I Have Doubts!

Doubt was one of the last big films from this past Oscar season that I hadn't seen. But, with five nominations, it remained on my list long after February passed, and I finally managed to rent it. Overall, it was one of the most incredibly acted films I may have ever seen, in the classical sense of the word "acting." Sure, it didn't show the quirkiness of Jack Sparrow or ingenuity of Forrest Gump, but in general, Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymore Hoffman, and Amy Adams filled their roles so effortlessly that it was quite amazing to watch.

The film shows every mark of being adapted from a play. You can almost see the distinct sets, feel the scene changes, and watch the actors enter and exit the stage. Still, it was marvelously filmed. The cinematography, particularly the coloring, did wonders to enhance the colorless world in which the story is set. And the closeups on the individual actors added to the performances in which plays would surely miss out on.

In simple terms, Doubt tells of events at a Catholic school in the 1960s. When a priest is suspected of abusing one of the children, the principal nun of the school stands up against him with little to no proof, but a great deal of certainty. All the while, it's hard to tell who to trust or believe in. For the most part, the main characters, Streep's Aloysius, Adams' Sister James, and Seymore-Hoffman's Father Flynn along with Viola Davies' mother character, carry the movie. In many ways, the plot is quite simple, and the movie is fairly short, but the intensity of the characters and the performances adds incredible depth.

Streep's strict character, guided solely by her certainty that Father Flynn did something wrong, proves what I have long known: that Meryl Streep is one of the most stunning and versitile actresses currently in the business. She rivals Tom Hanks in her ability to totally inhabit a character, to become that person. From the little touches like the way she moves her mouth, to the riveting speeches she delivers with all the intensity she can muster, to the final defeated line she utters, "I have doubts!"... her performance was truly a gift to watch.

It's easy to understand why the film got so many acting nominations, but that's about where my appreciation for the movie ends. The grand dramatic plot comes to a limited conclusion. It's not bad, just not outstanding. I've had fun debating whether or not other people who have seen the film think Father Flynn was by default guilty, or whether that's just something the audience is meant to not know. I lean with the side that he would not have quit had he not had something to hide, but could easily play devil's advocate in a different direction. Additionally, does the "I have doubts" line that brings the film to a close take away from the power of Streep's character, or add to it? I, personally, thinks it adds to the performance - it's such a classic human trait to be unable to attain 100% certainty, there is always room for doubts to eat away at you.

So, this is a rather short and simple blog post from me, but with all the reviewing I did last winter, I wanted to round out the Oscar season with Doubt. It was a film I enjoyed and would recommend, but not one that made a life-changing impression on me.

I'm watching you watching me

I'm here today on a bit of a different topic. This is part of my larger goal of blogging more often and discussing a wider variety of subjects. This time, I'd like to tell you about Taking Leave, a new CD from DFTBA Records.

I'm going to admit I'm writing this review with a goal in mind - one of the CD's creators is giving out an EP of alternate versions of the tracks in exchange for a text or video review, but I'm also going to enjoy the challenge about writing about music, something I haven't done before.

Taking Leave is the result of a collaboration between Alan Lastufka and Tom Milson, two individuals who are, for lack of a better word, "webelebrities." Both are well known for highly popular YouTube channels and important ties to the generally awesome online communities. Tom is someone who I haven't followed for very long, but who has a CD of his own that I enjoy (entitled "Awkward Ballads for the Easily Amused"). Alan is a bit of an incredible shadow, one of the founders of DFTBA records, and a creative master who not only creates his own videos, but has a published book on being successful on YouTube. Incredibly, the CD was created without Alan and Tom ever meeting in person. (The miracle of the internet nowadays, right?) As I understand it, Alan was responsible for the lyrics and production of the CD, while Tom provided vocals and mixed the music.

In all, I bought the CD not knowing what I was getting into other than an interesting creative work by two artists that I admire, that deserved some of my support. The CD is short, with 6 tracks wrapping up in just over 15 minutes, but when you really sit and listen to the songs, they take you somewhere. Each track is different, in mood, sound, story, and even vocal style (Kristina Horner joins in for the 4th track). It's easy to listen to while working, yet it can also hold your attention. It's somber and beautiful, yet still carries the trait that I associate with nerdfighters, and the online world in general: ingenuity. Taking Leave stands out as not just a CD but a work of art.

Like all great works of art, I think Taking Leave is subject to your own interpretation. This is summarized by the artwork on the CD cover. What do you see in the red trees and turquoise hills? In the box and forlorn arm? In the fallen flower petals? Is it a happy image? Do you see heartbreak? This is probably different for each individual. Meanwhile, the tracks themselves are clearly composed of two separate components: lyrics and music. True, these pieces come together easily, but perhaps because there were two creators, these elements can also be separated.

