"London"

Nope, sadly this posting has nothing to do with the city that I hope to one day call home. Aside from the fact that it shares the name with one of the main characters in the flick I FINALLY got around to watching this morning.

Yes, I'm continuing to avoid editing - but I HOPE I'll get back into it soon. It's tough. But, I want to get through it, I just needed a little break.

So, I finally got around to watching a flick I picked up a couple of months ago - it's just been sitting on my pile of "To Watch Soon" DVDs. (Where I still have Troy's copy of "All the Real Girls" and Justin's copy of "The Cooler").

The flick is "okay". It's not great, but its FAR from sucking. It's VERY dialogue heavy - which is NOT a negative, and I'm not trying to be a hypocrit, since my films have been described the same way. Perhaps it was just the pacing that seemed a little slow to be. However, the storytelling and editing REALLY made this flick. It's told non-linear, as the story picks up the night that London is having a going away party. Two months earlier, her and Syd broke up, after a two year long relationship. Syd finds out about the party, and still being heartbroken and in depression - somehow decides it's a good idea to crash the party. He convinces his Coke supplier to join him (Jason Statham - with hair!!!), and they spend the majority of the night in the bathroom - talking various philosophies, as other party-goers come and go. Through flashbacks, we get to see the evolution and demise of London and Syd's relationship - and get to watch the paranoia that plagues many relatnioships - as any and every subject is covered.

Emotional Blackmail is the main subject of my upcoming flick - and "London" is going to be required viewing for the leads, because it REALLY deals with the subject in an indirect way - as you see the things London and Syd put each other through. And the scene where Jason Statham finally opens up and tells Syd about his personal life - it's pretty interesting. Chris Evans is REALLY unnoticable. He's really in character - and doesn't act goofy or zany like he has in previous films. It's nice to see an actor I never considered "serious" to play such a great role. Jessica Biel is what she always has been, and always will be - a beautiful body to look at. Sadly, in this film - any beautiful girl could have played London.

You can check out the trailer HERE.

24 Frames on Skin

I live my life 24 frames at a time.
And that's what my newest Tattoo represents.
24 Frames is the exact number in one second of film.
I've been thinking about this tattoo for a long time, and finally took the first step. It's not a finished piece, and it might take a long time to finish. We're going to be inserting images into each frame of film. It's going to end up being a filmstrip of my life, filling the frame with images that reflect who I am, and where I've been, and how I got here. And every so often, a new frame will get filled in. Ryan, the artist, made lots of comments and suggestions, and I look forward to the next time I go back to see him, although I told him it would probably be a while...

Edit, edit, edit...

Boy, I forgot how much fun editing can be.
But, I had also forgotten how painstakingly boring and repetative it can be.

Editing "Crazy About You" is what I've been working on for the past two days - when I wasn't at work - and it's what I'm going to be working on late into the night, and tomorrow before work.

I didn't even want to do this, but now I'm finding myself rushing through it, trying to make it as good as I can, knowing I'm on a short time frame.

Jason's going to be back in town in August, and if we don't set up the premiere then, it's going to be 2007 before he'll be able to come back for the premiere. So, I've got a SHORT amount of time to get this thing edited, get it to Chris to get music, get it to Zach to fix the color balancing and the audio, and then get this whole puppy put back together to get a premiere organized.

Luckily, I'm just doing a rough cut to give to Chris and Zach, and then we'll tweak everything once that rough cut is done, and we'll add the additional pieces as it goes on. We'll tighten stuff and shorten things here and there to make it better, but right now I'm just trying to put this thing together to tell the story. We've got a good amount of coverage, but I'm constantly wishing we had "this shot" or "that shot" - seeing how this is the first film that I'm editing that I didn't direct, it's tough that certain things are missing, that I would have gotten as a director. I'm learning to appreacite editors more, and I'll ALWAYS appreciate those who edit my projects in the future. However, I'll also attempt to give them LOTS of coverage (WHERE is the shot of the roses hitting the ground?!?!?!?!?!?) I'm getting through it. It's an experience. Luckily, the performances so far are REALLY good. And I'm once again impressed with Jason. He REALLY delivered in this flick, and his tone and facial responses are amazing. I'll have to keep him in mind for a future project.

And the coolest thing, for me personally, is that I've REALLY hit my next film. I bought a Black Mead Notebook (I stole the idea from Eddie Vedder) and I've been writing and writing and writing my little heart out into this thing. The pages are just flowing, and I'm really coming up with some good characters and a fairly dramatic situation. As always, I've been pulling a lot of ideas and concepts out of my own head, and putting them into a fictional world. Allowing me to take lots of things I've learned and observed over the years and give them a fictional set of people to portray them. I think it's going to be a really good flick. And it's somewhat indie. I believe it still has a mainstream story, but I think I'm going to handle the flick in an indie way. We'll see how it goes. But, it is taking on a life of its own, and the characters and emotions are becoming very vivid in the notes. I plan to start writing it once I hit the east coast later this summer.

"The Last Kiss"

I know I've written about this flick before, but I SWEAR this is a NEW trailer for it.
Or, I've just got one HORRIBLE memory, because I don't remember half of what's in this preview, compared to the one that was previously on Zach Braff's Blog. (Which also now carries this version)

The uncertain future.
Fear of monotony.
Acceptance of loved ones.
The desire to be free.

Also themes for my next script...

Pearl Jam Seats

Just for those who care, I wanted to show you how close Dave got us to the concert.

We're the XXs in section 130, Row E, Seats 5 and 6. Nice and close.

Also, later I will be commenting on how cool Cincinnati is, down by the water. Having three arenas lined up next to each other, all overlooking the river - is pretty COOL. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures, so I'll have to Google Search some. More on that later, there's pizza to be eaten.

"Jam"-ing in Cincy

I'm not a huge Pearl Jam fan.
I have nothing against them, I enjoy their music when I hear it, but I've never been die-hard, I don't know all the lyrics to all their songs. So, when I went to their concert, I didn't know what to expect. What I got was an amazing experience.

Most appearant was the kindness of people. I don't remember seeing or interacting with one rude person. When people needed to get by you, they said "excuse me" and were polite. When they were dancing, and bummed into you - they apologized for it. During some songs, they grabbed your hand and held it up with theirs. It was really a "bonding" experience. Before the show, so of the people around us ("Us" being my buddy The Dave, who had an extra ticket and was kind enough to invite me to go with him to the show) began talking to Dave about how many shows he'd been to, and which ones, etc... It appears that their followers REALLY follow them. Since you can go online and download EVERY concert they have, and see their sets lists for the last SIXTEEN YEARS WORTH of shows, the fans really can "follow" this band. It's cool.

The show itself went well. LOTS of standing, making me feet feel like Jell-O right now, but I'm surviving. They played for about 2 and a half hours, and did some really intense songs. Dave explained to me after the show that appearently the fans were complaining about the middle of the show, when they slowed down the pace, so they only did a couple of soft songs (which was kind of disappointing, because it meant we didn't get to hear "Last Kiss"). But, the BEST part of the night was the fact that I got to hear Pearl Jam play "Baba O'Reilly" by The Who. This song ranks in my Top Five Songs of All-Time. So, it was a GREAT way to end the concert, and end my first ever live Pearl Jam show.

While I'm not turning into a die-hard fan, I do enjoy the music. And Eddie Vedder is starting to grow on me. The most impressive part was when he pulled out a copy of Rolling Stone Magazine, which has him on the cover. Yes - HIM, NOT the BAND. And he began wiping his own butt with the magazine. He then went on to explain that they told the magazine MULTIPLE TIMES not to put just him on the cover, but to put THE WHOLE BAND. He went on to explain his deep upset feelings towards the magazine for pulling this on them. He then destroyed the magazine and tossed it into the crowd.

Probaby one of the most important events of the night was coming into contact with the ONE Booth. I'm seen the logo on fellow filmmaker Chad Richard's Blog, and I've surfed their website, but I'd never ordered anything from them. Well, I saw it as a sign when I saw the booth. So, I'm now taking this campaign upon myself. I bought some extra bracelets for anyone who wants one, and I've added the link to the right. Defeating Poverty and AIDS are two things that I believe in, and I'd like to do my part to help, and so can you. Just go to their website and sign the petition. They don't ask you fo any money. Just your support and your voice to spread the word to others.

"Click" Review

"Click" falls into the same pit as "The Break Up", but not as quick and not as bad.

It's a really funny movie, with your typical Adam Sandler running jokes. It has its moments of seriousness, but balances it well. Until the end, where it pulls the same move as "The Break Up" and has to go 100% serious and depressing in order to make its point.

Also, I feel cheated. "Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" had THE BEST PAYOFF of the year, and this flick really has the worst.

I give it a 6 out of 10. It's a fun watch, but I'd suggest catching a matinee, and using the extra couple bunchs to buy some sugar to keep you awake. The laughing isn't common enough to keep you awake through the entire thing...

