Hey everybody,
I haven't written in awhile because I just moved to a new town (well, not new, as I lived here a few years ago... but new as in different city/state than where I lived 2 weeks ago) and I've been spending just about my entire day looking on-line and in town for jobs.
I had a little break in my day, so I thought I would spout off about something that I was told this morning...
See, I have been emailing local newspapers to see if there was any need for an entertainment writer (more specifically, writing about film) on their staff. With one paper, I've had the privilege to write an article about a music-based fundraiser for a local performance venue (in which they are taking the "free" in freelance to the nth degree - my article is getting published, but I'm not seeing a dime for it...). The other paper I contacted this morning had no film articles anywhere in their Arts & Entertainment section, so I thought I would be an asset to their team. I emailed the editor and told him about myself and how I noticed the lack of film articles.
He graciously wrote back to me a couple hours later and said Thanks but no - his publisher (and I quote) "doesn't think of film as an art form".
Hold the phone.
WHAT?!?!
Now, I wrote a paper about this very subject for my Art and Morality course in college. Crappy movies like "House of Wax" or "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" are probably not perceived as art. They aren't classy pictures like "The English Patient" or "The Crying Game". But making film *is* an art form. It's amazing that movies get made... they take hundreds, maybe even thousands of people working together using sound, technology, film, actors, various crew members, etc... all working towards a single objective - a finished movie.
Each person who works on a movie is like a different color of paint used in different combinations and applied with different techniques to create this massive moving mural.
This paper's Arts & Entertainment section was full of articles abotu music and theater. I LOVE music and theater. But aren't those also means of entertainment that are created by a group of people working towards one goal? The music articles are about local musicians and not people like Miley Cyrus or Britney Spears. Miley and Britney have out out some catchy songs, but I wouldn't say that their music has shaped history like Mozart or Beethoven. I wouldn't say that the local artists have shaped music history like Mozart or Beethoven... or even Miley and Britney.
Art is meaningful to the eye of the beholder. While I trash films like the aforementioned "House of Wax" and "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", those might be somebody's favorite movies ever. To that person, these movies are works of art.
When I walk around art museums and see those paintings that are just one, solid color (like Red, or Blue) covering an entire canvas, that does not scream "art" to me. But it's hanging in a musuem in New York City, so it's obviously pretty special, right?
I think it's unfair for someone, especially a publisher of a newspaper, to say that film is not an art form. It is. And there are thousands upon thousands of people who take pride in working in an art form as interesting as film. Movies have been around for less than 150 years... which is a blink of an eye when compared to how long people have been doing other art forms, like drawing and making music. But film is still an art form. And movies and people who love movies will be around for many, many years to come.
***
I'd also like to mention that I did go see The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! on opening day a couple weeks ago... what a day for movies!!
The Dark Knight was amazing. The best film of the summer, by far. The ensemble is top notch, the script was engaging and was thought provoking. The characters, like Joker and Harvey Dent, are complex people - there aren't cartoony charicatures like in earlier films, these men have depths to them that are worth exploring. The effects and action sequences were great - I jumped in my seat on multiple occasions out of shock/fright.
The whole cast did a great job, but it really is Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker that stands out. Even if Ledger were alive today, people would still be talking about the performance. Is it Oscar worthy? When compared to other films that have already been released - Yes. Will that still be the case come nomination time? We'll see.
The Joker is one interesting guy... he's crazy, but not silly-crazy. The Joker was in complete control of his actions throughout the entire film - and in that way, he is entirely sane. The stuff he does is quite grizzly (that whole pencil bit "You wanna see a magic trick?" is unsuspecting, yet highly entertaining) and the way he cackles or licks his lips and brushes his stringy greenish hair off his face is downright disturbing. If all of that was written on the page, props to the screenwriter. But it's Ledger's execution of these little details that stand out and give you the willies.
The Dark Knight was entertaining, but so was Mamma Mia!. The songs are so catchy and everyone just looks like they are having fun.
The biggest problem with the film is Pierce Brosnan... man, it is uncomfortable to watch him sing. He kind of roars while he sings... he doesn't just open his mouth and belt one out, it looks like his face is winding up much like a pitcher ready to bring the heat. The group of people I was with, as well as the women behind us were laughing hysterically each time Bronsan sang - we couldn't help it. I had to look away from the screen because I was laughing so hard. Tears were pouring out of the corners of my eyes and my sides hurt from shaking in my chair. It was *funny*!
I plan on seeing Swing Vote this weekend. I freely admit to being a fan of Kevin Costner and I think it will be nice to see a comedic political film especially since it's Election Year and politics are on everyone's mind.
Have a great day and stay cool... it's getting hot out there.
I'll see ya at the movies!
Showing posts with label opinion piece - movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opinion piece - movies. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Batman vs. Mamma Mia! - everyone's a winner here
This morning, I watched the HBO First Look for "The Dark Knight" as well as a VH1 special on the Top 10 things you should know about "Mamma Mia!". Both films open on July 18th, though it would seem to a largely different audience.
I am the exception to the rule, and I’m sure I am not alone. I will be seeing both of these films on opening day because they both are right up my cinematic alley.
The Dark Knight looks to be the best film of the summer. Sorry, Iron Man, but your time to shine is over. And how! Three years ago, Batman Begins renewed the series, bringing a darker feel to the franchise and the best cast a Batman film has ever had (with the exception of Katie Holmes… sorry girlie, but that was not one of your better performances). Now, from the trailers and commercials, The Dark Knight appears to one-up Batman Begins with additional (though completely familiar) characters, as well as more action and more destruction ripping away at Gotham City, as well as the Bat Man.
I have been looking forward to The Dark Knight as soon as the credits rolled for Batman Begins. The teaser trailer that came out last summer really got me excited – the one with just dialogue between Bruce Wayne and Alfred, and then the Joker’s threat that "The time, people will die" followed by that delightfully hideous cackle that to this day sends shivers down my spine. Then, since this past winter, they’ve been showing full length trailers for The Dark Knight, giving us snippets of the Joker in action, as well as the "good guy" Harvey Dent, telling us all that "The night is darkest before the dawn. But the dawn is coming!" (or something like that) and my heart starts pumping and I wished that July 18th were right around the corner.
Well, now July 18th is nearing, and I am beyond excited. I know The Dark Knight is just a movie. But it’s also an event. Most of the effects in the film were done practically (as in, not CGI)… there is a different actress playing Rachel Dawes (Thank you, Maggie Gyllenhaal)… and this film is the last feature that was completed by Heath Ledger before his unfortunate and untimely passing in January. And what a film to end on… there has been speculation for months that he will be nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker. And from the footage I’ve seen from trailers and commercials, I am going to agree. Heath Ledger was a talented actor, and in this film, it looks like he’s managed to take a memorable Jack Nicholson role, and completely make it his own. From the voice, to the look, to the way that he carries himself while he walks and add in that sickening laugh… and we have a new villain to give us the willies. And this villain will have willies staying power, much like Hannibal Lector, or that guy from A Clockwork Orange.
And then there’s Mamma Mia!... Right now, as I type this, I’m listening to my ABBA’s Greatest Hits CD in preparation for next week. I only know 4 songs now, but I’m sure I’ll have them all down by heart after seeing the movie.
So why would a girl who loves the action-packed, destructive nature of The Dark Knight want to see an ABBA filled movie musical with all singing, all dancing, all the time?
Because I friggin’ love musicals as much as I love action movies.
If I were a better singer and dancer, I would give musicals a go. But alas, I am not the greatest singer in the world, and my dancing skills, though somewhat lacking, are better than my singing voice. So, I take every chance I get to see live theatre/musicals or movie musicals. This past weekend, my sister and I drove up to Chicago on a whim to go see "Jersey Boys". We’ve been known to wake up before dawn, drive to NYC for a matinee and an evening show, and then drive straight back home. We loves our theater and show tunes And we also love our movie musicals.
Not only do we watching movie musicals, we feel obligated to support them by seeing them at least once while there are at a (movie) theater near us. Though we have yet to see Mamma Mia! on stage, we will be there opening day for the movie. We like ABBA, we love musicals, and we really enjoy the cast (Meryl Streep! Colin Firth! Amanda Seyfried! Woot!!).
On a more personal note, I’m glad to support this film because a woman wrote the script, a woman produced it, and a woman directed it. How many times is that the case for a major motion picture? (Answer: Not many, that’s for sure) You may call me a feminist all you want, but it would be great to see more female representation behind the scenes in the filmmaking industry. And if that is too much for the boys to handle, then please make more films where (strong) women are the main characters. Sex and the City: The Movie made a lot of money this summer… take the hint, already, Hollywood.
I hope you will join me in supporting both of these films. They have great casts and both look like a lot of fun.
I’ll see you at the movies… you know where I’ll be sitting :)
I am the exception to the rule, and I’m sure I am not alone. I will be seeing both of these films on opening day because they both are right up my cinematic alley.
The Dark Knight looks to be the best film of the summer. Sorry, Iron Man, but your time to shine is over. And how! Three years ago, Batman Begins renewed the series, bringing a darker feel to the franchise and the best cast a Batman film has ever had (with the exception of Katie Holmes… sorry girlie, but that was not one of your better performances). Now, from the trailers and commercials, The Dark Knight appears to one-up Batman Begins with additional (though completely familiar) characters, as well as more action and more destruction ripping away at Gotham City, as well as the Bat Man.
I have been looking forward to The Dark Knight as soon as the credits rolled for Batman Begins. The teaser trailer that came out last summer really got me excited – the one with just dialogue between Bruce Wayne and Alfred, and then the Joker’s threat that "The time, people will die" followed by that delightfully hideous cackle that to this day sends shivers down my spine. Then, since this past winter, they’ve been showing full length trailers for The Dark Knight, giving us snippets of the Joker in action, as well as the "good guy" Harvey Dent, telling us all that "The night is darkest before the dawn. But the dawn is coming!" (or something like that) and my heart starts pumping and I wished that July 18th were right around the corner.
Well, now July 18th is nearing, and I am beyond excited. I know The Dark Knight is just a movie. But it’s also an event. Most of the effects in the film were done practically (as in, not CGI)… there is a different actress playing Rachel Dawes (Thank you, Maggie Gyllenhaal)… and this film is the last feature that was completed by Heath Ledger before his unfortunate and untimely passing in January. And what a film to end on… there has been speculation for months that he will be nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker. And from the footage I’ve seen from trailers and commercials, I am going to agree. Heath Ledger was a talented actor, and in this film, it looks like he’s managed to take a memorable Jack Nicholson role, and completely make it his own. From the voice, to the look, to the way that he carries himself while he walks and add in that sickening laugh… and we have a new villain to give us the willies. And this villain will have willies staying power, much like Hannibal Lector, or that guy from A Clockwork Orange.
And then there’s Mamma Mia!... Right now, as I type this, I’m listening to my ABBA’s Greatest Hits CD in preparation for next week. I only know 4 songs now, but I’m sure I’ll have them all down by heart after seeing the movie.
So why would a girl who loves the action-packed, destructive nature of The Dark Knight want to see an ABBA filled movie musical with all singing, all dancing, all the time?
Because I friggin’ love musicals as much as I love action movies.
If I were a better singer and dancer, I would give musicals a go. But alas, I am not the greatest singer in the world, and my dancing skills, though somewhat lacking, are better than my singing voice. So, I take every chance I get to see live theatre/musicals or movie musicals. This past weekend, my sister and I drove up to Chicago on a whim to go see "Jersey Boys". We’ve been known to wake up before dawn, drive to NYC for a matinee and an evening show, and then drive straight back home. We loves our theater and show tunes And we also love our movie musicals.
Not only do we watching movie musicals, we feel obligated to support them by seeing them at least once while there are at a (movie) theater near us. Though we have yet to see Mamma Mia! on stage, we will be there opening day for the movie. We like ABBA, we love musicals, and we really enjoy the cast (Meryl Streep! Colin Firth! Amanda Seyfried! Woot!!).
On a more personal note, I’m glad to support this film because a woman wrote the script, a woman produced it, and a woman directed it. How many times is that the case for a major motion picture? (Answer: Not many, that’s for sure) You may call me a feminist all you want, but it would be great to see more female representation behind the scenes in the filmmaking industry. And if that is too much for the boys to handle, then please make more films where (strong) women are the main characters. Sex and the City: The Movie made a lot of money this summer… take the hint, already, Hollywood.
I hope you will join me in supporting both of these films. They have great casts and both look like a lot of fun.
I’ll see you at the movies… you know where I’ll be sitting :)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Summer 2008 - my picks of what I'll see (or avoid) in the next couple months
Good day fellow movie lovers...
How ya doin'?
Good, good.
It's June now, can you believe it? I should be cleaning my apartment or packing, but instead, I dug out my Summer 2008 Movie Preview issue of EW and I'm flipping through its glorious pages, reminding myself what I'm going to see (or avoid) this summer at the cinema.
Hmmm... let's see:
JUNE
I'll see:
- The Incredible Hulk (June 13th) - If Edward Norton is in a movie, chances are, I'll see it. In fact, I have seen every single one of his films he's ever been in, so I'm not going to stop now. I saw the Ang Lee/Eric Bana version a few years back and that was just not good. This Hulk looks to be more action packed and less like a lame comic book (sorry Ang, stick to romantic epics like Brokeback). While I have a great dislike of William Hurt, I will overlook that and gladly sit and watch Ed Norton kick some ass.
- Wanted (June 27th) - I like that someone had the brilliant idea to cast little James McAvoy as an assassin. While I'm not fans of Jolie or Freeman, I'm looking forward to some sweet shoot 'em up sequences and some great effects. I haven't read the graphic novel, but I hear this movie is pretty much frame for frame (with a little extra added in here and there).
- Finding Amanda (June 27th) - It'll be good to see Matthew Broderick do some real acting and I like Brittany Snow... she's talented and seeing her in a different kind of role than her norm will be refreshing.
I will NOT see even if you paid me:
- You Don't Mee With the Zohan (June 6th) - Adam Sandler needs to just stop making these stupid movies. This isn't the mid/late 90s... he should be moving past his "Happy Gilmore" shtick and be making more films along the lines of "Punch Drunk Love". The trailer for this film makes me shake my head in anger because I know an obscene amount of people are going to spend their hard earned money on this piece of crap movie.
- The Love Guru (June 20th) - Please, boycott this movie with me, folks. Mike Myers is another talented comedian who is cranking out bad movies again and again and again. I loved him on SNL, but can't stand watching just about all of his films because they are the same movie, just with a different title. I'm tired of seeing commercials for this movie. I don't care that Justin Timberlake is in a Speedo in this movie - he's better than that (have you seen him host SNL? It's friggin' hilarious). DON'T SEE THIS MOVIE
- Wall*E (June 27) - First of all, this little robot looks like ET. That alone is enough to turn me away from the theater. Then, I see a new trailer for the movie, and oh look, the little ET robot has fallen in love with another little robot, this one who looks like one of those drug balloons Maria swallows in "Maria Full of Grace". After getting dragged against my will to Ratatouille last summer, I am putting my foot down about this one.
I'm up in the air about:
- The Happening (June 13th) - I love Mark Walhberg and Zooey Deschanel, but M. Night Shymalan has let me down more times than not.
- Get Smart (June 20) - Steve Carell makes me laugh, but the more I see the trailer and commercials, the lamer this looks (which is too bad).
JULY
I'll see:
- The Dark Knight (July 18th) - This is my most anticipated movie of the entire summer. I loved "Batman Begins" (except for Katie Holmes, as she is one of my least favorite actresses of all time), but now that Holmes is replaced by the awesome Maggie Gyllenhaal and we add on the equally awesome Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart as The Joker and Harvey Dent... words cannot describe my excitement. I see the commercials/trailers, I hear The Joker's evil cackle and I get goosebumps. I cannot help but feel sad at the same time, for I know that this upcoming performance by Ledger is one of his last and even though I haven't seen the film yet, I know his Joker will go down in cinema history as iconic.
