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Paprika: A Movie Review

2007-06-29T07:01:00.000-06:00

Paprika, the new anime film by Satoshi Kon ("Perfect Blue", "Tokyo Godfathers"), is every bit as meserizing as you have heard. It follows the story of the DC Mini, a device created to allow people to see what others are dreaming, and the people involved with it. I’m going to try to keep the description as vague as possible so as not to give away any spoilers.

I am a newcomer to the whole anime genre. I had seen “Perfect Blue” a few years ago, and really enjoyed it, but it was only this year that I finally saw “Akira” and “Ghost In the Shell” and my appreciation for anime began to grow. When I first saw a trailer for “Paprika”, I was, as I said before, mesmerized. I couldn’t take my eyes off, I wanted more. My biggest complaint about anime before “Paprika” was that it was so difficult to understand. Usually the films took more than one viewing to fully grasp what had just happened. While that’s entertaining occasionally, in my experience that had been the case for every anime. To me, they were an acquired taste, like Miike movies, and I was going to try to acquire that taste. “Paprika” helped give me the push into anime that I needed. It’s plot is complicated enough to keep it interesting, but it’s simple enough to understand in one viewing. However, this is a film that stays with you long after you’ve seen it, revealing more of itself to you day by day.

The animation in this film is none less than phenomenal. From the breathtaking opening scene, in which Paprika bounces throughout a city scene, popping in and out of billboards, transforming into the people around her, to the climactic ending, the audience is held in the spell of the visual beauty of this film. The soundtrack adds the perfect compliment to the visuals. Susumu Hirasawa, using keyboards and various electronic instruments along with vocals, composed the score, and it’s entirely infectious. The song that is heard in the trailer is the song that is played during that breathtaking opening sequence, and I’ve had it stuck in my head ever since I saw it. One of the songs from the soundtrack can be downloaded for free by clicking here. Lucky for us, Susumu Hirasawa is a free music advocate.

The characters are also a lot of fun to explore. Because we get to see their dreams, fantasies, and fears, the audience gets to see all facets of every character. It never becomes too confusing either. I wish I could tell you more about my favorite parts, but it would give away too much. If it were me, I wouldn’t want anyone to spoil this lovely film.

Several questions have been asked as to the nature of the “R” rating. Animation too often throws people off. How bad can it really be? Well, “Paprika” really isn’t terrible. There’s no blood, no gore, but there are plenty of suggestive visuals. If a child were to watch this film, they probably wouldn’t get half if not all of what the visuals are supposed to suggest, but still they should probably not see it. The storyline alone is too confusing for a child let alone the average teenager, so the R rating is justified, especially coupled with the visuals.

I understand that “Paprika” is currently undergoing a very limited release, which is unfortunate. This film deserves to be taken in on a big screen with an audience.

Theater review: Spamalot

2007-06-22T08:12:00.000-06:00

Spamalot, in case you were wondering about the odd name for a musical or if I had it confused with Camelot, is the musical “lovingly ripped off” from the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. It is the story of Arthur, King of the Britons, and his quest to find Knights for his famed Round Table, and consecutively, his quest to find the Holy Grail. Eric Idle, of the original Python cast, wrote the musical. During its original Broadway run, Spamalot won 3 Tony’s including Best Musical and was nominated for 14.

If you turned up your nose in disgust at the first sentence, “How could they do that??!! What sellouts! It couldn’t possibly be any good. Harrumph!” You are mistaken. While the show does leave out a few very funny scenes from the movie, the scene at the castle with all of the women being one of them and also the scene with the witch hunt, it stays true to the tone of the Monty Python humor. You may be pleased to hear that some of the dialogue is entirely the same; for example, the bit in the beginning of the movie about the coconuts and the swallows. This really helps get the audience going. The jokes that have been ingrained into our heads for over 20 years are still funny because now we are seeing them in person. The audience literally cheers and whistles when they see the French taunters (who are quite vulgar in the musical version, more so than in the movie) or the Knights Who Say Ni, or the Killer Rabbit.

Remember in the movie when King Arthur is telling Dennis (the politically correct activist muddling around in the shithole) that he is king because the Lady of the Lake told him that he was to be the one to wield Excalibur? She’s become a character in the musical. Played by Esther Stilwell in the touring cast, The Lady of the Lake and her Laker girls steal the show whenever they are on stage. She’s overexaggerated, mocking Christina Aguilera’s stupid hand motions when she sings, and she holds her own against a cast entirely of men. Her voice is beautiful and her range is challenged in this musical, especially in “The Song That Goes Like This” that has like 5 key changes, but still she’s amazing. I only wish there were more of her. She does too, as she comes out halfway through the second act complaining about her lack of stage time during the hysterical “Diva’s Lament”.

Having peeked online at some clips featuring the Broadway cast, I was a bit disappointed by the touring cast’s King Arthur. This only being because the Great Tim Curry played King Arthur on Broadway, and nobody could do as well as he. However, Michael Siberry played King Arthur in the touring cast, and he held his own. I only wish I hadn’t watched those clips before the show. The Lady of the Lake and King Arthur are the only two members of the cast who don’t play more than one role. Staying true to the Monty Python way, all other members of the cast play several roles.

The rest of the knights are great as well, each having idiosyncrasies of his own that adds to the hilarity of it all. One of them shits his pants quite frequently, one of them turns out to be gay in a great Village People type song and dance number, and one of them is constantly flatulent. I’m not going to reveal who, you’ll have to see it for yourself. Also, God makes an appearance in the show. But instead of the head in the sky, a giant pair of feet descend from the rafters and when King Arthur tries looking up at him, God exclaims, “Stop trying to look up my skirt!” The voice of God is the pre-recorded voice of John Cleese.

