Cedar Rapids

If you're a fan of Alexander Payne, you won't be disappointed with CEDAR RAPIDS.

While Mr. Payne is only listed as a "producer" of this movie, the same touches that make places like Omaha, Nebraska feel exotic in ABOUT SCHMIDT come into play here as a super-naive insurance salesman copes with the "big city" of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Ed Helms, of HANGOVER fame, does a nice job thrust into the role of leading man, and his supporting cast hit pitch-perfect characterizations to bring the story to life. Come to think of it, I don't know if there's a better sidekick than John C. Reilly.

This movie is more than an "If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie" experience.

San Diego and a Smart Car rant

Talking to myself again in the ether of cyberspace...

...moved to San Diego to start life over....

And stuff.

And among that stuff (saw THE AMERICAN and MACHETE, loved both) I decided to test drive a Smart Car.

And although I haven't Googled to see if other rants out there echo what I'm saying--I would be shocked if anyone who has been to Europe and seen that a culture can survive on cars that are small and get 50 mpg (whatever the conversion to liters may be) hasn't mused regret over the rumor that the Smart Car in Europe gets 51 mpg and the Smart Car in the USA gets 36 mpg.

WTF?

After a test drive, I think I know why.

The European version of the Smart Car apparently has a standard transmission.

The USA Smart Car has a complicated automatic that doubles as a faux, clutchless standard.

And it's fun to drive with the faux shift--it can go with a faux stick shift or faux Formula One style steering wheel mounted flippers.

But it's all bullshit.

51 mpg in Europe and 36 mpg in the USA smacks of corporate greed, pure and simple.

The reason Americans can't get a Smart Car with a standard transmission is because someone wanted to make more money with their stock in oil.

And if anyone has any cool links to back up my rant--feel free to post them.

Peace Out.

Inception

We just saw INCEPTION on the smallest IMAX screen known to man, but it was crystal clear and sounded great.

Also--decent, fresh movie-house pizza delivered by an usher--but no beer in that precinct Crying or Very sad .

I can't be objective about the Nolan brothers.

I'm a huge fan of MEMENTO and I love most stories which mess with linear time.

So--I'll try to be objective about this--and maybe someone can tell me where I missed something.

SOME ODD THOUGHTS I HAD WHILST THE IMAX FILM SOUND RATTLED MY NADS...

1. Chase seen in the van.

I noticed that the rear view mirror was missing.

I understand that in the pre-digital age they were left out as not to show the camera, so why leave one out now?

I saw the "MAKING OF" thingie on TV--they tried to keep the CGI to a bare minimum, shot with real mountains in the background and yada yada yada, so why do I have to be drawn out of the fictional reality by seeing that they failed to either shoot around or digitally replace a rear view mirror in a long chase scene?

2. The totem.

I read DEV's idea that his kids (seeing their faces) were the "real totem" but I don't buy it.

And I think Dev is awesome.

But, IMHO, the whole setup at the end of the movie was too perfect, too idyllic, too un-Nolan-brothers like to ring true to their penchant for darkness.

Look at the ending of MEMENTO.

Look at the ending of THE DARK KNIGHT.

The brothers Nolan (although, it looks like Jonathan either sat this one out or was uncredited) make dark endings.

If that totem is still spinning, it's a dream.

And that house at the end and the age of the kids were exactly the same as what was recorded in his memory.

And anyone whose had kids know that they grow overnight.

And anyone who has had a house knows that it changes over time.

So--I think it's a dream.

3. So, if it is a dream, when did it start?

I don't know.

OVERALL

I liked the film, wanted to love it.

And I'll rank this as the third best Nolan film I've seen, which is still miles beyond the standard fare.

Exhausted

Too tired to give this proper attention, but I've neglected this blog for too long.

