div>See, watching films like <i>Tootsie</I>, and especially C. Thomas Howell's <i>Soul Man</I> must have given her false expectations. In a decade full of crazy pictures, the concepts at play in those works stand out as being extra, super-super cray-cray.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/i-understand-rachel-dolezal.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-49316805106773685102015-06-19T11:01:00.000-04:002015-06-24T12:45:24.609-04:00Great Moments In... Awful Scripting<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eF4Hcr7XX3c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br>
Here's the offending segment - what I think is the most comically-stupid, unintentional rhyming dialogue ever. I don't know screenwriting, but I do know that you're supposed to read dialogue out loud at some point to hear if it sounds bad. <br>
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Even forgetting what poor, perfunctory, plot-driving lines these are - and please note, <b>none</b> of these words convey anything about the characters saying them - the overuse of "-sion" sounds (especially "-ation") should've stood out to even a semi-attentive writer. The emphases are mine:<br>
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INT. NABOO PALACE - THRONE ROOM<br>
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The hologram of PALPATINE sputters and fades away.<br>
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AMIDALA : Senator Palpatine?!? (turns to Panaka) What's happening?<br>
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CAPTAIN PANAKA turns to his SARGEANT<br>
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CAPT. PANAKA : Check the <i>transmission </i>generators...<br>
BIBBLE : A <i>malfunction</i>?<br>
CAPT. PANAKA : It could be the <i><b>Federation </b></i>jamming us. Your Highness.<br>
BIBBLE : A <i><b>communications </b></i><i>disruption </i>can only mean one thing. <i><b>Invasion</b></i>.<br>
</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/phantom-menace-script-awfulness.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-64893828649701330322015-06-18T12:43:00.000-04:002015-06-18T23:00:52.381-04:00Recommended: The 100<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">A bit of <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_(TV_series)”><i>Lost</i></a>, a large helping of <a href=” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies”><i>Lord of the Flies</i></a>, then sprinkle in some <a href=” http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2012/11/lockout-review-it-actually-works.html”><i>Lockout</i></a>: these are the ingredients of CW’s surprise hit,<a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_(TV_series)”> <i>The 100</i></a>. I guess I was guaranteed to watch this program no matter what – for one thing, I have a life-long love of sci-fi in <b>any</b> form, be it in a <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_trilogy”>novel</a>, televised, or on film. For another, <i><b>many</b></i> aspects here are reminiscent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_(video_game)">the first <i>Fallout </i>game</a>, <a href=”http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2014/01/you-shoulda-been-movie-fallout.html”>for which I clearly have a vast, abiding affection</a>.<br>
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But, as with most CW shows, I approached it warily; this series had to work to earn my respect and trust, or else I’d stop watching by the fourth episode and never look back. Instead, I was confused at how <i>The 100</i>'s makers crafted a story so multifaceted and entertaining that I was hooked. Quality is the skepticism-killer, after all...<br>
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What we have here is a case of love at first watch, and it’s easy to see why. After a world-ending nuclear war, humankind only survives through the descendants of multinational astronauts. Aboard the Ark, a mega-station of conjoined ships, our civilization waits for the aftereffects of the nuclear holocaust to fade away so they can return. Due to limited resources, however, <i>all </i>crimes are punishable by being blown out of an airlock; only offenders under 18 are spared, forced to stay in space-jail until reassessment at the age of majority.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fPpLjha1JFA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">In the future, a girl's diary/poems will include etchings and a CGI PowerPoint presentation.</div><br>
The series’ lead, Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor), is one of those teens. This beautiful, smart pre-med was tossed into jail because she knew too much – her dad realized that the Ark couldn’t support life for much longer, and his desire to inform the public resulted in his death as well as Clarke’s incarceration. But, with resources dwindling even more quickly, the Ark’s Chancellor, Jaha (Isiah Washington), has decided on a (semi-)risky move: send their 100 teenaged prisoners to Earth to see if the planet is habitable, <b>one century</b> ahead of when it should be safe.<br>