It's nice to introduce your friends to "fun" and "cool" things.
Jason introduced me to "Firefly" and the "Serenity" world.
And now I've been able to introduce some other friends to the "Entourage" world. As we waited for "Click" to arrive at my theatre we made it through a good number of episodes and it's nice to see people enjoy a show that you really love.

Although, Justin had the best quote of the night:
"One of us needs to hurry up and get rich".
Amen, brother. Because I want that lifestyle!

A Pair of Reviews

First review: NOT SO GOOD.
"Nacho Libre" = CRAP.
I know, I know: "Shane doesn't like anything". Luckily, I've yet to meet ANYONE who actually liked this movie. I'll admit, I laughed here and there. Jack Black is funny, and he has his moments in this film, but overall - it's just a waste of time. I crappy story, BAD scenes, and sadly Jared Hess reused A TON of his shots and setups from "Napolean Dynomite". It's really just the Spanish version of that film. He's got his sidekick. He mumbles around through life, never happy. Blah, blah, I AM BORED! Then, half the film is in Spanish - with NO SUBTITLES!!! COME ON! The film gets a "D", 4 out 10.

Second review: "The Lake House".
Okay, this is a tough review. The film isn't BAD, but it's not really that good. And it's not that it's horribly written, it just makes some typical mistakes. First, I'll preface this by saying "Back to the Future" is one of my all-time favorite time-travel films, and I KNOW the whole series has mistakes. But, this film REALLY makes a HUGE mistake, that ruined the entire film for me. It's a MASSIVE plot error, and I just can't get past it.

Okay, the film is PREDICTABLE. No doubt about it, ten minutes into the film, you know what happened and what's going to happen. An hour in, your KNOW for a fact that you're right. So, it doesn't come as a surprise in the end. That's working against it, only because they actually act like you're dumb enough to NOT see it coming. Okay, whatever.

The only real complaint I have about the film is the pacing. It is REALLY SLOW. It probably could have been 10 minutes shorter, and not lost my interest as much. On top of that, I went in with low expectations, and they were meet.

And here's the problem. As far as "Changing the Past" this film is NOWHERE NEAR as good as "Frequency" and "The Butterfly Effect". When one of characters causes an event to change in the past, The Ripple Effect SHOULD TAKE PLACE, and cause events in the future to be altered. However, it does not. The end of the film makes you (as the audience) believe that even when an event is changed, only THAT MOMENT at the end of the film is changed. In reality, it should have pulled a "Butterfly Effect"-type-REWIND to the REAL MOMENT that would have been changed - and pick up the story from there.

Then again, it all boils down to if you believe in the "Time is Relative" or the "Time is Constant" philosophy. I'm a relative person, so as far as movies go: This one should have been different.

It's a good, yet predictible, date movie. Chicks who don't think (or care) about the story will enjoy it. It's an alright story, that just seems to drag. I would be interested in seeing the original, to see how much the story was "Americanized". I give it a "C", 6 out of 10.

I'm making my way through the Second Season of "Entourage" and I LOVE IT!!! Such a great show! I almost with James Cameron REALLY was making an "Aquaman" movie, that would be too cool. And I also have realized why I identify with Eric so much - his ex-girlfriend is named Kristen and she's NOT such a nice girl. We've got a lot in common...

AWESOME Lunch!

Quite often, when I sit down to eat with someone, we start talking and talking and talking. That's exactly what happened this afternoon when I met up with Chris Allen at O'Charley's.

Chris and I have been "virtual" friends for a long time. We met on the IndianapolisFilm.NET message board, and we started talking on there. When he premiered his film "A Certain Justice", he was kind enough to send me four tickets to the premiere, which I REALLY enjoyed. Since then, I've been a big fan of Chris' work, and he was even kind enough to send me a copy of "A Certain Justice" on DVD when he released it. (Today, I FINALLY paid him back with a free copy of "Reuion"! Only a couple of years late!). So, we've run into each other at various film premieres and events, and we'd talk briefly and always say that we'd "do lunch" sometime soon.

Well, that meeting finally happened today, and it was as if we were old friends. We spent three hours at O'Charley's (our waitress got an AMAZING tip!) and we just talked film, shared stories, learned about each other and our projects, and discussed our methods and passions. It was great!

It's really cool for me to talk to other people who are on my level. The people who want to make films and are running into the same types of problems I have. Actors. Locations. Money. People to help. Often, I talk to people in L.A. who don't have these problems and it gets me down. It makes me feel like I'm the only one with problems, so it's nice to see others in the same boat. I offered to help in any way that I could his projects, and he made the same offer to me. Thus, giving both of us an extra pair of eyes, ears, and hands if the going gets too tough.

I'm really wanting to collaborate more with people. Get something rolling. I'm tired of the number of "hats" I have to wear on film productions. I still want to produce, but I'd like to get some new writers, some people who want to direct, some other people to help me produce, and I REALLY want to get some people to help with DP-work and Audio. Those are the two places I need to make LEAPS and BOUNDS of improvements. I want help, and it's nice to network with people who might be able to fill those roles.

It appears that I might, once again, be able to spend a couple of monthes away from Indianapolis. My goal is to Detox myself from all the drama that has aroused in my life, and spend September and October in another city. And while I'm gone, I want to do LOTS and LOTS of writing. Most importantly, is the "Christmas Flick". It's an easy and simple concept, and it's something that I really believe will appeal to many families during the holidays, and just be a "Feel Good Film". My dream would be that every Decemeber, some family all sits down and makes a BIG DEAL about watching Shane's Christmas Movie!!!

Second, I'm going to be expanding "No One Dies" into the feature length script that it once was going to be. The first time I wrote it, the flick came out VERY MUCH like "Se7en", so I quit. I just felt like I was being completely un-original, and I didn't want to make a copycat film. So, I took my opening 5 minute scene, and expanded it into the short film we previously shot. Now, with a new storyline, I'll be able to condense the first five minutes back to what it originally was, and make the short film NOT DRAG OUT and make it a part of the whole film. Also, bringing back Papaw's character later on in the film, as he serves a greater purpose now. New ideas are flowing, and it's going to turn out pretty well.

Sadly, as long as I'm in this city, and have to deal with certain people and things, I'll never be able to truly dedicate myself to film, the way I want to. So, after August, I'm going to go "find myself" and in process I'm hoping to complete TWO scripts that I'm really passionate about.

Spending the afternoon with Chris, and hearing his "War Stories" of the past 12 years that he's been trying to make films, was really inspirational to me, and reminded me that things do not come easy. Chris was IN HOLLYWOOD having meetings with Disney, who wanted to option his story, when it all came to an end, and he was lost in the shuffle of corporate Hollywood. But, he's still trying, and his passion and desire is a good example for people like me.

"The Break-Up"

If you're like me, many time when you go to the movies, you place yourself and your friends in various characters in the film. Or, when you're sitting around a party you start assigning people at the party based on personalities.

Then, sometimes comes a movie where you don't have to pretend. Because you've recently gone through every single last thing depicted in the film. And you can sit there and remember those exact same words and those exact same fights. That's "The Break-Up" for me, in a nutshell.

The movie is mediocre. Still not a good addition to this summer line up. While it is REALLY FUNNY at time, the film drags on. It overplays stereotypes. And the drama is just bad. It's honestly like two short stories put together to make a long film. Some things work well, others just fall flat. And it's going to upset lots of moviegoers, and it's not going to be a repeat viewing film for most people.

I had dinner with Zach and Jenny tonight, my present to Zach for his birthday. We talked about the re-filming of "No One Dies" and we discussed the plans for "Crazy About You" and his editing schedule on it. It was a good time and fun to spend some time with Zach.

And it's really interesting how ONE DAY can be filled with so many ups and downs. I was dealing with the ups and down of "No One Dies", when I get a really nice email from a friend, to being told things about former friends that bring me down and upset me, to... I don't even know where I am right now. I'm stuck in the middle. I'm attempting to move on and live this HAPPY GO LUCKY lifestyle, while I'm just not all here up in my head. Life just doesn't make sense sometimes. But, it all happens for a reason. It's going to make me stronger.

59 Days and counting...

New Tattoo

So, this is what happens on the last day of hanging out with your best friend:

Him and Lee go to the tattoo shop (with appointments) to get some new tattoos before Jason leaves. You tag along, because you want to hang out with your best friend. You spend four hours sitting around in a tattoo shop, talking to some of the guys, and you just think to yourself "Man, I should get another one too!" 30 minutes later, you've got a new tattoo on your arm, and Jason still hasn't sat down to do his. Oh, the randomness of life! Spontaneity...

"X-Men" Quickly

I saw "X-Men: The Last Stand" tonight.
I'm going to wait until tomorrow to do my write up.
It's going to be long.

The short: 7/10, B-

More to come tomorrow...

