Friday, June 29, 2012

Theater Review: Brave

It seems odd, doesn't it? That the first Pixar film came out in 1995 and this is the first film that features a female protagonist. But, 2012 appears to be the year of the female action star - with The Hunger Games and Avengers already succeeding.

So, Pixar has given us Brave a film set in Scotland and we are introduced to Merida (Kelly Macdonald) a princess with very large, wild red hair. She is the daughter of Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Elinor (Emma Thompson).

At a young age her father gave her a bow and arrow and she was immediately hooked. As she grew up she loved heading out and shooting at targets.

But, she was also a lady and her mother was grooming her to be the princess she was born to be. She is to be fought over by the three first-born sons of the allied friends of Fergus. Being able to choose how the sons fight for her, she chooses archery.

Merida wants nothing to do with her suitors, so she rushes off into the woods and comes across a small hut with an older lady inside who appears to be a wood carver, but she is holding a secret - she's actually a witch. Merida asks that a spell be cast to get her mother off of her back - so she can changer her fate.

The film is basically a mother-daughter tale. A mother who is forcing her daughter to do something she is not ready for, mostly because of a silly tale the kingdom believes in. And, the daughter who wants to remain a free spirit and begins to pull away from her mother for making her do what she doesn't want.

Brave fits perfectly into the Pixar format. A great tale with a ton of heart and lots of comedy sprinkled throughout. The comedy for the most part comes from Merida's father and his three allied partners, MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane) and MacIntosh (Craig Ferguson) - and their sons. Plus, Fergus and Elinor have three, young triplet sons who never talk, but do a ton of hilarious things throughout the film.

Is Brave the new standard for Pixar? Absolutely not. But, it fits in nicely - probably around the middle. I love the fact that they continue to try new things - when Toy Story came out it was said hair was one of the most difficult things to create. But, here it looks amazing and you get a lot of it.

Plus, it is great that they finally came out with a female-led film. Pixar has had some great female characters over the years (Jessie, Dory, Elastigirl and Violet) but none of them were ever really the main character. Here, Merida is the focal point and it's wonderful.

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Top 10: Songs That Remind Me of Movies

This Top 10 list could technically be a Top 100 list. But, I did a quick run through of songs and the first 10 that popped into my head I put down. Sure, there are probably others that are out there, but these were fresh in my mind.

My only criteria, and hopefully I didn't miss any, was that the song not be written specifically for a movie. So, 'Footloose', 'Eye of the Tiger', 'My Heart Will Go On', 'Lose Yourself', and about a million others could not be used for this list.

A movie that can use a song the right way can actually make that song its own. Some films have done that with a multitude of songs. But, I have selected 10 songs that when I hear them - anywhere - I immediately think of a certain movie. As I said above, there are probably more, but this is the list for now. If you have any - drop them in the comments. Would love to hear them.

10) The Shins - New Slang (Garden State)

As a huge Scrubs fan, I was obviously interested in checking out Zach Braff's films Garden State. Braff has been a large fan of The Shins, and they were also featured in several Scrubs episodes. This one song, from what music of theirs I have heard, is my favorite and every time I hear it I immediately think of this movie.

9) Jamiroquai - Canned Heat (Napoleon Dynamite)

Just a crazy scene to top off a crazy film. When I first saw Napoleon Dynamite I didn't know what to think. Where was this film coming from? It was so over the top crazy. I didn't even know if I enjoyed it the first time I saw it. But, on repeat viewings it gets better and better. And, the dance scene with this song is downright hysterical.

8) Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody (Ghost)

I have not seen Ghost in a really long time. I remember it being an okay movie when I did see it though. The scene that sticks with most people, though, is the pottery scene where the Righteous Brothers belt out this song. It is so iconic now that it is even being parodied or mentioned - like in the pottery class of Community.

7) Elton John - Tiny Dancer (Almost Famous)

This is a film I had not scene in its entirety until a few years ago. But, the one thing I knew going in was the song Tiny Dancer being sung by the band. After seeing it, though, within the film it stands out even more.

6) Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes (Say Anything) 

Okay, how's this for a song that reminds me of a movie. In Your Eyes reminds me of Say Anything and I haven't even seen the movie yet. Crazy, right? Anyway, with some research, I guess this song wasn't even originally chosen for the boombox scene - John Cusack, who is a big Fishbone fan, used a Fishbone song when filming. Not until post production did Peter Gabriel's song get inserted into the film. I think they made the right choice.


5) Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode (Back to the Future)

It's funny, but this film actually has a few songs that remind me of it. Of course, a few of those are Huey Lewis' power ballads mostly written for the film - and of course who can forget about Mr. Sandman? But, the song that rocks the hardest, so much so that these '50s swinging cats aren't even ready for it, is Johnny B Goode being rocked out by Marty McFly.


4) Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle with You (Reservoir Dogs)

A pretty creepy scene when you think about it. But, Mr. Blonde dances to this song when he holds the guard hostage and decides to do a little torturing all by himself - just for the fun of it, really.

3) Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion (Dazed & Confused)

Pick a song from this film and it pretty much reminds me of it - Bob Dylan's Hurricane comes to mind - but the one that truly sticks out to me is the very first song of the film, Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion. It sets the tone for what is about to happen. And, it begins what would late be the topper of the film - driving into the city to score Aerosmith tickets.

2) Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (Wayne's World) 

Despite probably being one of the lone standout films to come out of an SNL sketch, Wayne's World will probably always be remembered for the amazing sing-along, head banging that they pulled off to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in their car.

1) Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me (Breakfast Club) 

I thought long and hard, but there was just no getting past it. This song brings me right back to that library and I see the five high schoolers stuck in detention on a Saturday, which is immediately followed by the final still of Judd Nelson's John Bender walking across the football field and raising his arm into the air.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Tuesday's With Movies: 6/26/12

The Artist: One of my least favorite type of film. I am definitely glad I wasn't brought up during the era before the 'talkies'. Sure it won the Oscar, because it was something different - I am sure it is a good film for those that enjoy it. But, I watch movies for entertainment and these type of films lack in that department.

21 Jump Street: At first I was totally out on this film. I never watched the television series, but then again these movies never really follow the series anyway - so that shouldn't matter. I think I may have been Jonah Hill-ed out. But, early reviews of the film and some later trailers got me hooked again. I'll definitely be checking it out.

Wrath of the Titans: Still have yet to check out the first film in this franchise (the remake from a few years ago, not the original). I am seriously doubting anything spectacular out of any of these films, but I will eventually check them both out. Just not sure when.

Mirror Mirror: I am not really a fan of Julia Roberts. There is just something about her that usually throws me off - but there are some of her movies that I am able to enjoy despite her performance. With the Snow White films were coming out I was definitely more interested in The Huntsman, but Mrs. Kano wanted to check this one out, so I will as well.

A Thousand Words: I hate to admit it, but when I saw the first trailer as ridiculous as it sounds I actually thought this movie may be somewhat funny. Besides the Shrek films it looked so much better than almost anything Eddie Murphy has been throwing out there. But, it currently has a 0% on rottentomatoes. I never listen to reviews when watching films, but a 0% definitely has me worried - that means everyone hated it, there is no wiggle room. I guess we'll see at some point.

The Decoy Bride: A famous celebrity is about to get married and in order to get past the paparazzi, the bride hires someone else to to be her decoy and throw the paparazzi off of her scent. Not really sure if I will watch this one - may be a date night movie in the future, so I cannot say a definite no or yes.

Monday, June 25, 2012

HOT: Apollo 13

Space has always been very interesting to me. I would have loved to be an astronaut and fly through outer space. But, it has also been pretty scary as well - and this film really didn't help that fear.

In Apollo 13 Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) is astronaut with the American space program, or NASA. He, his family and friends are about to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing with Neil Armstrong on television at his house.

Lovell is scheduled, along with Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), to fly in the Apollo 14 moon mission and land on the moon himself.

