My List of Movie Pet Peeves

The “One Liner” – Oh goodness, probably the worst cliché of them all. Why this has become a staple of all movies, I will never understand. Here are some famous ones “You're terminated, [bleep]er.” “We’re gunna need a bigger boat.” “Snakes, why’d it have to be snakes?” “Say Hello to my little friend.” “Brothers, what we do in life... echoes in eternity.”

Repeating those last few words – “I’ll never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go.” “That’s it, man. Game over, man. Game over.” “We'll get there, Pop. We'll get there.” What is that?! I think it occurs at least once in every movie. It’s for emphasis, but sometimes it’s a line that doesn’t mean a thing and then it just stands out as the one line that’s repeated. Do every day people duplicate what they’re saying for emphasis? It would be funny if they did!

Somebody Always has a Connection Somewhere – This one’s a favorite of mine in thriller movies. There will be some obscure challenge in the way of finishing the mission and one of the characters, even just a random extra, will pipe up with helpful information they read in a magazine or have a family member with a connection. How convenient! I think there should be more Googling of information in movies, let them pull up a Wikipedia article and that’s how they get the needed information.


“Let me tell you my whole plan” speech – Lets set the scene – the bad guy has a hostage or is about to escape and thinking he’s off the hook he tells the good guy (and the audience) why he’s involved in this elaborate, crazy plan. We the audience know its coming and there’s nothing we can do to stop it, but it just pours out of the bad guys mouth like a…well…script!

No Bathroom Breaks – Unless for comedic purposes, do people use the bathroom in the movies? No one gets up after dinner to pee or has to go number 2 when they first wake up in the morning. It just isn’t glamorous enough I guess, but neither is it realistic.

Unrealistic Dwellings – One reason I love movies that take place in NYC so much is the apartments they have the characters live in. No matter what occupation the character supposedly has they always have an amazing place! One recent example is from “My Best Friend’s Girl.” Kate Hudson and her roommate have this INCREDIBLE two story townhouse/apartment thingy! Neither has a hugely important job that they spend a lot of time at, so how can they afford such a place? Oh yeah, I forgot, it’s a movie.


Don’t People Work? – Isn’t it amazing that movies always seem to be taking place on the weekend or other national holiday where everyone has the day off?! It’s rare to see someone worry about spending days and weeks seeking out their one true love or running off to a tropical location without any contact or notification to their offices and they always seem to have plenty of money to spend too.

Parking in the Front – When good guys are chasing bad guys in cars and need to get into a building quickly, they always find a close spot. When the sweet guy wants to surprise his lady, there is always a parking place up front. Where’s the wasting 10 minutes for someone to pull out of spot, or the three trips around the lot before spotting the smallest space in the back. It’s just not fair!

Make up in bed or at the gym – An episode of “Chuck” helped me think of this one. It looks funny when women in the movies are wearing obvious makeup when they first wake up or while they’re at the gym. And I don’t mean the makeup that helps the actors not look shiny or a little bit of eyeliner, but full on lipstick, fake lashes, eye shadow of an unnatural color, etc. I wish it were that easy, it would save a lot of time in the morning getting ready for work, but makeup smears and it’s bad for your skin if you leave it on. So what do women actually do? They take off their make up!

All people know how to use guns and hit their targets – As seen recently in ‘Eagle Eye’, any person, including children can, in a high crisis situation, acquire a random gun, know how to shoot it and hit their intended target. For once, I want to see someone try that in a movie and get knocked on their rear because of the kick back from the gun.

Sports movies have one of two endings – the underdog wins or the underdog looses and learns a lesson – Watching an underdog succeed is a wonderfully uplifting experience…except when it’s predicable from the start of the opening credits. The two possible endings to sports movies are terrible and someone should come up with a new one because the sports’ industry deserves more than a clichéd ending.

Too much is revealed in the trailer – Have you ever seen a trailer for the latest Will Farrell or John C. Riley film and thought it looked hilarious, which peaked your interest in the movie only to be disappointed by the film because all the funny parts were already in the trailer?! It’s just something to expect now a days, along with the disappointment that follows when the movie is ruined for you.

“Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” – Frank Sinatra
So may the prayers, tranquilizers and JD be with you and see you next time.
http://moviesworketc.blogspot.com/

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“I’m Not There” – Movie Reviews – DVD Edition

I don’t know much about Bob Dylan. Regardless, “I’m Not There” is one of the best biopics and movies I have seen in awhile. Director Todd Haynes takes a Dylan type route and creates a collage of beautiful images that are symbolic and literal to show the singer's career. The DVD offers clever navigation of the film - either by scene or by song. The movie can be appreciated by Dylan fans and non Dylan fans, like myself, because it alone can be admired for the originality, genius and beauty that flashes on the big screen.

Pros:
- Its One of a Kind-ness: There has never been a movie and/or bio-film like “There.” If you’ve ever read any of my other reviews, you know I’m a HUGE fan of originality, so I just fell in love with “There” because of its unmatched ingenuity. Every aspect, time line, the characters, the narrative style, the writing, all of it, is creative and inspired.


