Requiem for a Dream

I really needed to comment about this movie. Never, ever see it. Not because it's bad, but because it is one of the most disturbing movies I've seen in a very long time. It's the story of four people who are all, in some manner, hooked on drugs of some kind. The film tells of their ultimate downfall as human beings and the way that their addictions destroy their lives. Hence the title Requiem for a Dream.

If I can say anything about this movie I will say that it has forever turned me off to ever trying drugs of any kind. The manner in which addiction is depicted here is so disturbing and so realistic that I just have no desire to ever even touch the stuff.

The movie is shot in a music video like manner with a lot of quick cuts and odd camera movements and while this would typically bother me I felt that it worked perfectly with the uneasy and dark mood that shrouded this film.

All of the performances were heartbreaking. Every single one. Even from Marlon Wayans who helped pen the atrocious films like Scary Movie and White Chicks. After days of thinking about the movie I realized that this film wouldn't have hit near as hard without the performances.

The movie at first seems like a typical, black and white "don't do drugs" movie, but it goes way deeper than that in a way that takes a lot of thought. To me, this movie is about the emptiness of humanity. Humans are empty and we try to fill this emptiness up with anything that gives us that temporary high. The characters in this movie turned to drugs. And in the end it destroyed every single one of them. Requiem for a dream...

I don't recommend this movie unless you can handle some pretty harsh and graphic scenes. I wont go into any details but it's some pretty gruesome stuff. It's not shock value for the sake of shock value though. Every graphic scene was necessary for the point this film was trying to make.

Naturally, there were some flaws, but the films hard punch was enough to compensate for those.

I will never forget this movie for as long as I live and one day I may revisit it. For now, however, the images are enough. This is one to remember.

And I'm so glad I have something to fill that void in myself.

Wee Oooo

The person who tells me that this isn't an awesome song....

...is the person who's opinion I stop trusting.

:)

Nerd time!

So,the '08 Oscar Nominees were announced and it's actually a supirsingly solid year at the Academy Awards.

I'd like to talk about a few of the nominees. Be forewarned. This post is going to be EXTREMELY nerdy and if you don't give a crap about the Oscars or haven't seen any of these movies than... just stop reading now.

Best Picture of the Year Nominees:

Juno

No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Michael Clayton

Atonement

My Predictions: Juno will not win. They nominate an underdog film every year as way of seeming diverse. Juno is this year's Little Miss Sunshine. It willwin the Original Screenplay, but it wont even come close to Best Picure. No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood seem a little too gritty for the Academy. I am of the opinon that Atonement will win. It is utter Oscar bait. A melodramatic love story with a bit of war thrown in. It's definitely going to win and if I'm wrong then... I'll be wrong, but I don't really see much hope for anything other than Atonement. I do want to comment on my suprise at Michael Clayton's nomination. I saw it and I really liked it, but it doesn't really seem the Oscar type. I would be completely shocked if it came from behind and won. If I had my way, though, No Country would win hands down.

Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:

Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah

Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

George Clooney - Michael Clayton

My Prediction: This is actually a tough one. I have my personal preference (Johnny Depp), but I seriously don't see Johnny Depp being awarded for playing a serialkiller/barber. As great as he was I just don't see it. I'm thinking they'll either choose Daniel Day-Lewis or George Clooney. This is a tough one to predict though.

Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominees:

Ellen Page -Juno

Laura Linney - The Savages

Marion Cotillard- La Mome (La Vie en Rose)

Julie Christie - Away from Her

Cate Blanchett- Elizabeth: The Golden Age

My Prediction: I'm seriously thinking they'll give it to Ellen Page. Since they probably wont be giving Juno the best picture they'll probably give it other awardsto make themselves feel better. I wouldn't be suprised if they gave it to her. The only other performance that I know anything about is Marion Cotillard and I reallyliked her. Her performance was dramatic enough that I could see them giving it to her as well. As with Lead Actor this is one that is hardto predict.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees:

Casey Affleck - The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War

Hal Halbrook - Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton


My Predictions: I'm torn with this category. I love Tom Wilkinson. He's one of my favorite actors basically ever and he was great in Michael Clayton but I was absoloutley chilled to my very core by Javier Bardem in No Country. I'm still dying to see Assasination of Jesse James and I've heard that Casey Affleck was amazing in this movie. My prediction for the winner of this category is actually my personal preference: Javier Bardem. If he doesn't win it will be the biggest sin the Academy has commited since giving the award to A Beautiful Mind instead of Fellowship of the Ring. Tom Wilkinson still rocks though.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees:

Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

Ruby Dee - American Gangster

Saorise Ronan - Atonement

Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone

Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Prediction: I have no prediction for this category.I will say though that I really want to see I'm Not There, American Gangster, and Gone Baby Gone.