The music is wonderful, with Python favorites such as “the Fisch Schlapping Song” and “The Bright Side of Life” making appearances in the musical. There is a song for the “I’m not dead yet!” scene, and everyone in the audience was walking around singing it during intermission and as we were walking out after the show. I’m singing it right now in fact. “I am not dead yet! He is not dead yet!” There is also a song to announce intermission, after the French taunters throw dead animals at the knights, aptly titled, “Run Away”. In fact, after final curtain call, the cast lead the audience in a Follow the Bouncing Ball type sing along of “The Bright Side of Life”. Several references to other musicals are sprinkled throughout the show as well, including “Phantom of the Opera”, “West Side Story”, and “Les Miserables”.

I completely enjoyed myself at Spamalot. If only tickets weren’t so bloody expensive, I’d be going again. I haven’t met one person who doesn’t like Monty Python, or who wouldn’t love the humor of this musical. This one’s for everyone. To find out if Spamalot is coming to your town, click here. There are also rumors that it may be made into a film, in which case, I’ll be keeping you posted.

Big Love - My New TV Obsession

2007-06-12T13:59:00.000-06:00

Now that summer’s here, I’ve got a teensy bit more free TV time than normal. There are a few shows that I would love to get into, watch the back seasons and get up to speed for the current or upcoming seasons. I pretty much only had room for one more show, now that the Shield is gone for another year, and Heroes won’t be back until this fall. The ones that I had lined up were (in no particular order): “Lost”, “Battlestar Galactica”, “Kyle XY”, and…there’s something else, I know there is…

“Big Love” was not on the list. I had always wanted to see it, since I love HBO shows (RIP Six Feet Under), but I never got around to watching it. It just wasn’t one of the priorities at all. Somehow, Jeff started watching the first episode one day when I was out, and he got hooked. He convinced me to watch the first episode and I was hooked. This show is amazing.

Bill Paxton, everyone knows who he is, plays Bill Henrickson, a polygamist with three wives living in a suburb of Salt Lake City, who owns his own home improvement store, Henrickson’s Home Plus. Henrickson’s Home Plus has become very popular, kind of like Lowe’s on a smaller scale, and Bill is just opening his second store. Bill even is the star of the Home Plus commercials. He’s a very public figure. But since polygamy is illegal, he must keep his personal life a secret. He lives with his three wives in three separate houses all on the same street in a row. Their backyards are all connected, but from the front, it looks completely unsuspicious. He spends one night with each wife, and each night, each wife expects him to “perform”. Naturally, he’s taking Viagra too keep up with the demands.

Barb, the First Wife, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn (“Waterworld”), has been married to Bill for eighteen years. This is the woman he fell in love with, probably in college. They dated, fell in love, planned the big wedding, they’ve got history. Barb has three children with Bill; Ben, Sarah, and Teeny. These are the only children of Bill’s that get to be seen in public with him, and Barb is the only wife that gets to be seen in public with Bill. Barb and Bill have this very sweet relationship. You can visibly see the love they have for each other.

Nicki, the Second Wife, played by Chloe Sevigny (everyone knows who she is too), has been married to Bill for six years. Now this is where the good stuff comes in. Bill brought on Nicki as a second wife when Barb was in the hospital with cancer. They thought that Barb was going to die. Nicki helped nurse Barb back to health. Nicki is from Juniper Creek, a polygamist compound out in the middle of nowhere where girls are forced into polygamy at a young age, and everyone dresses in “prairie clothes”. All the women have long French braids and wear no makeup. This is also where Bill grew up, so most likely (if they mentioned this, I must have missed it) Bill and Nicki knew each other at a young age. Nicki’s father is Roman Grant, who the people of Juniper Creek revere as “The Prophet”. He has about 10 wives (we’ve only seen all of them once, I think, and I couldn’t count) and his youngest is Rhonda, played by Daveigh Chase (Samara Morgan from “The Ring”). Rhonda is only about 14 and she will be “sealed” (married) to Roman on her next birthday. Now back to Nicki. She has two children with Bill, Wayne and Lester. But instead of spending her time raising her children, she has an enormous spending problem. She has racked up around $60,000 in credit card debt, and has received help paying her bills from her father, Roman Grant. This is a problem because Roman helped Bill out financially when Barb was in the hospital, and Bill is paying him back through a percentage of his store. When Bill opened the second store, Roman started to collect on that one as well, even though Bill paid back his debt. This sparked an all out war between the two. Roman helping Nicki doesn’t help the situation between Roman and Bill.

Whew.

Now there’s Margene, played by Ginnifer Goodwin (I don’t know what you would recognize her from, but she’s adorable. She was in “Walk the Line”.), the newest and youngest wife. She’s only been married to Bill for three years, but she has two babies that I can’t remember their names…and she just announced that she’s pregnant with a third. She’s had a very normal past: her parents are divorced, she’s smoked and drank, and she sounds like she may have been a bit of a party girl. She used to work as a checker at Home Plus and Bill took a liking to her, so he brought her home as a baby-sitter. She is so much fun to watch in this show because she seems so out of place. She dresses fairly provocatively, especially compared to the other two wives. She’s constantly trying to fit in. She also makes friends with the neighbor across the street, Pam, which proves to be a challenge. Pam starts to suspect Nicki of polygamy and Margene defends her. Margene is also very…um…loud. There’s this really funny scene where she and Bill are having sex and she’s screeeeaming. Barb and Nicki are just mortified.

