12.21.2006

Review: The Fountain

I saw this a while ago but never got around to setting aside enough time for writing about it. Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain is stunning. If you like philosophical stories, science fiction stories, or stories that contain unconventional ideas then you must see this film. Unfortunately you'll have to wait until it's on DVD at this point; it's already out of theaters and it came out less than a month ago. I'm surprised it got such a wide release on November 22, to be honest I can't believe this movie even came to fruition. If you can't wait to rent it and don't mind knowing the plot in advance, there is a great graphic novel version of the story that Aronofsky published when he didn't think he was ever going to get the film made. The story behind the making of The Fountain alone is inspiring to anyone who's had a hard time trying to organize a dream project with little support from others.
The Fountain cannot be described, it has to be seen. It's about death, life, love and the fear of losing it forever. It's difficult to watch at some points, but for the most part you won't be able to look away. The trailer doesn't really tell you what the film is about (a major reason why most people didn't get interested by it); I don't think I can really tell you what it's about. I can tell you that it's powerful and it will affect you if you allow it. This is easily one of my top 5 movies of the year and one of my new favorites in the category of Sci-Fi.
I was pretty psyched for this movie when I first read about it a couple years ago, then came that first trailer and I was hooked. A story that spans 1000 years? It has conquistadors AND space travel? And on top of that the visual effects were jaw-dropping. I was hoping so badly for an epic Sci-Fi movie; the 2001: A Space Odyssey of my generation. As a fan of Science Fiction films, it saddens me when I try think of the best films of the genre; there's really only a handful of standards by which all others are compared. But this year there has been a pretty good crop of genuinely good Sci-Fi fare. A Scanner Darkly was the best adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel to date, The Science of Sleep possessed some of the same ideas that were floated in Michel Gondry's previous film the masterful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Fountain turned out to be more of a mind-trip than anyone had anticipated, and the soon to be released Children of Men looks to be a well presented, terrifying vision of our near future a la George Orwell's 1984.
So I still have hope for the genre and can't wait to see what future filmmakers will come up with, and I hope that there will always be someone out there with have the foresight to finance them. Here are some stories about the current state of Science Fiction in Cinema: An MSNBC story on futuristic films, and an article from Wired about Sci-Fi in Hollywood.

12.13.2006

Robert Altman

I've been putting this off for a while, but I just wanted to say a few things about the death of director Robert Altman. Of his films I've only seen Gosford Park, M.A.S.H. and Nashville. From what I've read, these are considered to be some of his best so I'd like to say I know his style, however it sounds like he had many. Nashville is my Dad's favorite movie, he reminds us all of this often as Altman is his favorite director. After watching it I can see why my Dad likes it but I don't think it has the same appeal to my generation. M.A.S.H., on the other hand, I enjoyed; having only seen the TV show before watching the source material I can say that I can appreciate both for similar and different reasons. Gosford Park didn't appeal to me at all for various reasons; I just didn't find the upstairs/downstairs thing that interesting really and the pacing was brutally slow.
I've always wanted to go through Altman's filmography and absorb as much as I could but I've never gotten around to it; now that he's left us I feel ashamed for putting off watching his films. I'm convinced that my favorite Altman film is one that I haven't even watched yet so I'm excited to see as many of his as possible. I'm going to start with A Prairie Home Companion, the last film he did before he died and one based on a radio show that seemed to be on in the background throughout my entire youth. If you're interested in seeing the highlights of Altman's film career, here's a NY Times article that chronicles them.

12.07.2006

Michael's Answers

1. Popcorn or candy?
Popcorn, from any AMC so that i am able to put on as much heart attack butter as possible, so that my hand is glistening in the movie light

2. Name a movie you've been meaning to see forever.
Honestly i cannt think of a film i have been meaning to see but haven't yet.

3. You are given the power to recall one Oscar: Who loses theirs and to whom?
this was before my time.. but... LOL... Best Picture: The French Connection 1973. It should've been A Clockwork Orange... WHO SAW THAT COMMING!!?!?!

4. Steal one costume from a movie for your wardrobe. Which will it be?
Steve-O's costume from SLC Punk when he gives the FU to his parents... classic

5. Your favorite film franchise is...
Um, honestly this is freaken hard, prolly Spiderman though

6. Invite five movie people over for dinner. Who are they? Why'd you invite them? What do you feed them? Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Johnny Depp, Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan. Each one encompasses what i love about movies and that’s variety and skill. I think Mexican would be good, cannot go wrong with Mexican


7. What is the appropriate punishment for people who answer cell phones in the movie theater?
If they were to be zapped out of existence and put into another dimension where their phones no longer work and they have to watch a rerun episode of Mork and Mindy, "Mork Goes Erk." But i guess i will settle with them getting kicked out of the theatre and with no refund.

8. Choose a female bodyguard: Ripley from Aliens. Mystique from X-Men. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. The Bride from Kill Bill. Mace from Strange Days:
For some reason Meryl and Owen say The Bride. I don’t see why they are over looking Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, which took on the Terminator in the first one and lived! I mean she fought the future and won, while The Bride fought the past and won. I will put all my money on Sarah.

9. What's the scariest thing you've ever seen in a movie?
A group of my friends and myself sat around a TV to watch Signs for the first time. That film was a very scary possible future.. if aliens existed.

10. Your favorite genre (excluding comedy and drama) is?
Sci Fi. I freaken Love Sci Fi, from shitty films from Even Horizon to Star Wars, Sci Fi is something that i will always take the time out of the day to watch in that genre

11. You are given the power to greenlight movies at a major studio for one year. How do you wield this power?
First i would ban Uwe Boll from ever making a film. Second i would push and also put as much money in front of David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, and Wes Anderson in order to get the best films out of these guys

12. Bonnie or Clyde?
Seriously why is this question here? i pick or

13. Who are you tagging to answer this survey?
Andrew

12.05.2006

Meryl's answers

1. Popcorn or candy?
Popcorn, with extra butter.

2. Name a movie you've been meaning to see forever.
200 Cigarettes

3. You are given the power to recall one Oscar: Who loses theirs and to whom?
Oscar Night, 2005: “Finding Neverland” got screwed over.

4. Steal one costume from a movie for your wardrobe. Which will it be?
Kate Hudson’s band-aid wardrobe from “Almost Famous,” of course.

5. Your favorite film franchise is...
X-Men

6. Invite five movie people over for dinner. Who are they? Why'd you invite them? What do you feed them?
Cameron Crowe, Wes Anderson, Jennifer Anniston, Steve Carrell, and Adan Sandler. They have all led pretty interesting careers. I think we would go out for Chinese.

7. What is the appropriate punishment for people who answer cell phones in the movie theater?
A swift foot to the cell phone.

8. Choose a female bodyguard: Ripley from Aliens. Mystique from X-Men. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. The Bride from Kill Bill. Mace from Strange Days:
I agree with Owen: “Hands down, The Bride from Kill Bill.”

9. What's the scariest thing you've ever seen in a movie?
“Temple of Doom” heart-ripping-out-of-chest-cavity scene.

10. Your favorite genre (excluding comedy and drama) is?
Existentialist , in the vein of “Eternal Sunshine,” “Huckabees” and “Waking Life.”

11. You are given the power to greenlight movies at a major studio for one year. How do you wield this power?
Cameron Crowe can do anything he wants.

12. Bonnie or Clyde?
N/A

13. Who are you tagging to answer this survey?
I think Baily and Brandon should fill this out.