- Mamma Mia! (July 18th) - This is one musical I haven't seen on stage, but I will gladly sit through the movie. I like ABBA music (my dad got me their Greatest Hits album for Christmas a few years back... we watch Adventures of Priscilla a lot... inside joke, you'd have to be there) and it's going to be fun seeing Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and that girl from "Mean Girls" singing and dancing. I try and support all movie musicals in hopes that they will keep making more... I'm predicting that "Wicked", "Legally Blonde", "The Color Purple" and maybe even "Spring Awakening" will probably hit movie theaters near us in the next decade.
I will NOT see:
- Meet Dave (July 11th) - Like Sandler and Myers, I'm tired of seeing Eddie Murphy in ridiculous comedies. We loved you in "Dreamgirls", Eddie... drama suits you.
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11th) - Didn't see the first one, don't plan on seeing this one. EVER.
I'm up in the air about:
- Hancock (July 2) - I don't really like Will Smith much, but usually his movies are watchable. And it's got Jason Bateman in it... and I fully support Jason Bateman and his cinematic endeavors.
- Step Brothers (July 25th) - Like Sandler, Myers, and Murphy, I am soooooooooo over Will Ferrell and his comedies. Old School and Anchorman were good, but then his cameo in Wedding Crashers and then Semi Pro were same old, same old. You're better than that, Ferrell! I saw "Stranger Than Fiction" - you can do it! I laughed at the Red Band trailer, though, and I adore John C. Reilly... so I might have to see this.
AUGUST
I'll see:
- Pineapple Express (August 8th) - I have been waiting since Freaks and Geeks to see James Franco in a GOOD movie comedy... and I think this is the vehicle for him. Paired with Seth Rogen, these two are going to literally light up on screen and I will be there opening weekend to laugh so hard I'll want to cry. Yeah, I know I'm hyping this up a lot, but I have faith in Rogen, Franco and Judd Apatow. The Red Band Trailer is so funny... I don't know if this will make me laugh more than "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" or "Superbad", but I am ready for whatever is coming my way. Hopefully this will bring Franco out of his crappy movie slump... he's more talented than his last few movies have shown him to be (yes, I'm talking about YOU, Spider-Man franchise).
- Tropic Thunder (August 15th) - I am willing to lift my "I'm never paying money to see a Tom Cruise movie EVER AGAIN" boycott for this movie and this movie alone. Another one where the Red Band Trailer has made me laugh harder than I thought I would... thanks to one Robert Downey Jr. That man is FUNNY. I'm not a fan of Stiller...like Ferrell et al., he plays the same character in most of his films... I've seen you in better stuff, Stiller, go back to "Your Friends & Neighbors" skills... that was good. "The Heartbreak Kid" was not.
I will NOT see:
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (August 1) - Really, another Mummy movie? I didn't like the 2nd one much and didn't even bother with "The Scorpion King". And no Rachel Weisz? She took her Oscar and ran... good for her. But why, Maria Bello, why? You are soooo much better than playing second fiddle to "George of the Jungle" (Yeah, I'm talkin' 'bout you, Fraser).
I'm still up in the air about:
- The Rocker (August 1st) - Rainn Wilson and Will Arnett in one movie should be a good time. But can Dwight Schrute carry a movie? We shall see... maybe.
- Swing Vote (August 1st) - Ah, a political comedy. Too bad Fraiser is one of the nominees (though I feel bad he just recently had a heart attack). I loves me some Stanley Tucci and Kevin Costner (oh Costner, I might just have to have a Bull Durham/Tin Cup/Untouchables a-thon in the coming weeks)... so I might check it out.
- The House Bunny (August 22nd) - The premise is kind of dumb, and I don't really like some of the actresses in it... but the trailer made me chuckle. Audibly. Multiple times. Which is still an enigma to me, but I feel like I should support this film, if only because it's a comedy starring women in my age bracket... and they don't make any of those kinds of films.
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona (August 29th) - I will freely admit that I am a movie lover who can't stand Woody Allen. I like a couple of his films, but on a whole, I don't like them/I don't see what's so great about them. I'm not going to follow the herd and bow down to this man... I don't care what you say about Woody Allen, "Scoop" sucked. Like, a lot. But I'm willing to put our differences aside and give him another chance... mostly because I want to see what Javier Bardem is going to bring to this film. I've been a fan of his since "Before Night Falls", so I'm willing to try this out. Burn me again, Allen, and we are done for good.
And there are a whole slew of great looking Independent films that are coming out this summer, but there's no way to tell if they'll open wide enough for all of us who still live in the Midwest!
If you haven't already, go check out "Iron Man" and "Sex and the City".... those were the best movies released in May (yep, notice Indy 4 was not a part of that shortlist...)
Have a good one, and Happy Movie Watching!!
How ya doin'?
Good, good.
It's June now, can you believe it? I should be cleaning my apartment or packing, but instead, I dug out my Summer 2008 Movie Preview issue of EW and I'm flipping through its glorious pages, reminding myself what I'm going to see (or avoid) this summer at the cinema.
Hmmm... let's see:
JUNE
I'll see:
- The Incredible Hulk (June 13th) - If Edward Norton is in a movie, chances are, I'll see it. In fact, I have seen every single one of his films he's ever been in, so I'm not going to stop now. I saw the Ang Lee/Eric Bana version a few years back and that was just not good. This Hulk looks to be more action packed and less like a lame comic book (sorry Ang, stick to romantic epics like Brokeback). While I have a great dislike of William Hurt, I will overlook that and gladly sit and watch Ed Norton kick some ass.
- Wanted (June 27th) - I like that someone had the brilliant idea to cast little James McAvoy as an assassin. While I'm not fans of Jolie or Freeman, I'm looking forward to some sweet shoot 'em up sequences and some great effects. I haven't read the graphic novel, but I hear this movie is pretty much frame for frame (with a little extra added in here and there).
- Finding Amanda (June 27th) - It'll be good to see Matthew Broderick do some real acting and I like Brittany Snow... she's talented and seeing her in a different kind of role than her norm will be refreshing.
I will NOT see even if you paid me:
- You Don't Mee With the Zohan (June 6th) - Adam Sandler needs to just stop making these stupid movies. This isn't the mid/late 90s... he should be moving past his "Happy Gilmore" shtick and be making more films along the lines of "Punch Drunk Love". The trailer for this film makes me shake my head in anger because I know an obscene amount of people are going to spend their hard earned money on this piece of crap movie.
- The Love Guru (June 20th) - Please, boycott this movie with me, folks. Mike Myers is another talented comedian who is cranking out bad movies again and again and again. I loved him on SNL, but can't stand watching just about all of his films because they are the same movie, just with a different title. I'm tired of seeing commercials for this movie. I don't care that Justin Timberlake is in a Speedo in this movie - he's better than that (have you seen him host SNL? It's friggin' hilarious). DON'T SEE THIS MOVIE
- Wall*E (June 27) - First of all, this little robot looks like ET. That alone is enough to turn me away from the theater. Then, I see a new trailer for the movie, and oh look, the little ET robot has fallen in love with another little robot, this one who looks like one of those drug balloons Maria swallows in "Maria Full of Grace". After getting dragged against my will to Ratatouille last summer, I am putting my foot down about this one.
I'm up in the air about:
- The Happening (June 13th) - I love Mark Walhberg and Zooey Deschanel, but M. Night Shymalan has let me down more times than not.
- Get Smart (June 20) - Steve Carell makes me laugh, but the more I see the trailer and commercials, the lamer this looks (which is too bad).
JULY
I'll see:
- The Dark Knight (July 18th) - This is my most anticipated movie of the entire summer. I loved "Batman Begins" (except for Katie Holmes, as she is one of my least favorite actresses of all time), but now that Holmes is replaced by the awesome Maggie Gyllenhaal and we add on the equally awesome Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart as The Joker and Harvey Dent... words cannot describe my excitement. I see the commercials/trailers, I hear The Joker's evil cackle and I get goosebumps. I cannot help but feel sad at the same time, for I know that this upcoming performance by Ledger is one of his last and even though I haven't seen the film yet, I know his Joker will go down in cinema history as iconic.
- Mamma Mia! (July 18th) - This is one musical I haven't seen on stage, but I will gladly sit through the movie. I like ABBA music (my dad got me their Greatest Hits album for Christmas a few years back... we watch Adventures of Priscilla a lot... inside joke, you'd have to be there) and it's going to be fun seeing Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and that girl from "Mean Girls" singing and dancing. I try and support all movie musicals in hopes that they will keep making more... I'm predicting that "Wicked", "Legally Blonde", "The Color Purple" and maybe even "Spring Awakening" will probably hit movie theaters near us in the next decade.
I will NOT see:
- Meet Dave (July 11th) - Like Sandler and Myers, I'm tired of seeing Eddie Murphy in ridiculous comedies. We loved you in "Dreamgirls", Eddie... drama suits you.
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11th) - Didn't see the first one, don't plan on seeing this one. EVER.
I'm up in the air about:
- Hancock (July 2) - I don't really like Will Smith much, but usually his movies are watchable. And it's got Jason Bateman in it... and I fully support Jason Bateman and his cinematic endeavors.
- Step Brothers (July 25th) - Like Sandler, Myers, and Murphy, I am soooooooooo over Will Ferrell and his comedies. Old School and Anchorman were good, but then his cameo in Wedding Crashers and then Semi Pro were same old, same old. You're better than that, Ferrell! I saw "Stranger Than Fiction" - you can do it! I laughed at the Red Band trailer, though, and I adore John C. Reilly... so I might have to see this.
AUGUST
I'll see:
- Pineapple Express (August 8th) - I have been waiting since Freaks and Geeks to see James Franco in a GOOD movie comedy... and I think this is the vehicle for him. Paired with Seth Rogen, these two are going to literally light up on screen and I will be there opening weekend to laugh so hard I'll want to cry. Yeah, I know I'm hyping this up a lot, but I have faith in Rogen, Franco and Judd Apatow. The Red Band Trailer is so funny... I don't know if this will make me laugh more than "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" or "Superbad", but I am ready for whatever is coming my way. Hopefully this will bring Franco out of his crappy movie slump... he's more talented than his last few movies have shown him to be (yes, I'm talking about YOU, Spider-Man franchise).
- Tropic Thunder (August 15th) - I am willing to lift my "I'm never paying money to see a Tom Cruise movie EVER AGAIN" boycott for this movie and this movie alone. Another one where the Red Band Trailer has made me laugh harder than I thought I would... thanks to one Robert Downey Jr. That man is FUNNY. I'm not a fan of Stiller...like Ferrell et al., he plays the same character in most of his films... I've seen you in better stuff, Stiller, go back to "Your Friends & Neighbors" skills... that was good. "The Heartbreak Kid" was not.
I will NOT see:
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (August 1) - Really, another Mummy movie? I didn't like the 2nd one much and didn't even bother with "The Scorpion King". And no Rachel Weisz? She took her Oscar and ran... good for her. But why, Maria Bello, why? You are soooo much better than playing second fiddle to "George of the Jungle" (Yeah, I'm talkin' 'bout you, Fraser).
I'm still up in the air about:
- The Rocker (August 1st) - Rainn Wilson and Will Arnett in one movie should be a good time. But can Dwight Schrute carry a movie? We shall see... maybe.
- Swing Vote (August 1st) - Ah, a political comedy. Too bad Fraiser is one of the nominees (though I feel bad he just recently had a heart attack). I loves me some Stanley Tucci and Kevin Costner (oh Costner, I might just have to have a Bull Durham/Tin Cup/Untouchables a-thon in the coming weeks)... so I might check it out.
- The House Bunny (August 22nd) - The premise is kind of dumb, and I don't really like some of the actresses in it... but the trailer made me chuckle. Audibly. Multiple times. Which is still an enigma to me, but I feel like I should support this film, if only because it's a comedy starring women in my age bracket... and they don't make any of those kinds of films.
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona (August 29th) - I will freely admit that I am a movie lover who can't stand Woody Allen. I like a couple of his films, but on a whole, I don't like them/I don't see what's so great about them. I'm not going to follow the herd and bow down to this man... I don't care what you say about Woody Allen, "Scoop" sucked. Like, a lot. But I'm willing to put our differences aside and give him another chance... mostly because I want to see what Javier Bardem is going to bring to this film. I've been a fan of his since "Before Night Falls", so I'm willing to try this out. Burn me again, Allen, and we are done for good.
And there are a whole slew of great looking Independent films that are coming out this summer, but there's no way to tell if they'll open wide enough for all of us who still live in the Midwest!
If you haven't already, go check out "Iron Man" and "Sex and the City".... those were the best movies released in May (yep, notice Indy 4 was not a part of that shortlist...)
Have a good one, and Happy Movie Watching!!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Judd Apatow movies - I love 'em :)
(this is a rough draft of an article that will appear in next month's issue of The Ryder... I'll edit it as necessary, but it's been awhile since you've gotten a new article out of me....)
Apatow Productions – Laugh. Love. Laugh Some More.
Judd Apatow has built an entertainment empire based entirely on comedy and working with his friends. His television and film work has made us laugh hysterically while tugging at our hearts with themes of love and friendship.
In 1999, Apatow executive produced, wrote and directed the cult TV show Freaks and Geeks. The cast of high school kids featured a then unknown bunch of actors who have since spawned successful careers. One of the Freaks on that show who has now become a household name was played by a then 17 year old Seth Rogen. Though the show only lasted a season, Apatow and Rogen became friends and collaborated on another TV show in 2001, Undeclared. Like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared was critically acclaimed, centered on students in an academic setting (freshmen year of college instead of high school in the 1980s), and cancelled after one season.
Undeclared lasted only 17 episodes and Rogen didn’t get to work with Apatow again until he snagged a small role as "Eager Cameraman" in the Apatow-produced Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy (2004). The next year, Apatow and Steve Carell teamed up to write The 40-Year Old Virgin, marking the first of several "raunchy comedies with heart" Apatow would produce. In this film, a small posse of Smart Tech employees (one of whom is played by Rogen) are trying to get their colleague, 40-year old virgin Andy Stitzer, laid.
Though the plot sounds crass at first, audiences and critics embraced this film because it made people laugh while dealing with a potentially touchy subject. Yes, the Smart Tech guys initially teased Andy for being a virgin at his age, but the film was as much about men with different backgrounds becoming friends with each other as it dealt with Andy having sex. Andy goes from being a lonely action figure collector to an active member of the dating scene with the help and encouragement of his new found friends. Though the Smart Tech guys steer Andy in the wrong direction every now and again (chest waxing, a private party with a transvestite, finding "drunk bitches"), by the end of the film, they are a close knit group.
Apatow and Rogen’s next collaborations were Knocked Up and Superbad. Written and directed by Apatow, Knocked Up reunited Rogen with some of his former Freaks and Geeks co-stars (including Jason Segel – remember that name) and became one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2007, with a freshness rating of 90% on RottenTomatoes.com. Though this film features a group of young men who spend their days taking hits from their bongs while designing a website which features the exact moments in films where actresses are naked, this film has a lot of heart largely due to the sincerity of Rogen’s performance. As Ben, Rogen proves that he is capable of being more than just the foul-mouthed sidekick – he can be the foul-mouthed star with a heart of gold. Throughout the film, Ben Stone strives to keep his own identity as he deals with becoming a father when he himself has yet to grow up. As his feelings for Allison grow stronger and his sense of responsibility for his unborn child start to emerge, Ben takes it upon himself to get his life in order and his friends (and the audience) believe that he is in this relationship for the long haul.
Though the film is not an autobiography, several scenes in the film were inspired by events that happened with Apatow and his wife, Leslie Mann (who co-stars in the film as Heigl’s sister). On the DVD commentary, Apatow shares that scenes like when Ben gets thrown out of Allison’s car and then later on when he flips out while leaving a message on their OB/GYN’s phone are all based in truth. These personal anecdotes and the relationships between Ben and Allison/his friends make Knocked Up more than just a funny film about accidental pregnancy – they give the film heart and a way for the audience to connect with the characters.
