Red Band Geek

In my humble opinion, a classic movie is simply defined by the era it was created in. Any movie created from the beginning of cinema to approximately 1960 should be considered to be a classic. Whether it was good movie or not, it was created during what most call “the Golden Age of Cinema”. I use this as an example: I think most people would agree that movie scores and other non-vocal music created in the last fifty years would be called “Instrumental” music, not “Classical” music. Classical music is the instrumental music created centuries ago by the great composers such as Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, et al. I don’t think anyone would call the music of John Tesh or Yanni “Classical” simply because it is instrumental.

As for the longevity or mass appeal of classic films, I am the first to say that most classic films do not have the same appeal for modern audiences, simply because of the stylistic norms we as a modern audience are used to. I like fast paced action films, and get very bored with slow-paced dramas, but there are several classic films that I do enjoy. Movies like “The Philadelphia Story” and “Ninotchka” tell romantic stories very akin to something that could be made and enjoyed in the modern era. In our current time of war, we can still appreciate the tone of the film “All Quiet on the Western Front”, even though we may not have lived during World War I, and may not understand fully the mindset of those who did experience it.

Having said that, just because a movie is a classic doesn’t mean that you have to like it. Our individual enjoyment of a movie will be peppered with our own opinions and biases, and just because everyone else think it's a great movie doesn't mean you're forced to enjoy it. There is a movie that is considered the greatest movie of all time that I can’t stand, and that film is called “Citizen Kane”. I forced myself to watch this film a few years ago in an effort to watch all 100 films of that year’s AFI Top Movie list (I failed miserably at this, by the way). To this day, after much deliberation, I still don’t understand why this is the greatest movie of all time. It’s long, boring, and, for me, completely un-inspiring. Is my opinion affected by the fact that I grew up already knowing what ‘Rosebud’ really was? I’ll admit that is possible, but I also think that I would have been pissed off to get through that whole movie just to learn that it was his stupid sled all along.

Someone explain this one to me: Why is “Citizen Kane” such a great movie? And for deliberation, if you agree with my disdain, what do you think is the greatest movie of all time?

I feel silly putting up a trailer for a movie coming out tomorrow, but I wanted to talk specifically about the trailers I've seen for this film. To preface this, I love trailers, and I believe a trailer can make or break a film.  This is a very good example.  The first trailer I saw for Pierre Morrel's "From Paris with Love" introduces us to a hardened bald and facial-haired John Travolta, running around and shooting things and exhibiting total badassery, replete with dramatic music galore, and lots of 'splosions. I'm all for a good action flick, but I don't want to see the 'taking itself too seriously' movie this trailer makes it out to be.

The second trailer basically makes it look like a totally different movie. Fast wacky music accompanies several one-liners, turning this serious action thriller into a buddy cop movie. THIS movie looks awesome!  It harkens back to 'Die Hard' and the good 'Lethal Weapon' flicks, with its good action and good comedy.

Any trailer you see for a film should be able to show and tell you what you have to look forward to. I don't like this wishy-washy "what kind of movie should we be today?" type of trailer editing.  Is it just me who feels this way?

Country music: all about trucks, booze, or some gal breaking your heart. It’s a good setup for this film about a down and out, but once famous, country singer named Bad Blake, played by the always amazing Jeff Bridges.
I was fortunate enough to catch this at a free preview screening a couple weeks ago. What’s interesting is that, even as a reviewer, there are movies that I do not want to watch. Horror movies, chick flicks, bad parody things that barely qualify as movies, and schmaltzy feel good movies generally don’t interest me. This film probably would have fallen into that “schmaltzy” category. Upon seeing it, I do still agree with that categorization, but I am glad I watched it.
I don’t want to go into too many details, for fear of spoiling. I went into this film knowing VERY little about it, not even having seen a trailer. I’m pretty sure that increased my enjoyment, because I truly didn’t know what to expect. It was remarkably well-acted by the entire cast, with the main players also including Maggie Gyllenhaal and Colin Farrell. (FYI, Bridges and Farrell did their own singing for the movie, and both were surprisingly great.)
Having said that, this was a very predictable movie. But just as with “Avatar”, the journey, the way you travel through the predictable story, makes all the difference. You could pretty much guess from very early on what events were likely to take place. But you didn’t know how they were going to happen. This level of predictability was not a detriment to the movie. Those predictable moments often went in a totally direction at the last minute, and with each scene you learn a little something new about each character. This film didn’t just tell you its story; it held your hand and guided you through a series of events as they progressed in Bad’s life.
If you’re a fan of country music, or just like a well-told story, you’d be hard pressed not to enjoy this one. I’m not screaming Oscar like a lot of people are, but it was a good film.

