{ a swoop and a dart }

Weekend Movie Reviews, Or, Three of the Most Disparate Movies Ever

I watched a bunch of movies this weekend, which is one of the many measures of a good weekend for me. However, the three movies I watched could not have been more different. But I don't have a headache, so the processing parts of my brain are still functioning just fine, apparently. I'm not sure how, especially when you factor in the processing required for the rodeo we went to on Saturday afternoon (more on that later).

Movie #1: Whiplash

GOODNESS GRACIOUS. 

This is not a movie for everyone, but Matt and I both thought it was outstanding. (Maddie saw a couple clips at the Oscars, and asked if she could watch it with us... NO, NO, NO and NO. Maybe when she's 18.) All I can say is Birdman must be incredible if it beat this one out for Best Picture.

It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that caused me to clench my hands and shoulders and jaw and knees and feet in such tense fashion, but this movie did and more. "Emotionally intense" is an excellent description. The story is about a talented, aspiring-to-be-great drummer named Andrew Neimann and his drive to earn a core spot in his conservatory's elite jazz band; he withstands shocking abuse from the band's director, Terence Fletcher, whose absolutely monstrous quest to identify and develop greatness in his students finds focus on Andrew. Fletcher is astoundingly cruel. Andrew is astoundingly willing to go along, if it means he'll earn a core position in the band and singular brilliance as a musician.

This movie offers exactly zero pat answers to the question: what is required to be truly great? Are the words "good job" as dangerous as Fletcher contends? Is greatness at any cost worth it?

I spent two years in middle school and three in high school playing piano in jazz bands—respectable ones, ones that traveled for competitions in New York, Chicago, Toronto, and Montreal, ones considered good enough by any measure. Save for the one year I decided a strict, unyielding director sucked the fun out it for me and temporarily quit until a new director came along, it was a good experience. I learned a different way to play, how to improvise (a little), but mostly just had fun. My experience was designed to be good enough, and I think I'm OK with that. No one in his right mind would deem the methods (and madness) of Terence Fletcher acceptable. But where is that line? And was my good enough experience too far from it?

Related: it was sure fun to see Paul Reiser on screen, even if he did look really old to our Mad About You-loving hearts.

: )

Movie #2: Mockingjay Part I

Matt, Maddie and I watched this on Saturday night. We've all read the books, but a while ago; we were all struggling to remember exactly where in the story things were after Catching Fire ended, and it took us a few minutes to get up to speed. It was good, but not as visually stunning as the previous two; because it shifts the story from the very specific events of the Hunger Games to the larger theme of the strategic political game between the districts and The Capitol, it's also a little slower-paced than the other movies. It has to be, since it's setting up the conclusion.

I am impatient and I want the conclusion NOW.

This generation: still way luckier than kids of the 1980s.

Movie #3: Song of the Sea

WOW did I ever love this movie. Gracie, Bridget and I watched it on Sunday afternoon. It's from the same team that created The Secret of Kells, which we haven't seen but is now on my to-watch list. The animation is not like anything coming from American studios at present; it almost has the flavor of Mary Blair artwork. The story is excellent, but the animation is so good that you could mute the sound for the entire movie and still be completely enthralled by the images. It's that beautiful.

The story follows ten year old Ben and his six year old mute sister Saoirse, who happens to be a selkie like her mother (who disappears after Saoirse's birth). After years pass, their granny insists the two cannot continue to live with their father at a remote lighthouse and drags them to Dublin to live with her—a comically poor arrangement that lasts all of an hour before they set off for home. Along the way, they encounter peril that is mysteriously tied to Saoirse's rapidly deteriorating health; Ben is neither patient nor caring toward Saoirse for much of their quest, but experiences a transformation of his own along the way. I think you could easily enjoy the plot without knowing much about Gaelic folklore, fairies, and selkies—we did—but now that I've seen it, I want to read up so I can watch it again and catch all the symbolism and references I missed.

It's a quiet movie in many ways: the soundtrack is ethereal and the pacing reminded me of a good old Charlie Brown or Charlie and Lola story, not the in-your-face pace of Big Hero 6 or The Lego Movie (both of which we loved). It's rated PG for some mildly frightening scenes with Macha the Owl Witch and her gang of owls (I was a little worried about Gracie when the owls showed up as bad guys but she did fine). And in the end, Macha wasn't so bad after all—just so devastated by sadness that she lashed out to control it the only way that made sense to her.