Recently watched Julia Sweeney's LETTING GO OF GOD and it made me want to start a series of bumper stickers that read:

GOD IS MY IMAGINARY FRIEND:

and then different aphorisms could follow after the colon like

I PRAY TO HIM OR HER EVERY DAY

or

SO BE NICE TO HIM OR HER

or

SOME DAYS, HE OR SHE IS THE ONLY FRIEND I HAVE

and so on.

I like this idea a lot, but I'm too exhausted to deal with the Jesus freaks.

Berlin

Last week--I was in Rome--we saw the Pope give his noon benediction after mass.

We were part of the crowd in front of St. Peter's.

Our trip started in Berlin.

I stuck a piece of gum on the Berlin Wall. It was in the middle of the night in downtown Berlin an no one seemed to care. My spent white Orbit found a home with thousands of other frozen orange Chiclets, used Big Reds, and exhausted cool blue Wrigley spearments.

After my act of defiance, I stuck my hand on the wall and left it there--I tried to imagine those who had done the same thing and were shot for it.

From where I was in the city--which was white with snow (mid-February)--those around me were vibrant--excited to see what was going on at the Berlin Film Festival. That is to say--this was not everyone--but people did stand in long lines to score tickets.

Earlier in the day we stood in a long line ourselves to tour the Reichstag. Beautifully designed one can almost hear "Never again" as tourists walk up a long spiral staircase which overlooks the elected officials, whose vacant purple chairs suggested a hopeful openness as if to say "we serve you--we have nothing to hide."

As for downtown Berlin at night--to say that I was impressed is an understatement.

Clean lines--bright lights--clean streets--and of course--"Ampelmann."

Ampelmann!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelmännchen

I should put this into a proper context--when I finally started using my passport--I went to London last year. And one of the first things that I noticed was the symbol for pedestrian crossing. It appeared to me as if most of them were leaning back--wary--ready to grid loins if necessary--ready to protect his junk.

Some friends agreed while others thought it was an utterly absurd observation.

However, Ampelmann, left over from East Berlin, shows a vitality that I have not seen in other pedestrian crossing symbols.

Ampelmann "green" appears to wear the hat of a schoolmaster and walk appears to have a lot of energy: head held high, fist balled up, hat on tight as he hustles to where he needs to go--encouraging you to follow his good example.

Ampelmann "red" isn't joking around. He faces you full-on--arms stretched out--no doubt yelling "Halt!"

Our friend, who was kind enough to let us crash with him for the night, grew up on the east-side. The wall fell when he was 12 or 13. He showed us the huge TV tower in former East Berlin which was near a cool metro center that was bustling with tourists and locals around lunchtime.

I fell in love with Berlin at first sight--snow covered--vibrant--clean--cold and calm.

Daybreakers, Vampires, Blood

Saw DAYBREAKERS.

Loved it.

My fondest hope is that our anthology project on TriggerStreet can produce some six-minute movie scripts that echo the same smart approach in DAYBREAKERS.

Ethan Hawke--whose judgment once again was proven sound--played a realistic vampire in a world where humans are an endangered species.

This fresh approach--this infusion of realism which dealt with modern concerns about diminishing resources--rang true and sustained its realism right up through the bloody showdown.

For anyone interested, our anthology project will be twenty six-minute movie scripts featuring vampires as the central character. It's called BLOOD and here's a link to our discussion thread:

http://bulletin.triggerstreet.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=737769#737769

And if you're not a member of Triggerstreet, you're missing out on a fantastic, free resource for writers.

Keep punching keys,
Paul

Avatar, Sherlock Holmes and Crazy Heart

I was a bit shocked when I read David Denby's reviews for AVATAR and SHERLOCK HOLMES in the New Yorker. Off the top of my head, I think he started his review like this: "AVATAR is one of the most beautiful movies I've seen in a long time."

The sheer banality caught me off guard.

And then I wondered--has money been slipped under the table?

FWIW--I think Denby really did like AVATAR--and he was caught in the afterglow of a stunning 3D visual feast.

As for his praise of Sherlock Holmes--he pointed out that it was more of a start of a franchise than a movie--and raved about the chemistry between Downing and Law.