"What Love Is"

Those who know me, know how much I respect and admire Mars Callahan for the film "Poolhall Junkies" which later became part of the inspiration behind "Reunion". I'm also a fan of his previous film "Double Down" and always get a laugh when I catch him acting at the end of "That Thing You Do!".

I'm a big fan of his dialogue and the dry humor his characters envoke upon one another. It's quick and witty and I enjoy that. So, I've been waiting a fairly long time for another movie from Mars. And finally, there's a semi-official website from Big Sky Motion Pictures that's dedicated to his new film: "What Love Is".

And this flick has one heckuva cast:
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Matthew Lillard
Mars Callahan
Sean Astin
Anne Heche
Gina Gershon
Shiri Appleby

It's nice to see someone whose work I have previously admired taking steps up in the film world, and going from low budget flicks without big names, to doing a studio flick with some High B Listers on it. Big Sky's website reports the film is in post production, so I can only hope that it will be out sometime this year.

From 8:30pm to 8:37pm I was glued to FOX, while I was watching a 7-minute preview of "X-Men 3: The Last Stand". It looked AMAZING. I'm really looking forward to seeing it, and I'm REALLY ANNOYED at the fact that I know Jason is going to the screening of the film in NYC tomorrow night. How lucky is that punk? The footage is supposed to be posted online after midnight, and I'm sure I'll link to it sometime after that.

"Poseidon"

So, I now feel that the first true Summer Blockbuster is here.
"Poseidon" is everything that it is supposed to be.
Man vs. Nature.
"Titanic" meets "Armageddon".
I'm a fan of Kurt Russell. I'm a fan of Josh Lucas. And I enjoyed both of them in this flick.

One of my "All-Time Hotties" is also in this flick:
Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas. She doesn't get a lot of screen time, but she's still nice to look at. And I just discovered something BEYOND AWESOME: Fergie has a Peanuts connection, she did the voice of Sally Brown in "It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown" and "Snoppy's Getting Married, Charlie Brown", how cool is that? She was also on a TV show I watched as a kid, called "Kids, Inc." it was a short lived Disney series that I was secretly obsessed with. The show also featured Mario Lopez and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

So, anyways, back to the flick.
It follows the same formula that has worked for successful blockbusters. It has drama and suspense, it has romance and it has people overcoming obstacles to reach victory. It's a fast paced movie, and only comes in a little over 1:45. It doesn't burden itself with a long first act, it quickly gets into the real story, while taking what feels like just the right amount of time to develop the characters, before throwing them into the drama of the situation. There's not too many cheesey lines, and while there are some confusing moments (where they obviously cut some connecting story elements) it moved pretty well. At times things got confusing when they would be talking about going "down" when theoretically they meant "up" because the ship is upside down (sorry if I spoiled that for anyone, but if didn't know that happened, you either haven't seen the trailer, or the original).

Wolfgang Peterson has proven he knows ships.
He directed "Das Boot", "The Perfect Storm" and now "Poseidon". There is a good amount of beautiful cinematography, and the camera moves through the ship is some unique and interesting ways. While the beautiful opening sequence is obviously a large part CGI, it still looks good and blends well with the "real life" events that were filmed.

Is "Poseidon" going to redefine cinema? Nope.
Is "Poseidon" an evolutionary leap in CGI? Nope.
Is "Poseidon" enjoyable? For sure.

So enjoyable, that I'm going to do my best to catch it at the IMAX sometime, and actually pay for a ticket (If the Indy IMAX ever gets this film, according to their website, it's not booked...) According to the Kerasotes Website, they might be playing it in Digital. If that's the case, perhaps I'll pay to see that, since the Indy IMAX is so "odd". Or perhaps I'll make a road trip up to the Windy City, if they're playing it IMAX. I'll have to look into that sometime.

If you're looking for fun, and just a plain old good time without thinking too hard about characters, motivation, and HOW THAT KID GOT IN THERE???, then this isn't a bad way to spend two hours. There's some good tension that had me squirming in my seat (my distaste for height may have a played a part in that too...) and it's enjoyable.

Next week is "The Da Vinci Code", which I'll probably get into one of the early screenings of next week. I'm looking forward to it, based solely on the previews and no knowledge of the book.

I just had the best film school ever. Sean and I watched "Reunion" and he helped me by pointing out a lot of things for me.

Just got the tour of Jargon Entertainment Studio. I'm going to have to build up my reel to get a job there.

Filming in HD.

Doing some test footage in HD, with the Panasonic DVC P2.

Another Shot of The Sunset.

Here's another shot of the sun actually going down.

Pacific Winnetka 21

The Pacific Winnetka 21 Theatre, where I spent many Friday nights. Notice the PALM TREES!!!

The View.

Looking down into the valley, from Sean and Becky's porch.

"Crash"

So, I should have been tweaking "No One Dies" this afternoon, but I sat down to eat lunch and ended up putting in "Crash". So, about a year after I saw the first preview, I've finally watched the film. I bought the DVD really cheap a couple of weeks back, and just hadn't made the time to watch it.

I've recently heard a quote, and it goes something like this: "Movies don't have beginnings and they don't have ends. All they have is middles."

The more and more I think about this, the more true it becomes. I mean, aside from having a film where the entire Earth explodes in the end, there's always going to be more to a story. And even if there was a film where the entire Earth exploded at the end, a couple of years later James Cameron would come along and remind us that there was one small ship of humans in outer space when the explosion happened, and now we need to see their story. Thus, our entire galaxy would have to collapse and implode on itself, along with every other galaxy in the 'verse, or else there would be a story, somewhere, to tell.

Back to my point: "Crash" is definetly a "middle" movie. It's got two things going really well for it: The acting and the message. However, when the film was over, I did not feel like I was taken for a narrative journey. I didn't feel like I knew anything better than when I sat down to watch it. So, again, it's really a film with a message and great acting. The message is that if you look hard enough, you can find discrimination anywhere. It happens everyday, and it happens in many different forms. That message is overpowerful in the film, and the actors who relay this message do a phenomenal job.

But again, when it's over, I don't feel like I've watched a movie, as much as a PSA for anti-discrimination. There's lots of storylines that aren't resolved (which I understand isn't a requirement...), and I'm left wondering how these characters are going to change the next day. Are they going to change? Are they going to continue on the same paths that they were on? Or have the events of these two days transformed their lives for the better? Or worse? Or am I supposed to write these endings for myself? Come to my own conclusions?

Despite my feelings for the film (as a film), it did one thing right: I can't stop thinking about it after I watched it. And I think that's a true test for a powerful film.

"When a Stranger Calls"

Back in 1999 and 2000, while Jason and I were getting started on "Consternate" - I was doing my homework by watching LOTS of horror films. The original "When a Stranger Calls" was recommended to me, and I checked it out. While it was fiarly creepy at times, it wasn't the best production value. Thus, a remake - like this one - doesn't have a whole lot to live up to.

The film has ONE good thing going for it: It is suspenseful, most of the time. (When you're not yelling at her about what she's doing wrong)

The film has one MAJOR thing going WRONG for it: Lack of story. Lots of suspense with little payoff, and a cheap (and obvious) ending.

Aside from that, it's just plain average. I've seen A LOT worse, but there's so much better stuff out there.

If you're on a date, and you want a chick all over your arm, this is the right movie. If you're looking for something that's actually "good" - Check out "Match Point".

Shane's Top Ten of 2005

I have an Excel Spreadsheet, which I use to keep track of all of the movies I see each year.
In this spreadsheet, I have FIVE categories, which I rate for each film. The caterogies are: Acting, Direction, Story, Look/Feel, and Enjoyment. These five categories are then averaged, to come up with my rating of the film. This way, it allows me to make a better judgement of the film, because if I hated the story, but loved the viduals, it balances out (King Kong). If I liked the visuals, but the acting and direction stunk, it balances out (The Island). And if I didn't care for the acting, but REALLY had a good time with the film, it balances out (Assault on Precinct 13).

So, here it is. My Top Ten Films of 2005.

Rent.
8.6 - average rating.
I've read reviews from other people, and they just don't seem to enjoy the film. I CAN NOT (for the life of me) understand why not. Did they miss the entire point of the story? "No Day but Today". Friendships. Relationships. The most basic and simple concepts of life: People looking to be loved. Perhaps people just can't accept the fact that it's a musical, and they sing 90% of the dialogue. Yes, the film is dated 10 years ago, but that's when AIDS was a big deal, and that's important to the story. Most people must have missed that point. Perhaps the filmmakers didn't do a good enough job of bringing the audience into 1989, but that was VERY important to the story. You never know when your last day is going to be, and you don't want to die unloved.

Sin City.
8.2 - average rating.
One of the most BEAUTIFUL films of the year, and one of the all-time best comic book adaptations. I've been a Robert Rodriquez fan for a long time, and I'm glad to see him doing something he loves, as a film. I can't imagine anyone else doing this film any other way. It looks and feels perfect. The multiple storylines and rotating characters in and out of the various storylines makes it extremely enjoyable to watch. And the violence was pretty cool too.