Ah, the movies. I love them so!

 

Finding Vivian Maier

I love street photography, though I am mostly too much of a scaredy-cat to really pursue it most of the time. There are a few exceptions, of course, and I love the photos I've taken when I have some sort of "excuse" to be taking strangers' photos out in public (Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk, Cheyenne Frontier Days, etc.) but normally I just imagine how cool a photo would turn out if I was brave enough to take it.

It is no surprise that I was absolutely, completely enthralled by Finding Vivian Maier, a documentary that details the discovery of one of the most prolific street photographers of all time. I was familiar with some of Vivian Maier's photographs since she posthumously came on the photography world scene in the last few years, but I had never taken the time to really learn about her life until Matt and I rented it on Apple TV recently. We cannot recommend this film enough: it is a jaw-dropping, unlikely story of an immensely talented woman who kept her creative life (mostly) a secret. It has moments of heartbreak, too, told in a way that presents the price of creativity as a difficult equation to balance. I won't lie: I saw part of myself in her regarding the compulsion to take photos and collect the ephemera that documents ordinary life, and it has left me wondering why some people function this way and some people don't. In the end, I was in awe of the sheer emotion and detail she was able to capture as she roamed the streets with her charges in tow.

Here's the trailer; add it to your wish list. Also, be sure to check out Artsy's Vivian Maier resource page.

 

 

 

 

Cheated

Matt, Maddie and I had a movie date on Saturday night to watch Catching Fire, which we missed in the theater. We all loved it—plot, casting, acting, costumes.... it is exactly how the books look in our imaginations. Well done, all responsible. We cannot wait until the final installment is released.

After Maddie went to bed, Matt and I were flipping around channels a little and came across Weird Science about mid-way through. This is a movie I saw more than once in the mid-1980s, as did Matt... we watched, a little horrified, at how absolutely, positively awful it is on so many levels. I mean, just bad. I want to believe that the rest of the John Hughes canon would still stand up today for me—but now I think I don't want to find out. Maddie will have the Hunger Games trilogy (among other amazing movie franchises) to remember from her youth, and we have Weird Science. I feel totally cheated. Kids of today, forget the 70s—it's the 80s you need to defend yourself against.

The Weekend Documentary Round-up

Our love affair with the documentary section on Apple TV has not diminished. Actually, our love affair with Apple TV in general has not diminished, despite the rocky viewing of Clue over break, some odd connectivity issues, and a really terrible choice to watch Broken City recently. It is a sad day indeed when not even Marky Mark can save a movie. Thumbs down on that one—take our word for it.

But we have two really great ones to share!

1. 20 Feet From Stardom

This is one of the five 2014 Oscar nominees for best documentary, and it doesn't disappoint. It's all about the women who have made their careers as backup singers; they are a diverse group, but with one thing in common—they share the burden of being anonymously famous. Everyone knows  and sings along with their riffs, their lines, their melodies, but unless you're a music documentarian you probably don't really know them. And they are amazing singers with really, really interesting (and occasionally heartbreaking) paths to the background and beyond.

The music industry is portrayed honestly, for better and for worse: you feel the disappointments that Darlene Love and Merry Clayton (among others) feel as they are unable to break through the circumstances that prevent them from becoming the stars they clearly deserved to be. The genuine appreciation felt by headliners like Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and Mick Jagger for their background singers is evident—though it doesn't do Ike Turner any favors (no surprise there). We were surprised to learn that Luther Vandross was one of David Bowie's backup singers, and felt an increasing sense of sadness as the message came through loud and clear that backup singers just aren't that essential anymore in this era of autotuning. The amazing anonymity that Lisa Fischer lives within is absolutely shocking when she opens her mouth to sing, as is the amazing lack of anonymity Judith Hill faces (yet can't overcome, inexplicably). When the clip of Bette Midler introducing Darlene Love into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is shown at the end of the film, it's a cold heart that doesn't feel a little weepy.