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This is how Ms. Griffin finds herself surrounded by strangers, strapped into a seat, as Jaha’s recorded message explains their purpose and their goal. These 100 kids must see if they can live, then access <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Weather”>the real-life fallout shelter called Mt. Weather</A> for the food and supplies that the 3000-ish people above them will need to repopulate the Earth.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/recommended-100.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-90212889351753281092015-06-18T07:50:00.000-04:002015-06-18T11:20:32.868-04:00aNoES Depp Death Diorama<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2013/02/question-for-week-of-feb-18-24-best.html">I've already written about my love of a certain scene</a> from <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>. It's one of the best-executed and most iconic moments in all of horror film history, one which I love to pieces. And, <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/watch-tiny-paper-johnny-depp-get-butchered-nightma-210949">last October</a>, one of my favorite websites posted about a fan who paid into an Indiegogo campaign to have this scene remade on the cheap. I must admit, this is a fine re-creation of a seminal sequence, one made slightly less painful because of the way that it's been constructed.<br />
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Watch now, and please enjoy the cardboard reenactment of the death of Johnny Depp's first cinematic role. In any medium, it's just glorious:<br />
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This death scene truly is the gift that keeps on giving.</span>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-32303768615170697492015-06-17T17:15:00.000-04:002015-06-17T17:48:20.673-04:00The Machine<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsSxfaaJTVQeP2WKa7MmIgkQtogrXODb7kTfmFc3EK20DA_2J05RKbqWi99-53LTRcdbhSJ9KRUS1fbup7qsPg_PKKCGKbuFciHXdESmvZ-OWDf5belcCKPhIyj2RrNKVKXeolonKJxc/s1600/file_175827_1_machine_xlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsSxfaaJTVQeP2WKa7MmIgkQtogrXODb7kTfmFc3EK20DA_2J05RKbqWi99-53LTRcdbhSJ9KRUS1fbup7qsPg_PKKCGKbuFciHXdESmvZ-OWDf5belcCKPhIyj2RrNKVKXeolonKJxc/s320/file_175827_1_machine_xlg.jpg"></a></div><i>The Machine</i> is an excellent English sci-fi film that popped up on Netflix Streaming near the end of last year, sadly without a theatrical release. I enjoyed writer/director Caradog W. James’ focused and thoughtful thriller, which took $1.5M and turned James’ story into a <b>beautiful-looking</b>, atmospheric tale about medical experimentation, the connections people form with each other, and the development of <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence”>artificial intelligence</a>. It’s not a perfect film at all, but it does everything it does well, and displays true artistry in its performances and writing. I also think it’s 1000 times more of a sci-fi film than <i>Ex Machina</i> will ever be, but I’ll leave that discussion for my upcoming <i>EM</i> review.<br>
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In the near future, Vincent McCarthy (Toby Stephens) is unhappy, but hopeful, despite England’s tenuous <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_war_(general_term)”>cold war</a> with China. This scientific genius has a well-funded, well-intended project with Thompson (Denis Lawson), a <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Defence_(United_Kingdom)”>Ministry of Defense</a> bigwig: a plan to help injured soldiers recover use of their limbs and brains with computerized implants. As the film’s start conveys, that’s a difficult, painful process.<br>
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Flash forward a bit and Vincent is putting three computers through the <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test”>Turing Test</a>, which determines whether a machine can respond well enough to convince a human that it's a human, too. None of the computers pass, but he sees great potential in the device developed by Ava (Caity Lotz). McCarthy then convinces Ava to join him by offering unlimited financial support. The idea is that, together, they can jointly complete his new project: an android run by a true AI that is bolstered by scans of a person’s brain.<br>
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Unfortunately, Ava is more than a little into civil disobedience, which doesn’t go over well at MoD research bases. While a crippled soldier demonstrates his new super-strong arms, he whispers to her that he’s being mistreated. Ava investigates, Thompson decides she has to go, and Vincent gets roughed up in the same attack that kills his newest assistant. The UK’s equivalent of <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_Safety_and_Health_Administration”>OSHA</a> must f--king <i><b>hate</b></i> this base.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-machine.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-11901795497361247752015-06-17T09:04:00.000-04:002015-06-17T09:04:00.845-04:00Honest Trailers: Cinderella<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">Really, there's nothing more to say than that this is hysterical, and the lyrics are great.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Pt1_VvVZVY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></span>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-35422535621776389302015-06-16T15:45:00.000-04:002015-07-12T10:53:22.917-04:00Year-End Wrap-up 2014: Insanely Belated Edition<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1TdA_yP8sV8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br>
