Welcome back readers. It hasn't even been a week since my last blog (I know, I'm just as surprised/impressed with myself as you are) but I figured it was time for a new one. That and Netflix is clearing out a bunch of movies for the new year so I'm watching my way through my queue and figured I'd write about the first one I watched. So settle in, hopefully this will be entertaining to read, cause I have a feeling it's going to be entertaining to write...
For this blog, I'm writing on a movie I just watched entitled "The Lost Boys". This is a vampire film from 1987 directed by Joel Schumacher and written by three people whose first name begins with "J" and that I don't want to take the time to write out (although, it probably took me longer to write that sentence than their names). This film has gotten a lot of hype and popularity and has been recommended to me several times by various people. I enjoy a good vampire flick, and this has some pretty interesting actors; Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, and the two Coreys!! (Haim and Feldman for those of you who are way out of the cool kid loop). So I figured I'd give it a go and actually learned several very important lessons.
1.) Contrary to popular belief, two Coreys doth not a hit ensure...
2.) While late 80's movies give most people an air of latent homosexuality, they couldn't have made Sam (played by Corey Haim) more gay if they tried. For further reference, see his clothes, musical stylings, and the poster in his room of Rob Lowe undressing and rubbing himself. I wish I was kidding about that last statement.
3.) If this movie is an accurate representation of vampire films in the late 80's and where the genre was heading, then I'm glad Stephanie Meyer "revamped" the idea of a vampire. That's right, I said it. I'll take that glittery and charismatic group of vampires over the chuckleheads in this film any day.
4.) "The Lost Boys" is the worst vampire film I've ever seen (yeah, worse than Buffy the Vampire Slayer which came out shortly after and featured the much better Sutherland actor).
But let's not get ahead of ourselves here... First, a quick rundown of the movie. The film takes place in a city called Santa Clara, CA. A woman and her two sons have just moved there to live with her father after a rough divorce. Enter the (grand)father, aka, the creepiest guy in the entire movie (and he's NOT a vampire...). His house looks like a Jason Vorhees nightmare but for some reason, the family fits in like it's the most normal thing in the world. While out exploring the town, the oldest boy, Michael, sees a girl that he apparently falls head over heels for but who ditches him for her rough and tumble gang of bikers. So, the only logical thing to do is to spend the next day trying to change everything about himself (appearance, attitude, etc) to catch the girls eye. And whaddya know, it works! Until her "boyfriend" and leader of the group comes along and invites Michael to join in with them in their misadventures. They go off on a wild night and visit the group's secret underground hangout place (hint) full of all sorts of creepy and bizarre items that make the place look like a tomb (hint hint). They give Michael some "wine" to drink that he initially thinks is blood (because they tell him it is) and the next thing you know, POOF. Michael trips out and wakes up in his own bed and is sensitive to sunlight (if you don't get the hints by now, you should just stop watching cause guess what, he's gonna start doing some more vampirey things). All this time the younger brother Sam meets two teenagers in a comic book store who deem him a worthy being (because he knows about comics, which is apparently the true characteristic of any worthy being) and warn him that the town is full of vampires and to call if he needs help. Sure enough...through an incredibly awkward bath scene and being saved by his pooch, Sam learns his brother is a vampire. After his initial (and solid) first idea to run away screaming, he decides to help his brother out. Through the help of the Frog brothers (Feldman and some other guy) they learn that if you kill the head vampire, all the other "half" vampires go back to normal (a huge cop out in my opinion but whatever). They have a list of people who it might be (including their mom's new boyfriend and Kiefer Sutherland) and set out to destroy the head vampire (and any others who get in their way) and save the girl (also a vampire but apparently just your classic Damsel in Distress) and the day. They have a few ups and downs but like most horror movies, the ending is happy and all is returned to normal...OR IS IT?!?!
As I stated above, this movie flat out bombed. Just terrible. I saw very little good points in this film at all. But, I am always one to give credit where credit is due. They did a good job with the scenery and backgrounds by showing both the safe and friendly side of the town in contrast to the dark and dreary part (guess who lives in which one). The gang's secret hideout was done well and sadly, had the most back story of any other part of the movie (go figure). Albeit, I'm not sure what a giant Jim Morrison painting has to do with the undead, but different strokes for different folks I guess. Along with the setting, the movie did a really cool job with the make-up. The vampires looked pretty impressive and believable (and not just for an 80's film) and the costume and make-up concepts for the deaths were pretty well done.
