I think "Do The Right Thing" is one of the best film titles of all time. I think the film is great, but the film's title is really great. It has already involved the audience, by addressing them, before the film even begins. And then it fits the movie once you are watching it. Perfect. I've always thought "Don't Let Me Down" would be a good title too, in the same way. Of course, with a title like that, the movie would have to be more of a downer than "Do The Right Thing."
I'm deep into the last stage of pre-melancholia; disappointment. Or perhaps just funk. Depression is too drastic a term and I have always prided myself on my extremely well-adjusted mental state, even when I'm feeling blue. Yes, I am aware of how this sounds and how people might take it offensively... It's my blog, right? Anyway, much like "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" five years ago, it looks as if "Silver Linings Playbook" will be the film I pull into this melancholy with me. I've already seen it twice and I feel like it is never going to leave my head. Is it bad that I feel so kindred with the main character, who just got out of a mental hospital, if I've always prided myself on my mental well-adjustment? It is what it is. Excelsior.
The song that just came on my iTunes is perfect for writing this. It sounds almost like something from the score of a Spider-man film. It is some of Alexandre Desplat's work from "The Painted Veil."
A week ago this time, I was watching the final film at the Savannah Film Festival. I was there for 8 days and saw nearly two dozen films and lots of big Hollywood stars. Not to mention, I got to spend so much time in Savannah and on Tybee Island, two places I could most certainly call home if my family was there as well. It was a wonderful week. "The Reality of a Rut: Cameron McAllister's quest for a new job, but not just any job... which could help explain why it's taking so huggin' long" would be the title of a book I would've written this week, post-Savannah. By the way, huggin' is a perfect new euphemism for cuss words.
I don't like being let down by the unfulfilled intentions of friends. But it almost always allows for a readjustment. This adjustment will be forged in the fires of a deep melancholy. In more general news, I suppose I sure am ready for a soulmate to come along.
This post is all over the place... business as usual. God is, as always, my portion. He's much more faithful than I am. Not to just tag him on here at the end, but it's just so true.
10 November 2012
Don't Let Me Down
Labels: Film, God, Love, Melancholy, Music, Savannah, Savannah Film Festival, Thoughts
03 August 2012
Only fingers can you count on
Just a few minutes ago, I told Tina Anne, "I love the people I love... but I don't love people." This was in regards to trying to leave the customer service industry. Tina Anne is the merchant teller at the bank. Statistically speaking, she ranks pretty high on my all time favorite people list. She is the highest ranking African and certainly the highest Bank of America employee. Tomorrow she's going back home to Kenya for two weeks. I want to go to Kenya for two weeks. I think everyone I know personally who has travelled to Kenya (aside from those I know from Kenya) has been there on a mission trip. That's great, but I don't want to go there on a mission trip. I want to go on a mission: to explore Kenya.
I definitely have a hard time conveying to people how much I do care for them. Occasionally though, I just tear open and it pours out. I doesn't feel good afterwards. Maybe it should, but it doesn't. It's not regret or embarrassment, it's exhaustion. "Time heals all wounds," but more specifically, morning does. Morning is God's best tool for healing... probably something to do with fresh mercies. Good Christian a cappella group name: The Fresh Mercies. You can have it for free.
24 July 2012
This one's on me
I've never been able to identify with labels like ADD or ADHD. I find them to be fallible clinical devices. I understand the sentiments involved with those who profess 'never being able to turn their brain off' or feeling like their brain is 'a TV that won't stop changing channels.' But why on earth would you want to turn your brain off? Thinking is beautiful. Thinking leads to many things. 'Changing channels' is more curious, but I think focus is a multi-faceted effort that involves countless variables and shouldn't be reduced to one's personal limits of control.
Thinking is what I do best. Like all people, sometimes I think too much and sometimes I don't think enough. But I think about everything and I think about multiple scenarios for any given situation. Getting anything out of my head is much more difficult, but I confess to not trying as often as I should.
Ideas are toys; fun to play with, easily collectible. Share them or keep them to yourself. Ideas are safer than reality, although they come with no actual rewards. Ideas must be realized to collect any reward. Otherwise, they sit in your head and collect dust.