This documentary is so good because it makes you feel a little guilty for enjoying the greatest songs and voices of the 20th century without knowing or caring who you're singing along with, all the while reassuring you that you aren't alone and it isn't entirely your fault. It's a tragedy, yet a celebration all at the same time.

2. We Cause Scenes: The Rise of Improv Everywhere

We were ready to go to bed, really we were, but trailer watching is such a terrible thing to do sometimes because immediately after watching the trailer for We Cause Scenes: The Rise of Improv Everywhere we had to watch it, 10:51 pm or not. We were not disappointed. 

This just-released documentary follows the unlikely path to success of Charlie Todd, recent college graduate yearning to make it big in New York City. He wants to be an actor, but realizing how hard that's going to be, redefines his dreams into something even better with a few friends, a few crazy ideas for pranks, and a really big heart. Even though this film takes place entirely in the 21st century it is shocking to see just how much the world has changed since 2001: when he started organizing small-scale "scenes" in New York City, there were no blogs, no texting, no iPods, no YouTube, no Facebook, no social media: only email and a clunky way to write up his stunts through the now-defunct Geocities website. Through organized but covert shenanigans, Charlie was able to grow his "collective" and pull off bigger and bigger scenes (he is adamant that "flash mobs" are not what Improv Everywhere is about). It's the best kind of storytelling, and he comes across as a genuinely good-hearted guy who really wants to give people experiences tailor-made for small groups of strangers who have no idea what hit them. Some take on an unexpected life of their own, some are hilarious, and they all make you shake your head because... how does someone think this stuff up?

The only Improv Everywhere scene I was familiar with before watching this was Frozen New York:

 

Highly recommended as both a really interesting insight into performance art in the 21st century and as a celebration of human ingenuity.

15 Second Review: Paul Rudish + Mickey Mouse

 

We were poking around in the free on demand section of our DVR this weekend and I came across a jackpot of Mickey Mouse shorts so good that I had to go investigating where they came from: Paul Rudish, who led a team that was tasked with creating some new Mickey Mouse content that was released in 2013. They are funny, and a perfect mix of old-fashioned animation and fresh air. Don't miss them : )

More Weekend Movie Reviews

The novelty of this renting WHATEVER WE WANT on Apple TV is never going to wear off. : ) And yes, we actually watched two things last night, because there was no gym pickup and Maddie was at a sleepover and the other two had their own sleepover in Gracie's room and we were able to start watching before 8:45 pm and it wasn't that long of a movie, so at 10:27 we decided we had it in us to watch a 67 minute documentary to round out the evening. Movie heaven!

Movie #1: Sleepwalk With Me

The cool thing (I mean, one of the cool things) about Apple TV is that you can watch previews. You know I get mad if I miss even five seconds of the previews in the theater, right? Well, you can watch previews to your heart's content for free, so last weekend we watched a preview for this movie and "wishlisted" it immediately.

It was really, really, really good. And best of all: it's so good because it's based on Mike Birbiglia's life as a struggling stand-up comedian, struggling partner in an eight-year relationship, and struggling victim of a terrible sleep disorder called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder—but lest you think it's all doom and gloom and struggle, it isn't; it's actually really funny, and you immediately feel compassion for him, his wonderful girlfriend, and all the plights going on throughout the movie. He originally performed this as a one-man off Broadway show, and turned it into a film that won lots of accolades at Sundance and was generally received as one of the best, funniest movies of the year by critics. Ira Glass produced it (and played the wedding photographer, look closely!) and it definitely has the feel of something that you might hear on This American Life.

Without giving it away, there are moments where you just get wide-eyed and start to cringe and nervously giggle all at the same time, because it's just so... awful. It's a special gift to be able to pull off a portrayal of his condition with humor but also to completely capture the frightening seriousness of it, but he does that, very well. It ends as it should, which is to say, you feel a little sad but also "how can I be sad when it ended as it should." It's always a good sign when you feel absolutely content at the end of a movie, I think.