Well, we’ve come to an extra-confusing time here, because I’m writing my annual review for 2014 in June of the following year. For those of you who are just tuning in, I suggest clicking on the “Site Update” tag at the end of this post or on the far right of the screen; that should fill you in on what I’ve been up to and why this post is appearing now. For all those people who have been keeping up, and know that I’ve been slowly reviewing the “best” and/or “biggest” pictures from last year at a leisurely pace, then just keep reading.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiromDcU1A4EJ6GsNtqdWm75iHBGVWr2jjwJN765fkFtvIzvAoBxFGVziusObnPZtEsoZdMzJp5azfji7avJYAqrYVlcJlkDCNmPp9urEUY1QvAgKf3A9Taxn1dJsWcgGVCEddXJwLxnq0/s1600/CA_FlashRecap8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiromDcU1A4EJ6GsNtqdWm75iHBGVWr2jjwJN765fkFtvIzvAoBxFGVziusObnPZtEsoZdMzJp5azfji7avJYAqrYVlcJlkDCNmPp9urEUY1QvAgKf3A9Taxn1dJsWcgGVCEddXJwLxnq0/s320/CA_FlashRecap8.jpg"></a></div><br>
2014 was a terrible year in my own life, and yet it produced a lot of great films. More importantly, it’s the first time in a long while (since before this blog even started) that I truly kept current with theatrical releases. I saw more high-profile movies for 2014 than in any year before the turn of the century – I’ve been in and out of theaters so much from last Spring to now... <br>
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Having reviewed all the movies that I was excited for or felt I “had” to see, it’s time for me to weigh in. Please note that no one ever suggested I change the ridiculous categories that I use (every year, I ask readers if I should), so this will be nothing like a Top 10 list.<br>
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<b>Best New Movie (that I actually saw)</b> - This is the most difficult call that I’ve ever made, as 2014 was exceptional. The result of all my viewing is that I’m thoroughly-confused as to which is “the best.” And so, I can only say that my favorite films are <i>Wild</i>, <i>Grand Budapest Hotel</i>, <i>Only Lovers Left Alive</i>, <i>The Babadook</i>, and <i>Under the Skin</i>. If you like, you can tell all your friends that for once in my life, I accepted taking a total f--king copout.<br>
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<a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/wild-review-we-need-more-stories-like.html"><i>Wild</i></a> was the most moving, to me. <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/01/grand-budapest-hotel-review.html"><i>Grand Budapest</i></a> was the funniest, and may have had the best story. <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/02/only-lovers-left-alive-howd-they-make.html"><i>Only Lovers</i></a> had the best characters and – I think – maybe the best setting and premise. <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-babadook-review-fine-suspense-women.html"><i>Babadook</i></a> was a fantastically-scary story, an excellent theatrical experience with a fresh, rich horror tale driving the narrative. <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2014/12/under-skin-review-accents-plots.html"><i>Under the Skin</i></a> was wonderful, partly for being so challenging and different, and partly for the exceptional audio and visual elements.<br>
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Rest assured, other movies came close to the mark. <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/05/birdman-review-what-f-was-that.html"><i>Birdman</i></a> was amazing, joined by <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/04/whiplash-review.html"><i>Whiplash</i></a>, <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-lego-movie-review.html"><i>The Lego Movie</i></a> (this links to DJ's review, I never got to do a double dip for it), and <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/two-days-one-night-review.html"><i>Two Days, One Night</i></a> as all being able to stake a claim to having an outstanding combination of story, acting, direction, character, and script, in addition to displaying superb visual and audio craftsmanship. That’s what “the best film” is, right? I can’t just choose <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/02/edge-of-tomorrow-review-flawless-victory.html"><i>Edge of Tomorrow</i></a> because I enjoyed the holy hell out of it - this is a laurel that speaks to the power of film, and pure action films shouldn’t make that list very often.<br>
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S--t, now this <i><b>is</b></i> starting to sound like a Top 10 list. In any case, it’s hard for me to declare a true winner among all those fine and varied entries. I guess I could narrow it down to <i>Budapest</i>, <i>Under the Skin</i>, and <i>Wild</i>, but I’d be hard-pressed to whittle it down from there - and removing one or two just makes me want to add <i>Whiplash</I> and <i>Birdman</I> (especially <i>Birdman</I>).<br>
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<b>Best Out-of-the-Blue Release</b> - Three independent documentaries nearly snagged the title, namely <i>Citizenfour</i> (which I very nearly reviewed for this site), <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2014/09/reviewing-with-others-pt-75-ai-weiwei.html"><i>Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case</i></a>, and <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2014/06/reviewing-with-others-pt-70-red.html"><i>Red Obsession</i></a>. However, my personal favorite has to be <i><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2014/07/reviewing-with-others-pt-74-coherence.html">Coherence</a></i>.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/year-end-wrap-up-2014-insanely-belated.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-5311112110187764602015-06-15T07:13:00.000-04:002015-08-05T20:58:30.837-04:00Wolfcop and Space Milkshake - B-Movies are the Best<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><b><i>Space Milkshake</i></b> - is a B-sci-fi/horror movie that knows what it is and revels in its genre conventions. I mean, really, everyone who’s seen a sci-fi film that involves a mutating rubber duck, raise your hand. Oh, it’s just me? Then, everyone who <i>wants</i> to see a sci-fi film that involves a mutating rubber duck, raise your hand.<br>