- Don’t Have to Be a Fan: Although, I’m sure the movie makes a lot more sense if you know a little bit about Bob Dylan. I don’t, but adored the film anyway. Along the way there are small subtleties reflective of Dylan’s life, regardless, it is fascinating to watch. You might as well assume it’s about a fictional character and admire it for other things. I found the Wikipedia article most helpful in understanding nuances between what I was seeing and how it correlated to Dylan.


- Not a Real Biopic: Not too many specific details are revealed about the singer’s life. It is more of a kaleidoscope of events and themes that occurred throughout his early career.


- The Acting: 6 actors (all of whom have been nominated and/or won film or acting related awards) are so transformed into the man they represent. I didn’t even recognize Christian Bale at first. They take the spirit of the singer and make a new character out of him to deliver an honest performance.


Cons:
- Obscurity: “There” is a little out there. It may be difficult to follow and isn’t really meant for the “Transformers” type audience, which is fine! Just know that before hitting the Play button.

- Subtitles: Once again I had to turn on the subtitles to an English speaking movie.

- Needed Help: I did need a little bit of assistance to understand what events were taking place. As mentioned above, the Wikipedia article about the movie is EXTREMELY helpful in deciphering the film.

Summary:
If you like films with some imagination to them as well as terrific cinematography and a familiar soundtrack, you will love “I’m Not There.” Even if you know nothing about Bob Dylan, like me, you can still enjoy the all star cast and writing. It’s mesmerizing and artistic.

“Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” – Frank Sinatra
So may the prayers, tranquilizers and JD be with you and see you next time.
http://moviesworketc.blogspot.com/

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Movie Review on DVD – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

For a Western, there aren’t a lot of shoot outs, scooping up screaming women, or “high noon” type talk. “Assassination” is more original than that. In fact, it doesn’t much resemble a Western genre movie at all. It’s about obsession over a celebrity. A common word I’ve read in other reviews is “haunting.” I can’t think of any better a word to describe the lives that Ford and James lived. It’s as if Jesse James read the title of the movie and just accepted his fate. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck star as the fated duo and they take us through a different side of the infamous Jesse James’ life.

Pros:
- Casey Affleck – we see Ford go from trip-over-yourself, star struck fan to drunk, “what did I do” guilt riddled adult and semi celebrity himself (“semi” being the key word). There is something slightly pathetic about Ford and how he works his way into James’ life. Ford is strategic about getting close and remaining close to his idol and you can see it in Affleck’s expressions as he looks on at Pitt.

- The Cinematography – A common element that is mentioned in just about every review I’ve read. Its recognition is much deserved because the film is beautiful watch. There are effects such as blurring the edges of the screen and leaving the center clear that create an old timey mood as well as the illusion of an insider looking in. This creativity is admirable and in a different way than the admiration for the teams that create such images as the Transformers. Both images are remarkable, but there’s just something about the simplicity of the blurring visual technique that grabs me more than a giant robot.

- Did Jesse See the Movie Title? - As mentioned above, it’s as if James read the title of the movie. He even relates a story to star struck Ford about a fellow who seemed to overly admire James but really wanted to kill him.

- As reviewer Sean O'Connell points out ““Jesse James” rightfully becomes the Robert Ford story.” And I completely agree. The point is to see why Robert Ford shoots James in the back and not in some more dignified, dramatic fashion. It tries to show why he would kill James at all. These questions and more arise as we see the path the outlaws take to their inevitable futures.

- A Different Look at a Legend – When you think of Jesse James you think of train robberies, innocent victims, Wanted posters, etc. But after this movie more is added to the mental image of the bandit. He loved his wife and children. He was smart and knew who his friends and enemies were (or going to be). It’s a fascinating “day in the life” type look at a myth.

- Going Beyond – The film goes beyond Jesse’s death. It is revealed how Ford led a life after he murdered his hero, his idol, his icon. Guilt sets in, he starts to miss the man. He attempts to justify and explain himself by touring in a play about the murder. The narration at the end of the movie is the best part, “There would be no eulogies for Bob, no photographs of his body would be sold in sundries stores, no people would crowd the streets in the rain to see his funeral cortege, no biographies would be written about him, no children named after him, no one would ever pay twenty-five cents to stand in the rooms he grew up in. The shotgun would ignite, and Ella Mae would scream, but Robert Ford would only lay on the floor and look at the ceiling, the light going out of his eyes before he could find the right words.” Summing up the emptiness, the patheticness that was Robert Ford and how he so lamely killed the most notorious outlaw.

Cons:
- Time – It’s waaaay too long! It took me two days to watch, not because its 48 hours long, but because it was difficult to dedicate a lot of one day to watching the whole thing.

- Subtitles – Yes, it is in English, but the accents are very strong and therefore I had to enable the subtitle button on my remote.

- Getting Lost – Within the extra moments, none that are horribly acted or poorly written, just excessive, your attention wonders. So audiences may feel like they get lost within this film.

Summary:
It’s worth renting or ordering on Demand. This is a perfect example of what film making, acting, cinematography, script writing and the like is all about. It’s not CG robots or making a sequel for the profit, it’s telling a story. A tale of a haunting life as a celebrity and how, even back in that time, people were fascinated by fame.

“Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.” – Frank Sinatra
So may the prayers, tranquilizers and JD be with you and see you next time.
http://moviesworketc.blogspot.com/

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