films friday.

This film... gah! this film. I am a bit oddly obsessed with the Civil War era and with bluegrass music, so when I saw this film in the theaters, I about died. I have yet to read the book, but it's actually next on my list to read. (Side note: I recently finished reading a book set in the Civil War called Noble Cause that I really enjoyed. I really can't get enough of this era: the music, the clothes, the photos... I love it all.)

Incidentally, the soundtrack to this film is one of my favorite soundtracks ever.

If you haven't seen this film, you should. It's a pretty good one with a lot of great actors. I really think that it's Renee Zellweger's best performance to date. There are SO MANY great actors in this film. I can't even begin to name them all. Among them is one of my favorites EVER: Philip Seymour Hoffman. I love that man. Anything he touches is gold.

films friday.

Soooooo, I get home from CR last night to David watching this and I immediately said, "What on earth are you watching?" ...then he gave me a quick synopsis which was doing it no justice, so he fortunately started it over again for me to watch.

I'm a fan of documentaries. I love discovering the quirkiness of life outside of my little world. But "quirky" doesn't even begin to describe the lives of the people in this film. It's streaming on Netflix, it's only an hour and I promise you won't regret it. Just watch it.

If you were born in or before the 80's, your in for a blast-from-the-past treat.

films friday

one of my favorite comedies of all time. yes, Ben Stiller actually directed this film. i'd love to see more of him behind a camera than in front because this film truly is funny. i probably watched this 100 times growing up. such a quotable film, and great soundtrack! it's worth a watch, for sure.

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films friday // the hunger games

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THE HUNGER GAMES

This film was pretty amazing. What I loved most about it is that all of the talented people who were involved in bringing the first installment of this great series of books to life actually took it seriously. The cinematography was impressive and the acting was great. Of course, being a big fan of the books there are a few minor details that were disappointing to see changed or to not see at all, but when you're trying to fit nearly 30 chapters of a book into a 2 hour film, that's to be expected. I was pleasantly surprised by all of the hilarious (and much needed) comical relief provided by the fabulous Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Toby Jones. Lenny Kravitz was the PERFECT Cinna and seriously, who else could play President Snow but Donald Sutherland?? 

I actually cried at a pivotal moment in the middle of the games (if you read it the books, you know what I'm talking about). Oh, and the soundtrack? Don't even get me started. It's incredible! Right up my alley. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, who also contributed to other stellar soundtracks like Cold Mountain, Crazy Heart and O Brother, Where Art Thou? All in all, my expectations for this film were met and even exceeded! I can't wait to see it again.

BUT

I have to say, I'm getting pretty weary of hearing/reading/listening to all of the... I'll just call them haters... who have been complaining about the hoopla surrounding the premiere of this film. So many of them have compared this film to The Twilight Saga and Harry Potter... and all of those people have neither read the book(s), nor seen the film(s). Now, I never read Harry Potter or saw the films (I know, I know), so I will leave that whole series out of the conversation. 

What I will talk about is how annoying it is to hear people (who, again, haven't read the books or seen the film) compare this series to The Twilight Saga series.

In my humble opinion (because you totally asked for it, right?) the only connections between these two wildly different series is that a) they're both geared towards young adults, and b) the protagonists of both series are girls who just so happen to have two boys fall in love with them and are faced with the decision to choose between them.

I have read both series and have seen all the films made from them both thus far.

Here's why Katniss (HG) is incredibly different from Bella (Twilight):

Katniss is a young woman who has spent the last several years taking responsibility for her family, both by providing food she hunts herself and trying to bring emotional stability back into the home after her father was killed in a mine accident. She has strong beliefs about the society she lives in and a solid moral compass. The last thing on her mind is the frivolity of crushes on boys and, to her, getting married and starting her own family is about the worst thing she can think of to do. She literally fights for her family, her loved ones, her beliefs and her very own life. *

Bella is a teenage girl who moves to a different state to live with her dad, meets a couple of cute boys, one vampire and one wolf. Throughout the entire series she faces the decision to choose between the two boys she loves and keeping them from killing each other, all while encountering a whole lot of obstacles along the way. Although she does put others before herself, she is ridiculously full of angst, is overly emotional and everyone around her risks their very lives to protect her. *

I don't understand how anyone can honestly say these two stories are the same.