So somehow, this one husband, three wives, and seven (with one on the way) children, have to make it work in the lifestyle they have chosen. This, understandably, proves to be a very difficult task. It seems as though everyone is staring at them, suspecting something, judging them. Even though I absolutely disagree with the things that they do, some of the values that they hold, I can empathize with them. It’s a stretch of the imagination for me, but if you believed in plural marriage as sincerely as the Henrickson’s, you would do everything and anything in your power to keep your family safe. To keep your traditions alive. It’s a testament to how well the show is written, and to the acting abilities of all of the actors involved that they can create such an un-likeable environment and have the audience care this much.

Since watching the entire first season within the span of a week to catch up for the season 2 premiere last night, I’ve started looking up whatever information I can about Mormons and the LDS. Fundamentalists, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Baptism of the Dead, the history of Joseph Smith, anything I can find. It’s all extremely fascinating to me. I love it when I find a show or a movie that makes me want to research and learn. It’s so much fun.

Season two started last night, with a bunch of new problems for the Henrickson’s to deal with. Barb has been outted at a Mother of the Year ceremony at the Governor’s mansion, and Bill is trying to figure out who ratted them out. Was it Roman? Was it Pam, the neighbor across the street? Was it the bitchy lady at Home Plus who spies on Bill? Whoever it was, the Henrickson’s are in for a hell of a ride. Also, Sarah started going to a support group for ex-Mormons. She told all of them that her parents are Mormons, and they are polygamists, but she doesn’t believe in that. They all looked at her like she had three heads. It will be interesting to see where that leads. Ben, the oldest boy, also has this really weird relationship with Margene. Do they have such a strong connection because they are both so young, or because there’s something more inappropriate going on there?

In the preview for next week’s episode, they showed a shot of a new billboard promoting Henrickson’s Home Plus with the new slogan decided upon during last season: Home Plus is us. Someone spray-painted it to read: Home Plus is us + us + us + us. I wanted to cry. From what they say in the preview, this billboard is the one in the most prime of spots, which gets the most traffic. I can’t wait to see what happens!

The Great Star Wars Debate

2007-06-07T07:32:00.000-06:00

Warning: I don’t consider myself an expert on Star Wars. Hell, compared to the “Warsies” (counterpart to Trekkies), I know absolutely shit about Star Wars and the universe. Please go easy on me when I describe things/people/worlds, I don’t know the proper names.

Like every other child, I grew up watching Star Wars. I didn’t know what was going on, but I loved it. Nah, scratch that. I had a vague idea. I did understand that Luke, Leia, Han and Chewy were in a giant trash compactor with a giant snakey thing. I did understand that they needed to save Leia. I did understand that Leia was a really really cool chick that could get both Luke and Han. I didn’t, however, understand that Luke and Leia were brother and sister. Even after we were told, it didn’t really hit me. I also thought that Luke was the hotter of the two. The two being Luke and Han. What was wrong with me? Probably just that Luke is the most obvious “good guy”. And the feathered hair probably had something to do with it. Swoon

As long as I can remember, my friends and acquaintances have sat around and debated: Which of the three (excluding the three most recent Star Wars movies) is your favorite?

To this day, everyone I’ve ever known and had this debate with has said their favorite would be “Empire Strikes Back”, hands down. They love how Luke gets his arm cut off, they love Boba Fett, they love Lando Calrissian, they love how it all ends on a downer. At least, I think they love how it all ends on a downer.

Not me. Me? My favorite is “Return of the Jedi”.

Why, you ask? I love it, that’s why. Here’s a short list:

* I love Jabba the Hut. He cracks me up.

* Leia in the metal bikini. Even for girls, that’s hot.

* The monster thing under Jabba. Damn, I do know his name, I do. Or I did…Anyway, the one that Luke fights when he pisses off Jabba and falls in the hole. I also love the S&M dude, the monster’s caretaker. It cracks me up when he cries over the dead monster. (Looked it up on wikipedia. He’s a Rancor. I knew it!)

* I LOVE that Harrison Ford isn’t in the…stuff…and frozen…anymore. Even if it’s Leia, and as I got older and my crush shifted from Luke to Han, I still wanted him to be saved. (Looked this one up too. It’s carbonite. Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen this movie.)

* The Sand Monster. Mitch tells me he’s “The Sarlacc, which resides in the Great Pit of Carcoon” or however it’s spelled. I don’t know. He’s the one that’s got the big teeth, and he burps when people fall in his mouth. That always made me smile as a kid. (Looked this one up as well. Mitch is right! But it’s Carkoon. Whatevs.)

* Hmm…what else. Oh yeah. They’re already right in the middle of the action when this movie starts. No bullshit, no wasting time, just a lot of fighting. I love it.

* The Ewoks. Yeah, I said it. I love the Ewoks. They’re just so fucking cute. How can you not love them? When I was a kid, I’d always keep my eyes peeled for this one part where they show an Ewok baby. If I remember correctly, it’s when Luke makes C3PO fly to prove that he’s a god, and the baby opens his eyes really wide and ducks down to hide. I think that’s the right part. I love the little songs they sing, too.

* I love the fight on the Speeders. Is that what they’re called? You know, the race/fight through the forest? That’s cool. (Yep, that’s what they’re called. Score!)

* I love the ATAT’s. Did I get that one right? The big metal things that tromp through the forest. My favorite part is when the Ewoks trip it. (Damn, I didn’t get that right. The AT-AT’s are the ones in Empire. The ones in Return of the Jedi are AT-ST’s. Hey, I was close.)

* I love the final fight between Luke and Vader, and when Vader finally takes off his helmet. giggle giggle He’s fugly.

* I love the Emporer. He’s a badass.

*I love the ending. The little party on Endor, the music, everyone comes back in ghost form to smile approvingly. Ah, so happy.