Movie #2: Big Easy Express (A Documentary)

Check yes to the things you like on the following list:

___ Mumford & Sons

___ Old Crow Medicine Show

___ Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

___ trains

___ watching people who love music perform music

___ marching bands

___ Woody Guthrie

___ the idea of traveling across the U.S.

___ 8 mm fiilm effects

___ imagining the thrill of being a photographer assigned to photograph a train tour from Oakland to New Orleans

 

If you checked even one item on the list, I think you will like the second movie we watched last night:

It's a documentary that follows a 10 day train tour of Mumford & Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros from their first stop in the railyards in Oakland all the way to New Orleans, stopping along the way to perform concerts (and playing inside the train pretty much the rest of the time). These people (and there are a lot of them that make up these three bands) love music and it is a joy to watch them perform, though both Matt and I agreed that we liked the more informal performances (on the train, in the middle of the desert, in a high school band room) even more than the concert footage. We also agreed that we probably prefer to listen to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform vs. watching them, but that's just us.

When I recommended this to Marie last night, I also told her I'd give her $10 if she didn't burst into tears (or at least get really, really weepy) at the part where the Mumfords stop in Austin, TX for a rehearsal. I don't want to ruin it for anyone that will watch it, but if you come from any kind of band instrument-playing childhood, it will be touching. Matt was giggling at me, but I know his tuba- and clarinet-playing heart was touched, too. Heh. At the end I very abruptly got all Veruca Salt-like and told Matt I wanted the painted signs from the movie. As in, DON'T REST UNTIL YOU GET THEM FOR ME. Poor man. It would be easier for him to present me with a squirrel.

An interesting aside: Mumford & Sons, first recommended by my friend Mary, was not a band I immediately fell for. Chalk it up to the list of things I didn't used to like (as much as I should have) but now I think are (better than) OK.

Tell us what you think if you rent these, too : )

Best of 2012, Part III

So I've been keeping a running list of the best little videos I've seen online over the past year... some really, really good/funny/thought-provoking things... and of course now I can't find the notebook I wrote it in. I have many notebooks going at once—not unlike giant post-it-notes I leave all over everywhere—which doesn't really say much for my organizational skills, but it is what it is. Since my deadline for these best-of posts is Oscar night, I will simply recreate as much as I can from memory and add the rest later if I ever find the right notebook : ) Pop these out to get rid of Typepad's suddenly annoying margin cut-off.

1. $13,238.86 Left in a NYC Taxi by Casey Neistat

 

I can't get enough Casey Neistat videos (remember? He of the Neistat Brothers show on HBO?) I recently read that his largest fan base comes from the 14-24 year old boy demographic. HMPH. Whatever. He's a scrapbooker through and through. I save watching his videos for when I need a five minute mood boost.

2. Is Instagram the Best Thing to Ever Happen to Photography? by PBS Idea Channel

 

I love this quirky Idea Channel from PBS that I actually figured out how to do the subscribing thing on YouTube. I am not really a YouTube user, unless someone specifically points out something I should see over there. And then I watch it repeatedly.

3. Kid Snippets: Basketball Class by Bored Shorts TV

 

hahahahahahaha. That's what we say about this.

4. Cookie Monster's Share It Maybe by Sesame Street

 

I won't tell you how many times this was watched in our house this past year. Many, many, many times. As many as the panda sneeze in 2007.

5. The Christmas Chicken by the Pershey Family

 

Hee. That Genevieve.

There are more, I know there are... sigh. But, enjoy these for now : )

15 Second Review: Searching for Sugar Man

Thanks to our big Christmas gift this year, the $99 Apple TV Box of Magic, we now have access to movies like we've never experienced before. Like this documentary we watched last night, Searching for Sugar Man.

It is one of the most amazing stories we have ever, ever seen. EVER. It develops slowly, until by the end you flat out can't believe it could possibly be true. I think even Matt experienced some Willis Smiling Disorder of his own towards the end. It is up for an Oscar on February 24 and I can't remember when I felt like rooting for a movie to win as much as I do for this one (and we haven't even seen the other nominees yet).

Even if you don't have instant access to it with Apple TV, figure out how to get your hands on it—trust me. : )

The Hobbit: An Early Review

So, guess what Matt, Maddie, Grandpa and I did on Saturday night?