Rogen’s next film produced by Apatow, Superbad, is also about relationships – this time between high school pals named Seth and Evan (named after Rogen and his co-writer/childhood best friend/current producing partner, Evan Goldberg). Deemed too old to play to the part of Seth, Rogen is featured as Officer Michaels, an out of shape cop who likens holding a gun to "…having two cocks. If one of your cocks could kill someone." Given Rogen’s track record of film characters who use four letter words in just about every sentence, Superbad is appropriately laced with profanity from all of its male leads, but instead of being appalling, these men are endearing. Yes, Seth and Evan (though mostly Seth) are looking to get at least to third base with their crushes, but the main focus of the film is their friendship.
With his script, Rogen mixes the humor of dick jokes with the seriousness of growing up and graduating from high school. In the film, Evan is heading off to Dartmouth in the fall but Seth didn’t get in. Their forthcoming separation is inevitable, but after a fight, they don’t know if their friendship will survive the split – a topic that is all too familiar with high school friends who are going to different colleges. In a drunken stupor, the two friends admit that they love each other and wish they could say that everyday. Society doesn’t frown upon girlfriends giving each other hugs and saying they love each other, but when these guys are literally nose to nose in their camping bags on Evan’s basement floor expressing feelings of love for each other, it suddenly gets uncomfortable for the audience. People laugh at the non-heteroness of this scene, but the friendship and genuine love between Seth and Evan is not uncommon in "real life" – guys just are reluctant to show vulnerable emotion… which is exactly what Apatow’s next production, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is all about.
Written by and starring Jason Segel (did you remember this name?), Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a breakup comedy where the girl dumps the guy, the guy cries about it (a lot) and then he pines for her while she’s screwing someone else at the Hawaiian resort where they’ve all decided to vacation. That plot doesn’t sound very funny or romantic on paper, but when you watch the movie, you will fluctuate from hysterical laughter to "Awwwww" in a matter of minutes. Segel based the script off of his own experiences (including the now infamous naked breakup scene and the Dracula puppet musical) and created one of the most vulnerable male characters in recent film comedy.
Segel’s Peter Bretter is an every-man. He doesn’t have rock hard abs and he eats cereal out of a metal mixing bowl. When his girlfriend dumps him, he’s hurt and unsuccessfully tries to make himself feel better with meaningless sex. He wants to be with Sarah and spends a majority of the film trying to get her back. Segel has said in interviews that with this film, he wanted his character to be the "girl" in the movie – the one who gets sentimental about the relationship. While that is a sexist stereotype, it’s nice to finally see a film where the guy is an emotional wreck who has to lean on his friends to help him realize that he’s better off without her. Peter makes friends with other guests and employees at the Hawaiian resort and is able to work out his issues and put his life (and Dracula puppet musical) back on track.
What Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad and Sarah Marshall have in common besides curse words and obsessions with someone getting laid, is that they all address situations that we deal with at one time or another and overcome them with humor, honesty and (awkward) grace. The men in these films are seriously flawed, but that doesn’t stop them from making/staying friends and achieving something they once thought was beyond their means. Andy Stitzer doesn’t just have sex, but he finds love and camaraderie among colleagues. Ben Stone doesn’t just knock some pretty girl up; he now contributes to society and has the ability to be a loving boyfriend and father. Seth and Evan, they learn that they’ll be okay on their own at college, but still have a best friend in each other. As for Peter, he finally gets over Sarah Marshall and produces his puppet musical.
Apatow’s next project, Pineapple Express, is set to hit theaters on August 8, 2008. Once again, Apatow is producing a buddy comedy written by and starring Rogen whom is, once again, playing a pot smoking chubby guy. The title of the film is a reference to a specific type of weed Rogen’s character, Dale Denton, scores from his friend/pot dealer Saul Silver (played by another Freaks and Geeks alum/friend of Apatow and Rogen… James Franco). Expect the same style of dialogue we are used to from previous Apatow productions as well as a tender/extremely hilarious relationship between Dale and Saul.
Thanks to quotable dialogue, memorable characters and identifiable subject matter, Apatow’s productions have been keeping audiences in stitches for the better part of a decade. Besides having major impact on popular culture, Apatow has managed to maintain personal and working relationships with many of his casts, creating an ensemble who is guaranteed to make us smile. For our sake, may those friendships continue so that we can laugh louder and longer at any future Apatow film projects that may be headed to a theater near us in the coming years.
Apatow Productions – Laugh. Love. Laugh Some More.
Judd Apatow has built an entertainment empire based entirely on comedy and working with his friends. His television and film work has made us laugh hysterically while tugging at our hearts with themes of love and friendship.
In 1999, Apatow executive produced, wrote and directed the cult TV show Freaks and Geeks. The cast of high school kids featured a then unknown bunch of actors who have since spawned successful careers. One of the Freaks on that show who has now become a household name was played by a then 17 year old Seth Rogen. Though the show only lasted a season, Apatow and Rogen became friends and collaborated on another TV show in 2001, Undeclared. Like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared was critically acclaimed, centered on students in an academic setting (freshmen year of college instead of high school in the 1980s), and cancelled after one season.
Undeclared lasted only 17 episodes and Rogen didn’t get to work with Apatow again until he snagged a small role as "Eager Cameraman" in the Apatow-produced Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy (2004). The next year, Apatow and Steve Carell teamed up to write The 40-Year Old Virgin, marking the first of several "raunchy comedies with heart" Apatow would produce. In this film, a small posse of Smart Tech employees (one of whom is played by Rogen) are trying to get their colleague, 40-year old virgin Andy Stitzer, laid.
Though the plot sounds crass at first, audiences and critics embraced this film because it made people laugh while dealing with a potentially touchy subject. Yes, the Smart Tech guys initially teased Andy for being a virgin at his age, but the film was as much about men with different backgrounds becoming friends with each other as it dealt with Andy having sex. Andy goes from being a lonely action figure collector to an active member of the dating scene with the help and encouragement of his new found friends. Though the Smart Tech guys steer Andy in the wrong direction every now and again (chest waxing, a private party with a transvestite, finding "drunk bitches"), by the end of the film, they are a close knit group.
Apatow and Rogen’s next collaborations were Knocked Up and Superbad. Written and directed by Apatow, Knocked Up reunited Rogen with some of his former Freaks and Geeks co-stars (including Jason Segel – remember that name) and became one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2007, with a freshness rating of 90% on RottenTomatoes.com. Though this film features a group of young men who spend their days taking hits from their bongs while designing a website which features the exact moments in films where actresses are naked, this film has a lot of heart largely due to the sincerity of Rogen’s performance. As Ben, Rogen proves that he is capable of being more than just the foul-mouthed sidekick – he can be the foul-mouthed star with a heart of gold. Throughout the film, Ben Stone strives to keep his own identity as he deals with becoming a father when he himself has yet to grow up. As his feelings for Allison grow stronger and his sense of responsibility for his unborn child start to emerge, Ben takes it upon himself to get his life in order and his friends (and the audience) believe that he is in this relationship for the long haul.
Though the film is not an autobiography, several scenes in the film were inspired by events that happened with Apatow and his wife, Leslie Mann (who co-stars in the film as Heigl’s sister). On the DVD commentary, Apatow shares that scenes like when Ben gets thrown out of Allison’s car and then later on when he flips out while leaving a message on their OB/GYN’s phone are all based in truth. These personal anecdotes and the relationships between Ben and Allison/his friends make Knocked Up more than just a funny film about accidental pregnancy – they give the film heart and a way for the audience to connect with the characters.
Rogen’s next film produced by Apatow, Superbad, is also about relationships – this time between high school pals named Seth and Evan (named after Rogen and his co-writer/childhood best friend/current producing partner, Evan Goldberg). Deemed too old to play to the part of Seth, Rogen is featured as Officer Michaels, an out of shape cop who likens holding a gun to "…having two cocks. If one of your cocks could kill someone." Given Rogen’s track record of film characters who use four letter words in just about every sentence, Superbad is appropriately laced with profanity from all of its male leads, but instead of being appalling, these men are endearing. Yes, Seth and Evan (though mostly Seth) are looking to get at least to third base with their crushes, but the main focus of the film is their friendship.
With his script, Rogen mixes the humor of dick jokes with the seriousness of growing up and graduating from high school. In the film, Evan is heading off to Dartmouth in the fall but Seth didn’t get in. Their forthcoming separation is inevitable, but after a fight, they don’t know if their friendship will survive the split – a topic that is all too familiar with high school friends who are going to different colleges. In a drunken stupor, the two friends admit that they love each other and wish they could say that everyday. Society doesn’t frown upon girlfriends giving each other hugs and saying they love each other, but when these guys are literally nose to nose in their camping bags on Evan’s basement floor expressing feelings of love for each other, it suddenly gets uncomfortable for the audience. People laugh at the non-heteroness of this scene, but the friendship and genuine love between Seth and Evan is not uncommon in "real life" – guys just are reluctant to show vulnerable emotion… which is exactly what Apatow’s next production, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is all about.
Written by and starring Jason Segel (did you remember this name?), Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a breakup comedy where the girl dumps the guy, the guy cries about it (a lot) and then he pines for her while she’s screwing someone else at the Hawaiian resort where they’ve all decided to vacation. That plot doesn’t sound very funny or romantic on paper, but when you watch the movie, you will fluctuate from hysterical laughter to "Awwwww" in a matter of minutes. Segel based the script off of his own experiences (including the now infamous naked breakup scene and the Dracula puppet musical) and created one of the most vulnerable male characters in recent film comedy.
Segel’s Peter Bretter is an every-man. He doesn’t have rock hard abs and he eats cereal out of a metal mixing bowl. When his girlfriend dumps him, he’s hurt and unsuccessfully tries to make himself feel better with meaningless sex. He wants to be with Sarah and spends a majority of the film trying to get her back. Segel has said in interviews that with this film, he wanted his character to be the "girl" in the movie – the one who gets sentimental about the relationship. While that is a sexist stereotype, it’s nice to finally see a film where the guy is an emotional wreck who has to lean on his friends to help him realize that he’s better off without her. Peter makes friends with other guests and employees at the Hawaiian resort and is able to work out his issues and put his life (and Dracula puppet musical) back on track.
What Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad and Sarah Marshall have in common besides curse words and obsessions with someone getting laid, is that they all address situations that we deal with at one time or another and overcome them with humor, honesty and (awkward) grace. The men in these films are seriously flawed, but that doesn’t stop them from making/staying friends and achieving something they once thought was beyond their means. Andy Stitzer doesn’t just have sex, but he finds love and camaraderie among colleagues. Ben Stone doesn’t just knock some pretty girl up; he now contributes to society and has the ability to be a loving boyfriend and father. Seth and Evan, they learn that they’ll be okay on their own at college, but still have a best friend in each other. As for Peter, he finally gets over Sarah Marshall and produces his puppet musical.
Apatow’s next project, Pineapple Express, is set to hit theaters on August 8, 2008. Once again, Apatow is producing a buddy comedy written by and starring Rogen whom is, once again, playing a pot smoking chubby guy. The title of the film is a reference to a specific type of weed Rogen’s character, Dale Denton, scores from his friend/pot dealer Saul Silver (played by another Freaks and Geeks alum/friend of Apatow and Rogen… James Franco). Expect the same style of dialogue we are used to from previous Apatow productions as well as a tender/extremely hilarious relationship between Dale and Saul.
Thanks to quotable dialogue, memorable characters and identifiable subject matter, Apatow’s productions have been keeping audiences in stitches for the better part of a decade. Besides having major impact on popular culture, Apatow has managed to maintain personal and working relationships with many of his casts, creating an ensemble who is guaranteed to make us smile. For our sake, may those friendships continue so that we can laugh louder and longer at any future Apatow film projects that may be headed to a theater near us in the coming years.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Baseball movies = happiness
(this article was published in the March 2008 issue of The Ryder)
Take yourself out to the ballgame… from the comfort of your own living room
After awards season there is a cinematic lull until summer blockbusters hit theaters in May. To keep busy, you could turn to another yearly event that is just beginning - baseball season. When March rolls around, the pro ball teams are in Spring Training to prepare for the upcoming season, and this year, I actually went to a game in Lake Buena Vista, Florida – Indians vs. Atlanta Braves!
While the weather in Florida was perfect for a ballgame, the rain in Bloomington has kept us from enjoying America’s favorite pastime out on the field. Playing baseball (or softball) is a rite of passage for many people. My parents played when they were kids and taught my siblings and I how to play catch around the time we learned how to walk (I know what you’re thinking – No, they did not force us to play, nor were they the kind of parents to coach from the sidelines). Growing up in Akron, Ohio, we cheered on the Cleveland Indians, as well as made many trips downtown to Canal Park, home of the AA Eastern League’s Akron Aeros. My mom coached my softball team for a year and both parents were up for a game of catch if asked.
My family enjoyed playing and watching baseball together, but we also watched a lot of movies. Though we all have different preferred genres, baseball movies were universally accepted in our household. Baseball movies really made an impact on me because I knew the game so well and I could really relate to the characters. If you’ve played, then maybe you also know the highs of hitting the game winning run, or the lows having a ground ball sneak past your glove and go through your legs.
So while you’re sitting at home oiling your glove waiting for the sun to come out, why don’t you watch a baseball movie? Better yet, watch several. Here’s just a few of my favorites to keep you busy while you wait for the regular season:
The Sandlot (1993)
It’s hard enough being the new kid in town, but trying to join the other neighborhood kids in a pickup game when you don’t even know how to throw or catch a ball is downright embarrassing for Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry). Smalls finally starts to get a handle on the game with the help of his newfound friends when he hits his stepfather’s baseball (signed by Babe Ruth) over the fence and into the territory of the meanest dog in town. While the boys of the sandlot spend their summer plotting how to get that ball back, they come of age and bond over watching girls at the pool, swapping stories at sleepovers and getting their first taste of chewing tobacco.
The Sandlot is a fun watch for people of all ages because it brings you back to the summers of your youth when playing ball and hanging out with your best friends was all that mattered. I remember my parents bought this DVD while my siblings and I were home from college a few years ago and the entire family sat down to watch, laughing harder than when we saw it together back in 1993. To this day, not a week goes by without someone in my family telling another Labovitz, "You’re killin’ me Smalls."
The Natural (1984)
Robert Redford stars as Roy Hobbs, an unknown older ballplayer who happens upon a losing team in the 1930s and helps them to turn their game around and become a winning ball club. Years back, a mysterious woman shot Hobbs, nearly ending his career as a pitcher on the make. Now, armed with a bat made from the wood of a tree that was struck by lightning, Hobbs proves that a mature player is still a force to be reckoned with on the field. The more he is allowed to play, Hobbs finds himself back at the top of his game, an asset to his team (the New York Knights) and an inspiration to the audience.
This film reminds me of an old-fashioned baseball card, with its muted neutral colors and baggy uniforms. It recalls a time when love of the game meant more to players than the paycheck or endorsement deals. Even though I know what’s coming, I cannot help but get excited when Roy Hobbs steps up to the plate.
The Rookie (2002)
Based on the true story of Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid), a family man and high school science teacher from Big Lake, Texas who accepts a challenge from the struggling ball team he coaches: If the team makes it to the district championship, he’ll try out for the major leagues. After facing some tough teams in their division, the Owls make it to State and Morris is obliged to go to a tryout. Like Roy Hobbs in The Natural, Jim Morris is quite a bit older than the rest of the men vying for slots on major league rosters. He’s a great pitcher and loves playing ball, but also has the reality of his life and family back home in Texas.