My execution in realizing ideas is often clumsy. Earnest, I believe, but cumbersome. Prayer always helps, but sometimes not as quickly as I perceive the need. Knowing that God is not on any timetable, I am still on His timetable. Sometimes I prefer simple prayers, such as asking God to slam shut a door that He does not want open or swing wide open a door He wants me to walk though. Details are good too, but He already knows my heart. He is always faithful, despite the gap between desired answers and given answers.
I feel like I am typing out a plate of lettered spaghetti. I guess that's what I've got.
Labels: God, Television, Thoughts
27 February 2011
Oscar 2011: Who WILL Win
Here are my predictions.
- Motion Picture: "The King's Speech" (alt. "The Social Network")
- Director: Tom Hooper - "The King's Speech" (alt. David Fincher - "The Social Network")
- Actor: Colin Firth - "The King's Speech" (alt. James Franco - "127 Hours")
- Actress: Natalie Portman - "Black Swan" (alt. Annette Bening - "The Kids Are All Right")
- Supporting Actor: Christian Bale - "The Fighter" (alt. Geoffrey Rush - "The King's Speech")
- Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo - "The Fighter" (alt. Jacki Weaver - "Animal Kingdom")
- Best Adapted Screenplay: "The Social Network" (alt. "Toy Story 3")
- Best Original Screenplay: "The King's Speech" (alt. "Inception")
- Art Direction: "The King's Speech" (alt. "Inception")
- Cinematography: "True Grit" (alt. "Inception")
- Costume Design: "The King's Speech" (alt. "Alice in Wonderland")
- Film Editing: "The Social Network" (alt. "The King's Speech")
- Makeup: "The Wolfman" (alt. "Barney's Version")
- Original Score: "The King's Speech" (alt. "Inception")
- Original Song: "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3" (alt. "If I Rise" from "127 Hours")
- Sound Editing: "Inception" (alt. "True Grit")
- Sound Mixing: "Inception" (alt. "True Grit")
- Visual Effects: "Inception" (alt. "Hereafter")
- Animated Feature Film: "Toy Story 3" (alt. "How to Train Your Dragon")
- Foreign Language Film: "In a Better World" (alt. "Biutiful")
- Documentary: "Exit through the Gift Shop" (alt. "Waste Land")
- Documentary Short: "Strangers No More" (alt. "Killing in the Name")
- Short Film (Animated): "Madagascar, a Journey Diary" (alt. "Day & Night")
- Short Film: "God of Love" (alt. "Na Wewe")
"The King's Speech" - 7
Oscar 2011: Who SHOULD Win
Tonight, this long season finally comes to a close. Here are my picks for who I would like to win out of those nominated. There are plenty of awards I would hand out to people that aren't even nominated (Ben Mendelsohn in Animal Kingdom, for example). I'll post my predictions for who actually will win later today.
- Motion Picture: "The King's Speech" (or "Inception")
- "The King's Speech"
- "Inception"
- "Winter's Bone"
- "The Social Network"
- "True Grit"
- "The Fighter"
- "127 Hours"
- "Black Swan"
- "Toy Story 3"
- "The Kids Are All Right"
- Director: David Fincher - "The Social Network"
- Actor: Javier Bardem - "Biutiful" (or Colin Firth - "The King's Speech")
- Actress: Jennifer Lawrence - "Winter's Bone"
- Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush - "The King's Speech"
- Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver - "Animal Kingdom"
- Best Adapted Screenplay: "The Social Network"
- Best Original Screenplay: "Another Year"
- Art Direction: "Inception"
- Cinematography: "Inception"
- Costume Design: "I Am Love"
- Film Editing: "127 Hours"
- Makeup: "The Way Back"
- Original Score: "How to Train Your Dragon" (or "Inception")
- Original Song: "Coming Home" from "Country Strong"
- Sound Editing: "Inception"
- Sound Mixing: "Inception"
- Visual Effects: "Inception"
- Animated Feature Film: "How to Train Your Dragon"
- Foreign Language Film: "Biutiful" (or "In a Better World")
- Documentary: "Exit Through the Gift Shop"
- Documentary Short: "Strangers No More"*
- Short Film (Animated): "Madagascar, a Journey Diary"*
- Short Film: "God of Love"*
*I don't really have much of an opinion on the last three categories, as I haven't seen the films.