(Side note: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know The Hunger Games' plot is A LOT like Battle Royale and Lord of the Flies, but is there any originality left in the world?)

*"The Hunger Games takes place after the destruction of North America by some unknown apocalyptic event, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. District 12, where the book begins, is located in the coal-rich region that was formerly Appalachia.^[8]

As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol in which a 13th district was destroyed, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants (or "tributes") must fight in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one remains. The story follows 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th annual Hunger Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose. Also selected from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a baker's son whom Katniss knows from school, who once gave her bread when her family was starving..." - Wikipedia

"Isabella "Bella" Swan moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to live with her father, Charlie, while her mother, Renée, travels with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player. Bella attracts much attention at her new school and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys compete for shy Bella's attention.

When Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen in class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed by her. He disappears for a few days, but warms up to Bella upon his return; their newfound relationship reaches a climax when Bella is nearly crushed by a fellow classmate's van in the school parking lot. Edward saves Bella when he instantaneously appears next to her and stops the van with his bare hands.

Bella becomes determined to discover how Edward saved her life, and constantly pesters him with questions. After a family friend, Jacob Black, tells her the local tribal legends, Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human. Edward confesses that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was too desirable to him. Over time, Edward and Bella fall in love..." - Wikipedia

films friday // john hughes and his muse

I grew up with these films. They are like extensions of myself. Let's relive the memories, people!!
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films friday // atonement

poignant

tragic

beautiful

I have yet to read the book, it's on my list, but this film has stuck with me for a long time. I'm sure it will stick with you as well. 

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films friday // there will be blood

The other night David suggested that we watch There Will Be Blood. He hadn't seen it since it was still in the theaters and I hadn't watched it in quite a while either, so I said, "Why not?"

I forgot just how much I love this film. It's no feel-good flick, but it really makes you think about human nature and pride and greed and power and betrayal. Many moments make me laugh out loud at the brutal honesty of it.

Daniel Day-Lewis is one of my top three favorite actors. I really feel like this character is one of my favorites of his. It's the little subtleties he brings to Daniel Plainview that make him come alive. And there's much more to it than the "I drink your milkshake" scene (it kind of bothered me how much crap was on the internet about that scene. it really turned it into something I don't think it wasn't meant to be, even though it is pretty funny).

Also, the score is incredible. It's unconventional, it's eerie, it's strange and it's pretty epic.
Jonny Greenwood, of one of my favorite bands, Radiohead, spent only 3 weeks creating it and I can't imagine it being any more perfect for this film. When interviewed by Entertainment Weekly regarding his contribution he said,

"I think it was about not necessarily just making period music, which very traditionally you would do. But because they were traditional orchestral sounds, I suppose that's what we hoped was a little unsettling, even though you know all the sounds you're hearing are coming from very old technology. You can just do things with the classical orchestra that do unsettle you, that are sort of slightly wrong, that have some kind of undercurrent that's slightly sinister."


I definitely recommend you see this film if you haven't already. As a warning, there is some violence here and there.

p.s. I haven't read the book "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair which this film was based, but I really want to. Have any of you?

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films friday // pride and prejudice

Pride & Prejudice

I honestly have yet to meet a girl or woman who has admitted to not loving anything to do with Jane Austen. Some are BBC film adaptation purists, and some, like me, are more feature film lovers of Austen adaptations.

I must admit that I'm not the biggest of Keira Knightly's fans. In fact, before I saw this version of P&P, I couldn't stand to watch her. The way she moves her mouth and jaw aways irked me and I could never get beyond it to let myself forget I was watching Keira Knightly instead of one of her characters. It made it really difficult for me to believe her.

But Miss Bennet...

Knightly's Miss Bennet stole my heart. I felt I knew her.

But then again so many young women believe they are a version of Miss Bennet. Feminist for her time. Stubbornly devoted to her beliefs, yet secretly dreaming of love.

There really isn't much at all I don't like about this film.

In fact, there are moments so perfect I can't help but watch over and over. Like this scene. And this, this moment slays me.

Just lovely.

films friday - rushmore

RUSHMORE

Here are just a few wonderful things I can say about Rushmore, one of my favorite comedies of all time:

Wes Anderson
Bill Murray
Jason Schwartzman
HILARITY

The film speaks for itself. Just watch it. You will not regret it. (and just in time for it to be released on the Criterion Collection blu-ray).

films friday - the prestige

The Prestige 

This film, like every other Christopher Nolan film I have seen, is one that you need to watch twice.

