Star Trek

I learned something new about Star Trek, something that probably explains part of why I enjoy the visuals of the film so much and why for a sci-fi film it looks so grounded in reality. JJ & crew push to do as much of the film as they could practical & on location. This film was shot all over California, out of sound stages as much as possible, in Paramount’s B-Tank, and simply put using old Hollywood techniques. There were shots that JJ knew they’d have to do CGI because they couldn’t build that grand a set, so instead he built some half scale sets and used children as doubles for some shots. These are tricks the classical directors used to use, tricks that still stand up in a computerized world if you watch their films today.

It’s gutsy to go into a space adventure and say that you want to find locations to shoot in. I am sure more than a few people gasped in shock and surprise. But in the end I think Star Trek looks like a better film for it.

Scotty: This would be like tryin' a' hit a large bullet wi' a smaller bullet, wearin' a blindfold, while ridin' a horse.

Sense & Sensibility (BBC)

Sense & Sensibility is one of Jane Austen’s classics. In 2008 BBC remade the tale for television as a miniseries.

The story revolves around Elinor and Marianne, two sisters with very different sensibilities. When their father dies Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters are forced out of their home by the girls half-brother who inherits everything; though the father’s final wish was for the brother to take care of the ladies his wife convinces him to give his sisters and stepmother nothing. As such Mrs. Dashwood takes the girls up the coast where they begin to live in a small cottage and Mrs. Dashwoods cousin attempts to find Elinor and Marianne husbands. In true Austen fashion the two eldest Miss Dashwoods both fall for men that they can’t have until of course that twist of fate intervenes and they find out the men of their dreams are available.

I’ve seen two versions of Sense & Sensibility now and I just have to say that maybe I am not a Jane Austen fan, but a Pride & Prejudice fan. I cannot get into this story at all, I don’t connect with the sisters, I dislike their men, I get annoyed by the predictable ending…it just all around annoys me on some level. I am not empathetic with the plight of two women who are annoyed by the people around them. It’s such a similar story to Pride & Prejudice and yet I think Elizabeth & Jane are much more interesting.

That being said, the two lead actresses in Sense & Sensibility were very engaging and enjoyable to watch. The language of Jane Austen can be a mouthful and yet Hattie Morahan & Charity Wakefield never seemed to miss a beat. Their relationship was genuine and they could definitely pull off being Victorian sisters.

I am sure plenty of viewers enjoyed this version of Austen’s tale. I’m just not one of them.

Elinor Dashwood: Hattie Morahan
Marianne Dashwood: Charity Wakefield
Mrs. Dashwood: Janet McTeer
Col. Brandon: David Morrissey
Edward Ferras: Dan Stevens
Wiloughby: Dominic Cooper
Margaret Dashwood: Lucy Boynton

Up

Carl and Ellie - Up
Originally uploaded by Cami.La.Le.Li.Lo.Lú

Any adult that watches the beginning of Up and is not affected by the story of Carl & Ellie doesn’t have a heart. You might as well join league with the Grinch because you heart is two sizes too small.

I’ve seen Up twice now and watching Carl and Ellie meet, fall in love, and grow old together still moves me. Ellie is only physically in the film for about ten minutes or so and yet her character drives the film. She was Carl’s world and in those few images the filmmakers make you fall as in love with Ellie as Carl is, so that you completely understand his sorrow when she is gone.

The most astounding thing to me about the whole movie is that Ellie remains a character through the whole film because of the house. Carl carries Ellie with him physically by taking the house, the life they lived together with him on his adventure to Paradise Falls.

Even though this is a children’s film it is layered with subtext that live action films can’t accomplish. Pixar is truly able to perfect some of their stories like no one else because of the manner in which they are forced to tell them. By being an animated film the filmmakers have multiple versions of the film created before they ever being the final, animated version of the film. By the time they get around to that version they have more than figured out what works, what falls flat and how to make the characters on screen as three dimensional as their animation technique.

While Pixar normally has the best animated film category of the Oscars locked up, I am interested to see what will happen as there will be five nominees (one probably from Wes Anderson) this year. I think Up will still walk away with the golden boy, but it could be an interesting year.

Carl: Hey, let's play a game. It's called "see who can be quiet the longest."
Russell: Cool! My mom loves that game!