Ever since releasing Remember the Titans in 2000, Disney has been producing films based off of real, often overlooked, people who made an impact on sports in America and I have enjoyed them all. I saw The Rookie with my sister on opening night and it felt like we were at a ballgame with all of the energy and team spirit radiating from our fellow audience members. I know the phrase "feel-good movie" gets tossed around a lot, but that label 100% applies to The Rookie. You cannot help but feel warmth and happiness when you get to see someone else with such passion for baseball get to play the game they love and have an entire stadium cheering for them.
Field of Dreams (1989)
Ray Kinsella is farmer in Iowa with daddy issues who hears a voice ("If you build it, he will come.") which inspires him to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. This decision upsets Ray’s brother-in-law who constantly reminds us how that would financially hurt Ray and his family. The ball field soon becomes the hangout of players past, men who walk out of the cornfield for the chance to play again, though no one can see them except for Ray’s family and reclusive writer Terence Mann (James Earl Jones). Ray’s unwavering faith in his field leads him to resolve his own feelings about how he and his dad ended things before his dad’s untimely death many years ago.
Since the film came out, thousands of people have made the pilgrimage to Dyersville, Iowa where the baseball diamond still exists among the cornfields. To be honest, the first time I saw this film, I didn’t see what the big deal was (I was a sixteen year old girl who had a perfectly fine relationship with my dad and just assumed everyone else got along with their dad too). Over the years, I have seen this film a few more times and with each viewing, I am able to see that its message about the importance of family and faith makes this film so special.
A League of Their Own (1992)
During World War II while men were oversees fighting, women were recruited to play professional baseball. This film follows fictional sisters Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller (Geena Davis and Lori Petty) from their dairy farm in Oregon to Wrigley Field in Chicago for tryouts with hundreds of other women from all over America. As the sisters and their teammates prove themselves to be athletes and not just pretty women in uniform, sibling rivalry starts to take hold. Dottie is one of the best players in the league but her plan is to stop playing after one year and start a family. Kit’s a good player who would make playing ball a career if given the chance, but she feels stuck in the shadow of her sister.
A League of Their Own is the women’s version of Field of Dreams, but instead of father issues this film deals with the bond between sisters. Like Kit, I was a pitcher and have an older sister, Sarah, who could hold her own when in the field (the star first baseman) and up to bat (the only person I know who hit the ball over the parking lot at Forest Lodge three times in one game). The first time I saw A League of Their Own after I went away to college, I cried when Kit and Dottie meet up after playing against each other because I missed Sarah - and I never cry at movies. So, while you guys have a catch with your dad after reading this article, I’m going to hug my sister.
Bull Durham (1987)
Catcher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) has been playing in the minor leagues for a long time. When Crash’s contract gets bought out by the Durham Bulls to help hone the skills of rookie pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), he’s pissed off that his protegee has so much potential but no respect for the game. To complicate things further, both men are attracted to Bulls fan Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) who has a rule that she only sleeps with one ball player per season. As the season wears on, Crash and Nuke lead their team through the ups and downs of the minor league and all discover that "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Think about that for awhile."
Because writer/director Ron Shelton played ball in the Caroline league and based the script off his own experiences in the minors, the camaraderie between the teammates feels authentic and the audience really gets to know these Durham Bulls. The dialogue has been incorporated into my everyday vernacular ever since high school. When we were going to play softball games at the professional league’s stadium back in Akron, we called it "going to the show". When I felt flustered up on the mound, I summoned my inner Nuke LaLoosh and repeated to myself "Don’t think, just throw." If I ever need a pick-me-up, I slide this into my DVD player and will instantly feel better and laugh harder than the last time I watched it. What can I say – I believe in the Church of Baseball.
No one ever said Spring Training was just for athletes - there are plenty more great baseball films out there, just type "Baseball movies" into Google and you’ll have a list long enough to last you until the skies clear and you’re able to go outside. Grab some peanuts and Cracker Jacks; press "play" and Play Ball!
Take yourself out to the ballgame… from the comfort of your own living room
After awards season there is a cinematic lull until summer blockbusters hit theaters in May. To keep busy, you could turn to another yearly event that is just beginning - baseball season. When March rolls around, the pro ball teams are in Spring Training to prepare for the upcoming season, and this year, I actually went to a game in Lake Buena Vista, Florida – Indians vs. Atlanta Braves!
While the weather in Florida was perfect for a ballgame, the rain in Bloomington has kept us from enjoying America’s favorite pastime out on the field. Playing baseball (or softball) is a rite of passage for many people. My parents played when they were kids and taught my siblings and I how to play catch around the time we learned how to walk (I know what you’re thinking – No, they did not force us to play, nor were they the kind of parents to coach from the sidelines). Growing up in Akron, Ohio, we cheered on the Cleveland Indians, as well as made many trips downtown to Canal Park, home of the AA Eastern League’s Akron Aeros. My mom coached my softball team for a year and both parents were up for a game of catch if asked.
My family enjoyed playing and watching baseball together, but we also watched a lot of movies. Though we all have different preferred genres, baseball movies were universally accepted in our household. Baseball movies really made an impact on me because I knew the game so well and I could really relate to the characters. If you’ve played, then maybe you also know the highs of hitting the game winning run, or the lows having a ground ball sneak past your glove and go through your legs.
So while you’re sitting at home oiling your glove waiting for the sun to come out, why don’t you watch a baseball movie? Better yet, watch several. Here’s just a few of my favorites to keep you busy while you wait for the regular season:
The Sandlot (1993)
It’s hard enough being the new kid in town, but trying to join the other neighborhood kids in a pickup game when you don’t even know how to throw or catch a ball is downright embarrassing for Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry). Smalls finally starts to get a handle on the game with the help of his newfound friends when he hits his stepfather’s baseball (signed by Babe Ruth) over the fence and into the territory of the meanest dog in town. While the boys of the sandlot spend their summer plotting how to get that ball back, they come of age and bond over watching girls at the pool, swapping stories at sleepovers and getting their first taste of chewing tobacco.
The Sandlot is a fun watch for people of all ages because it brings you back to the summers of your youth when playing ball and hanging out with your best friends was all that mattered. I remember my parents bought this DVD while my siblings and I were home from college a few years ago and the entire family sat down to watch, laughing harder than when we saw it together back in 1993. To this day, not a week goes by without someone in my family telling another Labovitz, "You’re killin’ me Smalls."
The Natural (1984)
Robert Redford stars as Roy Hobbs, an unknown older ballplayer who happens upon a losing team in the 1930s and helps them to turn their game around and become a winning ball club. Years back, a mysterious woman shot Hobbs, nearly ending his career as a pitcher on the make. Now, armed with a bat made from the wood of a tree that was struck by lightning, Hobbs proves that a mature player is still a force to be reckoned with on the field. The more he is allowed to play, Hobbs finds himself back at the top of his game, an asset to his team (the New York Knights) and an inspiration to the audience.
This film reminds me of an old-fashioned baseball card, with its muted neutral colors and baggy uniforms. It recalls a time when love of the game meant more to players than the paycheck or endorsement deals. Even though I know what’s coming, I cannot help but get excited when Roy Hobbs steps up to the plate.
The Rookie (2002)
Based on the true story of Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid), a family man and high school science teacher from Big Lake, Texas who accepts a challenge from the struggling ball team he coaches: If the team makes it to the district championship, he’ll try out for the major leagues. After facing some tough teams in their division, the Owls make it to State and Morris is obliged to go to a tryout. Like Roy Hobbs in The Natural, Jim Morris is quite a bit older than the rest of the men vying for slots on major league rosters. He’s a great pitcher and loves playing ball, but also has the reality of his life and family back home in Texas.
Ever since releasing Remember the Titans in 2000, Disney has been producing films based off of real, often overlooked, people who made an impact on sports in America and I have enjoyed them all. I saw The Rookie with my sister on opening night and it felt like we were at a ballgame with all of the energy and team spirit radiating from our fellow audience members. I know the phrase "feel-good movie" gets tossed around a lot, but that label 100% applies to The Rookie. You cannot help but feel warmth and happiness when you get to see someone else with such passion for baseball get to play the game they love and have an entire stadium cheering for them.
Field of Dreams (1989)
Ray Kinsella is farmer in Iowa with daddy issues who hears a voice ("If you build it, he will come.") which inspires him to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield. This decision upsets Ray’s brother-in-law who constantly reminds us how that would financially hurt Ray and his family. The ball field soon becomes the hangout of players past, men who walk out of the cornfield for the chance to play again, though no one can see them except for Ray’s family and reclusive writer Terence Mann (James Earl Jones). Ray’s unwavering faith in his field leads him to resolve his own feelings about how he and his dad ended things before his dad’s untimely death many years ago.
Since the film came out, thousands of people have made the pilgrimage to Dyersville, Iowa where the baseball diamond still exists among the cornfields. To be honest, the first time I saw this film, I didn’t see what the big deal was (I was a sixteen year old girl who had a perfectly fine relationship with my dad and just assumed everyone else got along with their dad too). Over the years, I have seen this film a few more times and with each viewing, I am able to see that its message about the importance of family and faith makes this film so special.
A League of Their Own (1992)
During World War II while men were oversees fighting, women were recruited to play professional baseball. This film follows fictional sisters Dottie Hinson and Kit Keller (Geena Davis and Lori Petty) from their dairy farm in Oregon to Wrigley Field in Chicago for tryouts with hundreds of other women from all over America. As the sisters and their teammates prove themselves to be athletes and not just pretty women in uniform, sibling rivalry starts to take hold. Dottie is one of the best players in the league but her plan is to stop playing after one year and start a family. Kit’s a good player who would make playing ball a career if given the chance, but she feels stuck in the shadow of her sister.
A League of Their Own is the women’s version of Field of Dreams, but instead of father issues this film deals with the bond between sisters. Like Kit, I was a pitcher and have an older sister, Sarah, who could hold her own when in the field (the star first baseman) and up to bat (the only person I know who hit the ball over the parking lot at Forest Lodge three times in one game). The first time I saw A League of Their Own after I went away to college, I cried when Kit and Dottie meet up after playing against each other because I missed Sarah - and I never cry at movies. So, while you guys have a catch with your dad after reading this article, I’m going to hug my sister.
Bull Durham (1987)
Catcher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) has been playing in the minor leagues for a long time. When Crash’s contract gets bought out by the Durham Bulls to help hone the skills of rookie pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), he’s pissed off that his protegee has so much potential but no respect for the game. To complicate things further, both men are attracted to Bulls fan Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) who has a rule that she only sleeps with one ball player per season. As the season wears on, Crash and Nuke lead their team through the ups and downs of the minor league and all discover that "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains. Think about that for awhile."
Because writer/director Ron Shelton played ball in the Caroline league and based the script off his own experiences in the minors, the camaraderie between the teammates feels authentic and the audience really gets to know these Durham Bulls. The dialogue has been incorporated into my everyday vernacular ever since high school. When we were going to play softball games at the professional league’s stadium back in Akron, we called it "going to the show". When I felt flustered up on the mound, I summoned my inner Nuke LaLoosh and repeated to myself "Don’t think, just throw." If I ever need a pick-me-up, I slide this into my DVD player and will instantly feel better and laugh harder than the last time I watched it. What can I say – I believe in the Church of Baseball.
No one ever said Spring Training was just for athletes - there are plenty more great baseball films out there, just type "Baseball movies" into Google and you’ll have a list long enough to last you until the skies clear and you’re able to go outside. Grab some peanuts and Cracker Jacks; press "play" and Play Ball!
American Film Institute... how I love thee
(written for an upcoming issue of The Ryder)
The American Film Institute – Listing America’s Best Films, 100 at a Time
Founded in 1967, the American Film Institute (AFI) began with the goals of training filmmakers, preserving and restoring film and video from America’s past and present, and recognizing film as an important artistic medium. The AFI has a graduate program where filmmakers can work in a collaborative environment to hone their craft. They offer a Directing Workshop for Women, which trains women in narrative filmmaking. Each year, the AFI recognizes its top ten films and television programs of the year, as well as bestows an influential filmmaker with a Lifetime Achievement Award―this year, actor/director/writer/producer Warren Beatty will be the 35th recipient of this prestigious honor.
Each summer since 1998, AFI has released a list of its Top 100 movies, categorizing them one genre at a time including Passions, Thrills, Heroes/Villains, Songs, and Quotes. This summer, AFI is announcing its Top 10 greatest films from 10 different genres. Fifty films are in the running for those ten coveted spots. Since we have a few more months until the official AFI 100 titles are released, I’ve gone through the lists of films in contention to come up with my own Top 10 for each category.
Animation
10. An American Tail (1986)
9. Robots (2005)
8. Peter Pan (1953)
7. Aladdin (1992)
6. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
5. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
4. Toy Story 2 (1999)
3. The Little Mermaid (1989)
2. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
1. Toy Story (1995) – The first feature film to be created entirely with computer animation. I was in the fifth grade when Toy Story was released. I remember seeing it in the theater with my family and being amazed at the detail put into the design of the toys. I love Woody and Buzz, but my favorite characters are the three-eyed aliens.
Fantasy
10. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
9. Batman (1989)
8. Pleasantville (1998)
7. Beetlejuice (1988)
6. Being John Malkovich (1999)
5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
3.Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
1. The Princess Bride (1987) – I dare you to name another film that has this much swashbuckling, sword fights, true love and ROUSs. I’ve often said that I could watch this film every day and never tire of it. Wesley’s "To the Pain" monologue leading to "Drop. Your. Sword." is priceless.
Romantic Comedy
10. His Girl Friday (1940)
9. Barefoot in the Park (1967)
8. Working Girl (1988)
7. It Happened One Night (1934)
6. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
5. Say Anything… (1989)
4. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
3. The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
1.When Harry Met Sally… (1989) - Nora Ephron’s harkens back to romantic comedies of the 1930s and 1940s in that the two lead characters are not looking to fall in love with each other. If anything, they are trying (though unsuccessfully in this film) to disprove the notion that men and women can never "just be friends" because sex always gets in the way. Everyone can recall Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm in the delicatessen, but it’s Billy Crystal demonstration of the "White Man’s Overbite" that brings a smile to my face every time.
Sci-Fi
10. Starman (1984)
9. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
8. Independence Day (1996)
7. Alien (1979)
6. Children of Men (2006)
5. The Matrix (1999)
4. Back to the Future (1985)
3. Jurassic Park (1993)
2. Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – I don’t think this is a science fiction film as memory erasing seems like a possibility in the near future, but it’s on AFI’s shortlist. Weaving forwards and backwards, Charlie Kaufman’s script gives us intimate, realistic glimpses into the interior life of Joel Barish (Jim Carrey in a career best performance) and his up-and-down relationship with Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet).
Western
10. High Noon (1952) – confession, haven’t actually seen all the way through, but I promise I will sometime soon (I don’t watch many westerns, and the ones I have seen, like Tombstone and 3:10 to Yuma, aren’t on the AFI list)
9. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) – see above (though I have checked this out of the library multiple times… I will watch it one of these days, as I enjoy Robert Altman films and Warren Beatty)
8. Little Big Man (1970)
7. Silverado (1985)
6. Giant (1956)
5. Dances with Wolves (1990)
4. Blazing Saddles (1974)
3. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
2. The Last Picture Show (1971)
1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) – An atypical Western, instead of our heroes riding off into the sunset, they flee south to Bolivia in hopes of getting their lives back in order and shaking the trail of law enforcer LaFours and his team of men ("Who are those guys?"). Butch and Sundance argue like brothers but their actions belie their bickering and reveal their vulnerability. When they are together, Paul Newman and Robert Redford can do no wrong. Their on-screen chemistry has never been matched.