DVD Review: Forgotten Silver

2007-05-25T07:27:00.000-06:00

Forgotten Silver was first shown to New Zealand audiences as a real documentary. The film chronicles the life of an unknown filmmaker Colin McKenzie and is so real, it even includes interviews with Colin’s wife, Harvey Weinstein, Sam Neill, and film historian Leonard Maltin. The film is definitely not real: it is only an elaborate hoax by writer and director Peter Jackson.

I had never even heard of this film until I asked for some recommendations for my Blockbuster online queue, and Forgotten Silver was highly recommended to me by Movie Battle Royale!. The film was the idea of Peter Jackson and co-writer/director Costa Botes. It was originally made as an entry for a New Zealand TV show, which is the reason for the 53 minute run-time.

Peter Jackson opens the film with Costa Botes, claiming to have discovered a trunk full of Colin McKenzie’s missing films. We then watch a short history on Colin McKenzie’s childhood, in a very similar fashion to a PBS documentary. Colin, as we see, developed the first “talkie”, the first film with color, the first full-length feature film, and actually videotaped the first “flying machine” taking flight 9 months before the Wright brothers ever did. Colin also created several other film related contraptions and techniques that I won’t give away entirely. That would spoil part of the fun of the film.

Because of the short run-time, I won’t give away anything else, and this will be a very short review. But this is a must see for fans of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries, and for anyone who loves film. It’s very “Forrest Gump-y” in that Colin McKenzie changed history, we just never knew it before. I really enjoyed it.

Thank God for the DVR

2007-05-16T12:04:00.000-06:00

This week, all the major networks have announced their fall line-ups including shows that they will cancel, shows they will keep, and all the new stuff. God, is there ever some new stuff!!

ABC has announced 7 new dramas, 4 new comedies, and 1 reality type show with Oprah. One of their comedies? It’s about the cavemen from the Geico commercials living in the suburbs called Cavemen. Um, yeah. They do have a drama called Pushing Daisies that looks really cute. Or maybe I just love Kristin Chenoweth…

Her as Glinda in Wicked. Now ya know why I like 'er.

NBC has announced 4 new dramas, 1 new comedy, and 1 new reality show. One of the dramas is Heroes: Origins, where fans will vote on their favorite superheroes. *yay!* They’re also bringing back The Bionic Woman, which looks like it could be really really good. Journeyman is another sci-fi show, but this one will be about time travel. Another one, Chuck, is about a computer geek who downloads spy secrets into his brain. Now that I type that out, they all could be really good, or really suck. We’ll see. They've cancelled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip for sure though. I never got into that one.

Sorry for the shitty quality, but this is our new Bionic Woman, UK star Michelle Ryan. Pretty, no?

CBS has announced 4 new dramas and 1 new comedy. I think this is the only sitcom, actually. It’s called Big Bang Theory and it’s about two geeks fawning over their sexy neighbor. Sounds pretty bad. Jericho has been cancelled, same for Close to Home. Oh well. Jericho had a good start, but really started to suck after the fourth episode or so. However, they do have 2 dramas that I’m intrigued by: Moonlight, about a vampire private eye, and Viva Laughlin a musical drama (with song and dance numbers!!) starring Hugh Jackman who plays a Vegas casino owner. I’m so there. They’re also unveiling Private Practice, the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff. *yawn*

This time it's McBoring and McNugget.

FOX hasn’t announced anything yet (their lineup announcement day is tomorrow), but they’re expected to announce a TV version of Terminator called The Sarah Connor Chronicles. UPDATE: The fall lineup has been announced!! There are a few new shows but they all look like crapola. I mean really, The Search for the Next Great American Band? And no Terminator series was announced. Maybe they're saving it for mid-season when that band show gets cancelled.

CW’s announcements are scheduled for tomorrow as well, but they’re expected to bring back Smallville and Supernatural.

UPDATE: The fall lineup has been announced!! Fangirls and boys everywhere are mourning the loss of Veronica Mars. Not me, I never watched. I couldn't believe that it was really that good. Smallville and Supernatural are still around (woohoo!)

Christmasland: A Screenplay Review

2007-05-11T14:20:00.000-06:00

Synopsis written by Jeff Richards, taken from Flaming Horse Studios:

This is my anti-holiday flick. People who have lived a good life go to Heaven. All those who are evil burn in Hell. But Christmasland is where the mediocre go when they die. Michael Haines' ex-girlfriend was murdered 2 years ago on Christmas. When the holiday hating Michael dies in a car accident, he wakes up in the spectacle that is Christmasland. But leaning the true meaning of Christmas isn't Michael's only concern; it's a 6 foot tall serial killing nutcracker who feels a strong connection to him.

Our story begins with a staple of horror flicks, the “teenagers acting stupid in the car” scene. Immediately you know something’s going to happen. Sure enough, the happy-go-lucky teens are huffing from a propane tank and smoking cigarettes and then it happens: the car goes boom killing all aboard. And at Christmastime, too. How unfortunate.

Michael, the hero, is now with a new girlfriend and has been for the past year, but is still mourning the loss of his girlfriend in the aforementioned unfortunate car explosion, thus frustrating current girlfriend. He also loathes Christmas because of the memory of his girlfriend’s death. Also unfortunate, because Michael works at a mall, and has Christmas constantly thrown in his face by annoying co-workers. Michael dies soon in an unfortunate accident of his own, and wakes up in Christmasland; a Purgatory of sorts where the mediocre people go to earn their way into Heaven. People in Christmasland are supposed to be all good and no evil, doing good deeds, but somehow there is a killer that only Michael can stop.

