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.