Again, I wondered, has money had been slipped under the table?

As for AVATAR--I consider it to be a 3D version of DANCES WITH WOLVES without the heart.

As for SHERLOCK HOLMES--I was even more disappointed--because a fantastic opportunity to explore Holmes's addiction to cocaine--which was tasteful done in my favorite Holmes movie--THE SEVEN PER CENT SOLUTION--was ignored.

So--Downing didn't have a chance to break our hearts as he did in LESS THAN ZERO.

And that's a shame--because the audience for SHERLOCK HOLMES, as well as the audience for AVATAR--must be the coveted 14 to 25 year-olds who ensure 100-million dollar returns for PG-13 tripe.

So, it should come as no surprise that my favorite recent movie was one made for adults: CRAZY HEART.

Although it had shades of TENDER MERCIES--it was anything but a rehash--and Jeff Bridges showed all the signs of being an "actor's actor" with a sublime, heartbreaking performance.

Best wishes to Bridges for an Oscar--I think he'll be hard to beat.

The Passenger (1975)

This is the third Antonioni film I've seen.

The first two I saw were L'AVVENTURA and BLOW UP.

I must admit--without Jack Nicholson's fantastic commentary, I would have missed a lot of the story itself--which I found to be implausible.

SPOILERS:

The premise is that a combat documentarian switches places with a man who just died for no explicable reason.

As my thinking goes--most movies fail at the point of concept.

And I'm a big fan of Antonioni.

That being said--beyond the weak premise--there are some troubling and noteworthy experiments by Antonioni; the most shocking of which is real documentary footage of what appears to be a military-led public execution.

I also had problems with the new love interest--she instantly helped the hero out of the blue--both of them seemingly united because they were inexplicably escaping their past.

Operation Kindness (adopting a dog)

We adopted a rescue dog from Operation Kindness:

http://www.operationkindness.org/index.php

She's a one-year-old toy daschund we named "Dash."

Our trip there was a trip indeed--I failed to read our little warning cards and wound up walking three dogs (that's a no-no unless you're a volunteer.)

Besides getting corrected for my bad behavior, the staff was fantastic.

They have a wonderful operation and I look forward to supporting them.

Here's Dash!

Happy Go Lucky movie review

There are no big robots in this movie.

Stuff doesn't blow up.

And the hero doesn't change.

So--how did Sally Hawkins win the Golden Globe for best actress for HAPPY GO LUCKY in 2008?

I remember as a kid--growing up in the 70's--the feeling that people used to walk out of movies and ask "what was that about?"

This level of engagement wasn't done in the tone of cynicism that we have now.

People really wanted to know.

And--if you haven't seen the movie--I can't really tell you what HAPPY GO LUCKY is about--because we aren't spoon-fed the answer.

And reading the logline won't help one bit--there is no primary desire of the hero--no big obstacles to overcome.

Here's the logline from IMDB: A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.

IMHO the movie is about a collision of worldviews--and Poppy wins.

SPOILER ALERT:

Okay--here's a few things that I took away from some scenes that weren't spelled out.

There's a scene in which Poppy inexplicably visits a homeless man--it's fraught with tension--and we are never told who this man is or why she went to see him.

It's implied that she went there to look for clues about a troubled student of hers--but later there's a "throwaway" bit of dialogue in which she says to her sister: "It runs in the family" regarding mental illness. I think this homeless man may be her father or an uncle.

And the climax--when the driving school instructor assaults her because she won't return his car keys after he's driven around like a maniac.

This climax is one of the best twists I've seen.

It works because Poppy's worldview conquers: Poppy's kindness has been mistaken as a weakness by everyone--especially those who don't really know her--throughout the story.

Poppy's unspoken attitude seems to be this: "I'm happy to be alive. I'm happy to have the gift of consciousness. If you want to be miserable, that's your business. I am going to enjoy the gift of life."

Poppy has made a conscious choice to be "Happy Go Lucky."