The first note of "Just a Boy" jumps out at you, before the song begins. In my mind, this track tells a clear story, more so than the others, and is more wrought with emotional distress. It tells the tale of a boy fighting the nature of his father and adulthood in general, only to grow up and be reduced to the same level - to be "brought down" in the end. It's a strong and troubled voice and introduces the theme of mirrors: "I will never forget the day / looked in the mirror and was filled with grief, / when I saw my father's face staring back at me." As my dad is a therapist, this song resonates with the numerous people who attempted to outgrow their childhoods, only to be haunted by them for the rest of their days.

"The Wind" is one of my favorite tracks. It's much more upbeat than the others on the CD, and seems more hopeful than the others. I like the use of the wind as a metaphor for life and love. Clearly in life, we all "want to fly," but how many times have we found the "winds of change" ended up directing us, "[taking] us by surprise"? The emotions of this song are sweet, yet still bearing the strong pull of reality.

I first heard "Can't" from the music video Alan posted on his channel, so I can't help but associate it with the images in that video. This is one of the best songs I've heard about heartbreak. "His edited heart was her favorite work of art" is a poetic line that I continue to ponder. I think it is because we're overly exposed the stereotype of the macho man with fear of commitment, ending a relationship, that it's refreshing to hear the story of a sad boy tied up in the "relationship games" of the girl who rules this song.

"The Mirror Song" is definitely my favorite on the CD. Tom and Kristina's voices together are stunningly beautiful, and the line "I'm watching you watching me" has been in my head for days. There are just so many images in this song that resonate with me, so many emotions that tug my heartstrings. The sweet piano is simple. The song's key line, "I'd forgotten how happy we looked," fits with the story of the song, within a relationship, but it also speaks to a key philosophy I'm attempting to follow in life: never forget happiness, continue to look for it around you.

I'm curious as to why "The Sparks Fly Upward" was include on the CD. It's a beautiful track - a solemnly spoken set of lines from the bible (I think), read by John Green and accompanied by (unless I'm mistaken) organ music. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful passage, one worth re-reading (or listening to) and pondering. It's classic John Green - I can almost hear him talking about it on an afternoon Ustream... But I definitely wonder what significance it holds to Alan, Tom, or to their idea for this CD.

What I do like about that track is how it leads into the final song, "Forgiven." It's as if the declaration that "man is born for trouble, as the sparks fly upward" is the revelation that leads to the image-heavy and religiously significant track. It allows it to exist, and the tracks, musically, flow together nicely. This is one of my favorite songs in terms of Tom's singing. The long words at the end of each line "Haaands" "heeeart" play into his melodious voice.

In all, I'm not a music connoisseur, but this is now a permanent addition to my music collection and one I appreciate immensely.If what I've been talking to sounds interesting to you, the CD can be found here.

P.S. Alan, I hope you liked this review!

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On an unrelated note, I wanted to quickly share this link with you. Perhaps you've recently read a highly exciting novel entitled Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) and are dying for the sequel Catching Fire, which is not released until September. The link above leads to a contest in which you can enter to receive an advance copy of the book.

Dumbledore, We will fight for you tonight!

The wait is over. Tuesday night was a sleepy, well-worth-it feast of awesomeness. I'm talking, of course, about the midnight release of the much-anticipated sixth and third-to-last Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In a nutshell, it was FABULOUS. Being back at Hogwarts was as magical as I would have expected. Quite simply, Half-Blood Prince delves into Lord Voldemort's past through a series of memories. We learn who he is, and what Harry will have to do to kill him. Meanwhile, inside Hogwarts, hormones rage, while outside, Death Eaters pillage. I came home from the film at 3:30 AM and had a head full of thoughts, ready to be transformed into blog form... so we'll see how many of those opinions stayed with me in the day since. I'm going to assume you've either read the book, seen the film, or don't care about being spoiled if you're reading this, so please continue with this understanding in place.

I always love midnight or opening showings of films because the audience is very engaged. The movie means a lot to the people who show up to these showtimes - otherwise they would not have waited 3+ hours in line (or in our case, thankfully, in the auditorium itself). The atmosphere of excitement and anticipation was nearly tangible in our theater. First of all, I found out that our particular auditorium - #4 - was the first to sell out, so the fans in their were probably some of the more dedicated of the lot. People were dressed up (we had a great Dumbledore and an awesome Mad-Eye Moody), sporting T-shirts and Hogwarts colors, posing for photos by a cardboard cutout of Harry that some awesome person brought in, and even dueling, wizard-style, in the aisles. There were deafening cheers when the projector was first turned on, when the trailers started, for each individual trailer, when the WB symbol came up, AND when the HP logo appeared. (I'm serious about the cheering - the decibel levels in our theater would have rivaled a rock concert!) People literally laughed out loud at every funny moment, gasped when it was scary, whistled at romantic moments, and said "aww" when characters were sad. As an audience, we were a living, breathing extension of the film, as much AT Hogwarts, as if we had leaned into our own Penseive and found ourselves among the characters we love so dearly.