The character development in “Christmasland” is great. Michael is the typical Bruce Campbell smarmy irresistible hero that every horror fan loves. Jenny Christopher, the do-gooder, easily wins over the audience’s affection. She’s nothing but sweet, but not at all overdone. Will was hysterical. I hate to use the term sidekick, but that’s the only word I can think of at the moment. Anyway, he and Michael make a great team: Hero team and comedy team. I laughed out loud several times at their banter. They reminded me of my friends in college.

I loved all the explanations in the screenplay. There’s the obvious explanation about the purpose of Christmasland, and that’s interesting in itself. But the writer also explains Santa in a fresh new way. I loved it. Also, the explanations of things happening throughout the story are very clever. For example: the explanation behind Jenny Christopher. I’m not going to tell you what it is, but a huge grin came across my face as I read it. A very satisfying explanation.

Oh and the twist. Yes, there’s a twist. I didn’t see it coming a mile away. I was reading as fast as I could to try to find out who the killer was. The killings are great, too. I mean, there are elf killings for Pete’s sake. How can it not be great? They’re done very very well, with the perfect mix of campiness and gore.

My only complaint is, there’s a short monologue given by Michael at the end that comes across a little preachy. The whole Heaven/Hell thing. But then right after his monologue, it’s thrown right back at him that it was very sermon-like, so that made it a little less uncomfortable.
“Christmasland” is an extremely creative and campy horror screenplay that would make an outstanding campy comedy horror flick. The violence and gore coupled with the one-liners and film references make it an entertaining read. For more information about the screenplay or the screenwriter (our very own Jeff Richards aka “Completely Naked Productions”), please visit www.christmasland.us.

Wonderful Town: Theater review

2007-05-11T07:42:00.000-06:00

Two sisters from Ohio move to New York to discover new opportunities. One, Eileen, is an aspiring actress who never has to buy anything herself: her looks and charm get her by. The other, Ruth, is a writer who doesn’t have the same fortunate ability as her sister. Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. Based on the play, “My Sister Eileen” that was made into an Oscar-winning movie, “Wonderful Town” began its initial run on Broadway in 1953 won 6 Tony awards including Best Musical. The revival began in 2003 and was nominated for 6 Tony’s, but only won for Best Choreography.

Let me start off with the obvious: “Wonderful Town” should be called “Boring Town”. There. I’ve got that out of the way. “Wonderful Town” is one of those musicals that is not as much for the audience as it is for the players involved. The highly intricate and challenging score is exhausting to listen to, but I’m sure would be freaking amazing to sing. The harmonies are great, as in “Ohio”, and the opening song “Christopher Street” has 17 key changes. 17! Something brag-worthy among vocalists. Also, the Overture had very complicated time changes. I couldn’t keep track. Perhaps if “Wonderful Town” was a snooty modern art piece, the music would be easier to bear. But it tries so hard to be whimsical and reminiscent of “happier musicals” like “Guys and Dolls”. The music just doesn’t fit.

One of the biggest contributing factors to my non-enjoyment of “Wonderful Town” was the sound. It could be the Fair Park Music Hall and a problem with the acoustics (although I’ve seen countless productions there and there hasn’t been a problem like this). It could be the fact that the entire orchestra plays on a raised platform on the stage instead of in the pit. It could be some wiring problem, or a sound technician was asleep. I couldn’t hear a damn word these people said. I had to strain to try to understand them while they were talking, and it was even worse while they were singing. The lowest point in the musical was a song sung by a former football star named Wreck called “Pass the Football”. He sounded like Special Ed from Crank Yankers. Seriously. “Duuhhh, da-dum, dee-dum dee-dum, duuuhhh Pass duh Football!!” Another bad one was “My Darling Eileen” sung by Irish policemen. If you think it’s hard to understand Special Ed as a singing football player, try understanding extremely thick and overexaggerated Irish accents. Oh, and they do some Riverdance in there too. I think it was about this point that I turned to April and whispered, “What the hell is this?”

There were a few good songs. A few. My favorite was “One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man”. Sounds stupid, right? Nah. It was great. Too bad there weren’t more moments in the show like this one. It’s Ruth’s big number in the first act. Because of this number, Ruth stole the show.

Along with not being able to understand anything that was going on, the sets don’t provide much to look at. The entire orchestra is on stage for the whole musical. That doesn’t leave much room for any sets. There are a few backdrops, and there is some furniture that comes in for scenes in Ruth and Eileen’s apartment, but that’s about it. So if you’re keeping track, that’s 1) Nothing to listen to and 2) Nothing to look at.

“Wonderful Town” is currently on tour. You can find out if it’s coming to your town by clicking here.

Morning Quickies

2007-05-07T08:50:00.000-06:00

The Wiz

I bought this for my daughter this weekend while we were at Target. She spotted it while we were looking for “The Phantom of the Opera”, and got so excited that there was another Oz musical. Given that it was only $5.99, we took it home. The movie was fine, really it was, we were just disappointed. The reason? There wasn’t enough of the witches. Victoria really wanted to see Glinda and “Elphaba” the Wicked Witch of the West. She really enjoyed the songs, but she was getting so confused. She loves those witches of Oz. The movie is classic, though, it’s worth seeing at least once.

An American Haunting

One word – yawn. It took me three or four tries to make it all the way through this movie. I kept falling asleep. I would get so mad because they’d have some pretty good “Exorcist”-type haunting scenes, but they would never show you what was going on. I want to see a nasty looking ghost, dammit! Or at least some kind of shadow, anything! Skip it.