Gangster
10. A History of Violence (2005)
9. Out of Sight (1998)
8. Pulp Fiction (1994)
7. Goodfellas (1990)
6. Heat (1995)
5. The Usual Suspects (1995)
4. The Untouchables (1987)
3. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
2. The Departed (2006)
1. On the Waterfront (1954) – "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley…" Written during the McCarthy Era, this film sets America’s Communist witch-hunt on the docks of the East Shore. The trial where Marlon Brando’s conflicted longshoreman Terry Malloy testifies against the mob bosses reflects director Elia Kazan’s own actions of naming names before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Sports
10. Chariots of Fire (1981)
9. Eight Men Out (1988)
8. The Natural (1984)
7. The Hustler (1961)
6. Field of Dreams (1989)
5. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
4. The Mighty Ducks (1992)
3. Miracle (2004)
2. A League of Their Own (1992)
1. Bull Durham (1988) – I first became aware of this film after it was on the "AFI 100 Years, 100 Laughs" list and have been quoting it daily ever since. I’m a huge fan of baseball, and it’s refreshing to see the unglamorous side to the minor leagues. Kevin Costner’s charm and vulnerability as catcher Crash Davis has only been matched by his second pairing with writer/director Ron Shelton in Bull Durham’s golf counter-part, Tin Cup (1995).
Courtroom Drama
10. The Rainmaker (1997)
9. Inherit the Wind (1960)
8. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
7. Primal Fear (1996)
6. Philadelphia (1993)
5. Erin Brockovich (2000)
4. The Insider (1999)
3. A Few Good Men (1992)
2. The Crucible (1996)
1. 12 Angry Men (1957) – One room + twelve men = nail biting intensity that I have never before seen in a movie. Henry Fonda’s Juror # 8 is an ordinary man who has to persuade eleven other men to find it in themselves to take a closer look at the evidence in order to come up with an anonymous verdict for a murder trial.
Mystery
10. Vertigo (1958)
9. The Conversation (1974)
8. Rear Window (1954)
7. The Fugitive (1993)
6. North by Northwest (1959)
5. The Bourne Identity (2002)
4. Memento (2001)
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)
2. Gosford Park (2001)
1. L.A. Confidential (1997) – Classic Good Cop-Bad Cop film noir featuring one of the best ensemble casts of the 1990s. Set in Los Angeles circa the 1950s, three cops (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey) investigate brutal murders relating to an imprisoned mob boss amid the temptations of Hollywood (including prostitutes made up to look like movie stars) and corruption from within the police force.
Epic
10. Braveheart (1995)
9. Malcolm X (1992)
8. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
7. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
5. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
4. Gladiator (2000)
3. Titanic (1997)
2. Reds (1981)
1. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) – A visually stunning period piece with plenty of brutal battle sequences, The Last of the Mohicans is just one of many memorable films from director Michael Mann. American History was one of my favorite subjects, so seeing this in the fifth grade was a big deal. We were learning about the French and Indian war at the time, plus it meant we got to watch an R-rated movie at school. I remember really liking the actor who played Hawkeye - of course now I am aware that the actor who so impressed me was Daniel Day-Lewis, an asset to any film he’s in.
The official date for "AFI’s Top 10 Top 10" has yet to be set, but keep an eye out for an air date this June. Visit AFI.com for more information about this year’s Top 100 films.
The American Film Institute – Listing America’s Best Films, 100 at a Time
Founded in 1967, the American Film Institute (AFI) began with the goals of training filmmakers, preserving and restoring film and video from America’s past and present, and recognizing film as an important artistic medium. The AFI has a graduate program where filmmakers can work in a collaborative environment to hone their craft. They offer a Directing Workshop for Women, which trains women in narrative filmmaking. Each year, the AFI recognizes its top ten films and television programs of the year, as well as bestows an influential filmmaker with a Lifetime Achievement Award―this year, actor/director/writer/producer Warren Beatty will be the 35th recipient of this prestigious honor.
Each summer since 1998, AFI has released a list of its Top 100 movies, categorizing them one genre at a time including Passions, Thrills, Heroes/Villains, Songs, and Quotes. This summer, AFI is announcing its Top 10 greatest films from 10 different genres. Fifty films are in the running for those ten coveted spots. Since we have a few more months until the official AFI 100 titles are released, I’ve gone through the lists of films in contention to come up with my own Top 10 for each category.
Animation
10. An American Tail (1986)
9. Robots (2005)
8. Peter Pan (1953)
7. Aladdin (1992)
6. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
5. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
4. Toy Story 2 (1999)
3. The Little Mermaid (1989)
2. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
1. Toy Story (1995) – The first feature film to be created entirely with computer animation. I was in the fifth grade when Toy Story was released. I remember seeing it in the theater with my family and being amazed at the detail put into the design of the toys. I love Woody and Buzz, but my favorite characters are the three-eyed aliens.
Fantasy
10. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
9. Batman (1989)
8. Pleasantville (1998)
7. Beetlejuice (1988)
6. Being John Malkovich (1999)
5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
3.Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
1. The Princess Bride (1987) – I dare you to name another film that has this much swashbuckling, sword fights, true love and ROUSs. I’ve often said that I could watch this film every day and never tire of it. Wesley’s "To the Pain" monologue leading to "Drop. Your. Sword." is priceless.
Romantic Comedy
10. His Girl Friday (1940)
9. Barefoot in the Park (1967)
8. Working Girl (1988)
7. It Happened One Night (1934)
6. My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
5. Say Anything… (1989)
4. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
3. The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
1.When Harry Met Sally… (1989) - Nora Ephron’s harkens back to romantic comedies of the 1930s and 1940s in that the two lead characters are not looking to fall in love with each other. If anything, they are trying (though unsuccessfully in this film) to disprove the notion that men and women can never "just be friends" because sex always gets in the way. Everyone can recall Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm in the delicatessen, but it’s Billy Crystal demonstration of the "White Man’s Overbite" that brings a smile to my face every time.
Sci-Fi
10. Starman (1984)
9. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
8. Independence Day (1996)
7. Alien (1979)
6. Children of Men (2006)
5. The Matrix (1999)
4. Back to the Future (1985)
3. Jurassic Park (1993)
2. Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – I don’t think this is a science fiction film as memory erasing seems like a possibility in the near future, but it’s on AFI’s shortlist. Weaving forwards and backwards, Charlie Kaufman’s script gives us intimate, realistic glimpses into the interior life of Joel Barish (Jim Carrey in a career best performance) and his up-and-down relationship with Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet).
Western
10. High Noon (1952) – confession, haven’t actually seen all the way through, but I promise I will sometime soon (I don’t watch many westerns, and the ones I have seen, like Tombstone and 3:10 to Yuma, aren’t on the AFI list)
9. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) – see above (though I have checked this out of the library multiple times… I will watch it one of these days, as I enjoy Robert Altman films and Warren Beatty)
8. Little Big Man (1970)
7. Silverado (1985)
6. Giant (1956)
5. Dances with Wolves (1990)
4. Blazing Saddles (1974)
3. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
2. The Last Picture Show (1971)
1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) – An atypical Western, instead of our heroes riding off into the sunset, they flee south to Bolivia in hopes of getting their lives back in order and shaking the trail of law enforcer LaFours and his team of men ("Who are those guys?"). Butch and Sundance argue like brothers but their actions belie their bickering and reveal their vulnerability. When they are together, Paul Newman and Robert Redford can do no wrong. Their on-screen chemistry has never been matched.
Gangster
10. A History of Violence (2005)
9. Out of Sight (1998)
8. Pulp Fiction (1994)
7. Goodfellas (1990)
6. Heat (1995)
5. The Usual Suspects (1995)
4. The Untouchables (1987)
3. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
2. The Departed (2006)
1. On the Waterfront (1954) – "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley…" Written during the McCarthy Era, this film sets America’s Communist witch-hunt on the docks of the East Shore. The trial where Marlon Brando’s conflicted longshoreman Terry Malloy testifies against the mob bosses reflects director Elia Kazan’s own actions of naming names before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Sports
10. Chariots of Fire (1981)
9. Eight Men Out (1988)
8. The Natural (1984)
7. The Hustler (1961)
6. Field of Dreams (1989)
5. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
4. The Mighty Ducks (1992)
3. Miracle (2004)
2. A League of Their Own (1992)
1. Bull Durham (1988) – I first became aware of this film after it was on the "AFI 100 Years, 100 Laughs" list and have been quoting it daily ever since. I’m a huge fan of baseball, and it’s refreshing to see the unglamorous side to the minor leagues. Kevin Costner’s charm and vulnerability as catcher Crash Davis has only been matched by his second pairing with writer/director Ron Shelton in Bull Durham’s golf counter-part, Tin Cup (1995).
Courtroom Drama
10. The Rainmaker (1997)
9. Inherit the Wind (1960)
8. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
7. Primal Fear (1996)
6. Philadelphia (1993)
5. Erin Brockovich (2000)
4. The Insider (1999)
3. A Few Good Men (1992)
2. The Crucible (1996)
1. 12 Angry Men (1957) – One room + twelve men = nail biting intensity that I have never before seen in a movie. Henry Fonda’s Juror # 8 is an ordinary man who has to persuade eleven other men to find it in themselves to take a closer look at the evidence in order to come up with an anonymous verdict for a murder trial.
Mystery
10. Vertigo (1958)
9. The Conversation (1974)
8. Rear Window (1954)
7. The Fugitive (1993)
6. North by Northwest (1959)
5. The Bourne Identity (2002)
4. Memento (2001)
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)
2. Gosford Park (2001)
1. L.A. Confidential (1997) – Classic Good Cop-Bad Cop film noir featuring one of the best ensemble casts of the 1990s. Set in Los Angeles circa the 1950s, three cops (Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey) investigate brutal murders relating to an imprisoned mob boss amid the temptations of Hollywood (including prostitutes made up to look like movie stars) and corruption from within the police force.
Epic
10. Braveheart (1995)
9. Malcolm X (1992)
8. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
7. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
5. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
4. Gladiator (2000)
3. Titanic (1997)
2. Reds (1981)
1. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) – A visually stunning period piece with plenty of brutal battle sequences, The Last of the Mohicans is just one of many memorable films from director Michael Mann. American History was one of my favorite subjects, so seeing this in the fifth grade was a big deal. We were learning about the French and Indian war at the time, plus it meant we got to watch an R-rated movie at school. I remember really liking the actor who played Hawkeye - of course now I am aware that the actor who so impressed me was Daniel Day-Lewis, an asset to any film he’s in.
The official date for "AFI’s Top 10 Top 10" has yet to be set, but keep an eye out for an air date this June. Visit AFI.com for more information about this year’s Top 100 films.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Strike or not, the show must go on: A look ahead at the 2008 Academy Awards
(to be published in the next issue of The Ryder - which should be on the shelf in the next couple weeks)
Strike or not, the show must go on: A look ahead at the 2008 Academy Awards
It’s been over three months since the Writer’s Strike started, and there is still no clear end in sight. Though January’s Golden Globes telecast was cancelled, the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony will be televised at 8:00 PM EST on ABC on February 24th, though there are two different types of shows being planned. If the strike is still in progress, the Oscars will be full of film clips and pieces about the history of cinema. If the strike is over, we’ll get a show filled with all the glitz, glamour and celebrities we’re used to, as well as Jon Stewart returning for his second stint as host. I’m crossing my fingers for the Writer’s Strike to end so the show can go on and we can all tune in to watch the epic ceremony unfold as it should – with my favorite film of the season winning Best Picture.
Every year, amazing performances and films get nominated for Oscars, but there are always worthy people and pictures that get left in the dust. From one movie lover to another, I’m going to let you in on my favorites from this season, my prediction of who is actually going to go home with the award, and who should have at least been given a chance.
Supporting Actor Nominees: Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War), Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild), and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)
My pick: Casey Affleck – It was so unsettling to see how the other men in Jesse James’ posse treated Robert Ford when you know that he is ultimately going to kill the man he idolized. The standout scene for me was when Ford tried to stop the others from digging through his shoebox of Jesse James memorabilia.
The Academy’s Pick: Javier Bardem – Anton Chigurh is one of the creepiest film villains of all-time and so unlike any of Bardem’s previous roles.
Snubbed: For me, it’s a toss up between Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma and Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn. In Yuma, Foster’s menacing outlaw outshone leads Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. In Rescue Dawn, Zahn (also playing opposite of Bale) withers away before your eyes as a POW, making you forget that he usually gets cast as a goofy sidekick.
Supporting Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), and Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
My pick: Tilda Swinton – I have only seen two of the five performances nominated (Swinton and Ronan), but I feel the award should be given to Swinton as one of those "You’ve had an amazing career so far and have been overlooked before, so here’s some recognition now" Oscars.
The Academy’s Pick: Cate Blanchett – Though Amy Ryan has been stiff competition at the past few awards shows, Blanchett is a critics darling and an amazing actress to boot. Plus, she’s playing Bob Dylan.
Snubbed: Allison Janney has made quite an impact on me with her tiny, yet incredibly funny supporting roles in Hairspray and Juno. She deserved the nod for Juno, if only for the scene where she tells off the ultrasound technician.
Best Actor Nominees: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), and Viggo Mortenson (Eastern Promises)
My Pick: Johnny Depp – Of all the nominees, he took the biggest creative risk by being in a musical about a homicidal barber and he’s been nominated twice before. Too bad his charmed third time pins him up against…
The Academy’s Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis – One of the greatest actors of all time. He makes very few films these days, but when he does, his performance is always powerfully intense.
Snubbed: Usually great male actors get nominated for playing against type, or portraying someone whom has a disability or is mentally unstable. But what about James McAvoy’s heartbreaking performance in Atonement as Robbie Turner, a completely average young man whose life gets ripped out from under him because of a false accusation?
Best Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages), and Ellen Page (Juno)
My Pick: Laura Linney – I’d like to see Linney get the award, as she consistently gives strong performances and is one of my favorite American actresses.
The Academy’s Pick: Julie Christie – An amazing actress who has been racking up well deserved awards this season for her role as a woman with Alzheimer’s.
Snubbed: Already a nominee once for Junebug, Amy Adams should have been recognized this year for her blissfully innocent portrayal of the newest Disney Princess, Giselle, in Enchanted.
Best Picture Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood
My pick: Atonement – Brilliant in every aspect of filmmaking including score, script, cinematography and cast. My eyes well while watching movies maybe once every other blue moon, but I was so moved by the way Joe Wright brought Ian McEwan’s beautiful novel to screen that I needed to wipe away the tears more than once.
The Academy’s Pick: No Country for Old Men – It was nice to see the Coen Brothers make a good film after a couple of recent misfires (Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers), but is this really the best film of the year? This movie lost the Golden Globe to Atonement, but has picked up Best Picture awards from critics all over the country. This category may still be up for grabs.
Snubbed: Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was very deserving of a nomination for Best Picture. This was a solid film with a great cast, awesomely grotesque effects and music by Steven Sondheim – what more could you want from a movie musical?
So, go forth, fellow movie lovers, catch up on the nominees (many are still at a theater near you) and get your ballots ready because strike or not, the show must go on.
Strike or not, the show must go on: A look ahead at the 2008 Academy Awards
It’s been over three months since the Writer’s Strike started, and there is still no clear end in sight. Though January’s Golden Globes telecast was cancelled, the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony will be televised at 8:00 PM EST on ABC on February 24th, though there are two different types of shows being planned. If the strike is still in progress, the Oscars will be full of film clips and pieces about the history of cinema. If the strike is over, we’ll get a show filled with all the glitz, glamour and celebrities we’re used to, as well as Jon Stewart returning for his second stint as host. I’m crossing my fingers for the Writer’s Strike to end so the show can go on and we can all tune in to watch the epic ceremony unfold as it should – with my favorite film of the season winning Best Picture.
Every year, amazing performances and films get nominated for Oscars, but there are always worthy people and pictures that get left in the dust. From one movie lover to another, I’m going to let you in on my favorites from this season, my prediction of who is actually going to go home with the award, and who should have at least been given a chance.