Around a month before the Apollo 13 launch, Lovell is called into his bosses office and is informed that he and his crew would be bumped up to Apollo 13 due to illnesses throughout the original crew. With just a little time to train, Lovell, Haise and Mattingly throw themselves into the simulators and train for their mission.

During the final week before the mission, Lovell is informed that one of the NASA crew members has developed measles and could have infected all those around him. Lovell and Haise had both had measles so are in the clear, but Mattingly is forced to stay behind having never had them - he is replaced at the last minute by Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon).

On the day the astronauts broadcast from space, Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan) and the rest of the astronaut's loved ones head to NASA to watch. She notices that none of the television stations are covering the show and is told that none of the networks thought it was interesting enough to broadcast.

After the show, those in Houston helping the astronauts on their mission ask Swigert to stir the oxygen tanks. During the process, something horrible goes wrong and the shuttle explodes and begins leaking oxygen into space.

Forced to use their lunar module as a life boat, the astronauts soon realize that going to the moon is now out of the question and even returning home could be difficult. Flight Director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and the rest of the guys in Houston must now figure out a way to keep the three astronauts alive and get them home safely - including bringing Mattingly into the simulator to find the best possible way to save electricity and still use everything that they need.

Though it may have scarred me for life from wanting to head into outer space - I think I will wait until we have the U.S.S. Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon to make that trip - the movie itself was amazing and told the story of Apollo 13 very well.

Most of the acting in the film was top-notch. I still am up-and-down on Paxton. Compared to the other actors like Hanks, Sinise and Harris, he really stood out as below par. But, that didn't affect my thoughts on the film. One of my favorites.

Grade:

Friday, June 22, 2012

HOT: Toy Story

Did you ever wonder what happens when you shut your door as a kid? Perhaps those toys you have been spending so much time with actually have minds of their own.

In 1995's Toy Story, those questions and more are answered. I have always been a fan of cartoon films, especially Disney films - but this new kid on the block, Pixar, was seriously about to blow our minds.

It was the first film ever to be totally created through computers and CGI, which in itself would make this film groundbreaking. But, Pixar didn't stop there. They actually made an amazing story to go along with it - something that would become the norm with Pixar films.

So, Andy (John Morris) is a young child who really gets into playing with his toys. Woody (Tom Hanks) is a sheriff doll with a pull string that has been Andy's favorite toy since he was in kindergarten.

When Andy heads out of the room and leaves his toys by themselves, they all come to life and interact with each other. Some of the main toys throughout the room are Rex (Wallace Shawn), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles).

Andy and his family are about to move into a new home and it also just so happens to be close to Andy's birthday. A surprise to the other toys, they find out that Andy's mother has moved his party up so that it can happen before the move.

Woody dispatches a team of Army soldiers led by Sarge (R. Lee Ermey) to stake out the birthday party and report back with what Andy receives for his birthday. After thinking they had escaped the party without Andy receiving anything big - Andy's mom pulls a large box from the closet, and out comes Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen).

Buzz is a toy with all of the bells and whistles and soon takes Woody's place as Andy's new favorite toy. But, Buzz is also a bit confused as he believes he is the real Buzz Lightyear and not a toy - so he tries to fix his broken spaceship in order to get back to outer space.

Woody becomes depressed when he is replaced by Buzz and on a night when Andy is allowed to bring one toy with him to Pizza Planet - Woody tries to knock Buzz behind a dresser, but instead knocks him out of the window.

Blamed by the toys for trying to get rid of Buzz, Woody tries to find Buzz and get him to come back to the house. But, both toys are discovered at Pizza Planet by Andy's neighbor Sid (Erik von Detten) and brought back to his house - Sid is a deranged child who enjoys torturing toys and Woody does all he can to get Buzz and himself out of the house and back to Andy before the moving trucks leave.

Again, just an amazing film. Pixar is the new standard for animated features and it all started with Toy Story in '95. It is also the film that all new CGI films will always be compared to. It's not often that something so new and groundbreaking can also produce one of the best animated features ever as well.

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