On to the film itself... First off, I simply have to say that the movie was unexpectedly funny. Hilarious, even. I hardly stopped laughing, giggling, or chuckling heartily until the final climactic 20 minutes. HBP is rated PG, the first film to not be PG13 since the much lighter first and second films. Of course, under the laughter, the darkness was still there - as the opening sequence, development of Tom Riddle, and tragic ending will attest, but there was a comedic lens present for much of the 2 hours and 33 minutes. Rupert Grint proved, once again, to be a master of comedy... but Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and even Michael Gambon stretched their comedic muscles as well. Overall, this was excellent. I don't think I've had this much plain ol' FUN in a HP movie to date. There were a few laughs that I think they could have done without - for a few moments it felt like the filmmakers just weren't taking it seriously... But overall, it was a great direction for them to take. The two Deathly Hallows movies are going to be so emotionally intense and action packed that perhaps it was good to get in a bit of comedy before we hurtled in the other direction.

Let me take a step back. Overall, surveying the entire film, I LOVED it. Many more of the favorite moments of the book seemed to be represented on film (compared to the other movies) - they really managed to fit a lot in. Parts that I would have guessed would fall by the wayside in favor of the main plot were there, which was awesome. I'm not sure if I'd call it my favorite movie - "favorites" are always hard for me to choose, and I'd have to see it again when I'm fully awake to be able to determine just how fantastic it is... But it was certainly better than OotP, and certainly 100% enjoyable. Unlike other films, I've had a fun time lately listening to others' opinions - friends, critics, and strangers alike. In exiting the theater on Tuesday night (well, actually Wednesday morning), I heard a surprising amount of disappointment. The girl behind me said something akin to "what the hell was that?" - which did surprise me. In a twist, though, most of my friends who are HARCORE fans of HP are more than thrilled - calling it the best film yet, their favorite, absolutely praising it to the MAX. Critics seem to lean in this direction as well, calling it the best Potter yet, praising the script, acting, cinematography, etc. Not to be discriminating, but I definitely lean toward the opinions of the people who live and breath Harry Potter, as well as those who know what good movies are made of, versus those from whom I've heard dislike. I'd like to have a conversation with someone who didn't like the movie, to find out the specific faults they found.

Along those lines, though, I'd like to point out a particular attitude I have hard among my HP fans that makes me rather happy. I have heard many comments akin to "I LOVED IT! I have a few issues or things I would've changed, but overall, it was AWESOME!" This is how you have to approach books -> movies. There are going to be changes you don't like, parts they left out, or things that didn't translate... but if you get caught up in nitpicking each and every one of these, you'll have a very disappointing experience! In the end, you have to let go, realize that FILM and TEXT are two entirely different mediums, and go along for the ride. For me, there is such a thrill in seeing Hogwarts brought to life - however they choose to do it - that I see no point in ruining the experience by griping about what wasn't there. Sure, in 30 years, some filmmaker might decide to remake the HP films, or they might do a miniseries in which they bring EVERY moment on the page to life, or pigs may fly... but for now, this is what we have to work with. ENJOY IT!

Having said this, hopefully I've made clear that I liked the film and am able to see past any issues I had. That's not to say I didn't have issues. I would like to take a moment to go through the couple of things I would've liked changed, in a perfect world. One of the biggest complaints has to do with the scene at the Burrow, in which the dear little Weasley house gets attacked by Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback, Harry and Ginny attempt to fight them off, and the entire house is engulfed in flames. This scene is NOT in the book, and was deliberately added for the film. I knew this was coming - it was reported probably a year ago on Leaky, and I was surprised when I heard about it. I do understand why it was in there and the purpose it served, from a filmmaking perspective particularly... In just that small little scene, the stakes were raised, and it they managed to show that the danger was everywhere, that our heroes were not immune. The romantic plot was advanced. Etc. And it was a cool scene, cinematically - with the swirling grasses, Ginny and Harry fighting, the spells flying back and forth... But, as I've heard discussed, this goes against the book, was not necessary, and disproves JKR's adamant rule that the Burrow is a safe haven for Harry that will not be touched (until DH). Overall, though, I would have liked to see this screen-time used somewhere else. The movie is already quite long, so if they could have displaced this time with a more worthwhile scene, I would have been happier (more on this in a moment).