Supporting Actor Nominees: Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War), Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild), and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)
My pick: Casey Affleck – It was so unsettling to see how the other men in Jesse James’ posse treated Robert Ford when you know that he is ultimately going to kill the man he idolized. The standout scene for me was when Ford tried to stop the others from digging through his shoebox of Jesse James memorabilia.
The Academy’s Pick: Javier Bardem – Anton Chigurh is one of the creepiest film villains of all-time and so unlike any of Bardem’s previous roles.
Snubbed: For me, it’s a toss up between Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma and Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn. In Yuma, Foster’s menacing outlaw outshone leads Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. In Rescue Dawn, Zahn (also playing opposite of Bale) withers away before your eyes as a POW, making you forget that he usually gets cast as a goofy sidekick.
Supporting Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), and Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
My pick: Tilda Swinton – I have only seen two of the five performances nominated (Swinton and Ronan), but I feel the award should be given to Swinton as one of those "You’ve had an amazing career so far and have been overlooked before, so here’s some recognition now" Oscars.
The Academy’s Pick: Cate Blanchett – Though Amy Ryan has been stiff competition at the past few awards shows, Blanchett is a critics darling and an amazing actress to boot. Plus, she’s playing Bob Dylan.
Snubbed: Allison Janney has made quite an impact on me with her tiny, yet incredibly funny supporting roles in Hairspray and Juno. She deserved the nod for Juno, if only for the scene where she tells off the ultrasound technician.
Best Actor Nominees: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), and Viggo Mortenson (Eastern Promises)
My Pick: Johnny Depp – Of all the nominees, he took the biggest creative risk by being in a musical about a homicidal barber and he’s been nominated twice before. Too bad his charmed third time pins him up against…
The Academy’s Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis – One of the greatest actors of all time. He makes very few films these days, but when he does, his performance is always powerfully intense.
Snubbed: Usually great male actors get nominated for playing against type, or portraying someone whom has a disability or is mentally unstable. But what about James McAvoy’s heartbreaking performance in Atonement as Robbie Turner, a completely average young man whose life gets ripped out from under him because of a false accusation?
Best Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages), and Ellen Page (Juno)
My Pick: Laura Linney – I’d like to see Linney get the award, as she consistently gives strong performances and is one of my favorite American actresses.
The Academy’s Pick: Julie Christie – An amazing actress who has been racking up well deserved awards this season for her role as a woman with Alzheimer’s.
Snubbed: Already a nominee once for Junebug, Amy Adams should have been recognized this year for her blissfully innocent portrayal of the newest Disney Princess, Giselle, in Enchanted.
Best Picture Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood
My pick: Atonement – Brilliant in every aspect of filmmaking including score, script, cinematography and cast. My eyes well while watching movies maybe once every other blue moon, but I was so moved by the way Joe Wright brought Ian McEwan’s beautiful novel to screen that I needed to wipe away the tears more than once.
The Academy’s Pick: No Country for Old Men – It was nice to see the Coen Brothers make a good film after a couple of recent misfires (Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers), but is this really the best film of the year? This movie lost the Golden Globe to Atonement, but has picked up Best Picture awards from critics all over the country. This category may still be up for grabs.
Snubbed: Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was very deserving of a nomination for Best Picture. This was a solid film with a great cast, awesomely grotesque effects and music by Steven Sondheim – what more could you want from a movie musical?
So, go forth, fellow movie lovers, catch up on the nominees (many are still at a theater near you) and get your ballots ready because strike or not, the show must go on.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
New Year's Resolutions
(This article will be published in The Ryder in the next couple weeks - read it here first!!)
New Year, New Goals – A Movie Lover’s New Year’s Resolution
Every time a New Year begins, people start talking about their New Year’s resolutions. Exercise more, eat healthier, stop smoking, and save money are staple promises people make to themselves every January. Sometimes the resolutions stick, often they get broken. This year I plan on really challenging myself and adhering to my resolution. I figure if I share it with you, in print, then there is no way I can go back on my word. So, here goes… I am finally going to watch Casablanca.
Yes, I’m going to do the healthy eating and exercising thing too, but watching Casablanca is a lofty goal that is going to take time and fierce dedication. If my calculations are correct, I have checked this movie out of the library about 15 times in the last eight years and not once have I watched it. Every year I watch those AFI “100 Years, 100 (fill in the “ blank)” specials and every year they list Casablanca while I just sit there and feel more and more ashamed.
You don’t understand, fellow cinemaphiles, I majored in video production and have a minor in film from Ohio University (BSC ’06). I’ve recently put in applications for graduate Cinema Studies programs as an aspiring film professor/journalist/critic. If the selection committee at NYU finds out that I haven’t seen Casablanca yet, they are probably going to laugh at me and then delete my submission materials.
While I run around town finding an available copy of Casablanca, I urge you to make some cinematic resolutions for yourself. If you need a little encouragement, I have some ideas that just might work. If you are going strictly for quantity over quality, try setting a goal for yourself. My dad once asked me during a trip home from college what my plans were for my six-week winter break. I told him, “I’m going to watch movies.” Not the answer he was looking for, as I know he was hinting at me to get a temporary job, he said, “I want you to think bigger. Set a goal for yourself.” Without skipping a beat, I replied, “I’m going to watch 50 movies.” Luckily he laughed or it would have been a long three hours in the car.
The goal was to watch 50 movies I had never seen before, and I did. I chose an actor or director I liked and tried to watch their entire canon of work. It’s amazing what a variety of movies you cover with this method – you’ll end up seeing movies you never knew existed. You can even spice things up and watch the movies in chronological order so you can witness the creative ups and downs of someone’s career.
If the overall quality of a film is more important to you, then I suggest you start with a list. If you don’t want to make up your own there is outside help readily available. The aforementioned AFI “100 Years, 100 [fill in the blanks]” lists are great. Go to www.afi.com, click on “tv & events,” then “AFI’s 100 Years”. Here you will have access to many different lists, ranging from the greatest comedies, thrills and inspirational films from the last century. More than a fair few films pop up on multiple lists, so if you are looking to cover the most ground, start with the “AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies” list (either the original or 10th Anniversary Edition will do).
Another list worth mentioning is laid out in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, with Steven Jay Schneider as the General Editor. The edition I got for Christmas lists movies released from 1902-2004. So far I have only seen 267 of them, so I have my work cut out for the next couple years. There is a genre index in the front of the book that is really helpful if, for example, you just want to watch dramas or war films. Throughout the book, there are images from the movies listed, cast, crew and production information, as well as essays about the history and themes of each film - explanations why these films are so important for all of us to see.
In the coming weeks, I promise I will spend an afternoon watching Casablanca. I will then spend that evening making my own list of movies I need to catch up on. I wish you luck on your cinematic endeavors. Years from now, you might look back on your resolution as the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
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For the record, I had help from the editor of The Ryder with the very last line :)
New Year, New Goals – A Movie Lover’s New Year’s Resolution
Every time a New Year begins, people start talking about their New Year’s resolutions. Exercise more, eat healthier, stop smoking, and save money are staple promises people make to themselves every January. Sometimes the resolutions stick, often they get broken. This year I plan on really challenging myself and adhering to my resolution. I figure if I share it with you, in print, then there is no way I can go back on my word. So, here goes… I am finally going to watch Casablanca.
Yes, I’m going to do the healthy eating and exercising thing too, but watching Casablanca is a lofty goal that is going to take time and fierce dedication. If my calculations are correct, I have checked this movie out of the library about 15 times in the last eight years and not once have I watched it. Every year I watch those AFI “100 Years, 100 (fill in the “ blank)” specials and every year they list Casablanca while I just sit there and feel more and more ashamed.
You don’t understand, fellow cinemaphiles, I majored in video production and have a minor in film from Ohio University (BSC ’06). I’ve recently put in applications for graduate Cinema Studies programs as an aspiring film professor/journalist/critic. If the selection committee at NYU finds out that I haven’t seen Casablanca yet, they are probably going to laugh at me and then delete my submission materials.
While I run around town finding an available copy of Casablanca, I urge you to make some cinematic resolutions for yourself. If you need a little encouragement, I have some ideas that just might work. If you are going strictly for quantity over quality, try setting a goal for yourself. My dad once asked me during a trip home from college what my plans were for my six-week winter break. I told him, “I’m going to watch movies.” Not the answer he was looking for, as I know he was hinting at me to get a temporary job, he said, “I want you to think bigger. Set a goal for yourself.” Without skipping a beat, I replied, “I’m going to watch 50 movies.” Luckily he laughed or it would have been a long three hours in the car.
The goal was to watch 50 movies I had never seen before, and I did. I chose an actor or director I liked and tried to watch their entire canon of work. It’s amazing what a variety of movies you cover with this method – you’ll end up seeing movies you never knew existed. You can even spice things up and watch the movies in chronological order so you can witness the creative ups and downs of someone’s career.
If the overall quality of a film is more important to you, then I suggest you start with a list. If you don’t want to make up your own there is outside help readily available. The aforementioned AFI “100 Years, 100 [fill in the blanks]” lists are great. Go to www.afi.com, click on “tv & events,” then “AFI’s 100 Years”. Here you will have access to many different lists, ranging from the greatest comedies, thrills and inspirational films from the last century. More than a fair few films pop up on multiple lists, so if you are looking to cover the most ground, start with the “AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies” list (either the original or 10th Anniversary Edition will do).
Another list worth mentioning is laid out in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, with Steven Jay Schneider as the General Editor. The edition I got for Christmas lists movies released from 1902-2004. So far I have only seen 267 of them, so I have my work cut out for the next couple years. There is a genre index in the front of the book that is really helpful if, for example, you just want to watch dramas or war films. Throughout the book, there are images from the movies listed, cast, crew and production information, as well as essays about the history and themes of each film - explanations why these films are so important for all of us to see.
In the coming weeks, I promise I will spend an afternoon watching Casablanca. I will then spend that evening making my own list of movies I need to catch up on. I wish you luck on your cinematic endeavors. Years from now, you might look back on your resolution as the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
------------------------------------------------------------------
For the record, I had help from the editor of The Ryder with the very last line :)
Movie musicals - for when I can't be in NYC at a Broadway show...
(This article was written for the November/December 2007 issue of The Ryder)
Gotta Sing!: A Celebration of Movie Musicals
We take it for granted that "the hills are alive with the sound of music". Just over 80 years ago, movies had no sound, let along songs; any music accompanying a film was usually played by a live combo at the screening. That all changed in 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer. Now available on DVD, The Jazz Singer was the first "talkie" – a feature-length movie where the audience heard dialogue through synchronized sound as opposed to reading it on title cards. This movie also featured musical numbers, leading the way to a new genre – the movie musical.
Walt Disney combined the novelty of the movie musical with the popularity of cartoons and created an empire. Ever since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs release in 1937, Disney released animated musical features on a regular basis until the late 1990s when the company started making non-musical computer-animated features (Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Cars).
As for live-action films, the 1930s brought us The Wizard of Oz, then Gene Kelly showed up in the 40s and 50s with his string of hits including On the Town, An American in Paris and Singin’ in the Rain. West Side Story wowed audiences in 1961 and Grease rolled into theaters in 1978. After Fame in 1980, well-received live-action musicals disappeared from cinemas until 2001. That year, Moulin Rouge! took popular Top-10 songs, turned them on their side, and reintroduced audiences to movies filled with songs. When Chicago won the Academy Award for Best Picture the next year, movie musicals were back.
Since Chicago, there have been several other musicals pulled from the stage and turned into movies including Rent, The Producers, Dreamgirls and Hairspray. This summer, Hairspray became the third highest grossing movie musical of all time while Rent and The Producers hardly made a dent at the box office, even though they are two of the most popular Broadway shows in the past decade. Why is it that some movie musicals are so popular while others fail to attract the same millions of people who flock to see the same show in New York City? One answer is star-power of the cast.
Both the movie versions of Rent and The Producers starred most of their original Broadway casts. Those casts included actors the cinema-going audiences were either not extremely familiar with (Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp of Rent), or were famous but unable to open a movie (Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick of The Producers). Hairspray gave the audiences what they wanted – big stars with voices to match. Everyone loved John Travolta in Grease, but he hadn’t been in another movie musical until Hairspray – where he played a plus-size woman whose Baltimore accent is as thick as her thighs. Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfieffer and High School Musical star Zac Efron were just a handful of Travolta’s talented co-stars that lured people to the theaters in droves.
Chicago’s cast also consisted of talented actors who many people were unaware that they were triple threats. My curiosity brought me to a screening on opening day, wondering if Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere could sing and dance. Amazing choreography and song performances led me back to the movie theater three more times. I have a feeling the same is going to happen December 21st with the release of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s fifth collaboration, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the morbid tale of a wronged man who takes revenge on people by slitting their throats and then having his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, bake them into meat pies. Though the current trailer for the movie only has a few seconds of Depp singing, Sweeney Todd is a full-out musical. Perhaps DreamWorks and Warner Brothers don’t want to scare audience away with a trailer full of singing and instead want people to see the Sleepy Hollow-meets-Big Fish sets and costumes Burton is using, as well as the sense of fear that Sweeney Todd is back and wants vengeance. Either way, count me in – I saw Sweeney Todd revived on Broadway a couple years ago, loved it, and am now dying to see what Burton, Depp, and co-stars Helena Bohnam Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen will bring to the table.
In honor of my excitement for Sweeney Todd, I am sharing with you my Top 10 favorite movie musicals of all time. Disclaimer: Though there are many movies where people sing songs, we are going to focus on films where there are more than just a couple songs, and at least two of the musical numbers must be when one or more characters spontaneously burst into song. Therefore, music biopics like Walk the Line, or faux-biopics like That Thing You Do! are not included as they are about musicians and their songs and musical sequences are necessary for the plot, but are not spontaneous in the slightest.
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939) – directed by Victor Fleming
According to imdb.com, "a recent study claimed this is the most watched movie in film history." Everyone knows "Somewhere over the Rainbow"– The American Film Institute recognized it as the number one movie song of all time. But, as soon as Dorothy landed in Oz and opened the doors to that Technicolor wonderfulness, we all realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore. I remember singing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" and "We’re Off to see the Wizard" with my siblings during mini productions of this musical in our living room.
9. The Little Mermaid (1989) – directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
On a whole, I’m not a fan of the Disney cartoons, but The Little Mermaid is an exception. I was in kindergarten when this movie was released, and I loved singing along with Ariel and Sebastian. My sister got to play a piece of seaweed in a school production of this musical a few years later and I was jealous that she got to be part of that world while I had to sit there and watch. Academy Award nominee "Kiss the Girl" was a sweet little Disney number with the lagoon animals (and Scuttle) lend their talents as supporting vocals, but it was the up-tempo "Under the Sea" which took home the Oscar for Best Song.
8. Guys and Dolls (1955) – directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
How about that Marlon Brando! Though his singing voice was nowhere near as strong as Frank Sinatra’s, Brando held his own as he danced down in Havana then warbled his way through "Luck Be a Lady". It was well known that Sinatra was bitter about Brando getting the lead, so Sinatra would refer to his costar as "Mumbles". This is another musical whose songs have been reenacted multiple times by my sister and I on our long road trips to New York City, especially "Fugue for Tinhorns" and "Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat".
7. Chicago (2002) – directed by Rob Marshall
I remember seeing the trailer for this movie multiple times and every time it ended with Catherine Zeta-Jones belting out "No, I’m no one’s wife/But oh I love my life/And All That Jazz/That Jazz!" I got goose bumps. I am not a fan of Renee Zellweger, but boy was I blown away by Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. I knew Catherine Zeta-Jones was a hoofer when she was younger, but her singing and dancing really impressed me during "I Can’t Do it Alone." The juxtaposition of the marionettes and Billy Flynn dominating Roxie Hart’s meeting with the press made "We Both Reached for the Gun" a memorable number. Taye Diggs, cast as the Bandleader, was severely underused.