The Last Boy Scout

We finally have digital cable!! And a DVR, and HBO, and on demand!! This stuff is awesome. Our first on demand movie we watched was “The Last Boy Scout”. Honestly, I had avoided this one for a long time because I thought the title was lame. After watching the movie, the title is still lame, but the movie was really good. There was some great banter between Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans. Warning! There’s som colorful language. Now that we got the warning out of the way, check out these quotes:

Jimmy Dix: I'm saying again for the cheap seats, Lieutenant. I DON'T KNOW WHERE JOE HALLENBECK IS! That's my fucking statement! Write it down and shove it up your ass.
Lieutenant Benjamin Bessalo: I could nail you for obstruction.
Jimmy Dix: You couldn't nail a two dollar whore.

[Joe gets to his office, after waking up next to a dead squirrel a bunch of kids threw in his car]
Mike Matthews: What'd you do last night?
Joe Hallenbeck: I think I fucked a squirrel to death, and don't remember.

Jimmy Dix: Hey, man. You ever play ball? You've got a good build.
Joe Hallenbeck: What are you, a fag?
Jimmy Dix: No, I'm just trying to break the ice.
Joe Hallenbeck: I like ice. Leave it the fuck alone.
Jimmy Dix: Oh you're a lot of fun to be with.

Alley Thug: Wrong place, wrong time. Nothing personal.
Joe Hallenbeck: That's what you think. Last night I fucked your wife.
Alley Thug: Oh you did, hah? How'd you know it was my wife?
Joe Hallenbeck: She said her husband was a big pimp lookin' motherfucker with a hat.
Alley Thug: Oh, you're real cool for somebody who's about to take a bullet.
Joe Hallenbeck: After fucking your wife I'll take two.
Alley Thug: All right, you want it in the chest, or the head?
Joe Hallenbeck: Yeah, that's what your wife said.
Alley Thug: Hey, would you stop with the wife shit?
Joe Hallenbeck: Ask me how fat she is.
Alley Thug: Fuck you, man! How fat is she?
Joe Hallenbeck: She's so fat I had to roll her in flour and look for the wet spot. Motherfucker, if you wanna fuck her you gotta slap her thigh and ride the wave in. Now I'm not saying she's fat, her high school picture was an aerial photograph.

Brilliant stuff!! Great action movie.

Now for the last one, Spiderman 3

I had to stop reading blogs over the weekend because I’m sick and tired of everyone bashing on it. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought that they did a really good job, given all the new material introduced. I loved the song and dance number in the jazz club, I loved the Sandman, I loved Topher Grace, I loved the movie. Yeah, yeah, Spidey cries. He cries in the comic book. All the people complaining about him crying too much? You’re starting to sound as whiny as those emo kids you’re saying you despise so much. Stop it already! Why can’t we just have fun at the movies anymore?

April 007

2007-05-01T07:03:00.000-06:00

This will be posted on myspace later, but for now I'm doing it here.

For those of you who are new to my blogs, I started keeping a list of all the movies I watched this year. The ones that "count" are movies that I watch for the first time. I've posted my lists of movies every month this year so far, and it's been fun comparing them with the lists of Tony DeFrancisco (the man's a movie watching machine!), Kelsey, Aegir, Jerry, and anyone else who wants to play along.

Here's my list, along with a one liner quickie review:

1. Rocky Balboa (2006) - Loved it!
2. Ghost in the Shell (1996) - A classic. I really liked it.
3. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) - Terribly awful. Check out my review on myspace.
4. Everyone's Hero (2006) - I really thought this was going to be good. It was very boring.
5. Appleseed (2005) - Beautiful, but got kinda boring in the last half.
6. In the Mouth Of Madness (1994) - Awesome! Check out my review on myspace.
7. Grindhouse (2007) - Making it's way up to one of my all time favorite movies. Can't get enough!
8. Strange Circus (2005) - Strange, bizarre, and beautiful. Check my review on myspace.
9. Tideland (2005) - You really have to be a fan of weird movies to like this one.
10. The Dog Problem (2006) - A really funny, relatable, real romantic comedy. Check my review on blogger!
11. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) - Cult classic. It's a must see!
12. My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) - I wanted so badly to like this movie, but it was terrible. It wasn't even a "so bad it's good" movie. It was so bad it's bad. I'll probably be writing a review.

Movies I watched that I had already seen:

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Oldboy (2003)

I slacked with only 12 movies under my belt for April. It's the lowest so far this year. Oh well! I got some really good ones in there. I'm happy with my list.

How about you? What were some of your favorites you watched this month?

How I "Got to Be This Way"

2007-04-30T12:41:00.001-06:00

This weekend I spent a lot of time with my sister. Friday night we went to see “the Dog Problem”, and walked around Mockingbird Station. She’d never been down there, and it’s one of my favorite places to go. I had found out earlier last week that “Oldboy” was going to be playing at the midnight show at the Inwood. (The Inwood is an old-timey theater that has midnight shows every weekend. We’ve seen “Cannibal! The Musical”, “Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”, “Moulin Rouge!”, and a few others there.) I absolutely HAD to go. I missed it when it was playing in theaters here, so I had to see it on the big screen.

My sister was going to be hanging out with us Saturday night, since my brother had a CD release party at Firewater at 10. I figured we could go there and see him, then head over to the movie. She loves twist endings, and action movies, so she’s sure to like “Oldboy” right? Wrong-o. She couldn’t get over the whole, y’know, “Incest Thing”. Which is fine, and I can understand that. But then she asked the question: “How did you get to be this way? We grew up in the same house and I like normal things!”

How did I get to be this way, exactly? How does the oldest daughter of a preacher and an elementary school teacher find entertainment in obscure film? (Not that “Oldboy” is obscure, especially in our little film community, but it kinda is to the rest of the world.)