Why, we went to see The Hobbit. I know, I know, it says December 14 on that movie poster. Na-na-na-na-boo-boo, we got to see it early with 596 other lucky ducks at the Warren Base Theater! Once in a while, some sort of magical wand is waved and a much-anticipated movie is shown to Air Force folks early. And for free. As I said on Facebook on Saturday night, occasionally there is a really great perk for having to drag our stuff all over the country. Don't worry, I know there there are more perks than a free movie...free babies/no hospital bill being the top of the list. But this is definitely a nice perk, wouldn't you agree?

Of the four people in our early-movie-watching party:

• A hobbit expert
• Someone knowledgeable about hobbits in an "I've been alive for 72 years of course I've read Tolkien" kind of way
• Someone who read The Hobbit once to impress a boy and hoped that was enough impressing done so as not to have to read LOTR at the time (but probably ought to get on it some 23 odd years later)
• A new hobbit expert-in-the-making

I'll let you figure out who is who. It's important to note this context because it means we all experienced the movie a little differently.

Matt is not a purist when it comes to the movie adaptations of Middle Earth and doesn't mind liberties taken here and there by Peter Jackson and Peter Jackson's staff of movie-making geniuses. Lots of people will no doubt have lots to say about the liberties taken here and there in this movie; for example, Radagast, the brown wizard, is developed far more than in the book itself—he is equal parts drawn from The Silmarillion (which Matt tried more than once but failed to get through, because apparently it's a tough one even for a Tolkien fanatic) and the imagination of Peter Jackson and company, and makes for an interesting character who provides a touch of comic relief. Matt is mostly just so happy that Peter Jackson so clearly loves Middle Earth that he is willing to play along with a few plot enhancements. As for breaking The Hobbit up into three movies (and probably all long ones at that—this one clocked in at almost three hours—that just means two more chances to escape into one of his favorite literary worlds of all time.

In other words, two thumbs up.

Maddie read The Hobbit last year, and not to impress a boy (though her daddy was very impressed). She was excited to see this because it is both fresh in her mind and involves visual representations of extremely odd and scary creatures (her favorite!). I think it's hard to top the magical world genre once you've read and watched Harry Potter more than once, which puts anyone born after 1997 in a difficult spot—their expectations are going to be so high in a post-Harry world. As Matt often says though, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy invented the cliches we've all grown so used to; Maddie had no problem making that connection without letting her 21st century-dom get in the way. She was all in. She did lean over to Matt partway through an Orc fight to joke that she was going to have a nightmare about that, but otherwise did not find the story hard to follow or the imagery too scary.

This is a good place to mention that if you have a child who is sensitive to scary images in movies, this might be best seen at home vs. on a big screen. The Orcs are very Orc-y, Gollum is creepier than ever, and the action is both intense and dramatic. Your call. We called correctly that although the movie is rated PG-13, Maddie would be fine at 10.5. We follow a much stricter rule of thumb with Gracie (with her blessing) and this is more of a PG-23 movie for her. Bridget might be drawn in by the promise of an almost princess-y Elf Queen/Cate Blanchett someday. Too early to call. : )

Maddie gives it two thumbs up.

I am not a hobbit expert, but I do know how to find and purchase interesting editions of Tolkien books (and various supporting materials) and I do so love second breakfasts, so that counts for something, right? And busted: I read The Hobbit around 1990 to impress Matt. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. It just wasn't my thing at the time, though I think the part of my brain assigned to processing Tolkien has probably matured enough by now that I would actually enjoy it far more if I read it again (which I might). I saw all the LOTR trilogy in the theater without having read the books (sacrilege!) so I was prepared for the caliber of Peter Jackson's work; just because I can't name the dwarves and mixed up goblins and trolls and didn't catch the symbolism of the thrush, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it very much. I did. Bilbo is funny and wry, dwarves break out into song and dance* and the story unfolds slowly but steadily in a way that allows you to soak up the stunning images. How lucky it is to live in an age where moviemakers have so many tools available to them, and how much luckier it is when moviemakers use them so well. Is it cheating that I will reread the book with a clear picture in my mind of Bilbo's home? The goblin bridge? Gollum's haunts? Maybe. But I don't feel bad about it.

Two thumbs up from me. Grandpa gives it two thumbs up, too.

There is already some discussion about the method in which Peter Jackson filmed this; I didn't really understand it, something about frames per second and how he did something differently and what that does to the final product. It was a moot point for us because while it was super cool and generous of whoever it was that arranged an early screening, the sound system and projection inside the Warren Base Theater lives a little to be desired. Simply put, we didn't notice the frames per second thing because our energy was expended on trying to hear dialogue.