My tally:
"Inception" - 5 (7)
"The King's Speech" - 2 (3)
"Biutiful" - 2
"How to Train Your Dragon" - 2
"The Social Network" - 2
"Animal Kingdom" - 1
"Another Year" - 1
"Country Strong" - 1
"Exit Through the Gift Shop" - 1
"God of Love" - 1
"I Am Love" - 1
"Madagascar, a Journey Diary" - 1
"127 Hours" - 1
"Strangers No More" - 1
"The Way Back" - 1
"Winter's Bone" - 1
"In a Better World" - (1)
24 February 2011
Oscar 2011: My Analysis and Ballot
In the few years since I've become a film snob (now more than ever), I seem to feel less of 'the magic' when I'm going to the cinema and more of a scholarly sense of observation. I miss the magic, for sure, but it's nice to have an eye for something and to be able to analyze it further than whether I like it or not.
The last few years have all seemed a bit dull at the time of writing up each of my Oscar commentaries. Looking back now, only the best films are those I take into account (however few they may be in certain years), and they don't seem dull at all. This year looks pretty good, I would surmise. Just glancing at my longlist for my ballot for Best Picture, I have 23 possible pictures. Hey, I'll take it!
- “Black Swan”
- “The Fighter”
- “Inception”
- “The Kids Are All Right”
- “The King's Speech”
- “127 Hours”
- “The Social Network”
- “Toy Story 3”
- “True Grit”
- “Winter's Bone"
- "Ajami"
- "Animal Kingdom"
- "Another Year"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "A Prophet"
- "The Social Network"
- "True Grit"
- "The Way Back"
- "Winter's Bone"
- Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
- Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
- Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
- Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
- James Franco in “127 Hours”
- Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"
- Robert Duvall in "Get Low"
- Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"
- James Franco in "127 Hours"
- Tahar Rahim in "A Prophet"
- Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
- John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
- Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
- Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
- Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”
- Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
- Colin Farrell in "The Way Back"
- John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"
- Ben Mendelsohn in "Animal Kingdom"
- Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"
- Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
- Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
- Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
- Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
- Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”
- Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
- Carey Mulligan in "Never Let Me Go"
- Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
- Emma Stone in "Easy A"
- Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"
- Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
- Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
- Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
- Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
- Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”
- Anne-Marie Duff in "Nowhere Boy"
- Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"
- Lesley Manville in "Another Year"
- Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"
- Olivia Williams in "The Ghost Writer"
- “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
- “The Fighter” David O. Russell
- “The King's Speech” Tom Hooper
- “The Social Network” David Fincher
- “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
- "Inception" Christopher Nolan
- "The King's Speech" Tom Hooper
- "A Prophet" Jacques Audiard
- "The Social Network" David Fincher
- "The Way Back" Peter Weir
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
- “127 Hours”
- “The Social Network”
- “Toy Story 3”
- “True Grit”
- “Winter's Bone”
- “Another Year”
- “The Fighter”
- “Inception”
- “The Kids Are All Right”
- “The King's Speech”
- "Animal Kingdom"
- "Another Year"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "A Prophet"
- “Biutiful” Mexico
- “Dogtooth” Greece
- “In a Better World” Denmark
- “Incendies” Canada
- “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria
- “How to Train Your Dragon”
- “The Illusionist”
- “Toy Story 3”
- “Alice in Wonderland”
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
- “Inception”
- “The King's Speech”
- “True Grit”
- "Alice in Wonderland"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "Lebanon"
- "TRON Legacy"
- “Black Swan”
- “Inception”
- “The King's Speech”
- “The Social Network”
- “True Grit”
- "Animal Kingdom"
- "Black Swan"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "The Way Back"
- “Alice in Wonderland”
- “I Am Love”
- “The King's Speech”
- “The Tempest”
- “True Grit”
- "The Fighter"
- "I Am Love"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "True Grit"
- “Black Swan”
- “The Fighter”
- “The King's Speech”
- “127 Hours”
- “The Social Network”
- "Ajami"
- "The Fighter"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "127 Hours"