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Okay, good, we’re all on the same page here.<br>
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<i>Space Milkshake</i> is about a futuristic spaceship full of garbage-men and –women whose job it is destroy debris that might interfere with space-traffic around Earth. Captain Anton Balvenie is a self-centered sometimes-jerk who’s mired in the petty/unhappy phase of a relationship with his frustrated, fed-up first officer, Valentina. The young technician Tilda mostly just works and keeps to herself, which frustrates their newest arrival – Jimmy, a talkative guy whose first time in space is being ruined by the attitude problem of his new coworkers.<br>
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It’s bad enough that Jimmy is greeted by his new boss curtly ordering him to fix a half-dozen different machines, but Tilda won’t even speak to him. It’s pretty clear that Jimmy won’t be able to glamorize life on a space station that uses lasers and spacepods to clear the paths of interplanetary travel. But then an unexpected cargo craft arrives, and Anton goes out on a salvage mission – and suddenly, there’s no radio communications from Earth. Hell, there isn’t even any trash orbiting Earth!<br>
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I’m not nostalgic for the 80’s and 90’s, but I have had many conversations lately about the fact that good or entertaining b-movies seem few and far between now. I feel a pang deep inside of me when I browse the horror and sci-fi offerings of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Youtube’s free film selection. Most of them are CGI fests with bad writing and/or acting, and they don’t have an enjoyable sense of tone, and they don’t do anything new. <br>
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Seriously, one of the most rewarding experiences as a film goer is getting to see good actors that you know star in low-budget ventures that make a strong effort to tell a good story – when you add the tone and mood of B-movies (think <i>Black Dynamite</i>, <i>From Dusk Til Dawn</i>), you create a possibility to have ungodly amounts of fun. And that’s exactly what you get with <i>SM</i>.<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IAn_x5vL8pY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Valentina unloads on a truly unappreciative boyfriend.</div><br>
</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/wolfcop-and-space-milkshake-b-movies.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-11514738325043209862015-06-12T15:50:00.000-04:002015-06-12T17:26:59.543-04:00Two Days, One Night Review<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">In <i>Two Days, One Night</I>, the Dardenne brothers have a story that any audience will find compelling: a woman in Belgium must get coworkers to vote for her job <i>or</I> their €1000 bonus. Even if the economy didn't resemble a dystopian nightmare, we can all put ourselves in her shoes, and it's terrifying.<br>
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So we follow our lead, Sandra (Marion Cotillard), as she uses her weekend to sway nine of the people who already voted in favor of the bonus. She has to track down her fellow employees to ask for their support, and she has no idea if she can influence any of them. But she also has two kids, a husband who works as a cook, and a mortgage that can't be paid without her salary.<br>
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Cotillard is an impeccable actress. She has a mastery over her expressions and her voice. Everything she does, every feeling she emotes, seems genuine. And, in Sandra, she gets a chance to show what she can do. Her work in <i>Two Days</I> is brilliant, and her Best Actress Oscar nomination was well-deserved.<br>
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As the film progresses, we get context for Sandra's problems and the pills we see her take now and then: the poor woman is just returning from sick leave for depression. This is the worst possible time for her to experience something as scary and emotionally crushing as the loss of a job.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/two-days-one-night-review.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-16066103702700183632015-06-11T07:56:00.000-04:002015-06-11T19:50:41.351-04:00Recommended: Brooklyn Nine-Nine<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;">I think I pretty much stopped following sitcoms after <i>Seinfeld</i> ended. It’s not like there weren’t some great options, but I never tuned in to <i>The Office</i>, <i>30 Rock</i>, <i>Parks and Recreation</i>, <i>It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i>, or <i>Community</i>. I will correct that someday, but I wasn't inclined to watch them live. Instead, my situation comedy diet was fed by animated series, like <i>Archer</i>, or BBC programs (sorry, <i><b>programmes</b></i>), like <i>Coupling</i>, <i>Hyperdrive</i>, and <i>Spaced</i>. I didn’t even see the superlative <i>Arrested Development</i> until just before the Netflix eps premiered. But my drought ended a year and a half ago, when I tried out Fox’s great series, <i>Brooklyn Nine-Nine</i>.<br>