Serenity.
7.8 - average rating.
I can understand how people who don't watch "Firefly" first, wouldn't enjoy this movie as much. And that's a disappointment, because both the show and the film are GREAT. The characters are some of the most well written in recent years, and especially in the Sci-Fi genre. And those who didn't watch "Firefly" won't understand the significance of discovering what's inside River's head. But, I still think it's well written and has enough comedic moments (very dry humor) blended with some pretty dramatic stuff.

The Jacket.
7.6 - average rating.
Now, here's a film that just came out of nowhere and was AWESOME. There's not a lot of time travel flicks that do it as well as this one. "Buterfly Effect" a few years back was alright, but nothing compared to this flick. It just works, on so many levels. The two different storylines going on at the same time in the present and the future. The way Jack influences both of them, when he's there. The questions about his sanity, everything that's brought up just makes you wonder. And the performances were so GREAT! Such an amazing work. Sad part is, I still don't own it on DVD!

Batman Begins.
7.6 - average rating.
Here's another good example of someone doing a good job with a comic book. It was nice to see the franchise re-invisioned, and I'll be the first to admit that I was skeptical about EVERYTHING on this film. Even after Jason saw it, and told me how good it was, I still had trouble believing it was good at all. But, I was WRONG, and the film was GREAT. AMAZING storyline, good acting, and wonderful direction. Chris Nolan was been amazing ever since "Memento" and he truly has an eye for filmmaking. Another sad fact: I don't own this one either!

Coach Carter.
7.4 - average rating.
It was "Miracle" in 2004, and in 2005 "Coach Carter" was the inspirational sports film, which I always seem to enjoy. I was actually amazed that this film lasted almost the entire year (with a January 2005 release date...). The fact is, it's a really well made film. There were only two or three parts that I felt dragged on, and the movie could have probably lost 10 minutes and been a little better, but the basketball was good, the acting was good, and Samuel L. was GREAT! The way he takes control of EVERY scene that he is in. He's playing the same type of Shaft character, but this time with more of a purpose. Not just to be B.A., but because he's trying to inspire. The even more impressive part is watching the bonus features on the DVD and seeing that he came pretty darn close to the real man, and his passion.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
7.2 - average rating.
The flick scored low on Visuals end, but made up for it in the enjoyment and acting. The kids did a fantastic job, and the story flowed well. Recently, I had a discussion with a friend about this film, and I constantly compared it to "LotR", and I think it's because I see them kind of on the same scale, however this film did fall short, in some big areas. Aside from that, I did enjoy the message, both religious and non. It's understandable why so many people dig this flick, and the numbers are so good (it was SO MUCH more enjoyable than that Giant Ape...). Costumes and certain interior locations were impressive, but the battle and the exteriors didn't come close to Middle Earth.


Elizabethtown.
7.0 - average rating.
Cameron Crowe. It was almost a guarantee this was going to make the Top Ten. I LOVE everything this guy writes. He's just amazing. He really knows how to capture certain aspects of life and make them enjoyable to watch. "Untitled" ("Almost Famous" - Director's Cut) is probably one of my all-time Top Ten, just because of the emotions Crowe is able to reach in the flick. This one was not his best, Orlando is no Tom Cruise, but it's still one of his better films. The thing that lowered the Enjoyment AND Direction values of this film was that I felt like I was watching Crowe re-hash some of his previous films, and that's not how original he tends to be. When Orlando first arrives in Kentucky, at the home of his relatives, he's greated in the same way as Tom Cruise in both "Jerry Maguire" and "Vanilla Sky". The characters looking and talking directly at the camera would be effective for people not well versed in Crowe's previous works. And my only other complaint was the OVERuse of music at the end. "Almost Famous" has A LOT of music, but it was well picked, and rarely in the forefront of the scene. The third act of "Elizabethtown" HEAVILY relied on the audience KNOWING that there was music playing.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
7.0 - average rating.
Fourth time is still a charm. I wasn't a big fan of the third film, but when I re-watched it a couple days before this, it did remind me that these are very smart films. And this one did not disappoint. It was obvious the times and places that scenes were trimmed down for time, but that didn't bother me too much. This film used a greater amount of visuals than the previous, but it did create some amazing environments. I think the only disappointment that I had was the LACK of Voldemort. Ralph Fiennes is AWESOME (see: "Quiz Show" if you haven't!!!) and I really wanted to see more of him. He was a little freaky and odd, and never really seemed to show any true "evil acting". I also missed Gary Oldman being a bigger part. I know he'll be in the fifth film (sigh...), so I hope to see more of his acting, along with Fiennes.

Star Wars: Episode III
6.8 - average rating.
Once upon a time I thought this might be my #1 of the year. But, when I sat down to do the numbers, it just didn't turn out that way. A couple of days after first seeing it, I begin to realize small details and think about things that probably effected my overall scoring of the film. Visually, it's the same as the others. Nothing new there. I feel the acting has improved, and that Hayden was given more with his character. I know there's still some "moments" that aren't his best, but I still saw an amazing improvement over "Episode II". The romance never seemed to work out, and was too forced. It appears years of marriage caused Lucas to forget what was so good about the Luke/Leia/Han dynamic. That's how people in "Star Wars" should flirt!!! The Obi-Wan and Anakin fight was amazing. I don't know if it can be topped. I think it's only BARELY above Obi-Wan/Qui-Jon/Maul, and only because of the EMOTION of the fight. The speed. The strength. The mindpower. There's A LOT going on in that fight.

So, there it is!!!
LATE!
But, that's what I'm generally known for, when it comes to the Internet.
I'm glad I finally got it done. Although, I noticed that as the list went on, I just started point out the things that I didn't like, about my favorite films! Oh well. I didn't see many last year (I'm still yelled at daily for still missing "Wedding Crashers" and "40-Year-Old Virgin"). I should find more time in 2006, I hope. Or, maybe Hollywood just needs to make some better films that I'll want to go see.

Three Movies, One Day...

Yesterday, was a LONG DAY for Shane, as I watched THREE movies!!!

First up, my buddy Craig and I caught an afternoon showing of "Syrianna" at the NEW Keystone Arts Cinema that Jason manages. The theatre is NICE! I like it a lot, unfortunetly, the movie bored me, and I found myself napping at times. It wasn't that it was a BAD movie, because it wasn't. It was just very slow, very political, and very slow. Did I mention it being slow? Okay, it was SLOW. Slow = SLEEP for Shane.

Then, I came to work and built up "King Kong" and watched it around 8:00pm.
The movie was about 45 minutes TOO LONG.
The first hour of the film, could have been trimmed down by 15 minutes, there's just SO MUCH on the boat to the island that is not important.
Then, from the time Ann gets taken by Kong, until she's found, run roughly 1:30, it SHOULD have only been an hour. There's SO MUCH extra stuff that doesn't progress the story, it's just there to impress the viewers, and it bored me.
The third act was almost perfect. There's some SLOW moments on top of the Empire State Building, but aside from that the third act was the most enjoyable.

So, we did a midnight show of "King Kong" (I did NOT feel like watching this with the public, which is why I watched it early, alone...) so, since I was STUCK at work until 3:30am, I decided to make the best of it and watch "Just Friends", which I've wanted to see for a while, but never made the time to. I REALLY enjoyed "Just Friends", I found myself laughing at loud, alone in the theatre. It was a good time. There's some plot points that are OUT THERE, but it's not something that ruins the film, it's expected in this type of movie. It's worth watching, Ryan Reynolds is too funny.

So, I got home from work at 4:00am, then got a call from Preston at 8:00am, telling me that him and Craig had decided to go to Caesar's Casino today, after Preston does the recording, and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I told him to call me back when he was done with the recording, and I had every intention of saying "no" and going back to sleep. Then, I realized that I had a coupon for $63 bucks from them, and it expires next week. So, I figured: I should go and get this money, and play "for free" (technically) and have a good time before work tonight. So, when Preston called back, I agreed to go, if they cam and picked me up. I got ready, napped on the couch until they showed up, then slept most of the way down. I did okay, came home with a little extra cash, which should go towards a Christmas present, or two. Plus, I got to play a couple hours of cards, and it was a BLAST. I had some nice people at my table, and we talked sports (Pacers/Colts) the whole time.

