Before I talk about my weekend I do want to share these to interviews though. The first is an absolutely fantastic one with Andrew Stanton, the writer and director of Pixar's Wall-E. I have told you guys I'm extremely excited about this movie, haven't I? Anyway, you can find the interview here. It pretty much just reaffirms all of the reasons I love Pixar.
The second interview is with director M. Night Shyamalan. Okay, so I may be the only person ever to actually like The Happening. Really the only movie of his that I can straight up say I don't like is Signs. I'm a fan and if nothing else I have to respect his love of movie making. Say what you will about this guy, his love of film seems genuine and that right there makes him a lot more respectable than a lot of directors out there. He does what he does and leaves it up to you to decide if you like. Either way he doesn't compromise his vision, even if that vision may be highly flawed.
Anyway, I'll talk a bit more about The Happening in a minute. You can find his interview here.
Now that that stuff is out of the way let's move on to my weekend shall we?
Friday PM:
A picture from the set of my short "Tomorrow's Party"
Rather than watching other people's work, I actually made a bit of progress on my own. I spent the night working with the guy who is potentially going to be providing me with music for my short. I'm now way past my April goal of finishing but I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised. The picture editing I finished more or less when I hoped to. I just completely underestimated how much time the music was going to take me.
One thing about me: I'm a complete perfectionist. Especially when it comes to anything remotely creative. When I was younger I used to do this thing where if I didn't think I could get something as perfect as I wanted it, I just wouldn't do it. A fear of failure or some such thing. I've grown past that bit but sometimes it can take me a really, really long time to finish something.
In this case, I could have settled on a couple of music options earlier. They just weren't quite right for my film. And if I settle on less than perfect music, well, what was the point of putting all of this time and energy into something that I'm just going to give up on in the final act? Instead, the process has dragged out two months longer than I hoped it would. I think the time will be worth it though. From the progress made Friday night I feel like what I'll be getting is music that fits the story and the emotions that I'm attempting to convey. Every little detail is so important; the more details I get right the better my final film will be. This film means so much. I want it to be as close to perfection as it humanely possible to get.
It's also been a huge learning process. I can add this music experience to the list of other things I now know. It's all to make the next one that much easier to do ;)
Saturday Afternoon:
I was so incredibly lazy all weekend. Saturday started with breakfast (huevos rancheros from a little Mexican joint nearby. Delicious!), moved on to hanging out in my front yard, and finally made its way to film. That wonderful marine layer we're all so used to out of the westside maybe Saturday a bit chilly. A slightly overcast, chilly Saturday? Perfect time to go to a movie!
So here's where I'll talk more about The Happening. See, the thing is, I really enjoyed it. Yes, it's flawed. Yes, there's a lot wrong with it. The acting is stiff, the dialog can be absolutely atrocious, stylistically I don't think it's as strong as M. Night's other films. However, emotionally it hit all of the right notes for me and while I can't really argue that it's a good film I can confidently say that it is an enjoyable one. If you're a fan of his previous works then I definitely recommend you go see The Happening. If you're not? Then you may want to wait for video. I don't regret seeing it in the theater (especially since I went to a cheaper matinee show) but it's not necessarily something that absolutely has to be seen on the big screen.
I also have to mention that I really do appreciate the restraint they showed in releasing a film that runs only about an hour and half long. When there are so many films with ridiculously inflated running times, it is so incredibly nice to get a film that doesn't run too long. Hollywood just doesn't seem to know when to say "Stop, it's time to CUT now" anymore. A movie doesn't have to be over two hours long in order to be good. In fact, a too long running time has frequently been my biggest complaint about a lot of films in the recent past. Shorter can most definitely be better.
I'm really hoping to write a full review on The Happening in the next couple of days so I won't write anymore now. I think I've really said enough at this point anyway.
Saturday PM:
After going to the local park with a few people and throwing a baseball around until it was too dark to see, we came home and just kind of hung out for a while. There was a bit of channel surfing going on that I didn't pay much attention to.
Finally the channels stopped changing and we were left watching 2003's Ben Affleck vehicle Paycheck.
I never actually saw Paycheck when it came out. At the time I was working part time at a video store and even the free rental didn't convince me that watching Paycheck was a good idea. I mean, John Woo is a cool director, he's made some awesome films. However he's not exactly someone I would pick to direct an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story. (Honestly the only Philip K. Dick adaptation I've ever liked is Ridley Scott's Bladerunner. Possibly a "duh" statement. And even that departs quite a bit from the story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.)
Ben Affleck? Yeah, I'm not really a fan. So Paycheck I skipped.
Finally watching it this weekend what I have to say is this: It's not a good movie. But. It's an ALMOST good movie. It has a lot going for it and it certainly keeps my interest. In the end it doesn't quite work as well as I would have liked but it's fun. I'm sticking with my original opinion of John Woo being the wrong choice for this film though. The focus is too much on making it a standard action flick rather than taking advantage of all of the cool things the story offers.
Again, I'm kind of hoping to be able to write a full review so I'm going to move on to the next one now. Don't want to blow my load to early now, do I? Er, is that I bad phrase to use? I think maybe it is...
On to Sunday!
Sunday PM:
One of my favorite animated films ever was on Sunday night. Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. I've talked about my love of Miyazaki in my reviews of Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle.
Spirited Away is possibly his best film. Character design, story, writing, animation, I can not think of one thing I wish was better. I love it all. So much time and care obviously goes into his films. The results are beautifully crafted films that far surpass most of what we see America producing. His films are always kid friendly and yet challenging for the adult viewer as well. There is always a strong moral center but his themes never come across as preachy.
I love this movie so much. I highly recommend you all watch it. There's a good chance you'll fall in love as well.
After Spirited Away, K and I managed to once again leave to couch and get out of the house. We had somewhere we needed to be. After all, The Incredible Hulk opened this week.
I've gotta say, the rumors are true. Marvel managed to deliver us TWO excellent comic book movies this summer. It gives me hope for their future adaptation plans. I'm not sure I liked the Hulk more than Iron Man but I enjoyed it at least as much. It's really well done. Edward Norton continues to earn my love. He and Liv Tyler are also great together. She's not always my favorite actress but I've liked her more than I haven't. I guess I can't completely blame her for Armageddon. She's not the worst part of that movie. (I'm looking at you animal crackers! Worst. Scene. Ever.)
She's good in The Incredible Hulk though. As is the rest of the cast. And the CGI. Sure the Hulk still looks like CGI. But dude, he's a giant green guy. How realistic are we really expecting him to look? The action is one thing that I would say Hulk does better than Iron Man. Where the final fight in Iron Man leaves me wanting more, it's a bit anti-climactic, all of the action in Hulk is great. It's well paced, it's explosive, and all of the build up comes together in one kick ass finale.
And thank you Marvel. First Robert Downey Jr. and now Ed Norton in all of their male shirtless glory. I am one happy lady right now. Damn but do they both look good. I've never been one to put up pictures of celebrities on my walls. But these movies are really making me reconsider that decorating decision. There are worse things to stare at than Ed Norton in torn up jeans. Mmmm... I would tear those pants up myself, I tell you what!
Is it just me or is this post getting increasingly inappropriate?
Again. Moving on.
On the Slate:
Lifeforce - In from Netflix. Hopefully I'll have time to give it a go.
The Tripletts of Bellville - It's been a while since I've watched this one. I'm all in the mood for it so maybe I'll make that happen this week.
Mongol - I really need to see it!
Medicine For Melancholy - Playing as part of the LA Film Festival I'm planning on going to the Friday PM showing. For more info check out the LA Film Fest's website.
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