Best Director Nominees:

Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men

Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton

Jason Reitman - Juno

Julian Schnabel - Le Scaphandre et le papillion (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Predictions: Give it to the Coen Brothers! Give it to them! They deserve it! P.T. Anderson deserves one at some point, but this year it needs to go to the Coens! I really want to see Diving Bell, but I really think that the Coens deserve it this year. And more than likely they will take it.

In other categories Juno will win Best Original Screenplay and No Country for Old Men will (and should) win Best Adapted Screenplay.

I don't really care about all the other categories, but I do hope Falling Slowly wins for Best Original Song. More than likely all those stupid Enchanted songs have a better chance.

Ok,the end.

Confused

I'm just so confused right now.

I feel like I'm just wasting time.

It's hard not to be selfish and do what I want to do instead of what God wants. I don't like being torn in two. Yet it's so hard to let go of what feels safe and comfortable.

I miss the way things were three years ago. I miss not having these cares that I now carry. I miss not having these aches. These bloody indecisions.

I just want what God wants, but why does it always have to be so uncomfortable?

Guess that all I can do is ride it out a little longer and hope that it works out.

Sometimes, being a Christian really sucks.

More late night thoughts...

I'm not sure why, I just felt like writing something. I'm in one of those stages where I have a hundred ideas running through my head, but I've no means of filming it. I could write short stories, but I don't think I could create any of the impact through my words that I could through visuals. Visuals just come naturally...

One thing that I've noticed about almost all art, is that real life hits hard. It's hard to connect with a piece that one doesn't relate to or understand. It takes a lot of self conditioning to connect to things like that, and even if one does it isn't nearly as powerful as real life. And as often as people say that they read novels, listen to music, or watch movies to escape real life, I know for sure that isn't true. Sure, entertainment can be an escape, but it's also meant to be a means of realization. One must connect to a piece as a means of learning something new about one's self or one's world.

So in the spirit of this ideology I have begun keeping a notebook to write things in. Experiences of my own and of others, stories that I hear people tell, even bits of dialogue I hear. I intend to use these things in my work. When I get older and begin to go about making (and maybe even writing) films I don't want them to be hokey. I want them to be realistic. I want them to be... human. Real. Honest. Because as much as people may deny it, that's what we want when we sit down to enjoy a piece of music, or to watch a movie or read a novel. Even if the story isn't realistic, we want to see that humanity.

I may be generalizing here, but from things I've heard people say, this is what I've gathered.

Also, this scene right here kind of sums up a few of the things I've been thinking about lately(the part with the coin):




Do you all have any thoughts on the meaning? Even if you haven't seen the movie it kind of sums up the entire movie's theme.

Discuss?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

"I wish I had stayed, too. NOW I wish I had stayed. I wish I had done a lot of things. I wish I had... I wish I had stayed. I do."


Eternal Sunshine is a movie that I cannot seem to get out of my head. Ever since I watched it for the first time at least a year ago I have shuffled it around in my mind, trying to understand what this movie really means. I found it at Best Buy for 9 bucks and I picked it up. Saturday night I watched it again, and it finally clicked.


It is a simplistic story. Joel and Clementine meet and fall in love, but one day Joel discovers that- on an impulse- Clementine has had him removed from her memory using a new medical procedure. In the midst of emotional confusion, Joel decides to erase Clementine as a way out of the pain she has caused him.


We then travel inside Joel's head as he realizes the mistake he has made in erasing Clementine, and as his memories slowly fade he tries his hardest to save them before they're gone forever.


This movie has a very strange pacing. We jump back and forth through time and we witness Joel's memories of Clementine as they travel backwards to the first day they met. Therefore, on one's first viewing of this movie you are left trying to put the film in chronological order, and don't give much thought to the films themes. On my second viewing, because I had the time line in order, I was able to pay less attention to the plot and put more focus on what was happening thematically.


While this film is a love story, and a wonderful one at that, it is also an examination of the importance of relationships and the affect they have on us as humans. As we witness Joel's memories of Clementine being erased, at first we think he is right to do it as the latter part of their relationship is quite ugly, but as we retreat farther back we (and Joel) realize that the good heavily outweighs the bad.

For him, his relationship with Clementine actually affects who he is. We can see through his memories that time has worn him down and made him withdrawn, and in a very subtle way when he is with Clementine she slowly pulls him out of his shell. She leaves an imprint on him, as he decides to do something impulsive by skipping work and heading to the beach. This is after Clementine is erased. He has forgotten who she is, but the ways in which she affected him still remain. And when they're reunited with one another after they've forgotten they ever met, their feelings for each other remain. I suppose the film's tagline is true: "You can erase somebody from your head, but not from your heart."