And yet...that's about it. This movie failed in almost every other major category necessary for a film. Want a solid and easy to follow plot? Strike one. The movie had almost no continuity and even the scenes that went together didn't have enough significance or appeal to keep you really interested. OK then, how about some cool lighting or music to set the tone? Strike two. This vampire movie had more sunlight and brightness (even underground) then I've ever seen before. And playing a song that just repeats various Commandments to a rock backing without addressing any sort of religious aspect is literally the dumbest thing I've heard in a while. Well how about cool costumes? Foul. It's an 80's movie...need I say more? This movie tarnished the reputation of suave and sophisticated vampires the world around and made them look like they would've fit in "The Warriors" or any other lame rocker/badass wannabes. Well there's got to be some strong character development then right? Swing and a miss. Almost no background or buildup was given for ANY of the characters; there were so many random and unnecessary characters that it almost got hard to keep up with them. And even the ones who were presented as significant, ended up having so little significance, it would've made more sense to not include them. The actors did, at the ABSOLUTE best, a mediocre job and were just not believable nor was their dialogue. Especially the girl love interest... Her name is Star (::sighs::) and she's a cool girl vampire in a little group of vampires, but somehow is the only one who doesn't feed or change appearance throughout the entire movie...? um....lost me.
Overall? This movie blew. And not just compared to vampire movies as a whole, cause it blew to proportions of blowyness that I can't even comprehend when compared to the greats. But as a movie in general, it was pretty sucky. There was nothing to make you stay interested, the characters were all annoying and seemingly pointless, it wasn't even scary in any way shape or form. "What's that? The wind is blowing really unnecessarily loud and there's the mixed sound of bats and motorcycles? Dude, it's totally those vampire A-holes..." (not quite verbatim but they could have saved trouble and just through that line in there; at least the dialogue would've been better). I saw nothing to like about it, let alone warrant 2 sequels (no, that's not a typo). I'll give this movie a 2 out of 10, solely for the make-up job and the best looking and best acting characters in the film (and if you ask me, the true stars and heroes of the film). I'm referring of course, to the dogs. Because in the end, when you're in a new town and within 2 days you realize you're surrounded by vampires and even your own brother is a vampire, who else can you rely on but man's best friend (and a vampire's worst nightmare). Killer kill yo!!! Until next time, happy viewing.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Not just a cool name for a soccer team...
Welcome back readers. I could start by apologizing for my lack of writing recently, or even make another claim that I promise to do better. But in all honesty, I'm just a procrastinator and put this off. In realizing this, I want to get back to doing more of these, and that will probably make me more than any thing else. So, let's just jump back into it (and pretend it hasn't been forever since I last did one).
Today, I watched what is considered an iconic classic film, worthy of the American Film Institute's list of Top 100 movies of all time. It won multiple awards and even a few Oscars. Sadly Shanna, I am not talking about the Emperor's New Groove (I'm working on it, promise). Instead, I am talking about Midnight Cowboy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. This film was made in 1969, directed by John Schlesinger, and written by Waldo Salt (screenplay) and James Leo Herlihy (novel). It has been deemed one of the best movies of all time, and for those of you who don't know, one of my life goals is to watch all the films from the AFI Top 100 list so I figured I'd give it a shot.
.....and was sincerely disappointed.
Seriously? This movie? I've had some questions about other iconic films (Citizen Kane is the best movie of all time? My ass...) But I've normally been able to legitimize some of the claims, (Citizen Kane did change almost everything we know and incorporate in the film world today). Other films like The Deer Hunter, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Easy Rider will never be considered "quality films" in my book, but for the most part, the list is pretty solid. However, I'm gonna add this one to the "not a good representation of awesome" list.
This film focuses on the life of Joe Buck played by Voight, a self proclaimed "hustler" (and by hustler, we mean gigolo) who decides that he's got enough swagger (am I using that term correctly?) to be able to take his "talents" to the Big Apple and make a name for himself among the ladies. He is convinced that once he leaves his podunk town in Texas, the women will be lining up for a night with him (because women are all sex addicts who will pay for it and all the men are "Tutti Frutti's). So he takes all his money and heads east on a bus. He is presented as a friendly and courteous Texas gentleman, but is uber cocky (no pun intended) and full of himself. He arrives in New York City, full of hope and wonder. He tries to establish himself as a quality hustler and ends up struggling to do so (he actually ends up paying his first customer). Luckily, he meets Enrico Rizzo or Ratso played by Hoffman who "sets him up" with a manager. When this is revealed a scam, Ratzo decides to take Buck under his wing. There is just one problem... Rizzo is a broke and sickly cripple who squats in a condemned building and since he has less money than Buck, resorts to stealing and checking pay phones for money. Ok, so maybe that's more than one problem, but you know what I meant.