- “Barney's Version”
- “The Way Back”
- “The Wolfman”
- "The Fighter"
- "The Way Back"
- "The Wolfman"
- “How to Train Your Dragon”
- “Inception”
- “The King's Speech”
- “127 Hours”
- “The Social Network”
- "How to Train Your Dragon"
- "Inception"
- "The King's Speech"
- "Never Let Me Go"
- "TRON Legacy"
- “Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
- “I See the Light” from “Tangled”
- “If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
- “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3"
- "Coming Home" from "Country Strong"
- "I See the Light" from "Tangled"
- "If I Rise" from "127 Hours"
- "Me and Tennessee" from "Country Strong"
- "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3"
- “Inception”
- “Toy Story 3”
- “TRON Legacy”
- “True Grit”
- “Unstoppable”
- "Inception"
- "127 Hours"
- "Lebanon"
- "TRON Legacy"
- "True Grit"
- “Inception”
- “The King's Speech”
- “Salt”
- “The Social Network”
- “True Grit”
- "Animal Kingdom"
- "Inception"
- "TRON Legacy"
- "True Grit"
- "The Way Back"
- “Alice in Wonderland”
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
- “Hereafter”
- “Inception”
- “Iron Man 2”
- "Alice in Wonderland"
- "Hereafter"
- "Inception"
- "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World"
- "TRON Legacy"
Documentary (Feature)
- "Exit through the Gift Shop"
- "Gasland"
- "Inside Job"
- "Restrepo"
- "Waste Land"
My nomination totals:
11 - Inception
10 - The King's Speech
6 - Animal Kingdom
6 - True Grit
6 - The Way Back
5 - The Fighter
5 - 127 Hours
5 - TRON Legacy
4 - A Prophet
4 - Winter's Bone
3 - Another Year
3 - The Social Network
3 - Toy Story 3
2 - Ajami
2 - Alice in Wonderland
2 - Biutiful
2 - Black Swan
2 - Country Strong
2 - How to Train Your Dragon
2 - Lebanon
2 - Never Let Me Go
1 - Dogtooth
1 - Easy A
1 - Get Low
1 - The Ghost Writer
1 - Hereafter
1 - I Am Love
1 - The Illusionist
1 - In A Better World
1 - Incendies
1 - Nowhere Boy
1 - Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)
1 - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
1 - Tangled
1 - The Wolfman
23 September 2010
"Get Low" with Georgia cinema
Whether I am privy to the filmmaking or not (usually not), I often like to support movies that are filmed locally. I saw Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd at the cinema (mistake) and I'll probably see the remake of Footloose (impending mistake), since I have already made a 'set visit.'
While it is always wonderful seeing familiar surroundings on the big screen, it is often not worth the price of the movie ticket. This time, my local pride didn't turn out to be a waste of money. Get Low was worth every penny, regardless of my geographic sentiments.
The film tells the tale of a crazy old man (Robert Duvall) living in seclusion outside a small town full of people who spread all sorts of rumors about him. Of course, there is one person in town (Lucas Black) who sees a heart of gold deep down inside the crazy old man. There is even a person in town (Sissy Spacek) who knew the old crazy before he was old and crazy. Then, you have the struggling business owner (Bill Murray) who, being a yankee outsider, has nothing to lose by cozying up to the town crazy. When the old crazy sees his days coming to an end, he decides to invite everyone to come tell stories about him at his funeral... while he is alive... at his funeral.
Of course, this story is pleasant enough by itself, but the movie really shines when we start to learn why he shut himself off from others for forty years and what emotional damage has resulted. A good cast was needed to bring all of this to life, and a good cast was delivered.
This is the first meaty role for Cobbs in quite a while. The actor is used to smaller character parts and television roles (and that Peter Cetera Heineken commercial). I think he delivers more depth to his performance than any other supporting player. Unfortunately, I must be alone in my opinion, as Cobbs has gone by relatively unnoticed so far.
Lucas Black puts up a good performance as well. With already a good set of films under his belt, he is on his way to a sturdy career. Besides, it is impossible for me not to be a fan of his, with that unwavering Southern accent (we need more of these in Hollywood) and the fact that he looks a bit like the missing link between me and my brother.
Oscar winning composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek put together a nice score, with the help of Jerry Douglas and The Steeldrivers. Alison Krauss also offers up a song over the credits. I would easily recommend this soundtrack.
The cinematography isn't the best I've seen this year, but you can tell there was an artful eye behind the lens. The beautiful Georgia scenery doesn't hurt either, and it serves as an extremely appropriate substitute for Tennessee (where the film takes place). The costumes are good enough to be in contention for the Oscar, which only makes me regret not showing up in my Great Depression suit.
Aaron Schneider has made an impressive directorial debut with Get Low, seeing as his film finds a nice balance between aesthetics and performances. I'm happy the film has found the audience it deserves.