Laura

Laura Hunt has been murdered in a brutal crime. She answered her door and was shot twice with a shotgun in the face. Det. McPherson has been called in to solve the crime and he does so by interviewing the most influential people in her life and soon discovers that Laura was a woman that engendered love in most of the males she met; even after her death Waldo Lydecker & her fiancée Shelby Carpenter are still vying for her affections and McPherson begins to develop feelings for Laura himself.

Laura is a spectacular film, on that reminds me of a film Hitchcock would have wanted to make. Like any classic noir it starts because of a death, and the characters all have their own motives for being involved in the mystery, a mystery that only gets deeper as McPherson attempts to unravel the crime. This is a film that has some incredible twists and turns, twists that will be honored by my truncated review here; there are elements that have intense power to this film and I will not spoil them.

What really intrigues me about Laura are the three men that are central to this sotry: Lydecker, Carpenter & McPherson. Each man is an entirely different representation of a type of male and their motivations for loving Laura are vastly different. Lydecker is the intellectual who believes himself the only one truly worthy of Laura, Carpenter is the playboy who caught Laura’s eye and therefore her heart, and McPherson is the protector and knight in shining armor who is trying to save Laura. In many ways the traditional roles assigned to females in a noir (the angel, the femme fatale, etc.) have been flipped and placed on these men instead. Rather than women competing in any way possible for a man, these men of power have become cut throat with each other, vying for the place a Laura’s side.

If you have an appreciation for mystery films, noir or simply a movie that will keep you on your toes I suggest that you do what you can to find and see Laura. The film is incredibly entertaining and kept me guessing right until the great reveal.

Director: Otto Preminger
Writer: Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein & Elizabeth Reinhardt
Laura Hunt: Gene Tierney
Det. McPherson: Dana Andrews
Waldo Lydecker: Clifton Webb
Shelby Carpenter: Vincent Price
Mrs. Treadwell: Judith Anderson

Waldo Lydecker: Love is eternal. It has been the strongest motivation for human actions throughout history. Love is stronger than life. It reaches beyond the dark shadow of death.

The Company

Ry is a young dancer for the Jeoffrey Ballet that has just lucked out and been given a chance to become a principle dancer. As she works hard with choreographers and in classes Mr. Antonelli works to complete the season for the Joeffrey and oversees every project they have. As the season moves on the company prepares for new ballets and Ry gets a new boyfriend and balances life with dance.

The Company was one of Robert Altman’s last films and a challenge for him as this is a dance film unlike any I’ve ever seen. What makes The Company so different is the way it is told. More often than not dance film follow almost the same formula as sports films; the young dancer catches someone’s eye, gets a big break and works harder than everyone else until the finale with the giant show that impresses everyone, applause, applause & curtain drop. Instead, The Company is made great because Robert Altman brings Robert Altman to the dance movie formula and makes the film something else entirely.

What Robert Altman does is something I have never seen anyone else successfully do. Altman fully immerses the viewer in the world of his films. He begins his film when the story is already started; there are people, locations and events that we as a viewer don’t know but Altman feels no need to explain them to us. Instead, he drops the audience in as an observer and an active participant; we must pay attention to any and all details in order to get up to speed with where the characters are at in their journey and that mystery in itself is what creates the drawing power of an Altman film. You can’t look away because if you stop paying attention the characters lives will go on without you. This Altman technique is used to beautiful effect in The Company and helps to uncover the elegance, fights, bruises and layers that exists within a dance company.

The Company is also special because of Neve Campbell’s involvement. What most people didn’t know until The Company is that Campbell was a dancer long before she was an actress. As such she actually helped come up with the story for the film, produced the film and starred. Campbell did not need a double for the dance sequences. She trained with the Jeoffrey and every dance her character is in Campbell is dancing herself. It’s a wonderful thing to not have to cut the dance sequences constantly in order to hide the identity of your dancer and it gave Altman the opportunity to make the dances much more organic and realistic so they feel like live sequences that are truly unfolding before you.

This may have been on of Altman’s final films, yet somehow I think this may be one of my favorites. Altman manages to find a sense of realism and grace in chaos that is sorely lacking in most dance films and The Company is better for it.

Director: Robert Altman
Writer: Barbara Turner
Ry: Neve Campbell
Alberto Antonelli: Malcom McDowell
Josh: James Franco