After I watched this movie on Saturday, I was so emotionally overwhelmed by everything this film was saying that I almost lost it. It has always frustrated me when people say that they wish they could go back and erase or change the way something happened. Our memories are some of the most important things we have. They can give us a moment of happiness when times are hard by allowing us to reflect on happier times, memories shape reasoning for decisions we may have to make, and most importantly they help us remember our past shortcomings. They help us to keep from making those same mistakes again.

Joel and Clementine's relationship was not a mistake. In ways that the two of them may not have even understood, they affected each other. Human relations, be it a boyfriend and girlfriend, two friends, two co-workers, two enemies or a parent and a child, all affect us in some manner. Every person that we have extensive relationship with affected our lives. Even if we may not notice and see a person as scenery. Even if it ends nastily, we should never regret interactions we've had with other people. It's the relatability of this film to all people that make it so great.

I don't think I'll ever be able to stress that enough.

One of the most powerful films of our decade and maybe even of all time.



"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd."

Late night thoughts...

So, tonight I got out my bass for the first time in probably... oh, I don't know... a year? It was such a weird experience for me. My fingers are very sensitive again. I only played for about a half an hour or so and my fingers are really tender right now. I learned the bass line to Hello McFly by Relient K. Which if you haven't heard you can hear here:

http://audio.xanga.com/Mad_Brad_EatsCows/4001a1766125/audio.html (it's a great bass line.)


I think that my playing tonight was interesting for two reasons:

1. I'm in a really nostalgic mood lately. So many things in my life are being mixed around and I can't really help but reflect a little. Not in a regretful or wishful manner, but rather in a "Hmm, that's interesting." kind of way. Playing bass was actually a part of who I was once. Funnily enough, it was when I stopped playing bass on praise band that I went through all my "atheist, God isn't real, I want to kill myself because life is pointless without the hope of eternity" stage. Not saying that my ceasing to play bass was a part of any of that, but I just find it kind of funny that right as I stopped playing bass, I started to shed off my "fakeness" as a Christian. As hard of a time as that was for me, it was the moment where I was basically saying: "I want the real thing and if I can't have it then there isn't a point in living anymore." Thank God that He broke through all of that and revealed Himself to me in a completely different way.

It was then that I really started to delve into film and began to develop my love for the art and the craft. So, that was a really defining point in my life and picking my bass back up tonight took me back to those times.

2. It actually made me realize how much I enjoy playing it. I always just called it a hobby, but for some reason it is something that I would really like to take a bit more seriously this year. I think I'm going to spend more time learning about the instrument and teaching myself new techniques. Even though I really love film, I also hold a special place in my heart for music.

I guess I just want to blend the old and the new for this year. My love for bass with my desire to learn more. It sounds like an interesting endeavor. And every time I play it I'm sure I'll go back to the good ole' days of playing those three same notes in He Reigns. Over and over and over and over again. Maybe those days weren't so "good" after all.

;)

Musicals? It ain't done it.

Though I'm nowhere near to being able to make a clear and concise and honest list of my favorite's of the last year, I will leave you four of my favorites (all of which probably won't leave my Top 10 when I do make it.)

This was the year of the musical for Bradley Cogburn. One I expected to despise on a High School Musical level and the other didn't fail to disappoint, but both of them blew me away and have earned their spots.

Here they are along with two other favorites:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

"Just what's the sound of the world out there?"

"What Mr. Todd, What Mr. Todd, what is that sound?"

"Those crunching noises pervading the air?"

"Yes, Mr. Todd. Yes, Mr. Todd. Yes, all around."

"It's man devouring man, my dear."

"Then who are we to deny it in here?!"

Tim Burton has long been a favorite director of mine and he delivered the goods here in what is probably what I would consider his best film after Edward Scissorhands. Full of dark humor and excellent musical numbers that nearly replaced the dialogue, Sweeney Todd was a wonderful work of art. Accompanied by excellent performances from Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and that little chap Edward Sanders. Stephen Sondheim's music is wonderful and strangely catchy with lyrics that are the next thing to a tongue twister.

Bloody excellent film (pun intended).

Hairspray

"Without love, life is like the seasons without summer,

without love, life is rock and roll without a drummer.

Darling, I'll be yours forever, 'cause I never wanna be,

without love, so darling never set me free."

These are the kinds of movies I hate. Sugar coated, happy go lucky, smiles all around types of movies. This one, however, reached down into the depths of my ice cold heart and made me happy. Hairspray is what happy movies ought to be. Aware of their silliness, completely unpretentious, and bright, all while being the kind of movie it needs to be without taking itself too seriously. These are the qualities Hairspray carries itself with and that's what makes it so good.