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<i>BN-N</i> is a sitcom centered on the crazy characters who work in Brooklyn’s 99th police precinct. You have Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), an arrogant man-child who’s a highly-successful detective despite often acting as dumb as a bag of rocks. Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) is a fellow detective, a kind and helpful brown-nosing, OCD-addled overachiever. Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) is the moody, rough <b><i>cop on the edge</i></b> who eschews feelings, gentleness, or anything that prevents her from catching punks. And Sgt. Terence Jeffords (Terry Crews) is the confident, energetic, competent health nut who’s on desk duty after a troubling incident. It’s an odd combination of fringe characters who, behavioral flaws aside, genuinely care about keeping the peace and stopping crime.<br>
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These four people are joined by a few others who you also wouldn’t imagine working in law enforcement. Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) is a soft-hearted geeky detective with a romantic longing for Rosa and a man-crush on Jake. The precinct’s secretary, Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti), is a walking distraction; she's a space cadet who only offers snide insults and pithy responses. Last, we have Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher), the uptight, nearly-emotionless figure who tries to wrangle these knuckleheads. When this cast comes together, you have nothing less than a brilliant, hysterical, nuclear-powered comedy <i>machine</i>.<br>
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The series is, at heart, a send-up of 70’s-era cop films and TV shows, and you can see that in nothing more than the opening credit sequence. It’s at least as funny as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_Squad!"><i>Police Squad!</i></a>, but it’s a show that takes full advantage of all the changes television has experienced in the past few decades. The plotlines matter less than the comedy and the characters, there’s a decent amount of serialization - in spite of the self-contained nature of each episode - and the cast is gloriously-diverse. Seriously, one of my favorite aspects of <i>BN-N</i> is that it’s an NYC-based program with a true-to-life mix of genders and ethnicities.<br>
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I never write up sitcoms, <a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2011/01/netflix-streaming-recommendations.html">aside from <i>Hyperdrive</i></a>. Much as with that Nick Frost series, I’m doing so now partly to write about something different, and partly because I want to promote this show as much as possible. As a class-clown-type, I have a lifelong love of comedy, and <i>Brooklyn Nine-Nine</i> has an amazing knack for making me laugh, hard and often. So why does this series work so well?<br>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TkC9S59fUSQ?list=PL6hu5k2WvKk4q9bA6izx9ReoULIgdJ3Lj" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br>
</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/recommended-brooklyn-nine-nine.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776031415427663302.post-54570247634753012932015-06-10T13:06:00.000-04:002015-06-10T13:06:43.928-04:00Great Moments In... Awkward, Bulls--t Lines<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14px;"><i>Armageddon</I> is one of those action films that miraculously becomes an acceptable guilty pleasure because it's so full of garbage and stupid, senseless, lowest-common-denominator fan-pleasing moments that are completely insane or full of it. <br>
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One of the most insane comes at the very end of the film, and if you've been spared the movie experience of watching <I>Armageddon</I>, I want to understand how stupid this film is: Steve Buscemi's character - <b>who, btw, is called "Rockhound"</b> - gets his longtime coworker Max (Ken Hudson Campbell) killed, and the "drama" of watching a guy <I>catch on fire and then be shot out into space</I> is actually played for a joke. <b><i>Twice</I></b>.<br>
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Long story short, Bruce Willis' character, Harry Stamper, takes a space shuttle to an asteroid and later sacrifices himself to save the world. For, um, I guess sentimental reasons, NASA allows his daughter, Grace (Liv Tyler) to sit in the command room so she can... uh, watch the action and speak to the two passengers who matter most to her: Harry, her dad, and A.J., her boyfriend (Ben Affleck). Well, nearly everyone sent on this mission has known her since she was a kid, but, since this is a movie, those are the only two people that she really cares about.<br>
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</span><a href="http://halfafilmstudent.blogspot.com/2015/06/great-moments-in-awkward-bulls-t-lines.html#more">Read more »</a>Thaddeushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17414047155226211676noreply@blogger.com0