There are a laundry list of reasons why I love this film, so I'll just break it down. 

The Actors: 

There are three actors that I adore and who's career I've been following for years. One of them is Christian Bale. I first fell in love with Bale when I swooned over him in Newsies back in the early 90's. Since then he has proven his talent over and over with a myriad of amazing performances. The films themselves may not have always been the best (even though I love them anyway), but his performances are almost always the best part. He, like no other actor I know of, is a master of dialect. And if anyone has ever attempted to study a dialect for a character, you know that it is crazy difficult, even if you are a natural. But it's not just his dialect that blows my mind with every performance, it's how he so perfectly slips into each character as if he was born to play it. It was only until recently that he finally was recognized by the academy for his incredible talent, which was for his stellar, scene stealing performance in The Fighter. I personally feel that though he wholeheartedly deserved that award, it should not have been his first Oscar... but then again, awards aren't why actors do what they do... at least I hope not... and in the long run, it's your career choices that define your work. The three actors whose work I admire the most have chosen roles that define their work as that of someone who has proven time and time again that they were born to act.

Christian Bale is subtly stunning in this film.

Hugh Jackman has got some range. He acts, he sings, he dances, he fights. What I love about this performance is his portrayal of the degradation of obsession. He plays it in such a way that it makes you want to just yell at his character to give it up and just let go. Anytime an actor can get an emotional reaction out of me like that has done a pretty convincing job.

David Bowie. Oh, how I LOVE that Bowie is in this. He was the first and only choice for Christopher Nolan as Tesla and I can see why. Although Bowie resisted this role for a long time, Nolan finally wore him down and convinced him that no other could portray the man who changed the Industrial world as we know it. Thank God he said yes. He impressed me.

Michael Caine is just awesome. He has such a tender quality about him and can play the voice of reason in any film with such sincerity. I just love him in this role.

The Director:

Christopher Nolan is one of my favorites. If you've seen his films, you should know why (Inception, Momento... hello!). He's so perfect at making a film that gets you really thinking and gets you really excited and needing more. Like I said before, he makes the kind of films that, immediately after you've finished them, you need to watch it again from a different perspective. That's good filmmaking right there.

The Costumes/Set Design/Era:

I love the industrial revolution/victorian era. Since I was a little girl I've been fascinated by it. My mom had photos of Gibson Girls sprinkled around the house and she even used a Victorian era boot as a planter for dried flowers and I was always transfixed by it. The costumes, props, set design all give me a real comfortable, homey feel. I just can't get enough of it. The high neck collars, the men's hats and suits, the performance costumes, the beards and mustaches! It's all just so beautiful.

The Themes:

What I find so perfect and so intriguing is how this film itself is like a magic trick. Not only is it about magicians themselves, but it's as if Nolan (and the author of the book) is the ultimate magician. As you watch the film you're watching the magic trick unfold before your eyes and when you get to the end, if you're not watching closely, you could miss a part of it. That's why you have to see it again. You know how it unfolds in the end, but you need to revisit how it happened.

The Filming:

I really get excited when a scene is filmed as theatrically as possible. Multiple cameras were used in order to make sure that scenes had as few stops as possible. This kind of filmmaking seems to be the closest to live theatre as possible in that the camera just keeps rolling for multiple pages of the script. That means that getting each line, mark, blocking, everything right is so important because the cameras just keep going. I LOVE IT. It makes rehearsal important. I'm the kind of actor that loves rehearsal because that's when the discoveries happen, and that's when it becomes second nature, so I love to see that on film. 

Oh, and it's super suspenseful. Just watch it, you'll thank me.

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films friday

Clueless

If you haven't seen Clueless, then...ugh, I don't even know what to say. It's a 90's classic.

I blame this film for my gross overuse of the word "like". I'm sure it doesn't hurt that I actually grew up in Southern California, but there is no doubt in my mind that as a 12 year old loving this film, "like" became a staple of my vocabulary and though it has gotten a lot better over the years, and no matter how hard I've tried to cease and desist, it's still there. Even David says "like" a lot. We don't even notice it.