What happens next is a series of discombobulated and random scenes similar to what I imagine one's memory would be like after a night of binge drinking or dropping acid. There are random shots involving Buck's old life (bizarre relationship to his grandmother, his first girlfriend, sexual encounters...etc, etc, etc) but none of them really make any sense and definitely don't have much to do with the rest of the movie. They go to a party that just confuses the hell out of you, until they spend 5 non-developed and random minutes in a graveyard and then you're really confused. These scenes continue throughout the rest of the movie with no real tie ins or significance until the movie gets back on track. Ratso gets increasingly sicker and Joe decides to fulfill Ratso's life long dream and takes him to Florida after robbing a "John" and through a series of unfortunate events, this "film" comes to a conclusion.
Seriously, I don't get what the rave is all about. The camera shooting styles are childish and hokey, the music score is just awful (how many times can you listen to "Everybody's Talkin' in a row before it loses the little to no sense it made in the first place? watch this movie and find out), the plot is jumpy and not enjoyable to even try to follow. Very little was worthwhile in this movie. That being said, the setting was pretty sweet. They did an excellent job of showing the squalor side of NYC but also the glitzy side. Throw in a memorable acting performance by Dustin Hoffman (really, he did an excellent and convincing job) and you have a couple of legitimate factors. Then turn back to the terrible acting by everyone else (no one was a genuine or believable character) and the lacking story line and were back to a lower end film again.
However, I did enjoy one particular aspect of this film; even though it probably wasn't what was supposed to be enjoyed and this is probably just the cynical me coming out. Most movies have a sense of hope, positive forces, or "everything will all work out in the end" attitude. And I LOVED that this movie didn't. This movie showed some realistic nature in this aspect in that, you know what, things DON'T always work out in the end and life isn't all rainbows and sprinkles. There is a dirty and grimy underbelly to society and the world we live in and it get's ignored all too often. Both of the main characters had a dream that they clung to throughout the movie and in the end, they just had to accept that dreams don't always come true. While this is contradictory to what Disney and rom-coms has taught us in films, I think this is a very important lesson. They say "reach for the moon and even if you fail you might land on a star" (or some cheesy cliche like that) but whatever happened to just being happy with what you've got? I'm not saying not to follow your dreams, but sometimes you gotta know when to cut one loose and just accept that your life may not be ideal, but it's the one you got so why not make the most of it. Why reach for the moon when the world is right out your front door? Joe learned this the hard way and did everything against his nature to try and live his dream (including having gay sex and selling his most prized possession for $5 bucks in pawn shop). Bad things happen to bad and good people alike and the world is far from a perfect place. But in watching this movie, it helped remind me that this fact is not a sad one, but almost a hopeful one. Because a life without disappointment, failure, and misery is a world that I just don't think would be worth living in. If you're never satisfied and always reaching for more, how can you appreciate the things you do have? And I like to think that Joe Buck and Ratso would agree with me on this...
Overall, I'm gonna give this movie a 3 out of 10. I didn't like it almost entirely, save for Dustin Hoffman and the weird message I got out of it. But then again, maybe I'm overly critical or lack the scope and perspective of the brilliant minds of critics in the world. But hey, that's what I started this for in the first place; they can't ALL be right... So, while I'm proud to have been a Midnight Cowboy, the relation to the film is just as disappointing as the film itself. C'est la vie... Until next time folks, happy viewing.
Today, I watched what is considered an iconic classic film, worthy of the American Film Institute's list of Top 100 movies of all time. It won multiple awards and even a few Oscars. Sadly Shanna, I am not talking about the Emperor's New Groove (I'm working on it, promise). Instead, I am talking about Midnight Cowboy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. This film was made in 1969, directed by John Schlesinger, and written by Waldo Salt (screenplay) and James Leo Herlihy (novel). It has been deemed one of the best movies of all time, and for those of you who don't know, one of my life goals is to watch all the films from the AFI Top 100 list so I figured I'd give it a shot.
.....and was sincerely disappointed.
Seriously? This movie? I've had some questions about other iconic films (Citizen Kane is the best movie of all time? My ass...) But I've normally been able to legitimize some of the claims, (Citizen Kane did change almost everything we know and incorporate in the film world today). Other films like The Deer Hunter, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Easy Rider will never be considered "quality films" in my book, but for the most part, the list is pretty solid. However, I'm gonna add this one to the "not a good representation of awesome" list.