After poker, Craig went up to play Caribbean Stud (which I'm going to try next time, it looks like A LOT of fun, and Craig doubled his $100 pretty easily). Now, if I was smart, I would have played $5 on Red 23, at the roulette table next to us. I RARELY EVER play roulette, and when I do, I only play ONE number: Red 23. Why? Michael Jordan. It's my lucky number. (Not really, since I've never won with it, but today would have been differently). With in 30 minutes, Red 23 hit FIVE TIMES on the roulette table. Which means, the first time, $5 would have become $175 (hitting the exact number in roulette pays 35:1). And if I would have continued with it for 30 minutes, FIVE times would have been $875. But, who knew? And after the third time I thought there was NO WAY it wouls ever hit again. Mabybe next time I'll try it... Craig ended up taking some of his Caribbean Stud winnings and did play roulette, putting some random amounts down on Black 4, Red 23, and Black 35 (the two numbers on each side of Red 23) And he hit on the Black 35, making $175. He gambled a little bit more away, and then we were out the door. GOOD DAY for Craig, and I had a lot of fun being the support after I stopped for the day. It's fun to go, even when I decide to stop gambling. So, I came home up a small amount, Craig come home up a good deal, and Preston broke even and QUIT for the day. Even though he kept going over to three card poker, he never sat down! What control! I HATE coming out even. I'd rather tell people I lost money, than broke even. But, that's just me.

Now, I'm at work. TIRED. Even though I slept half of the drive home. And if we sell for "King Kong" tonight, I'm here until 1:47am! Maybe I'll watch another film tonight.

A History of Cell Phones...

Qualcomm QCP-1960. July 1998.
This is where it all started. I was 18 years old, and cell phones were NOT the "hip" thing yet, but I still wanted one. I was at the Indiana State Fair, and got flagged down by a salesman. I eventually applied and got approved for a phone, and walked out with it that day. "That was so easy!" I thought. Late 1998 was probably the real "BOOM" in cell phones, and by 1999, most people were beginning to carry them. I still feel that I was one of the first "common-folk" to carry a cell phone, and I needed it, because I was never at home, and always out and about. I did also have a pager at the time, but it was annoying attempting to find a payphone anytime someone paged me. So, I took the step up and got a cell phone. I've been hooked ever since. I was with Ameritech on this phone, they later became another company, who later because Cingular. When I moved to California, I left the phone with my brother, and he finished out the last 6 monthes on my plan.

Samsung SCH-3500. March 2001.
While living in Cali, I made the bold move to buy a new cell phone, and this time I got on Sprint, and I've been with them ever since March of 2001. I'll be going on five years, in just a couple of months. This was a cheap phone, I think around $100. I liked it at the time, because of display being visable all the time, and the angle when it was open seemed to fit well with my head. It was also rather funny, because when I moved back to Indy, I learned a friend of mine here had the same phone, and later that year when Sergio (from Cali) got on Sprint, he told me he got the same phone as I had. It seems that was a popular phone at the time!

LG TP1100. February 2002.
Eventually, I got tired of how BIG the SCH-3500 was. In early 2002, smaller seemed be the "in" thing, and lots of really small phones were being released. So, I went to Best Buy and picked up the TP1100, because of its size. It was nice and small, a little thick, but still didn't carry the heft and bulk of the SCH-3500. I also liked the 4-way navigation bar, as opposed to the 2-way of my previous phone.


LG 5350. December 2002.
Yep, the TP1100 only last 10 months. In December, I was asked to be a part of a Christmas play at Kristen's church, and during the performance, someone snuck into the dressing room and stole a number of items from a number of people. Wallets, Cell Phones, etc... were taken. Luckily, my parents helped me out to quickly purchase a new phone and I picked the 5350. It was AWESOME! It was my first phone with a color display! The phone was blue! (My favorite color) The buttons had a blue glow, instead of a green. And the exterior Caller ID was also blue. It was COOL! Plus, this was the first phone I had that allowed me assign multiple phone numbers to one contact. Previously, every number I entered had to have a different name attached to it. Now, I could have one contact, with a wokr number, a home number, a cell number, and even a pager number. All together. It was cool! MAJOR step up the cell phone ladder.

Sanyo 8100. June 2003.
So, the 5350 lasted even shorter than the TP1100. Kristen and I were in Florida, standing in the middle of the ocean, and I got the brilliant idea to call my parents. Pull the phone out of my pocket, flip it open with one hand, and... OH!!! The phone flies out of my hand, and lands in the middle of the ocean. Needless to say, it was dead. It was beyond dead. It wouldn't power up, it wouldn't do anything. It's life was gone. So, the next morning, Kristen and I spent 8 hours, driving ALL OVER Ft. Lauderdale looking for the BLUE version of the 8100. Most Radio Shacks, Sprint stores, and Circuit City stores had a ton of silvers, but I wanted the blue. Finally, at around 5pm, we were directed to a Circuit City, where a blue phone was on hold for me. They only had two left, and the gentlemen at the store we were at called them, they physically found the phone and put my name on it. Finally, I had the phone I searched all day for! It had some awesome features, and most importantly, it was my first camera phone. I loved taking pictures with it, and sending them to various people. Eventually, my parents, my brother and Kristen would all eventually get camera phones, so that we coule all send pictures to each other. This was also the first phone I had with full color exterior display, which would show pictures of people when they were calling. What a step up!
NOTE: Pictured above is the silver model of the phone, I actually had the blue model, but could not find any blue pictures.

Sanyo 5500/VM-4500. December 2004.
The 8100 was a good phone, and lasted a long time. However, around Christmas last year, the 8100 started to lose its mind. The vibration alert stopped. The ringer was whack, sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn't. The exterior display was on again/off again. So, for Christmas, Mom and Dad gave me some cash that I used to pick up the Sanyo 5500. It was basically an upgrade of the 8100. Matt, Kristen's brother, had this phone and I always liked it, so when the time came to get a new one, it's the one I picked. I stepped up from a camera phone to a video camera phone (although, I didn't get a lot of use out of the video camera, it was still fun to use...). I also got the blue keypad back, speakerphone, and a multi-colored LED alert. It had seven colors, that you could program for different things. Whe someone would call me - it would do a "rainbow" of the colors. When I got a voicemail/text message it would blink blue. When an unkown number called me, it would blink red. It was COOL. Plus, there were 5 LED lights used as the flash for the camera. It was some high-end equipment, and I loved the phone.

Samsung A-900. December 2005.
The new love of my life. Since 2003, I've been watching a Motorola RAZR phone. I can remember that first commercial for the phone, when it was falling through the sky, slicing through the words describing its features, then slamming straight up into the ground. It was SO COOL! And I wanted one SO BAD! A nice slim and trim phone. I even toyed with the notion of leaving Sprint, to get a RAZR phone. I'm glad I held out. I now own one of the COOLEST cell phones ever. It's insanely thin, and small (same dimensions as a credit card) and does things I never imagined a cell phone can do. It's got a small hard drive which stored music on it, and can be played through a media player on the phone. It streams video from the internet, including movie trailers. It has a 1.3 mega-pixel camera/videocamera with zoom. Speakerphone, advanced voice dialing, and a SHARP beautiful interior display, along with a very nice exterior display. It's REALLY the coolest and best phone I've ever owned. I'm happy I made the investment, and I'm happy that I waited it out, until Spring came through with such an amazing phone. It's REALLY COOL! And makes me a happy camper.

Do I Like Peanuts?

Just in case anyone was wondering if I liked Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, or Christmas... I thought I'd share some pictures from around my apartment...


On top of the TV sits Snoopy and Charlie Brown in train cars. These were from Whitman's candies last year, there was a set of four, and I seem to be missing two of them (I'm pretty sure I've got them all somewhere...). On the right, is a Hallmark ornament from last year. I plays "O Christmastree" when you push the button.



On top of the DVD Rack sits a Charlie Brown Bobblehead (with his poor little tree...). Next to that is this year's Hallmark Waterglobe. It's motion sensative, so when you shake it up, it begins playing "O Christmastree" and the tree on the front lights up, along with Snoopy's doghouse (A gift from my mother a couple of weeks ago, THANKS MOM!). In the back are plush Charlie Brown and Snoopy figures. We added some reindeer antlers to Snoopy, and I'm trying to find a small Santa hat for Charlie Brown.



My Peanuts "action figures" (although, honestly, they don't do a lot of action, but it sounds better than a doll...). The top row is a mixed collection from the "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" set and the "You're an All-Star, Charlie Brown" set. I bought whatever I could find, and nowhere ever seemed to carry the ones I needed to finish either sets. Ebay, someday... The middle row is the ALMOST the ENTIRE SET of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (I'm missing Schroeder and his piano with candlestick from this set). Finally, the bottom row is the ENTIRE SET of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" including the alternate "Director" Charlie Brown.



My mother bought this ornament for me last year. It's Linus giving Snoopy a gift. (It's a little blurry, but that's Snoopy sitting on top of his doghouse). A Christmas light gets stuck inside the doghouse (from the bottom) and it lights up the words "Merry Christmas". REALLY COOL ornament!



Kristen's mother bought this ornament for me a couple of years back. Snoopy and Charlie Brown sleding. It too is on the tree. I've got another series of Whitman's ornaments on my tree (about six more total) but all their pictures turned out too blurry, and I'm too lazy to go down and take any more pictures tonight. Maybe at a later date...



Sparky even gets in the holiday spirit with this Special Christmas Season Treat Jar. His standard one is Snoopy's doghouse, so it was an easy decision to get him this when we saw it.