Real movie critics are almost always more critical than me, because I'm easily entertained; I just love to go to the movies. But even if you are a not-easily entertained lover of all things hobbit, there is a strong possibility that you, too, will give it two thumbs up. I know we'll be waiting anxiously for the second installment.

 

*Matt rolled his eyes when he pointed out that I should have been prepared for this seeing as how The Hobbit includes many songs, to which I rolled my eyes back and thought 1990! I read this once to impress you in 1990!

Spring Break Movie Review Part I: Mirror Mirror

The girls and I saw the trailer for Mirror Mirror during the Academy Awards last month and have been counting down the days until spring break rolled around—while I will happily go see a movie any day of the year (I am my mother's daughter) I especially like to take the girls to see a movie during spring break. We know people who are traveling to warm and exotic vacation destinations this week—Hilton Head! Honolulu! Orlando!—but I am of the mind that while warm and sunny is all fine and good, there is something to be said for two hours of smiling at a screen* in a darkened theater. Or so I'm training the girls to believe.

We loved, loved, loved this movie. It had so much to love—Julia Roberts! Snow White! Gorgeous costuming! A great sense of comedic timing! I'm not sure who comes up with these ideas over at Disney to completely redo the plot lines of classic fairy tales, but like Tangled, it totally worked. The story is simultaneously familiar and completely new; in one of Disney's fantastic nods to quirky, graphic story-within-a-story shorts, we get more detail about the loss of Snow White's father than the original Snow White provides. Queen Clementianna (Roberts) narrates the history, immediately becoming a wicked queen with depth vs. the cartooned caricature of evil within the first few scenes: she is mean! fickle! spiteful! arrogant! funny! You can't help but love to hate her and hate to love her—no one better than Julia Roberts (disclosure: my all-time favorite actress) to pull this off.

The movie contains a few other notable departures from the original Disney version: the dwarves are not nearly as clownish, though they are at first far less honorable as bandits rather than miners. Their names are different, too—Grimm, Half Pint, Napoleon, Grub, Chuck, Wolf, and Butcher. Snow White (Lily Collins—Phil Collins' daughter!) makes them dinner as a gesture of gratitude, but she is no housekeeper in this story—she learns practical skills from the dwarves in a plot turn that provides both action and a strong female character to cheer. The prince is funny but is never a fool (except for when he is under a spell) and his respect for Snow White at the story's end gives the movie its modern feel. That and the hilarious nod to Bollywood during the closing credits. Bridget already asked me to put that song on her iPod. Watch out, Mumbai. Have you seen Bridget dance?

And the costumes... oh, the costumes... they were perfect. Gorgeous. Fitting in every way.

As for the scary factor: I have the best way to measure this in the entire universe—the Scale of Gracie. You might remember that Gracie couldn't make it through Cinderella for years because Lucifer, the cat, sent her into hysterics. Gracie is seven now and can giggle over her previous fear of the black cartoon cat (which ended when she was about 5 3/4, ahem), but she is still an excellent measure of scary. She was a little freaked out by the forest scenes at the beginning (they were in fact a little creepy) and by the beast that makes an appearance at the end, but she only covered her eyes for about 30 seconds of the entire movie and didn't cry once. (Bridget, in comparison, watched the entire thing without blinking, I think.) I wouldn't take a child under four to see this movie, but then again, I think movies with three year olds are best enjoyed at home anyway : )

As for older kids: Maddie sat next to her friend C; they were cracking me up because they did find it necessary to cover their eyes and squirm at least twice during some very innocent kissing scenes. Hee. Almost ten-year-old girls. Maddie got all the jokes; it is awfully fun to see an almost ten-year-old giggle at all the right places and understand the subtleties of the less in-your-face humor. I've read a few reviews that throw some minor criticism for being a little fluffy on the humor, a little too light on the script and storyline. I'm here to say: Hollywood, make more movies like this, because families will pay to see them. A movie like this is all at once appropriate, interesting, and funny. What's the problem, again?

 

*you may find an explanation of the Willis Smiling Disorder here.