I love this worldview and it fits with my own: life is too short not to enjoy it.

I really can't give a movie higher praise than that.

Well done.

Precious movie review

My favorite season of THE WIRE is season four--when the focus is on the inner-city education of the poorest children in Baltimore.

When one sees--indeed lived--through an experience like that--it's human nature to block out the horrific memories and embrace life as a survivor.

While PRECIOUS may hit the same notes over a few too many times, in a few too obvious ways, it rings true to human nature, especially with the performance of MoNique, who play Precious's evil mother with an uncanny sense of realism.

PRECIOUS isn't for everybody, certainly not for kids, but for anyone who experienced the shock and joy of survival, then it's worth a look.

The Road movie review

Okay, how does anyone with a username of "bloodmeridian2004" watch an adaptation of McCarthy's work objectively?

I don't.

And for the first hour or so of the film, I could feel just the twinge of a mirgraine.

I wanted to hate this film.

But--I became emotionally engaged and the ending moved me.

And that's how I judge movies.

If I was moved, it worked.

And it reinforced the notion that endings are important.

As credits rolled, most of us shuffled out fighting back tears--and I don't think we could have offered the filmmakers a better compliment than that.

The Messenger movie review

I read a fantastic review for THE MESSENGER in the New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2009/11/16/091116crci_cinema_denby

So I decided to see it (thankfully one cinema was showing it.)

And I lamented the fact that it's in limited release while we are deluged with 2012 and NEW MOON.

What surprised me most was the physicality of Woody Harrelson, who is pitch-perfect as the commanding officer over Ben Foster--his new recruit for an Army detail that brings death notifications to next-of-kin stateside.

I was delighted that the movie evoked the emotional impact I was looking for in my spec scripts, IN SMALL WAR and KARST.

And Samantha Morton was a fantastic love interest.

2012 Movie Review

Fantastic special effects aren't enough to save bad dialogue.


The phase I'm going through now--as an amateur screenwriter hoping to make a sale--is to focus on movie dialogue in an effort to understand its rhythm and purpose.


Lately I've paid particular attention to "buttons:" the witty little last words that end a scene.


There are tons of buttons in 2012: some comedic; some expository; some dramatic--and all felt overwritten.


It's as if so many cooks were in the kitchen each were afraid that if the button were missing, that the audience would get lost.


So--the effect is that this is a TV movie with loads of expensive special effects.


It's instructive though, because it's politically correct to have very little offensive language and zero sex.


I don't know if I will ever learn my lesson.


I don't know if it's worth it to write for a PG-13.


I'd like to try though--but it doesn't ring true to me.


In the most literal sense--I'm considering going back through my old scripts to try and make them PG-13.


And if I ever dare write what I really feel--I'll try to pitch it as a cable series--which seems to be the last bastion for mature entertainment.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hollywood

Fantastic article in the New Yorker about F. Scott Fitzgerald's failure as a screenwriter: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/16/091116fa_fact_krystal

It's amazing how he never gave up writing long narrative descriptions that were totally unfilmable.

Paranormal Activity Movie Review

Perhaps there's a trendy new word out there to describe these hand-held camera movies.

From my own experience, I was blown away by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.

And, then there was "Blair Witch" meets "Godzilla" which equaled CLOVERFIELD.

I loved both of those films for the same reason I love PARANORMAL ACTIVITY.

Intimacy.

Failing a Google search for a cool new word to describe this hand-held phenomenon, I shall extrapolate a literary term (perhaps too loosely) and say that I regard these movies to be the cinematic expression of confessional poetry.

I consider PARANOMAL ACTIVITY to be "Blair Witch" meets "Poltergeist."

And what makes it ring true is the relationship between our common-law husband/wife dual protagonists.

The guy tries to fix things like a macho man and the girl keeps telling him that he is useless.

So everyone can relate to that, right?

:-)

Punching Keys

I'm writing a bible.

It's my first effort at such a biblical task.

I mean, after all, the world needs another police procedural, doesn't it?