There's one final ornament from this year that I need to hurry up and buy. It's this year's musical ornament (see on top of the TV for last year's musical ornament). Hopefully, I'll pick it up this weekend...

So, if there was any doubt, I hope I've SQUASHED IT, and proven that I LOVE PEANUTS! And I REALLY LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Castleton Arts

Monday was a sad day. Realizing that Castleton Arts was really closed. Dione has been gone for a couple of weeks, and that kind of set things in motion, but it wasn't until Monday that it hit like a ton of bricks. And yesterday, AMC was to turn over the keys to the building to Simon. It's tough. This building has been a part of my life for the past 7 years, and it's tough to think that I'll never set foot in the building again. People who know me, know that I don't deal well with change. And the fact that this has to change, is really hard for me. My "career" in Film Exhibition began in this building in December of 1998. Jason L. Maier and I randomly ran into each other one night, because of my friend Brandy, who was friends with Jason's friend Joe. All of us hung out, and Jason and I decided to try hanging out some more. Eventually, I started coming up to Castleton Arts, where Jason was working. From the beginning, he started teaching me how to thread films, build and tear films, and I just soaked it all up. Then, in January, he got me a job at the AMC Clearwater theatre. I still spent a lot of time at Castleton Arts, hanging out with Jason, and sometimes working for them (off the clock). I got to be really good friends with Dione and Dave (the two managers) and formed some bonds with people that I'll have forever. In the fall of 1999, Jason and I began writing a script that would turn into "Consternate" in the booth of Castleton Arts. On that same day, GWAM Guys was formed - in Castleton Arts. So, my "career" in Film Exhibition was started in that building, and my "career" as an indie film maker started there also.

This is a picture of Jason and I going over the script, and getting ready to film in the Men's Bathroom at Castleton Arts. In the spring of 2000 through the entire summer, we spent many nights, after closing, filming out film. Some nights we had as many as 15 people running around inside and outside, doing things for the film. The entire opening scene of the film takes place in Castleton Arts, as well as three or four more scenes throughout the film. We'd film a couple hours one night, a couple hours another night, and just constantly go back and film when schedules allowed. In the film, if you watch the posters on the walls, you can see the span of time it took to film. In almost every scene the posters are different, and sometimes change between shots and angles. Continuity was not something that was high priority back in the beginning... We used the lobby, the men's restroom, Cinema 2, and a couple of outside walls. Jason L. Maier even hung over the side of the roof, to get an overhead shot for the film.

In December of 2000, we premiered our first film "Consternate" at Castleton Arts! The same theatre that we spent months filming in! We had close to 160 people show up, and had a very successful response to our first attempt at a film. As proud as I am of the film, I am glad to see how far we have come in our productions. But still, I'll always remember the night that GWAM Guys packed Cinema 2 to show their own film! It was an amazing experience.

Over the years, we used parts of Castleton Arts for locations in numerous films. For "Consternate" we used basically the entire theatre (as it was the backdrop for the scenes). For Ryan Tungate's "The Chrome Lady", we used the upstairs hallway, some close-ups of the doors, and the stairwell going upstairs from Cinema 3. In "Escape" we cleaned and reorganized one of the upstairs storage rooms, and turned it into Little George's office. Kristen and I spent a couple of hours on two seperate days, moving and reorganizing items in the room, to make it look like an office. I'm really happy of how it turned out looking in the film. For Jason L. Maier's "To Change the World", we used the upstairs hallway again for some of the key scenes between Lee Vidal and Drew Stafford. The thin hallways and tight corners worked perfectly in the scenes. Although we never filming in Castleton Arts for "Crazy About You", we did use the lobby to hold our auditions for the film, as well as our cast read through. The lobby provided a nice large and open space for us to gather a large group.

Many Thanksgivings I found myself spending some time at Castleton Arts. Even before we started our annual poker game, Jason and I would still hang out on Thanksgiving night, and he often was working at Castleton Arts. So, I would find myself there, before we found someone to hang out until Best Buy time (often Denny's). Dione and I shared a passion for the Christmas Season, and I can remember at least three years that I helped her put up the Christmas decorations in Castleton's lobby. I remember shopping with her at Target for all kinds of decorations to use. The Castleton Arts Christmas Party was also one of my highlights of the season. Spending a night in the lobby with a large group of friends, exchanging presents, and enjoying the season. I still remember the night I changed my mind about Troy. It happened one year at the Castleton Arts Christmas Party (up until then, I didn't care for him... something about his attitude, we didn't click right away... probably because of how much alike we were), so anyways, after the Christmas Party, Jason, Zach, Troy and I decided to play football in the lobby. Jason and I against Zach and Troy, and I don't remember exactly what happened, but at some point I just realized: Troy is pretty cool. And we've been good friends ever since. In recent years, I didn't spend as much time at Castleton Arts as I used to, and that's been my fault, and I kind of have regrets about it. I never really realized it wasn't going to be there.

Now, I can't go sit in the office with Dave Lichty, and talk for HOURS about films. I can't go sit on the couches and talk to Scott Grow, while playing Scrabble. I'll never get to help Dione decorate for the Christmas Season. We'll never get to show another film in Castleton Arts, or shoot any part of any film there, ever again. Now, all I've got is 7 years of memories about how that place changed my life, and turned me into the person I am today. So many late nights were spent hanging out at Castleton Arts. So many years of working the Heartland Film Festival at the theatre. I remember working it in 1999, when it was close to nothing, and watching every year as they expanded and got more and more screens of the theatre, until they finally took over the theatre for an entire week. I wonder what's going to happen with Heartland next year? There's no more "Let's meet at Castleton Arts and just take one car..."

It's a tough time right now. It's too big of a change. And I feel like I've lost so much. Growing up SUCKS! I wish things never had to change. I guess this is just one of many things going on that need to force me to move on in my life... I can't live in the past. No matter how good that past was.

"Serenity" Review and Thoughts

DISCLAIMER:
If you're not a Browncoat, and/or haven't seen the movie yet, it would probably be in your best interest to skip this blog, and go down and listen to me talk about the Colts and lots of other pointless stuff.

This review WILL contain SPOILERS about the film, and is really meant for people who have seen the film already.

AGAIN, I'm going to state this for those who skimmed the last sentence: Today's Blog is ONLY about "Firefly" and "Serenity". AND it contains SPOILERS! DO NOT READ THIS if you haven't seen the film, or want to be surprised with EVERYTHING in the film. MAJOR SPOILER WARNING! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I got stuck working on Monday night, I wasn't supposed to, but it happened. And XBOX Live was down for some upgrades that night, so I decided to stay at work and watch a movie. I talked to Jason during the night, and asked him if there was anything he'd be willing to come watch with me (Jason and I haven't watched a movie in the same theatre together in EONS, aside from the first time I watched "Serenity"). So, Jason said he really wanted to watch "Serenity" again, and didn't get to before his theatre lost it. I was looking to watch something I hadn't seen before, but I also knew I wanted to watch "Serenity" again, and I was long overdue to write this review. So, we decided to do it. Now, at my theatre, we don't start movie we don't sell for, and generally the last set of movies we don't do much business, and don't start many things. So, I planned on starting "Serenity" right when I got done doing all my work, and not getting out too late. Of course, on this night, we ended up selling TWO TICKETS for the show, and it didn't get over until after midnight. But, I was commited to watching it, and we threaded it up and started it as soon as it was over.

At one point, Jason called and asked if a couple of people could come. He had mentioned to some of his buddies that he was going to watch it again, and they wante to come as well. Justin, Phil, and Aaron all come with Jason, and it was a reuniting of the group of us that used to watch "Firefly" episodes together on Monday nights.

"Serenity" has made it into my top FIVE of the year. And not to sound bad, but that's not hard to do this year. Here's my top five, so far:

1. "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith"
2. "Elizabethtown"
3. "Sin City"
4. "Serenity"
5. "Batman Begins"

It's odd. Two comic book movies, two Sci-Fi movies, and a Cameron Crowe flick. Not a typical Top Five List. There's a couple more flick coming out before the end of the year, that will probably alter this list ("Narnia" and "Potter 4") but, this is it as of now.

Onto the flick. It's probably the BEST written film of the year. Over the past few monthes, I've really enjoyed Josh Whedon's writting, both on the show, and in the movie. The dialogue is great, quick, and quirky.

Wash: This is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting"
Wash: Oh God, Oh God, we're all gonna die!
Mal (into intercom): This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight... turbulence, and then explode.