My first experience with liking something my family didn’t was when I always wanted to rent Beetlejuice and Gone with the Wind when I would stay home sick from school. I developed an early love for Gone With the Wind by watching a “making of” on PBS when I was young. I think I was home by myself and I was captivated by the way they made the sets and all the tricks they used to film the “Atlanta burning” scene. That, and I thought Scarlett O’Hara was just about the coolest film character ever. I would stand in front of the mirror and practice the eyebrow raise that she would do. And with Beetlejuice, my mom thought it was so morbid. She just couldn’t understand why I liked it so much. I could never really explain it to her either, and despite that fact, she let me continue to rent it.

We always rented movies from the library, too. It was free, and we could check out 7 movies for 7 days. More movies and for less money than the video rental place. Also, they had old movies and art movies that I didn’t see very often at the video rental place.

I would come across films like The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls In Love, Ed Wood, Duck Soup, Jason and the Argonauts, Circle of Friends, and Secrets and Lies, but be too afraid to rent the more questionable ones (aka the first two I listed) for fear my parents wouldn’t let me finish the whole movie, let alone even take them home in the first place. I would stand for the longest time just staring at the video section of the library. It was so different to me, so different from the typical movies that we watched at my house. Sure my parents introduced me to Aracnophobia, Aliens, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Star Trek, Singin In the Rain, White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, and every Disney movie known to man, but this, THIS was different.

The film that changed my life in high school was Scream. Yeah, yeah, laugh if you want, but it did. It came out my senior year. It will surprise you now to hear this, but up until this point, I really hadn’t seen a horror movie. When I saw Scream, I remember thinking I had never seen that much blood in a movie in my entire life. Yeah, we were that sheltered. The night I saw Scream, it took me hours to be able to fall asleep, and then thinking about it, it really wasn’t that scary. The more I thought about it, the funnier the movie was. Horror is…comedy? Entertaiment? It’s actually fun being scared?? This was so new to me.

In college, being a music major, I wasn’t focused on film whatsoever. We spent more time in the practice rooms than in movie theaters, or in front of the TV. I did however get to watch some great movies. My roommate and I had a fondness for A Little Princess and Hercules, and I introduced her to Gone With the Wind. With my guy friends, we found Baseketball and Orgazmo. I also had a friend who loved horror movies, so we rented some really bad B horror movies like The Dentist with Corbin Bernsen. I wish I could remember all of them, but they were very un-memorable. I just remember going to the hole in the wall video rental place and if it looked gory and cheesy, we rented it.

Then, when I was married, I wanted to get into these “different” types of movies again. They had just opened the Angelika in Dallas, and I wanted to go for years before I finally got a chance. I remember wanting so badly to rent Little Voice, and when I finally did, I loved it. My (now ex) husband hated it. I didn’t rent movies like that very often.

It was Jeff who allowed me to embrace the movies I wanted to. He hates himself for it now, but he’s the one who introduced me to Asian cinema. He had heard about this movie called Ju-On and he had heard that it was actually pretty scary. I was going through a horror kick, and he thought I’d love it. Well, needless to say, I did. I was scared shitless after that movie. I had never seen anything like it. I wanted more. A year after Ju-On, I discovered High Tension and then I began to branch out to other foreign countries for their film.

So how did I “get to be this way”? Well, it was a long journey. One that I’m sure will go on for a long long time.

How did you “get to be this way”?

The Dog Problem - Movie Review

2007-04-30T08:09:00.000-06:00

Solo (Giovanni Ribisi) is as alone as his name implies. Desperate for a connection with a human, he takes the advice of his therapist (Don Cheadle) and buys a dog. The new pet also provides the means for Solo to finally meet a girl (Lynn Collins) by way of a dog park and a few unusual circumstances. Written and directed by Scott Caan, who also plays Solo’s best friend, “The Dog Problem” is an adorable, quirky romantic comedy with more substance than you may think.

I hadn’t heard a darn thing about this movie. The only reason I saw it instead of “The Namesake” was because 1) the start time and 2) I was there with my sister and she loves romantic comedies. I have no problem with the occasional rom com. I’m a girl, dammit! Sometimes we just like sappy stuff. “The Dog Problem” however, was sweet and sappy, but more along the lines of Woody Allen than your typical rom com. The dialogue was sharp, witty, and like sounded like normal everyday conversations.

Solo, Giovanni Ribisi’s character, is a highly relatable character. He’s got money problems, he’s depressed, he doesn’t think he has any friends although Scott Caan is a pretty good friend, he doesn’t think he can get a girl, he thinks he’s a failure at his job (he’s a writer), who can’t relate to that? The guy is so desperate for a connection, that he buys his therapist gifts that can’t be accepted for professional reasons. He’s the perfect anti-hero, and this is the perfect role for Ribisi. Just quirky enough, but not as quirky as some of his past roles.

The rest of the cast is wonderful as well. Lynn Collins is adorable as Lola, a stripper not ashamed of her job. Scott Caan is great as the sex-obsessed best friend. Mena Suvari was hysterical as a snobby dog caretaker. Tito Ortiz from UFC even made a cameo as a bodyguard. It was great seeing him in a movie, especially without dialogue so the movie didn’t take a turn for the worst a la the WWE movies that have been coming out recently.

Random thoughts: The music was perfect! Mark Mothersbaugh wrote original music for the movie and it fits it like a glove. Also, the opening credits sequence was one of the coolest and most mesmerizing I think I’ve ever seen. Oh and the dog? This is possibly the cutest ugly dog I’ve ever seen.