My number one question: Did the supposedly “game changer” movie actually change anything? Yes and no. I won’t say anything that every other reviewer hasn’t already stated. The obvious is that it is amazing looking. I’ve seen tons of movies that I’ve wondered where the budget went. This film is absolutely worth every $500 million dollars that was spent on it.
The number two question: is the story predictable? Just as any protagonist/antagonist, adversarial movie is going to come to an obvious “the good guys win” conclusion, it’s the way the journey is played out that’s the worthy part. Boy meets girl, girl saves boys life, boy falls in love with girl, boy loses girl after his people try to kill everyone, boy gets girl back after turning on his own people and helping hers, boy and girl live happily ever after as huge blue catpeople. You know that old chestnut.
The number three question: Are the motion capture and CGI effects good enough to make you forget about aforementioned predictable plot? Sort of. The movie looks damn cool. After two failed attempts to see the film in IMAX, I settled for regular ol’ 3D, and was still rewarded with an immersive experience. 3D wasn’t used as a gimmick, but was used to make you a part of the action, and give you as close to a live performance feeling as possible. Within twenty minutes of the start, I forgot it was even in 3D. It just felt very real. As for the story, its predictability didn’t necessarily put it at a disadvantage. It was what it was. It was sincere, thoughtful, interesting, fun, amusing, and any other overused adjective you can think of. It had everything for me that a good movie should, and it did avoid clichés that it could have fallen prey to.
I’ve heard some complaints about the acting and the dialogue, but I don’t share these complaints. These were not Oscar-caliber performances, don’t misunderstand me. The dialogue was entertaining, and the acting was the really sincere part for me. Several of the characters could have taken a nosedive into total doucheyness, but they managed to surprise me. Yes, some characters could have been fleshed out more. This is one of the few times I will welcome a sequel, so we can get to know some of those people better. (Quick side note: I’d rather chew on some tin foil while shoving a letter opener in my eyeballs than watch even a second of “Titanic” again. This should have been James Cameron’s four-hour long movie. There, I said it.)
This movie is a must for anyone, movie lover or no. Besides a few bad words, I still say this is a family-friendly flick. Forget about what you may have heard from misanthropic film nerds who say this movie isn’t up to snuff. Watch it, love it, maybe cry a bit, and have a great time with this beautiful, well made film.

(by way of my two favorite episodes of television)

Every story must have a beginning and an end. Some filmmakers, writers, and television execs seem to disagree on that ending idea, but I digress. We’ve all seen movies that we loved, up until an unsatisfying ending completely crushed any enjoyment we just experienced. We’ve all had television series that we were completely invested in, just to have it cancelled without being able to completely tell its story. Whether this happens after eleven episodes or two seasons, those loose ends and unresolved story arcs become the fodder for geek fanfic and lengthy discussions among friends.

On the other hand, a story brought to its finale, a mythology explained, or a character completing their journey from birth to death, can bring feelings of joy and completeness. It is those satisfying endings that make us love the creators of fiction even more. And every good ending must have a good beginning

“The beginning is a very delicate time.” – Princess Irulan, Dune

My first favorite episode is from an amazing show that was a victim of circumstance. Firefly, the short lived Fox science fiction Western, was doomed before it started. The decision of the network to force creator Joss Whedon to make a second pilot for the show killed it, in my personal opinion. The second pilot, “The Train Job”, while a fun episode, was not the beginning. I am one of the unfortunately fortunate ones to watch the show later on DVD, and watched it in the order in which it was planned. The two-hour pilot, “Serenity” was THE pilot, and it is two of the most brilliant hours of television, ever. Never in the history of television, and never again, will I fall so completely in love with characters so quickly. Their humor, their flaws, their reflections up to the mirror of the human soul was an unparalleled majesty of writing from Whedon. And even if we had more than fourteen episodes with the crew of Serenity, I don’t think any ending, good or bad, would affect this amazing introduction.

“All stories, even the ones we love, must eventually come to an end, and when they do, it’s only an opportunity for another story to begin.” – Eric Applebaum, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

In some shows, the end of one character may just be a continuation in the journey of another. We see this in the season finale of the fourth season of the “new” Doctor Who. The episode entitled “The Stolen Earth” is my second favorite episode of all time. The Doctor’s companion, Donna, has spent the entire season feeling like a miniscule blip on the face of the existence, only to learn by the end of this episode that she was the single most important person in the universe. Fates’ strings were pulled, and paths were forcibly crossed, to get Donna to where she needed to be, with the Doctor, in order to save the universe. This importance ultimately led to Donna’s metaphorical demise. These final scenes were amazingly played by Catherine Tate, and were a perfect example of an actor’s able to mix comedy and drama into one final allegorical tale. A tale that all good things must come to an end, and the end can be a beautifully heartbreaking thing.