The characters are well defined, and show great range of emotion. Nathan Fillion ROCKS. Mal is probably one of my favorite Sci-Fi characters of all time, and rank right next to Han Solo as the "cool" captain of a spaceship. The character of Mal has so many levels about him. He's obviously harbring some DEEP psychological issues regarding the fact that he lost a large number of men at the Battle of Serenity Valley, and when this issue comes up between Mal and Jayne, it's one of the most tense moments in the film, and it's all in his eyes. Jayne was a character that was always enjoyable in the series, and this continues in the film. He's got some of the best one-liners and subtle jokes that I don't think a lot of people catch. I think it's easier to catch them if you've seen the TV series, because you're expecting them, but for people who've ont seen the show, they might come too fast, and might be hard for some to follow. Through the TV series, the audience has more than enough time to get accustomed to Jayne and his attitude. The rest of the cast are fine as well, however many of them didn't have the presence that they deserved.

Shepherd Book was missing for too much of the show, and I'll address him later. Inara's absence was also felt. I understand her leaving, and how it played out through the film and the plot, and it's requirement for her to be gone, and I did like it was mentioned in the TV series, near the end, and who knows what would have happened if the series had continued on air, she might not have ever left. But, she did, an dit works in the film, but it lost something that was a key part to the TV show, and that's the relationship between Mal and Inara. If you're looking for it, it's there in the movie, and one of the final scenes gives you that hint and glimmer of what was missing, but their constant bickering and fighting, overlying their true feeling for each other, was almost non-exsistant in this film. The moments they had during the show were perfect, and kept you wondering when they would finally get together. A part of me is glad that they didn't, at the end of the film, but I was bothered that there wasn't more moments in the film, address their relationship that was present in the series. People who have not seen the show, would not fully understand what these two mean to each other, and their history. But, this is a two-hour film, "Firefly" was 13-ish hours, and had more time to develop.

Well, let's get onto the film. The Opening Title sequence is AWESOME. One LONG shot, taking the viewer through the entire ship. I have since learned that this was actually two seperate takes, and there is a "seem" where they put them together (a la "Rope" by Hitchcock, it happens in the middle of a camera move when no one is on screen). he shot follows Mal from the bridge, through the entire ship, both levels, and ends up in the big storage area, where they are gettign ready for their mission that's going to open the story up, and give a look at what these guys do. The dialogue in the opening is quick, and fast paced, but it gives the viewer a lot of information about what is going on. It develops a lot of the ack story, and shows you how Mal takes charge, and people listen. Then, you've got one of the drawback to movie (in my opinion). Simon's character has CHANGED from the show. Jason and I have had a couple of discussion regarding this, and he has some valid points about how Simon is merely standing up fro River, and would do so now matter what, because it's his sister. But, it just bothers me, because in the TV series, he's very passive and fearful of Mal, but right away in the opening scene of this flick, he's presented as a tough guy, who is willing to stand up to the captain, and almost disregards the fact that for the past 8 monthes, Mal has been hiding him and his sister from the Alliance. So, I'm sure it's a little thing, and probably didn't bother anyone else, but I didn't like how is character was canged from the TV series.

Mal: Nothing to fear, doctor.
Simon: This isn't fear. This is anger.
Mal: Well, kinda hard to tell one from the other, with a face like yours.
Simon: I imagine if it were fear, my eyes would be a little wider.
Mal: I'll look for that next time.

I talked about the absence of Inara and Shepherd Book, and Jason has a REALLY good theory about this. There's a lot of stress and tension on the ship, in the movie. And Jason believes that this is because those two are missing. Inara kept Mal happy (okay, maybe not happy, but he was in a better mood when he used to flirt with her!), and Shepherd Book kind of kept everyone calm and peaceful and was a good character of knowledge, wisdom, and guidance (things which are now missing from the ship). I have to agree with Jason and his theory, and say that things definetly changed on the ship without their presences.

Mal: You're not dying on me.
Book: ...can't order me around, boy. I'm not one of your crew...
Mal: Of course you are.

I was sad to see Shepherd Book die, but I was afraid that too many people weren't going to care. You don't get 13 episodes to meet Book, you get one scene where Mal and the crew hide out, Book and Mal have their typical Beliver/Non-Believer debates, and then they go on their way, only to come back and find Book dying.

Book: When I talk about belief, why do you always assume I'm talking about God?

Those who haven't gotten to know his character throughout the series are not going to see this for the HUGE lost that it was. Book was awesome! He kept a crew of misfits banded together for the entire run of TV show. Now, they will forever be without his guidance. Something else I want, related to Book, is to know his history. I want to know where he came from, and what he did.

Book: You know, I wan't always a preacher.
Mal: You'll have to tell me about that someday.
Book: No, I don't.

Book is somethign special. When he was shot, and taken to the hospital, a card in his wallet was scanned, and everyone reacted right away, and treated him like he was something super-important. And I doubt all of that was because he was a Shepherd. He's got to have some kind of connections, somewhere. In an interview with Joss Whedon, he said "...Book has done works for evil men, in his past..." Justin pointed out that "evil men" could mean the Alliance, and that he could have, at one point, been an Operative himself. Which would be pretty cool. And it would be a story I would love to one day see expanded on, especially if he had some kind of previous connection to Serenity, which caused him to choose that ship for his journey, in the Pilot episode. Book is a mystery, and one I'd like to know more about.

Another misleading part of the film deals with the opening, and introduciton to River and Simon. First, in the TV series, Simon claims to not have any idea what they are doing to his sister. Now, this might be something Joss had not considered doing, until the movie, or it might have been something that he had planned, and Simon was just lying to everyone. But, his going in and learning as much as he can from the doctors, just before he break her out, kind of changes what Simon does know throughout the series, and how he acts lik ehe doesn't know they did to her. Now, I've only seen each episode once, but I'm going to have to go back and re-watch them to see if there's any little hints anywhere, or if this was just overlooked until it needed to be addressed. Aside from this, when they are in the elevator shaft, and look up to see the ship drop something to rescue them, I am afraid those who don't watch the show are going to think that it's Serenity helping them, and that's how they came to be on ship. Those who have seen the show, know the truth, and perhaps some things like that are geared towards those who have seen the show, but I still don't like the ambiguity of it, and how people can think the wrong thing about their escape, and how they came to be on the ship. Jason's response was, "It doesn't matter, who cares if people think it's Serenity. It's still got them hooked on the movie..." To some extent I can see his point, but I don't know if I truly agree on it. I would prefer people to know the truth and exactly what's going on. I guess it's kind of like a history lesson, somethings you just have to go backand learn for yourself, so that other things can make sense. Seeing the series is just a must for ANYONE!

River is beyond awesome, and her WHOOPING up on the Reavers was incredible. I didn't realize until the second time, that the shot of her tearing them up, is one uncut shot, that circles her 1080-degrees. It's amazing. It was WELL choreographed. Also, her scene in the bar, where she is "unlocked" for the first time, and begins single-handedly tearing the place up: TOO COOL!!!!

Wash: Can we start with the part where Jayne gets beat up by a 90 pound girl? Because that's never getting old.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is just AMAZING as The Operative. I've dug this dude ever since I first saw him in "Love, Actually". I also think he was very good in "Four Brothers", and his acting style is top-notch in my opinion. I love the way he delivers lines, and how hehas presence on screen. He's much better than the assassain that borded "Serenity" in "Ojects in Space" (technically the final episode).

The Operative: Every minute you keep River Tam from me, more people will die.

He's cold, he's stone cold and plays it well. He's cold, but you can read emotion in his eyes. You can see what he is thinking. It's just amazing. Chiwetel brings more to this character than any of the other bounty hunters or assassains that the Alliance has sent, and I like the fact that he doesn't have a name or a ranking in the Alliance database.

The Operative: Because, like this facility, I do not exsist.

Wash's death was by far the most unexpected moment in the film, and in the "Serenity" universe. It just happens. You've just caught your breathe, and then WHAM! Who knew? Who could have seen it coming? Wow. And it sucks. And I know a number of people who are really disappointed about it. But, MAN, did it change Zoe's character! And that made for some good tense moments and action during the standoff scene with the Reavers, where Zoe shows no fear and walks directly into them firing.

Kaylee: Wait, where's Wash? Where's Wash!?!?
Zoe: He ain't comin'.

I'm interested to see where that takes the characters in the future. It's obvious that it's going to change Zoe's life in the future, and now Mal has to pilot the ship (for the time being). It's just so sad to see Wash go. Book is a little easier to deal with, he left the ship, he was going on with his life, and tragedy happened. But Wash had just saved the day, and his reward: The Reavers killed him!

River delivers my favorite line from the entire TV series. With Jayne sitting on the operating table in the medical room, River pops her head in and calmly says to him "I can kill you with my brain", then turns around walks out. GENIUS! She's so freaky, just being a nuerotic psychotic little 17-year-old girl, who we all know it MESSED UP! It was cool to see what she was capable of. River ROCKS! And Summer Glau is going to have a great career (I hope), because she has a great screen presence, and a large amount of her acting, for her character, is done in her eyes and face. The facial expressions speak VOLUMES compared to what she actually says. I'm wondering if she knows other secrets, and if ther's more to River than we learned in this film, which was a great deal. I almost wish they wouldn't have given it away in the trailer. I had already seen the trailer for "Serenity" when I started watching "Firefly", so I knew that River went psychotic in the bar, and that she was a weapon. This is a fact that is completely void of the TV series. We know River is "special" but we don't know why. Well, I knew why while wathcing the show, but it still didn't hurt the movie's appeal. However, if they never would have show River going crazy on people in the bar, it would have REALLY stood out in the film, and shocked a lot of people.