This film focuses on the life of Joe Buck played by Voight, a self proclaimed "hustler" (and by hustler, we mean gigolo) who decides that he's got enough swagger (am I using that term correctly?) to be able to take his "talents" to the Big Apple and make a name for himself among the ladies. He is convinced that once he leaves his podunk town in Texas, the women will be lining up for a night with him (because women are all sex addicts who will pay for it and all the men are "Tutti Frutti's). So he takes all his money and heads east on a bus. He is presented as a friendly and courteous Texas gentleman, but is uber cocky (no pun intended) and full of himself. He arrives in New York City, full of hope and wonder. He tries to establish himself as a quality hustler and ends up struggling to do so (he actually ends up paying his first customer). Luckily, he meets Enrico Rizzo or Ratso played by Hoffman who "sets him up" with a manager. When this is revealed a scam, Ratzo decides to take Buck under his wing. There is just one problem... Rizzo is a broke and sickly cripple who squats in a condemned building and since he has less money than Buck, resorts to stealing and checking pay phones for money. Ok, so maybe that's more than one problem, but you know what I meant.
What happens next is a series of discombobulated and random scenes similar to what I imagine one's memory would be like after a night of binge drinking or dropping acid. There are random shots involving Buck's old life (bizarre relationship to his grandmother, his first girlfriend, sexual encounters...etc, etc, etc) but none of them really make any sense and definitely don't have much to do with the rest of the movie. They go to a party that just confuses the hell out of you, until they spend 5 non-developed and random minutes in a graveyard and then you're really confused. These scenes continue throughout the rest of the movie with no real tie ins or significance until the movie gets back on track. Ratso gets increasingly sicker and Joe decides to fulfill Ratso's life long dream and takes him to Florida after robbing a "John" and through a series of unfortunate events, this "film" comes to a conclusion.
Seriously, I don't get what the rave is all about. The camera shooting styles are childish and hokey, the music score is just awful (how many times can you listen to "Everybody's Talkin' in a row before it loses the little to no sense it made in the first place? watch this movie and find out), the plot is jumpy and not enjoyable to even try to follow. Very little was worthwhile in this movie. That being said, the setting was pretty sweet. They did an excellent job of showing the squalor side of NYC but also the glitzy side. Throw in a memorable acting performance by Dustin Hoffman (really, he did an excellent and convincing job) and you have a couple of legitimate factors. Then turn back to the terrible acting by everyone else (no one was a genuine or believable character) and the lacking story line and were back to a lower end film again.
However, I did enjoy one particular aspect of this film; even though it probably wasn't what was supposed to be enjoyed and this is probably just the cynical me coming out. Most movies have a sense of hope, positive forces, or "everything will all work out in the end" attitude. And I LOVED that this movie didn't. This movie showed some realistic nature in this aspect in that, you know what, things DON'T always work out in the end and life isn't all rainbows and sprinkles. There is a dirty and grimy underbelly to society and the world we live in and it get's ignored all too often. Both of the main characters had a dream that they clung to throughout the movie and in the end, they just had to accept that dreams don't always come true. While this is contradictory to what Disney and rom-coms has taught us in films, I think this is a very important lesson. They say "reach for the moon and even if you fail you might land on a star" (or some cheesy cliche like that) but whatever happened to just being happy with what you've got? I'm not saying not to follow your dreams, but sometimes you gotta know when to cut one loose and just accept that your life may not be ideal, but it's the one you got so why not make the most of it. Why reach for the moon when the world is right out your front door? Joe learned this the hard way and did everything against his nature to try and live his dream (including having gay sex and selling his most prized possession for $5 bucks in pawn shop). Bad things happen to bad and good people alike and the world is far from a perfect place. But in watching this movie, it helped remind me that this fact is not a sad one, but almost a hopeful one. Because a life without disappointment, failure, and misery is a world that I just don't think would be worth living in. If you're never satisfied and always reaching for more, how can you appreciate the things you do have? And I like to think that Joe Buck and Ratso would agree with me on this...
Overall, I'm gonna give this movie a 3 out of 10. I didn't like it almost entirely, save for Dustin Hoffman and the weird message I got out of it. But then again, maybe I'm overly critical or lack the scope and perspective of the brilliant minds of critics in the world. But hey, that's what I started this for in the first place; they can't ALL be right... So, while I'm proud to have been a Midnight Cowboy, the relation to the film is just as disappointing as the film itself. C'est la vie... Until next time folks, happy viewing.
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