6. The Sound of Music (1965) – directed by Robert Wise
Greatly improved with a little fast-forwarding through "Climb Ev’ry Mountain" and stopping altogether before those horrible Nazis try and capture the von Trapps. I always wanted to sing the high notes like Julie Andrews in "I Have Confidence" and "Do Re Mi" but I know now that’s just a pipe dream. During middle school, a friend and I would try to play "The Lonely Goatherd" on her flute, also with little success. As happy as this movie makes me, when Captain von Trapp and company sing "Edelweiss" before he is supposed to join the German Navy, my heart just breaks. Such a happy song at such a sad moment in his life – this really shows how music in movies can evoke more feelings than the spoken word.
5. West Side Story (1961) – directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise
This musical version of Romeo and Juliet is equally as powerful as Shakespeare’s play because of the songs. Tony and Maria loved each other, which is so beautifully exposed in "Tonight" and "One Hand One Heart". The personalities of the gangs are shown in "Jet Song" (Jets) and "America" (Sharks) and everybody’s voice gets heard in the best song in the whole movie – "Tonight Quintet". We played a West Side Story-themed show when I was a junior in the high school marching band and even though we had to play these songs every single day for four months in a row, I will never tire of this movie or its songs. Composer Leonard Bernstein did much to advance music education in this country, something very dear to me as my sister and several of our close friends are music educators. In 1987, Bernstein used part of his winnings from the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize to establish the Leonard Bernstein Scholarship Fund here at Indiana University, which is awarded annually to deserving music students.
4. Hairspray (2007) – directed by Adam Shankman
The movie and its music were so colorful and oozed happiness, even though they dealt with heavy subjects such as racism and body image. Being based off of John Waters movie Hairspray and the subsequent Broadway musical of the same name, this version of Hairspray combined some big talent from a very diverse cast, including newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad. The finale of "You Can’t Stop the Beat" was some of the most energetic singing and dancing I had seen on screen in awhile. The single and double-disc DVD, as well as a double-disc soundtrack were released on November 20th.
3. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) – directed by Mel Stuart
You might think this is an odd choice to be considered among musicals like West Side Story and The Sound of Music. Gene Wilder is Willy Wonka; accept no substitutes. The songs are not as amazing as those written by Sondheim or Rogers and Hammerstein, but "The Candy Man," "I’ve Got a Golden Ticket," "Pure Imagination," "I Want it Now" and all those ditties from the Oompa Loompas are permanently embedded in my mind. Though my family and friends use the phrase "Cheer Up, Charlie" to make me smile on a regular basis, this is the lamest movie musical song of all time and should always be fast-forwarded through. Always.
2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) – directed by Stanley Dolan and Gene Kelly
Set during the time when synchronized sound was introduced into motion pictures, Singin’ in the Rain is a winning combination of comedy, beautiful music and amazing dance routines. Donald O’Connor’s performance of "Make ‘Em Laugh" and his "Moses Supposes" duet with Kelly made for two of the funniest scenes in the film, but it’s Gene Kelly’s execution of the title song that the movie is best known for. With an umbrella in hand and the help of a streetlight, Kelly sang and danced through the rain and into our hearts – what a glorious feeling, indeed.
1. Moulin Rouge! (2001) – directed by Baz Luhrmann
Moulin Rouge! features already well-known pop songs and weaves them into a manic yet heartbreaking movie musical. This movie is a good example of the "backstage" movie musical – when the characters in the movie are putting on a musical production of their own, creating a "show within a show". "Your Song" is an endearing scene as Christian used his "modern poetry" to woo Satine. "Come What May" is a beautiful song that makes me smile every time I hear it, as my dad and I would sing along to it on the long drive home from college. "El Tango de Roxanne" is so haunting, with the passionate choreography of the can-can girls and rakes, the physical assault of the Duke on Satine and the guttural screams of Christian out his garret window. Such a sad part of the film, but so powerful with the combination of imagery and singing – I love it!
Disagree with my list? Think up your own Top 10 and share it with your friends. Get people excited about what movie musicals you are passionate about and then drag them with you to see Sweeney Todd this December!
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For the record, this was not my actual Top 10... I left out How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Newsies and Alice in Wonderland to include a few others that more people would know...
Also, since I wrote this, I've seen Sweeney Todd and it was glorious!! I was laughing so hard because it was so gory and disgusting. Johnny Depp was awesome - he made such a great Sweeney Todd, with his crazy hair and Jack Sparrow-sounding singing.
I saw the Patti LuPone/Michael Cerveris version on Broadway a few years ago and it was one of the most memorable Broadway experiences I've had... such a great musical.
Musicals (both on stage and on screen) make me smile.
Gotta Sing!: A Celebration of Movie Musicals
We take it for granted that "the hills are alive with the sound of music". Just over 80 years ago, movies had no sound, let along songs; any music accompanying a film was usually played by a live combo at the screening. That all changed in 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer. Now available on DVD, The Jazz Singer was the first "talkie" – a feature-length movie where the audience heard dialogue through synchronized sound as opposed to reading it on title cards. This movie also featured musical numbers, leading the way to a new genre – the movie musical.
Walt Disney combined the novelty of the movie musical with the popularity of cartoons and created an empire. Ever since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs release in 1937, Disney released animated musical features on a regular basis until the late 1990s when the company started making non-musical computer-animated features (Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Cars).
As for live-action films, the 1930s brought us The Wizard of Oz, then Gene Kelly showed up in the 40s and 50s with his string of hits including On the Town, An American in Paris and Singin’ in the Rain. West Side Story wowed audiences in 1961 and Grease rolled into theaters in 1978. After Fame in 1980, well-received live-action musicals disappeared from cinemas until 2001. That year, Moulin Rouge! took popular Top-10 songs, turned them on their side, and reintroduced audiences to movies filled with songs. When Chicago won the Academy Award for Best Picture the next year, movie musicals were back.
Since Chicago, there have been several other musicals pulled from the stage and turned into movies including Rent, The Producers, Dreamgirls and Hairspray. This summer, Hairspray became the third highest grossing movie musical of all time while Rent and The Producers hardly made a dent at the box office, even though they are two of the most popular Broadway shows in the past decade. Why is it that some movie musicals are so popular while others fail to attract the same millions of people who flock to see the same show in New York City? One answer is star-power of the cast.
Both the movie versions of Rent and The Producers starred most of their original Broadway casts. Those casts included actors the cinema-going audiences were either not extremely familiar with (Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp of Rent), or were famous but unable to open a movie (Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick of The Producers). Hairspray gave the audiences what they wanted – big stars with voices to match. Everyone loved John Travolta in Grease, but he hadn’t been in another movie musical until Hairspray – where he played a plus-size woman whose Baltimore accent is as thick as her thighs. Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfieffer and High School Musical star Zac Efron were just a handful of Travolta’s talented co-stars that lured people to the theaters in droves.
Chicago’s cast also consisted of talented actors who many people were unaware that they were triple threats. My curiosity brought me to a screening on opening day, wondering if Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere could sing and dance. Amazing choreography and song performances led me back to the movie theater three more times. I have a feeling the same is going to happen December 21st with the release of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s fifth collaboration, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the morbid tale of a wronged man who takes revenge on people by slitting their throats and then having his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, bake them into meat pies. Though the current trailer for the movie only has a few seconds of Depp singing, Sweeney Todd is a full-out musical. Perhaps DreamWorks and Warner Brothers don’t want to scare audience away with a trailer full of singing and instead want people to see the Sleepy Hollow-meets-Big Fish sets and costumes Burton is using, as well as the sense of fear that Sweeney Todd is back and wants vengeance. Either way, count me in – I saw Sweeney Todd revived on Broadway a couple years ago, loved it, and am now dying to see what Burton, Depp, and co-stars Helena Bohnam Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen will bring to the table.
In honor of my excitement for Sweeney Todd, I am sharing with you my Top 10 favorite movie musicals of all time. Disclaimer: Though there are many movies where people sing songs, we are going to focus on films where there are more than just a couple songs, and at least two of the musical numbers must be when one or more characters spontaneously burst into song. Therefore, music biopics like Walk the Line, or faux-biopics like That Thing You Do! are not included as they are about musicians and their songs and musical sequences are necessary for the plot, but are not spontaneous in the slightest.
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939) – directed by Victor Fleming
According to imdb.com, "a recent study claimed this is the most watched movie in film history." Everyone knows "Somewhere over the Rainbow"– The American Film Institute recognized it as the number one movie song of all time. But, as soon as Dorothy landed in Oz and opened the doors to that Technicolor wonderfulness, we all realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore. I remember singing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" and "We’re Off to see the Wizard" with my siblings during mini productions of this musical in our living room.
9. The Little Mermaid (1989) – directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
On a whole, I’m not a fan of the Disney cartoons, but The Little Mermaid is an exception. I was in kindergarten when this movie was released, and I loved singing along with Ariel and Sebastian. My sister got to play a piece of seaweed in a school production of this musical a few years later and I was jealous that she got to be part of that world while I had to sit there and watch. Academy Award nominee "Kiss the Girl" was a sweet little Disney number with the lagoon animals (and Scuttle) lend their talents as supporting vocals, but it was the up-tempo "Under the Sea" which took home the Oscar for Best Song.
8. Guys and Dolls (1955) – directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
How about that Marlon Brando! Though his singing voice was nowhere near as strong as Frank Sinatra’s, Brando held his own as he danced down in Havana then warbled his way through "Luck Be a Lady". It was well known that Sinatra was bitter about Brando getting the lead, so Sinatra would refer to his costar as "Mumbles". This is another musical whose songs have been reenacted multiple times by my sister and I on our long road trips to New York City, especially "Fugue for Tinhorns" and "Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat".
7. Chicago (2002) – directed by Rob Marshall
I remember seeing the trailer for this movie multiple times and every time it ended with Catherine Zeta-Jones belting out "No, I’m no one’s wife/But oh I love my life/And All That Jazz/That Jazz!" I got goose bumps. I am not a fan of Renee Zellweger, but boy was I blown away by Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. I knew Catherine Zeta-Jones was a hoofer when she was younger, but her singing and dancing really impressed me during "I Can’t Do it Alone." The juxtaposition of the marionettes and Billy Flynn dominating Roxie Hart’s meeting with the press made "We Both Reached for the Gun" a memorable number. Taye Diggs, cast as the Bandleader, was severely underused.
6. The Sound of Music (1965) – directed by Robert Wise
Greatly improved with a little fast-forwarding through "Climb Ev’ry Mountain" and stopping altogether before those horrible Nazis try and capture the von Trapps. I always wanted to sing the high notes like Julie Andrews in "I Have Confidence" and "Do Re Mi" but I know now that’s just a pipe dream. During middle school, a friend and I would try to play "The Lonely Goatherd" on her flute, also with little success. As happy as this movie makes me, when Captain von Trapp and company sing "Edelweiss" before he is supposed to join the German Navy, my heart just breaks. Such a happy song at such a sad moment in his life – this really shows how music in movies can evoke more feelings than the spoken word.
5. West Side Story (1961) – directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise
This musical version of Romeo and Juliet is equally as powerful as Shakespeare’s play because of the songs. Tony and Maria loved each other, which is so beautifully exposed in "Tonight" and "One Hand One Heart". The personalities of the gangs are shown in "Jet Song" (Jets) and "America" (Sharks) and everybody’s voice gets heard in the best song in the whole movie – "Tonight Quintet". We played a West Side Story-themed show when I was a junior in the high school marching band and even though we had to play these songs every single day for four months in a row, I will never tire of this movie or its songs. Composer Leonard Bernstein did much to advance music education in this country, something very dear to me as my sister and several of our close friends are music educators. In 1987, Bernstein used part of his winnings from the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize to establish the Leonard Bernstein Scholarship Fund here at Indiana University, which is awarded annually to deserving music students.
4. Hairspray (2007) – directed by Adam Shankman
The movie and its music were so colorful and oozed happiness, even though they dealt with heavy subjects such as racism and body image. Being based off of John Waters movie Hairspray and the subsequent Broadway musical of the same name, this version of Hairspray combined some big talent from a very diverse cast, including newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad. The finale of "You Can’t Stop the Beat" was some of the most energetic singing and dancing I had seen on screen in awhile. The single and double-disc DVD, as well as a double-disc soundtrack were released on November 20th.
3. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) – directed by Mel Stuart
You might think this is an odd choice to be considered among musicals like West Side Story and The Sound of Music. Gene Wilder is Willy Wonka; accept no substitutes. The songs are not as amazing as those written by Sondheim or Rogers and Hammerstein, but "The Candy Man," "I’ve Got a Golden Ticket," "Pure Imagination," "I Want it Now" and all those ditties from the Oompa Loompas are permanently embedded in my mind. Though my family and friends use the phrase "Cheer Up, Charlie" to make me smile on a regular basis, this is the lamest movie musical song of all time and should always be fast-forwarded through. Always.
2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) – directed by Stanley Dolan and Gene Kelly
Set during the time when synchronized sound was introduced into motion pictures, Singin’ in the Rain is a winning combination of comedy, beautiful music and amazing dance routines. Donald O’Connor’s performance of "Make ‘Em Laugh" and his "Moses Supposes" duet with Kelly made for two of the funniest scenes in the film, but it’s Gene Kelly’s execution of the title song that the movie is best known for. With an umbrella in hand and the help of a streetlight, Kelly sang and danced through the rain and into our hearts – what a glorious feeling, indeed.
1. Moulin Rouge! (2001) – directed by Baz Luhrmann
Moulin Rouge! features already well-known pop songs and weaves them into a manic yet heartbreaking movie musical. This movie is a good example of the "backstage" movie musical – when the characters in the movie are putting on a musical production of their own, creating a "show within a show". "Your Song" is an endearing scene as Christian used his "modern poetry" to woo Satine. "Come What May" is a beautiful song that makes me smile every time I hear it, as my dad and I would sing along to it on the long drive home from college. "El Tango de Roxanne" is so haunting, with the passionate choreography of the can-can girls and rakes, the physical assault of the Duke on Satine and the guttural screams of Christian out his garret window. Such a sad part of the film, but so powerful with the combination of imagery and singing – I love it!
Disagree with my list? Think up your own Top 10 and share it with your friends. Get people excited about what movie musicals you are passionate about and then drag them with you to see Sweeney Todd this December!
------------------------------------------------------------
For the record, this was not my actual Top 10... I left out How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Newsies and Alice in Wonderland to include a few others that more people would know...
Also, since I wrote this, I've seen Sweeney Todd and it was glorious!! I was laughing so hard because it was so gory and disgusting. Johnny Depp was awesome - he made such a great Sweeney Todd, with his crazy hair and Jack Sparrow-sounding singing.
I saw the Patti LuPone/Michael Cerveris version on Broadway a few years ago and it was one of the most memorable Broadway experiences I've had... such a great musical.
Musicals (both on stage and on screen) make me smile.
Feminism, alive and needing a good laugh
(This article - though with a few edits - was written for the Oct 10th-Nov 20th edition of The Ryder)
Hey Hollywood – women like to laugh too.
Think back through the movies you’ve seen in the past few years. Besides romantic-comedies, how many comedies can you name that are aimed at women? Females make up over fifty percent of the world’s population, yet only a handful of films produced each year are for and/or about women.
A big reason that movies for women are not at a theater near you is that the film industry is considered a gentlemen’s club. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of women writers, producers and directors has dropped from 16% to 15% of the total people working those jobs, causing professor Martha Lauzen of San Diego State University to conclude "We’re at the same place we would have been in 1999" ("Hollywood’s Shortage of Female Power", NY Times, April 27,2007). Cathy Schulman, head of Mandalay Entertainment, says she sees "a definite problem with the lack of support for women at the lower ranks, which may ultimately create a lack of women who could be viable for the top-dog jobs."