Jason is right about the emotions in the film. They are an AMAZING roller coaster. Up then down. Happy then sad. Shocked then confused then blown away. Even while writting this review, I'm getting emotional. Think about the way lines are delivered, thinking about how Mal reacts to Book tying in his arms and then how Mal basically loses his sanity towards everyoneone his ship and tells them to either do what he says, or get off his boat. Thinking about how Zoe reacts to life after Wash dies. She has no fear, and she wants revenge on the Reavers, no matter what Jayne tells her. She's going at them with no fear, all adrenaline and vengence. Thinking about Simon and his love for his sister, and how River was willing to sacrifice herself in order to make sure that her brother and his friends are taken care of. I can remember the first time watching the flick, when Simon is shot, and River looks at him at tells him "...you've done a good job of taking care of me, now it's my turn..." and runs back into the room full of Reavers. Joss Whedon NAILS emotions and dramatic situations. The most emotional scene for me in the movie is Mal's "heroic" speech. After they've all learned the secret River knows, and they decide they have to get to Mr. Universe, so they can tell the world, Mals' got an amazing speech that kind of sums up who he works.

Mal: Y'all got on this boat for different reasons, but y'all comin' to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe everything. Sure as I know anything, I know this: In a year or maybe ten, on another planet, or perhaps even on this very ground, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people better; and I don't hold to that. So, no more runnin'.
(long pause)
I aim to misbehave.

It's beautifully shot, the light coming into the dining area, everyone sitting around the ship, listening. It's the moment where people who didn't watch the TV series, realize that despite all the fighting and bickering that goes in between this crew, they all look to Mal for his leadership, and his need and desire to do the moral and right thing. Now, even though Mal and his crew are a band of rebels, who take and do illegal jobs, they're still seen as the hero, because they are robbing from the rich, and giving to the poor. And in the episode "The Train Job", you learn early on in the series that Mal is about doing the right thing, when his crew steals medical supplies that are needed to help a group of people survive, and he gives them back, butting a price on his head and the head of his crew. This episode also includes one of my favorite scenes, when Mal kicks one of Niska's thugs into the engine turbine. Mal's a great character, and most of the film doesn't do him justice, as compared to the TV series. He's more upset and angry in the film, but it's understandable. Still, I think it would be better for people to see his joking side on the TV series, before seeing how intense he is in the fim.

Mal Reynolds is an amazing character, and I love the depth that Nathan Fillion takes him to in the series. Behind everything, he's got a big heart, and wants to do the right thing, while getting by in the universe. Mal's dedication and determination are a great part of his character, and he often says the right thing, at the right time.

Mal: You think she'll hold together?
Zoe: She's torn up plenty, but she'll fly true.
Mal: Likely to be a bumpy ride.
Zoe: Always is.

He doesn't patronize her, instead he reminds her of how much Wash meant to the crew and to the ship. He reminds her that things don't always go perfect, but they still get through it all, and Zoe handles it well. They've been through a lot, and he's going to protect her, now that Wash can not.

It's probably one of the top two best written films this year. The thing that most attracts me to this universe, is the writting. Since I started watching "Firefly", I have been very impressed with the way the characters are written, and the actions that they take. The stories are well thought out, and gave extraordinary impressions about the characters. It's filled with action and adventure, excitment and fear, and it's just plain smart. It's got all the elements that I look for in something I want to watch. I only wish it would have done better on TV, and that the box office numbers were higher, so that a sequel would be guaranteed. I hope to see more stories about these characters, and find out more of what Joss has in store for this galaxy. The film ended perfectly. I nice interaction between River and Mal, who have not always seen eye-to-eye.

Mal: It ain't all buttons and charts little Albatross. You know what the first rule of flyin' is? Well I suppose you do, since you already know what I'm about to say.
River: I do, but I like to hear you say it.
Mal: Love. You can know all the math in the 'Verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she ain't keepin' up just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her up when she ought to fall down, tells ya she's hurtin' 'fore she keens, makes her home.
River: Storm's getting worse.
Mal: We'll pass through it soon enough.

Heartland Opening Event

So, once again, the Heartland Film Festival's Opening Night has come to a close, for the fourth year in a row. I'm going to start with a pair of pictures from the night:

Shane M. White, John Gatins (director of "Dreamer") and Kristen White.

Shane M. White and Judge Reinhold!!!

So, Jason invited Kristen and I and Cecilia Shaw to the Heartland Film Festival's Opening Night Event, which this year included a screening of the film "Dreamer". First, there was dinner and drinks, and we had the pleasure of meeting a couple of guys who work at a local TV station. Randy and one of sons, along with Andy and his wife. They were a pleasure to share dinner with, and we constantly ran into them through the course of the night. VERY NICE people. The film was at the IMAX Theatre, and being dinner guests we were allowed to walk into the theatre on the red carpet, which was rather cool.

After the film there was a reception with a Q & A session. During the Q & A, there was a woman standing near our table, and she eventually went and stood directly next to Kristen, and at the end of the Q & A it was made known that she was Dakota Fanning's mother. It was neat to know that I was close to her (not knowing who she was). I guess that's a good thing for parents, they can cruise through the audience and no one knows who they are. She seemed extremely nice, and was always smiling.

Following the Q & A, I snuck up near the stage and talked with John Gatins for a couple of minutes, basically just about the other films he's written ("Varisty Blues", "Summer Catch", "Hardball", and "Coach Carter"). "Coach Carter" being one of my favorite recent films, I had to let him know how much I enjoyed the films he has written. He seemed really cool, and kept commenting about how polite people are out here in Indiana. It was nice to hear, especially when he compared us Hoosiers to the people in Los Angeles. He was a really nice guy. After talking with him, I snuck over and grabbed a picture with Judge Reinhold. Being a HUGE "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" fan, I had a couple words with him (in 2000, he was in town for the festival and I had him sign my "Fast Times" VHS tape, so I didn't ask for another autograph), however, people were pulling him in many directions and our time was only a couple of seconds. It was nice to get the chance to take a picture with him.

It was an AWESOME night. I really hope this isn't my last year going, but if it is, then I had a GREAT time, with some fun people. THANK YOU to Jason for bringing me once again.

I also ran into Jason Kistler, who has done some acting for GemInI in the past. He's a volunteer with Heartland this year, so it was good to talk to him for a quick second, and I need to shoot him an email, so we can chat some more.

"Lost" ROCKED last night!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so cool. I've got lots of new theories, but I'm going to save them for another Blog.

Jason and I are supposed to get together tomorrow afternoon and begin working on "Crazy About You" stuff, so hopefully we'll make some progress on that. I'll write more tomorrow.

Primer, Sin City, Revolver

So, I've been wanting to see "Primer" for some time now, but I've been having problems finding it for rent. Family Video and V-H-One Video both don't carry it, and Blockbuster only has one copy and it's never in. So, I finally broke down and just bought it. I've read so many good things about it and it beat out "Garden State" at Sundance, so I figured I'd enjoy it. Well, I did, but it wasn't as good as I expected. I've read so many things about how people had to watch the flick five times, then talk to people about it for hours and they still didn't understand what was going on. Well, I'm pretty sure I understood the entire flick (Now, it IS GOOD, but a little bit of a let down...) and I'll probably watch the flick again, just to make sure I understand everything, but I'm pretty sure I've got it, or at least I think I do. I so also want to listen to the audio commentary by Shane Carruth, to find out how he did some of the things he did on a budget of $7,000. "Primer" looks good and it has some amazing acting and dialogue for an indie flick. And it's VERY intelligent for its subject matter. It does begins slow, but once they get into the theoretics of the "box", it becomes REALLY interesting. It's a good flick for Indies, as we can learn a lot from it.

So, I'm checking out "Sin City" on DVD right now. It's one of those flicks that I KNOW has a Special Edition coming out in December, but I just WANT it right now, because it's THAT COOL. Plus, it's a flick I don't mind buying twice. (Just like all of the "Lord of the Rings" films.) So, I've got it to watch now, and MAN! This flick is so well made. It looks beautiful and the dialogue is amazing. The stories are wonderful... I could go on for hours about this flick. I LOVE IT!

Finally, I caught the trailer for "Revolver" online tonight. It's the new flick from Guy Ritchie, the director of "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch", who hurt his fans with the release of "Swept Away", but now he's going back to his crime-dramas with "Revolver". OF COURSE starring Jason Statham, who just rocks, and Ray Liotta. The trailer is well cut and looks like a lot of fun action. Unfortunetly, the flick does not yet have an American distributor. So, hopefully someone picks it up soon, so I can check the flick out.