“The Dog Problem” was a great movie for my sister-night-out. It’s a movie for men and women, dog lovers and dog haters (though I don’t think there are too many of those out there). It’s a movie for everyone.

Wicked: Theater review

2007-04-24T07:17:00.000-06:00

Wicked the musical, based on the book “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire, tells the story of the two witches of Oz, Glinda the Good, and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, before Dorothy dropped in. The Broadway production opened in 2003, and was nominated for 11 Tony’s, winning 3 including Best Actress for Idina Menzel (Elphaba).

I jumped on the Wicked bandwagon a little late. It was only this past year that I read the book, and finally bought the soundtrack CD. The book is a hard read to say the least. Gregory Maguire has created a different Oz from the one we’re all used to, the terminology and language can be daunting at times, and it took me two tries before I finished it. The book is great, don’t get me wrong, it’s just a hard book to read. One must understand though: the book, and the musical, and the original book by L. Frank Baum, and the movie “the Wizard of Oz” are all four separate and at times unrelated pieces of works. This can get very confusing, but it’s much easier if you just go with the flow and don’t ask too many questions.

The production of Wicked that is touring the country right now (yes right now!) is as close to the Broadway production as you’ll get. The sets are elaborate, complete with a giant dragon whose wings span the entire width of the stage, a giant ticking clock, and a beautiful Emerald City. The costumes are brilliant, identical to those I’ve seen in pictures of the original Broadway production. The special effects, especially Elphaba ascending into the air with her broom, are breathtaking.

The cast. Oh my, the cast. Listening to the soundtrack over and over and over, and given my pre-existing infatuation with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth (the original Elphaba and Glinda), I really had my doubts about whether I would enjoy anyone who dared set foot into their roles. In the touring production, Elphaba is played by Victoria Matlock and Glinda is played by Christina DeCicco, two unknowns to me, but I knew I would love Victoria Matlock by reading in her bio that she played Emma in Jekyll & Hyde. It’s just a thing with me. I automatically like anyone who’s done Jekyll & Hyde. It’s how much I love that musical. Needless to say, the two far exceeded my expectations. Victoria Matlock nailed “The Wizard and I”, my favorite song to belt in the car, and she had me on the edge of my seat during “Defying Gravity”. The girl can sing. Christina DeCicco, simply put, is Glinda. After seeing her performance, and forgive me Kristin Chenoweth, I still love you, I can’t imagine anyone else in that role. Her quirkiness is adorably loveable and is absolutely perfect. She kicks her feet up, jumps up and down, and has the energy of Molly Shannon’s Mary Katherine Gallagher, only without being even the slightest bit annoying. Christina is perfect. Victoria is perfect. So they’re “perfect together”.

“Wicked” is the perfect musical. If only there was a movie version…I know there are rumors, but nothing more than rumors. I just want to be able to watch it over and over and share it with my kids. Click here and find out if “Wicked” will be coming to your city. Who knows when it will be back.

Tideland - Movie Review

2007-04-19T12:20:00.000-06:00

Ah, a night to myself. Just me, myself and I. But then the question remains: What to rent? I spend way too long every time I go to Blockbuster. I carefully inspect every DVD, making sure none are overlooked. On my second trip around the store last night, I spot “Tideland”. I know absolutely nothing about it, but the description on the back, and the recommendation from “Ain’t It Cool News” sells it for me. I take home “Tideland”.

The DVD begins with a warning from director Terry Gilliam. He says that most people won’t get it, but he hopes a few will. He says that the film is very disturbing, but you have to put yourself in the little girl’s shoes. The entire film is from her perspective, and you have to imagine the sense of wonder that a child has about everything. He ends by telling us that he’s finally found his inner voice, and it’s a little girl.

Begins with a warning from the director? I like it already.

“Tideland” centers around a little girl Jeliza Rose, played amazingly by Jodelle Ferland (Silent Hill, The Messengers), whose mother, Jennifer Tilly, dies in the beginning of the film. Jeliza Rose then goes to live with her father, Jeff Bridges, out in the country. She helps her father “go on vacation” i.e. shoot up heroin that she’s cooked for him, and he falls asleep. Jeliza Rose happily prances around the house, in the attic, and outside in the fields with her best friends: 4 doll heads that have distinctive voices (all voiced by Jodelle Ferland) and distinctive personalities.

During her escapades, she meets a “ghost” lady who lives nearby named Dell, and her mentally challenged and epileptic brother Dickens. Jeliza Rose quickly makes Dell her best friend, and Dickens her husband, all while her father is “on vacation” in the rocking chair in the living room of her house. I didn’t know what to think of this movie. After it ended, I was left with a feeling of “huh”. I was hoping that after I slept on it, a revolution would come to me and I would love this film. It’s the kind of movie that I would really like. It has the potential to be a kind of “Goonies” for grown ups, what with the adult themes seen through the eyes of a child, but it just falls short. I loved the imagery, especially the fireflies being seen as fairies. There’s a really funny quote from Jeliza Rose, while thinking perhaps the squirrel that has infested her attic might be a fairy, she rules that out by saying, “Squirrel butts don’t glow”. The child-like imagination of Jeliza Rose and Dickens is intriguing as well. For example, the two of them are always trying to capture the “monster shark” i.e. the train that runs by their houses, and they’re always putting “bait” on the train tracks. Dickens is also a “captain of a submarine” and walks around with flippers and goggles. You really feel for their innocence, thus the adult situations around them are intensified to the audience.

I suppose, now that I reflect on it, that I really did like “Tideland”. “Huh”… I don’t think it’s one that I would recommend to many people though. No, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’re a fan of weird, bizarre, indie movies, then by all means, it deserves checking out.