Additionally, as I've already said, the comedy was a little stretched at points - there were plenty of moments that were funny, and were made even funnier by a few good quips and good acting... but at a certain point, it felt like a bit much. I think the film needed a few more dramatic punches. In other words, it needed to be PG13, and Yates and Kloves needed to take it a bit more seriously. This came to a head, for me, in the movie's end. The climactic cave scene was great, but it leveled out too much when they got back to Hogwarts. In the book, the final moments after Dumbledore's death are a mad rush of swirling emotion and pain. Everyone is fighting, it's not clear who is injured or dead, Snape has betrayed them all, Harry shouts coward, and then the cool anger of "Don't call me coward" brings it all to an tearful yet determined end. THIS NEEDED TO BE STRONGER. I would have liked to see the Burrow scene removed in favor of a bit more action at the end. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, as well as the rest of the Order should have been fighting. The stakes needed to be raised in order to throw us properly into the raw world of DH. I am personally of the opinion that Dumbledore's funeral would have been stunning on film. The scene they had in place worked, but it didn't pack the punch I would have liked to see. In short, the ending of the film didn't take my breath away, as I would have liked.

But back to what I did like for a moment. The acting was SUPERB. Everyone felt more comfortable in their characters. Daniel was the strong Harry, resigned to his fate of the Chosen One, accepting his responsibility, the danger, and yet still a student living out his time at Hogwarts. He loses his mentor but turns his pain and heartbreak into determination to win out over Voldemort. Rupert was hilarious, Ron in every way, confused about his feelings, awkward at Quidditch, and yet able to come into his own in time for his emotionally charged role in DH. Emma's acting has improved in leaps and bounds. The breathless speech and eyebrow-acting were both nearly gone from her perforamnce. I felt for her in her pain, in her platonic love for Harry, and her not-so-platonic love for Ron. Michael Gambon finally stepped it up as Dumbledore, returning to the beloved character of the books instead of the throw-Harry-against-the-wall stranger that we had seen from him before. Jim Broadbent as Slughorn was hilarious, perfect, magical, well-cast in every way. And then there's Tom Felton, who I daresay stole the film as the dark and haunted Draco Malfoy. Between "knowing" him from Twitter (and consequently feeling more like he's a "real person" out there), and the turn that his character naturally takes in this part of the story, I sympathized with him like never before. He was no longer the archetypal bully, the comedic relief, the snivelly ferret we had seen. He was incredible. And then there's Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonahm-Carter, newbie Helen McCrory, Bonnie Hunt... all who stepped up their game, gave their all, and threw down the gauntlet in preparation for DH.

Yes, I'm mentioning DH a lot. It's hard to think of this film without moving that train of thought straight along to the final two films that are currently in production. It's hard not to think of the end. In a lot of ways, this film served as the Empire Strikes Back to Return of the Jedi... It set up the final chapter. This is the first film to come to theaters since the final book's publication, and I think it showed. The end is in sight, though still two years away. We are headed on the path that will take us to the walk into the forest, the final battle with Voldemort, to 'All is Well." *sniffle*

But we're not there yet.

As one final note, the soundtrack nerd in me has to get a word in. I'm not a huge fan of Nicholas Hooper's work - (I'm actually a bit glad he's not scoring DH and hope with every fiber of my being that we get John Williams back). His music is just a bit on the 'meh' side. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong... But unlike some movies, in which the music blends in effortlessly yet stands alone beautifully, it's not as melodic and theme-heavy as I'd like to see. The Weasley and Slughorn themes are great, as is the track "In Noctem," but what does this guy have against Hedwig's Theme? That's one beautiful piece of music and I would have liked to hear it a bit more.

So, I think that's it from me. Without a doubt I will see the film again with my parents - we may wait to see it in 3D IMAX after July 29, if I have the patience, and we'll see how my opinion changes with a second or third viewing. Perhaps the next time I re-read the book, I'll find other issues or be disappointed by something that didn't make it in the film, but for now, I'm pretty satisfied and hope HBP KICKS ASS in the box office this week. (It did $22 million in midnight releases, beating The Dark Knight!) Other than that, I want to ask for comments! If you saw the movie, tell me what you think below! What did you like? Not like? Feel free to agree or disagree with anything i said!

Cheers! <3

Michael Bay, take a chill pill...