Wonderfully performed by the entire (wonderful) cast, and may I say that whoever choreographed the dance numbers is a genius. Always fun to watch, and absolutely hilarious. Plus, a finale like a musical oughta have. And I think that is why I loved this movie so much. Sometimes you just need to watch something with not a lot of depth that will make you smile. Because everyone needs something to smile about...

No Country for Old Men

"Call it."

"Look, I need to know what I stand to win."

"You stand to win everything. Call it. "

Joel and Ethan Coen are good filmmakers. They really are, and this movie is a freakin' work of genius. Wonderfully paced, terrifically acted, gorgeous cinematography, and I could praise this film until I'm blue in the face. It's actually quite a beautiful movie if one can look past the violence and see what the film is all about.

This film definitely earns the top spot for the year and probably even gains a spot somewhere on a list of my favorites. This is a film I think a lot of people need to see as it hits a lot of defining points of what cinema should be. Visually stunning as well as reliance on visuals (and not music) to set a mood or atmosphere, thematically rich, and technically spot on. It's a great movie that I would almost recommend to anyone.

and finally:

Michael Clayton

" Do I look like I'm negotiating?!"

I've got to admit that I have quite a fancy for legal thrillers. I enjoy the challenge as well as the excitement of watching (or reading) a piece about the legal system. Michael Clayton satisfied my taste for a good legal drama. Not the biggest George Clooney fan, but he was decent here and the rest of the cast was quite good. Required a lot of focus, but was never dull. Along with some truly intense moments and an excellent wrap up, I would say that this one is a movie that I wouldn't mind seeing again. Hey, with a good script, cast, and story what more could you want?

The Lord of the Rings

So yesterday and today, to kill time until Christmas break ends I watched all three Lord of the Rings movies pretty much in a row. Fellowship and Two Towers yesterday and Return of the King today. And I now believe that is the only way said movies can be fully appreciated.

I used to be a major fan boy of Lord of the Rings. Before I was ever into cinema seriously, I considered those movies to be THE GREATEST three movies ever made in the history of movies. Nothing could top them. I saw them immediately when they hit theatres and would purchase them when they were out on DVD. I read the books as if they were the Bible and every thought running through my head was about Lord of the Rings. I didn't care what else was being nominated at the Oscars (even if it was better than Rings) I just wanted them to win.

Thanks to God above I am not like that anymore. The movies probably would break into the latter part of my Top 50, but I am in no way obsessed with them anymore. I have also broadened my tastes when it comes to cinema, so I kind of know better now.

However, after finishing the entire trilogy I saw them in a different light. Not through the eyes of a nerd, but through the eyes of a lover of the art of film. And these films (all three of them) are nothing short of masterpieces.

First off I must say that as much as I love C.S. Lewis and the Narnia books, the blatant allegory in several of them tends to bother me now that I'm older. I loved that, while it had Christian themes, Lord of the Rings isn't allegory (Tolkien himself said they weren't). Tolkien just wanted to tell a story and that's what makes it great.

Peter Jackson (who has really made some mediocre crap) was in his top form with these movies. I think one thing that I was never able to appreciate before about his directorial style was his eye for setting up shots. The way he positions characters inside the scenery is great. Almost every shot in the movies are interesting to look at.

Another thing that I always blamed on Jackson was the feeling that I got that these stories weren't connected. Each film felt different to me and I never really liked it. However, I think that one must watch them consecutively as I did, because this time around each film felt connected. Like all part of the same story (as they are).

These films are also some of the most emotional of all time. They are amazing in that respect because Jackson never descends into cheesiness or emotional manipulation. He can pull the feelings and moods out of scenes and slam you with emotional impact. Even the scene in Return when Frodo and Sam climb Mt. Doom and Sam carries Frodo up the mountain. It's a scene that I expected to cringe at this time around, but I actually wanted to weep. It was that powerful (and NOT cheesy).

What is also great is that (in most films) you don't often see characters come to the end of themselves as people. At least, not in a believable way, but we see each and every one of the characters reach their limits and we believe it. We almost reach our limit emotionally watching them go through the things they do. At the end, when the Hobbits return to the Shire, it feels different to us as well as them. That is a sign of amazing filmmaking and storytelling.

You're probably rolling your eyes now, but I guarantee you. This isn't coming from the head of a fan boy as I noticed a lot of flaws this time around (some bad dialogue, unnecessary scenes and couple of stinker performances), but this blog is coming from the head of someone who loves movies and (hopefully) has a very diverse taste.

I guess a certain element of my love for the series comes from nostalgia because I have a lot of fond memories from when they came out, but now I regard them as masterpieces of American cinema and they will become classics in fifty years time.

If you haven't seem them I strongly suggest it and if you have then give them a re watch if you ever have time. You'll benefit, I promise.

Just wanted to be a nerd for a bit. Done now.