What I find so hilarious about this film watching it now as opposed to 16 years ago (woah, SIXTEEN years???) is how much of it doesn't even seem as funny anymore because the absurdism of these teenagers' lives is actually the present day norm. For example, Cher and Dionne are talking to each other on cell phones in the halls of their high school when they end up in the same frame on screen, then they hang up. In 1995 that was totally not normal. Today? Totally normal. I mean, in 1995 cell phones were still sort of new. By "new" I mean that not every single person in America had one.

This film isn't an award winner, it's not a film that really made you contemplate life, although I do think there are some pretty interesting social commentaries beneath the surface. It's just a funny movie you watch over and over again because it's a classic and every girl watching this movie in jr. high and high school wanted to be Cher.

What is your favorite scene and/or quote from Clueless?

films friday

Memoirs of a Geisha

When I think of this film the first thing that comes to my mind is how absolutely visually stunning it is. It is very much a feast for the eyes. Any artist can't help but be mesmerized by the richness and depth of color. The cinematography is outstanding and even earned an Oscar. The score is very much a dream as well and the acting is sublime.

I haven't actually read the book. In fact, I've had the book in my possession since before the film was released, and though I have begun to read it several times, I've never gotten past the fourth chapter. There is no real reason that I haven't read it other than random things getting in my way. The first four chapters are beautiful in that when I read it I see it so clear and so crisp. I want to read more, but for one reason or another I always get interrupted and then I have to start all over again. I really need to make it a goal to read it and not let anything get in my way.

But in a way I am glad that I didn't read it before I saw the film because I'm sure the book is better (they always are) and I might have been disappointed when I saw the film for the first time.

Though there was definitely some controversy surrounding the book and as well as the film, none of that matters to me. What matters to me are the themes. For me there seem to be among the themes of this film two that stand out very much from the rest, Loss and Art:

"At the temple there is a poem called 'Loss' carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it."

"We create another secret world, a place only of beauty. The very word 'Geisha' means 'Artist' and to be a geisha is to be judged as a moving work of art."

Maybe these themes stand out so strongly to me from the rest because I've felt a lot of loss in my life and with that knowledge of loss I have been more able to appreciate the art that surrounds us and the beauty that can come from and out of pain.

This simply is a gorgeous film and shouldn't be missed. This film truly is a moving work of art.

If you have seen this film or if you will, what are your thoughts??

films friday

{since I slipped up and forgot to post yesterday, today will be films friday on saturday!}

La Vie En Rose

This film speaks to me as an actor in ways no other film has. I sometimes have to avoid watching it because it gets my blood boiling and my creative juices flowing to the extent that I feel like I haven't accomplished anything in my life. Marion Cotillard's performance in this film is nothing short of remarkarble. It's absolutely incredible, stellar, poignant, astonishing, phenomenal... seriously, there aren't enough adjectives out there to describe Marion's performance. She captured the spirit of Piaf in such an authentic way that I honestly don't think there is anyone else out there who could have come close. Even her physical transformation is mind blowing, and I'm not even talking about the incredible makeup that aged her decades older. Her approach to this character was ridiculously spot on. She deserved every stinking award she received for this performance and then some.

Stephen Holden of the New York Times probably said it best when he wrote about Cotillard's performance, "The most astonishing immersion of one performer into the body and soul of another I've ever encountered in a film."

There are so many magnificent things I could continue to say about Marion in this film, but I'd be giving everything away and you just need to see for yourself how remarkable she is.

The reason I even saw the film was probably because I knew and loved the song so much, as well as many other Édith Piaf songs. I have long had a love of Paris and French culture, especially French music, so naturally I would adore Édith Piaf (in fact I walked down the aisle at my wedding to Louis Armstrong's version of her most famous song, La Vie En Rose). The thing about Piaf is that her voice and her music has touched so many hearts all throughout the world, even today. Her life was touched by such multitudes of joy and tragedy, which continued to ripple throughout her life until the end. To see on film such a beautiful and moving interpretation of her life, especially by someone as sensational as Marion, is a dream. 

This film is a dream. I love everything about it. The acting, directing, cinematography, music/score, the makeup and the sets. It all comes together as a gorgeous gem of a picture. I adore this film and all of the passion that went into making it. Do yourself a huge favor and watch it immediately... just bring the tissues.

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watch Marion's transformation into Piaf