Okay, I am going to fully admit that I should have written this last weekend, shortly after seeing the movie. My mind was whirring with blog thoughts as soon as I walked out of the theater. But, alas, here I am, a week later. So, here goes.

Before I say anything, I must defer to, reference, and worship two epic pieces of writing by critic Roger Ebert. Both refer to Transformers, so I'm not sending you off on a wild goose chase, and I highly recommend you take a moment to read. (You will laugh, I promise you).
His official review, and His more general blog about the film

Now, first off, I did not hate the second Transformers film the way Ebert did. Although, I don't think it's possible to hate it as much as he did. Overall, I thought it was fun, loud, probably a bit much but an overall "okay/pretty good" movie. I do recognize several points of Ebert's as highly valid - but I'll come back to this.

I've said this before with another movie, but I'm going to reiterate the point. Transformers is the kind of movie where you have to know what you're walking into. Don't expect more than you're going to get... this is an action film, designed around a TOY (Hasbro is listed with the production companies, for Pete's sake), with CGI Robots as many of the main characters, and a simple melodramatic plot to fill out the rest. It is full of action sequences, explosions, loud noises, and thumping music. This movie is not about PLOT or emotions. If you saw and liked the first Transformers film, you will probably enjoy this one as well. It will not be life-changing (and I would definitely say it's not as good as the first, which I really thought was fairly good), but overall, it was a pretty fun way to spend two and half hours.

One thing I highly admire is the increasingly accurate ability to give non-human, computerized characters a great deal of "realness." While this movie doesn't come close to, say, WALL-E, (which was incredible...) I do feel somewhat attached to characters like Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, and even the little "dog" bot from this film. Additionally, I am of the opinion that Shia LaBeouf (whose name I always have difficulty spelling) is a gifted young actor with a long career ahead of him, and I have to say, is a guy whom I highly admire. I have a few pet peeves with Megan Fox in real life, but her character was just fine for a hot girl required to run around a lot and then look lusty.

So, I would say that this is a great FUN summer movie, which is clearly destined to make loads of money. If you want to see it, go for it! Don't let reviews like Ebert's scare you away. But make sure you're not holding any high (or even low) expectations for the film. Just go and enjoy the spectacle.

Now, to address a few of the points that Ebert makes, particularly in his more general blog post (this part may be more relevant if you've seen the movie already...) Michael Bay is a bit out of control. With the first film, at least he strung together the big action sequences with a fairly interesting plot. With this one, I'd say it was the other way around. Plot pieces were just thrown in there - some scenes, like Ebert says - could easily have come from another movie. However, I don't think this movie is the pinnacle of Hollywood's big overblown CGI phase. After all, just look at the trailer for 2012, a movie from Roland Emmerich, a man who is easily competing for the title of Hollywood's biggest computer-generated-pyromaniac... (Go on, take a look - I'll wait.)

Second, YES, this movie will make a LOT of money. I mean, it did $201 million in the first five days of release, a number that is only just shy of The Dark Knight (I'm still a bit peeved that a movie like Transformers could even come CLOSE to touching The Dark Knight, but oh well.) But, I'd like to point out that the movie likely (and with good reason) cost more than $200 to make.... so they're probably just starting to earn it back. Along that line, I was a bit stunned when watching the credits to see that the film had FOUR producers AND another FOUR executive producers (including Michael Bay himself and Steven Spielburg somewhere in that list). It's hard to believe how many people it took to fund this film. But, back to my point. This film will probably continue to keep making a lot of money. I mean, all the way to Harry Potter's release soon (wait for it - SQUEEEE!), it's one of the only big Blockbusters that will potentially reach a broad summer audience on the market right now. But, really, money doesn't tell you that much. After all, worse films (*cough*Spiderman3*cough*) have made oodles of cash.

Ebert discusses in detail the way this film "assaults the senses." In all honesty, this may be an age barrier. I found the booming sound effects and soundtrack to be exhilarating, to add to the adrenaline of the movie. Along these lines, I just want to address the structure of the film. YES, there are many action sequences, not just ONE climactic scene... And YES, it is awfully long. But, honestly, for me, it just kind of hit a plateau of action, keeping the level of excitement high, carrying you along to the end. I didn't notice time dragging at all, really.

So, this is becoming a ramble now and I will wrap it up. Yes, this movie is ACTION-PACKED (it may redefine that term). Yes, it is BIG and COMMERCIAL and BLOCKBUSTER-y. And, yes, critics are NOT going to like it. But, I saw it, liked it, and will probably see more Transformers flicks if (or should I say when?) they're released. I'm not going to say you "should" or "shouldn't" see this film, but it certainly started the big summer movie season off with a BANG.

Cheers. <3>