This article also reveals that there is currently only one woman who holds a top job at a movie studio – Amy Pascal is the co-chairwoman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. There used to be four women in executive positions, but the other three were either pushed out by men (Nina Jacobson and Gail Berman, formerly of Disney’s motion picture group and Paramount, respectively), or chose to take a less powerful job at a different studio to avoid working under General Electric (Stacy Snider, former chairwoman of Universal Pictures, now working at DreamWorks). Without women in power positions, there is just not a huge push to make films for women.
That’s not to say that men cannot make movies where woman have strong comedic roles that don’t involve them being a lovesick damsel in distress, but the lack of female involvement in the creative process of filmmaking has made an impact on what kinds of movies are made.
This summer, two of the biggest hits were Knocked Up and Superbad, brilliant comedies produced by Judd Apatow. Both films’ protagonists are chubby Jewish guys (who are likable despite being fraught with faults) seeking attention from beautiful women who need to be won over and shown that the men aren’t as big of slackers as they appear to be. Knocked Up and Superbad are filled with profanity and frank talk of male and female genitalia, which stereotypically appeals more to men. Women went to see Knocked Up and Superbad because these movies are actually heartwarming tales of men looking for a more mature relationship with the opposite sex and the dialogue was smart and gut busting. No one is ever going to forget "I am McLovin."
Women like comedies. Laughing is pleasurable to us; it makes us feel happy and burns calories at the same time. What I don’t like is the lack of comedies made that are more women-friendly. Romantic comedies do not count in my definition of "comedy" – they are predictable and all about women finding love as if that is going to solve all her problems and make her a complete person. I am not saying that all romantic comedies are cinematic trash – When Harry Met Sally…, Sweet Home Alabama and Bridget Jones’s Diary are treasured members of my DVD collection – or that comedies cannot have aspects of love in them, but I am challenging you to think about how few straight-up comedies are made for women.
A Variety article entitled "Can chicks get in the pic mix?" mentions how the combination of women and comedy has been very successful in the past, dating back to silent movies. Once talkie came out, the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s – do yourself a favor and watch Bringing Up Baby (1939) and His Girl Friday (1940). Katherine Hepburn and Rosalind Russell will have you in awe of their comedic timing and amazing delivery of dialogue. The 1980s gave us working women’s comedies like 9 to 5, Baby Boom and Working Girl. It is now 2007 and instead of seeing strong, funny women up on the big screen, our cinemas are filled with comedies from the Frat Pack. What happened?!
In that same article, Gwyneth Paltrow, of all people, was quoted as saying "There’s no reason why, if there’s a Wedding Crashers’ for the boys, there can’t be something really funny yet intelligent for women." You tell ‘em, Gwyneth! In all seriousness, though, Paltrow is absolutely right. There is no excuse for the recent lack of comedies being made for women, let alone smart and witty ones. Lucky for us, 2008 might turn out to be the start of a new cinematic trend.
With the release of Spring Breakdown next March, a string of comedies with women as the central characters begins. With a story by SNL alumna Rachel Dratch, Spring Breakdown is about four women, three in their thirties and one far from popular college student (daughter of one of the older women), taking some time for themselves by vacationing at the equivalent of Cancun during spring break. Also coming out is Sunshine Cleaning; two sisters (Emily Blunt and Amy Adams) start "a biohazard removal/crime scene clean up service" to earn money to put one sister’s son through school (imdb.com). Other titles to look out for is a remake of the 1939 film The Women, and a Frances McDormand picture about a London governess who finds herself out of work, entitled Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
But for now, we must deal with over-sexed male driven movies filled with gratuitous shots of women’s breasts and behinds (The Wedding Crashers and Good Luck Chuck) as well as routine romantic comedies (The Holiday and Music & Lyrics) which stereotypically all women fancy. Honestly, I loved The Wedding Crashers – I saw it twice in theaters and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes – I’m just tired of seeing naked women every time I go to get my chuckle on.
Women are completely capable of making the masses laugh while keeping their clothes on and it’s time more movies prove that. Can’t wait until next year to see some comedies with brilliantly talented women? In the meantime, why don’t you watch Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration – Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries which feature Parker Posey, Katherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch, four of the funniest women working today.
Ideally, all comedies should not have to objectify women or make female characters hopelessly lovesick in order to get some laughs. We can only hope that more movies get made which showcase the comedic talents of women as opposed to just their physical attributes or their many ways of meeting Mr. Right. Don’t get me wrong, bring on the male-driven as well as romantic comedies – I still need something to give my dad and mom for their birthdays – but bring on some straight-up comedies for women as well.
Hey Hollywood – women like to laugh too.
Think back through the movies you’ve seen in the past few years. Besides romantic-comedies, how many comedies can you name that are aimed at women? Females make up over fifty percent of the world’s population, yet only a handful of films produced each year are for and/or about women.
A big reason that movies for women are not at a theater near you is that the film industry is considered a gentlemen’s club. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of women writers, producers and directors has dropped from 16% to 15% of the total people working those jobs, causing professor Martha Lauzen of San Diego State University to conclude "We’re at the same place we would have been in 1999" ("Hollywood’s Shortage of Female Power", NY Times, April 27,2007). Cathy Schulman, head of Mandalay Entertainment, says she sees "a definite problem with the lack of support for women at the lower ranks, which may ultimately create a lack of women who could be viable for the top-dog jobs."
This article also reveals that there is currently only one woman who holds a top job at a movie studio – Amy Pascal is the co-chairwoman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. There used to be four women in executive positions, but the other three were either pushed out by men (Nina Jacobson and Gail Berman, formerly of Disney’s motion picture group and Paramount, respectively), or chose to take a less powerful job at a different studio to avoid working under General Electric (Stacy Snider, former chairwoman of Universal Pictures, now working at DreamWorks). Without women in power positions, there is just not a huge push to make films for women.
That’s not to say that men cannot make movies where woman have strong comedic roles that don’t involve them being a lovesick damsel in distress, but the lack of female involvement in the creative process of filmmaking has made an impact on what kinds of movies are made.
This summer, two of the biggest hits were Knocked Up and Superbad, brilliant comedies produced by Judd Apatow. Both films’ protagonists are chubby Jewish guys (who are likable despite being fraught with faults) seeking attention from beautiful women who need to be won over and shown that the men aren’t as big of slackers as they appear to be. Knocked Up and Superbad are filled with profanity and frank talk of male and female genitalia, which stereotypically appeals more to men. Women went to see Knocked Up and Superbad because these movies are actually heartwarming tales of men looking for a more mature relationship with the opposite sex and the dialogue was smart and gut busting. No one is ever going to forget "I am McLovin."
Women like comedies. Laughing is pleasurable to us; it makes us feel happy and burns calories at the same time. What I don’t like is the lack of comedies made that are more women-friendly. Romantic comedies do not count in my definition of "comedy" – they are predictable and all about women finding love as if that is going to solve all her problems and make her a complete person. I am not saying that all romantic comedies are cinematic trash – When Harry Met Sally…, Sweet Home Alabama and Bridget Jones’s Diary are treasured members of my DVD collection – or that comedies cannot have aspects of love in them, but I am challenging you to think about how few straight-up comedies are made for women.
A Variety article entitled "Can chicks get in the pic mix?" mentions how the combination of women and comedy has been very successful in the past, dating back to silent movies. Once talkie came out, the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s – do yourself a favor and watch Bringing Up Baby (1939) and His Girl Friday (1940). Katherine Hepburn and Rosalind Russell will have you in awe of their comedic timing and amazing delivery of dialogue. The 1980s gave us working women’s comedies like 9 to 5, Baby Boom and Working Girl. It is now 2007 and instead of seeing strong, funny women up on the big screen, our cinemas are filled with comedies from the Frat Pack. What happened?!
In that same article, Gwyneth Paltrow, of all people, was quoted as saying "There’s no reason why, if there’s a Wedding Crashers’ for the boys, there can’t be something really funny yet intelligent for women." You tell ‘em, Gwyneth! In all seriousness, though, Paltrow is absolutely right. There is no excuse for the recent lack of comedies being made for women, let alone smart and witty ones. Lucky for us, 2008 might turn out to be the start of a new cinematic trend.
With the release of Spring Breakdown next March, a string of comedies with women as the central characters begins. With a story by SNL alumna Rachel Dratch, Spring Breakdown is about four women, three in their thirties and one far from popular college student (daughter of one of the older women), taking some time for themselves by vacationing at the equivalent of Cancun during spring break. Also coming out is Sunshine Cleaning; two sisters (Emily Blunt and Amy Adams) start "a biohazard removal/crime scene clean up service" to earn money to put one sister’s son through school (imdb.com). Other titles to look out for is a remake of the 1939 film The Women, and a Frances McDormand picture about a London governess who finds herself out of work, entitled Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
But for now, we must deal with over-sexed male driven movies filled with gratuitous shots of women’s breasts and behinds (The Wedding Crashers and Good Luck Chuck) as well as routine romantic comedies (The Holiday and Music & Lyrics) which stereotypically all women fancy. Honestly, I loved The Wedding Crashers – I saw it twice in theaters and I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes – I’m just tired of seeing naked women every time I go to get my chuckle on.
Women are completely capable of making the masses laugh while keeping their clothes on and it’s time more movies prove that. Can’t wait until next year to see some comedies with brilliantly talented women? In the meantime, why don’t you watch Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration – Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries which feature Parker Posey, Katherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch, four of the funniest women working today.
Ideally, all comedies should not have to objectify women or make female characters hopelessly lovesick in order to get some laughs. We can only hope that more movies get made which showcase the comedic talents of women as opposed to just their physical attributes or their many ways of meeting Mr. Right. Don’t get me wrong, bring on the male-driven as well as romantic comedies – I still need something to give my dad and mom for their birthdays – but bring on some straight-up comedies for women as well.
Film Franchises - touchy subject, I know...
(This article is from the September 2007 issue of The Ryder)
Film Franchises – Dominating Every Theater near You
Spider-Man 3. Shrek the Third. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Rush Hour 3. The summer of 2007 is going to go down in cinematic history as the summer of threequels. Yes, "threequels" cannot be found in Webster’s Dictionary, but how else is one supposed to describe the plethora of movies released this summer that just so happen to be the third installment in a franchise?
Spider-Man 3 was one of the most anticipated movies this past May. With plot points from the popular Marvel comic books, the first two Spider-Man films each grossed hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. The third movie continued with this franchise’s monetary successes, but all you got was an emo Peter Parker strutting down the street doing some rejected Saturday Night Fever dance moves. Spider-Man 3 made me wish they had stopped after Spider-Man 2, but Spider-Man 4 is coming out in 2009.
Another franchise that needs to stop now is the Shrek series. Shrek the Third had new celebrity voices like Justin Timberlake, but the movie itself was wordy, the plot line of whether Shrek was ready to be a parent or not and the crass humor that the Shrek movies are laced with was more appropriate for parents, not children. Shrek the Third raked in the money earlier this summer (over $320 million) and it has been announced that The Next Shrek (that’s the title, folks) and a Puss in Boots spin-off (again, that’s actually the title) will both be released in 2010.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise echoes back to the Matrix series: the first movie was so successful that the studio ordered up two previously unannounced sequels to be shot and released back to back in hopes of banking on the first movie’s popularity. Unlike the Matrix sequels which were awful compared to the first Matrix movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End were just as successful, if not more so, than the original Pirates of the Caribbean. The Pirates movies have grown into one of the more successful movie franchises in recent history, bringing in over a billion dollars worldwide, and as of right now, there is not a fourth movie in production. This comes as a relief to moviegoers who appreciate when a series ends on a good note rather than extending its welcome.
With the resurgence of decades-old franchises, this summer one of the bigger hits in theaters was Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth Die Hard movie which comes twelve years after Die Hard with a Vengeance. John McClane is older, but still has snappy one-liners and gets into some crazy awesome fights, which in reality should have killed him. A fourth Die Hard movie was never needed, but now that it is out there and actually a respectable film, we can accept it into the already solid Die Hard franchise.
It makes you wonder why studios are taking the risks to expand on movie franchises that already had satisfying final films. Many movie lovers have seen the original Indiana Jones trilogy and will agree that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a great way to end the series. Indy chose wisely, got the grail, saved his dad’s life and they rode off into the sunset. Now that it’s eighteen years later and Harrison Ford is eighteen years older, just how much mayhem can Indiana Jones get into before he breaks his hip? Hopefully the next Indiana Jones film, like Live Free or Die Hard, will turn out to be a good film and an asset to the series rather than attempt to fix a franchise which was never broken.
While movies adapted from books have also created franchises (i.e. the Harry Potter and the Jason Bourne movies), those franchises are justifiable because there are multiple books in the series, leading to multiple movies, which also happened to be monetarily successful. But, just because a lot of people went to see I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry this summer doesn’t mean that there needs to be a Chuck and Larry 2 coming soon to a theater near you in 2008.
I probably shouldn’t have written that… I don’t want to give the movie studios any crazy ideas.
Film Franchises – Dominating Every Theater near You
Spider-Man 3. Shrek the Third. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Rush Hour 3. The summer of 2007 is going to go down in cinematic history as the summer of threequels. Yes, "threequels" cannot be found in Webster’s Dictionary, but how else is one supposed to describe the plethora of movies released this summer that just so happen to be the third installment in a franchise?
Spider-Man 3 was one of the most anticipated movies this past May. With plot points from the popular Marvel comic books, the first two Spider-Man films each grossed hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. The third movie continued with this franchise’s monetary successes, but all you got was an emo Peter Parker strutting down the street doing some rejected Saturday Night Fever dance moves. Spider-Man 3 made me wish they had stopped after Spider-Man 2, but Spider-Man 4 is coming out in 2009.
Another franchise that needs to stop now is the Shrek series. Shrek the Third had new celebrity voices like Justin Timberlake, but the movie itself was wordy, the plot line of whether Shrek was ready to be a parent or not and the crass humor that the Shrek movies are laced with was more appropriate for parents, not children. Shrek the Third raked in the money earlier this summer (over $320 million) and it has been announced that The Next Shrek (that’s the title, folks) and a Puss in Boots spin-off (again, that’s actually the title) will both be released in 2010.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise echoes back to the Matrix series: the first movie was so successful that the studio ordered up two previously unannounced sequels to be shot and released back to back in hopes of banking on the first movie’s popularity. Unlike the Matrix sequels which were awful compared to the first Matrix movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End were just as successful, if not more so, than the original Pirates of the Caribbean. The Pirates movies have grown into one of the more successful movie franchises in recent history, bringing in over a billion dollars worldwide, and as of right now, there is not a fourth movie in production. This comes as a relief to moviegoers who appreciate when a series ends on a good note rather than extending its welcome.
With the resurgence of decades-old franchises, this summer one of the bigger hits in theaters was Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth Die Hard movie which comes twelve years after Die Hard with a Vengeance. John McClane is older, but still has snappy one-liners and gets into some crazy awesome fights, which in reality should have killed him. A fourth Die Hard movie was never needed, but now that it is out there and actually a respectable film, we can accept it into the already solid Die Hard franchise.
It makes you wonder why studios are taking the risks to expand on movie franchises that already had satisfying final films. Many movie lovers have seen the original Indiana Jones trilogy and will agree that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a great way to end the series. Indy chose wisely, got the grail, saved his dad’s life and they rode off into the sunset. Now that it’s eighteen years later and Harrison Ford is eighteen years older, just how much mayhem can Indiana Jones get into before he breaks his hip? Hopefully the next Indiana Jones film, like Live Free or Die Hard, will turn out to be a good film and an asset to the series rather than attempt to fix a franchise which was never broken.
While movies adapted from books have also created franchises (i.e. the Harry Potter and the Jason Bourne movies), those franchises are justifiable because there are multiple books in the series, leading to multiple movies, which also happened to be monetarily successful. But, just because a lot of people went to see I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry this summer doesn’t mean that there needs to be a Chuck and Larry 2 coming soon to a theater near you in 2008.
I probably shouldn’t have written that… I don’t want to give the movie studios any crazy ideas.
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