What I've Seen IV

Monday Jun 27, 2005

Whatchu been peepin' Jayro?

Notta mucho . . .

Clinton's Last Days in Office

Available at iFilm.com, this film was made by the man himself showing him doing remedial office tasks, cleaning, laundry, etc. It is hilarious and made more so by the fact that Clinton does such a good job playing himself as a lame duck president. Check this one out when you get a chance! A

Medium: Hour Drama on NBC

Psychic detective helps solve crimes. Though creepy, I actually think the show should be creepier. Perhaps it should take a page from six feet under and show the dead communicating with the psychic. The genre has been done many many times before, but I'm a sucker for formula entertainment and according to Sam and Gabe I over inflate grades. I'll give this one a B.

Sideways

I began rewatching Sideways last night on DVD. I had forgotten how profoundly depressing and frustrating the film is. I suppose thats why Miles' character arc is so rewarding. Still I have trouble wrapping my mind around why Miles' best-friend would want to go up to wine country for his bachelor party. It just doesn't seem his speed. But, other than that small leap of faith, this is an amazing film with beautiful photography, performances, and writing. A

That's it... I didn't see much at all this week.

What I've Seen III

Monday Jun 20, 2005

What I've been eyeing:

Batman Begins:
This prequel is much more successful than any other attempt I have seen to date. This film, although quite long, feels brief and remains entertaining, stunning, and well performed throughout. The darkness of tone matches the Tim Burton original and DC comic books quite nicely. Visual effects are used sparingly and tastefully to contribute to creating a rich and very believable crime infested Gotham. The film is well acted, well written, and well worth seeing!! A

Family Guy: Season 4:
Though perhaps not as focused on story telling as previous seasons, the most recent episodes have had some of the funniest and raciest moments in television history. Peter’s flashbacks have him running the gamut from morphing into tampons to singing to terminally ill patients about their unfortunate diagnosis of full-blown AIDS. Stewie has become a bit more effeminate and a little less mad scientist-esque but still remains hilariously random and obscure in his references. A- / B+

Rodman Home Videos:
Bar Mitzvah montages, Wash U. Dancing, and European journeys…Oh my! The benefits of hanging out with your girlfriend’s family on Father’s Day. How do you rank un-edited documentary style footage? Well I enjoyed what I saw. Pretty steady camera work for home videos. I wouldn’t say go out and rent this collection, but for the interested insider these were actually fun to watch! N/A

Grey’s Anatomy: Commercial:
Last week I began hard work on a commercial for Grey’s Anatomy: First Season on DVD (September 27th release). While I am quite happy with the fact that I have finished several drafts of my spot already I still have a long way to go with understanding the rhythm, visual storytelling, and speed of usage of final cut. All and all I’ve learned a ton and have gotten to be very involved with the process of creating a commercial. Hopefully you will see it on the air soon (but if not I’ll try to have it on here). N/A

Also now in theatres… The trailer for Charlie and The Chocolate Factory… I did the narration recording. So every time you hear the narrator just know that I was on the other end capturing his sound. Hey, it’s something!

Independence Day: 9 years later:
If Pat Stack, was reviewing this film I think he’d say, ‘I was chillin’ on the subway, hot as fuck when I thought, ‘Damn mo’ fo’s, Independence Day is the Shit.’’

If Paul Jury, was reviewing it I think he’d say, ‘If I had to choose between a free all you can eat buffet and Independence Day, well I’d choose the food…but it would be close!’

And if Sam Greenspan, was reviewing it I think he’d probably say, ‘When I saw this movie I had trouble walking into the theatre at full stride due to both an inflamed leg cyst (caused from dance dancing) and a NARB. NARB stands for No Apparent Reason Boner. These were abundant in my late blooming days back in the summer of ’96.’

This is what I have to say. Still 9 years later, the effects on this movie are straight up amazing and the multi character drama storytelling is awesome. Only this movie and the Sixth Sense cause me to cry every time, guaranteed. Yeah, I’m a pansy. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! A

What I've seen II

Monday Jun 13, 2005

This week I watched:

Heights:
Heights is an extraordinary film that follows the lives of several artistic New Yorkers for twelve hours as they complete emotional inward journeys and are exposed to hard to swallow truths. This film is truly a must see! One critic raved that Heights was the film he wanted Closer to be. I couldn't agree with him more. A -

Carla and I caught this one for free at an Editor's Guild screener. We missed the very beginning due to delicious Mexican grub at Baja Fresh. Turns out I don't see so well in the dark. Eventually her eyes adjusted and she led me to two remaining free seats. Take that seeing eye dog!

Game 2 of the Padres v. White Sox:
With Adam and Eric in town and the White Sox just a little over 100 miles away, Gabe, Sam and I took our guests down to the city just North of Tijuana. Due to a mix of idiot drivers and over population it took something like 71 hours to drive down to the horrific and wasp centric villa of San Diego.

After finally arriving we did actually acquire what was declared to be the parking spot of the decade, the very first spot available in the parking structure. I proceeded to back in for further ease of departure upon game's end.

The game itself was a baseball fan's dream. Low scoring, efficient, marvelous pitching, great defense, and clutch hitting by the home team. Unfortunately for this Sox fan the result of such a game was my team winning from the 1st inning all the way until the bottom of the 9th, where the Padres put two tallies on the board to take the game 2-1. Game itself A, my experience B -

Entourage Season 2, Episode 2:
The realism of this series makes it both enjoyable and depressing. While these boys seemingly have everything they could ever want right at their finger tips, they don't have fulfillment and happiness. Here they are in their mid to late 20's with the hottest cars, houses, clothes, and women, and its almost like a buzz that they are just trying to keep going because eventually they all know it will crash. In this particular episode the one character with some integrity finds out that his girlfriend is nothing but another social climber like the rest of 'em. I think I may be hooked on this show. A-

World Series of Poker 2004, Final Table:
Greg Raymer, the Fossilman, takes you through his final table explaining the thought processes of both he and his opponents. For a dominant victor and world champion I found him a bit too cordial, but its amazing how kind 5 million dollars can make someone overnight. Overall this episode was very informative and showed me that I have a great understanding of the game. B+

Grey's Anatomy, The Complete First Season:
We're working on the home video campaign at work so I ended up watching the entirety of the first season. I found it, fun, dramatic, humorous and perhaps a little too medically accurate. All I know is with their 48 hour shifts I find myself thanking my lucky stars I didn't go to Medical School. A -

Next week on What I've Seen III, Batman Begins, Family Guy Season 4, the gym hopefully more than once... Out!

What I've seen

Sunday Jun 5, 2005

This week I watched:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind :
Like most Kaufman films, each viewing reveals another brilliant layer and more humor. If you've never seen this deeper look at love and memory pick up the DVD today. If you have had the pleasure a second viewing is a very different experience. A-

Star Wars Episode III :
When your girlfriend's dad really wants to see a movie who are you to say no? Positives about the second viewing... hmmm.... thinking.... well, we brought chocolate candy with us which was delicious... hmmm... Oh, I improved my Yoda impersonation and Carla also thought that the "serious moments" were hilarious. DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE A SECOND TIME!!! D

The Longest Yard :
For the second time in my tenure at Aspect Ratio being around the commercials all the time actually convinced me to see a movie (first experience of such was with Spanglish). Unfortunately the movie's comedic timing was completely off. Jokes that you could tell could be funny fell completely flat due to weak editing, strange direction, and too many writers being involved with the project. This remake was just plain awful! D -

But on the positive side, Sam and I saw it at the lovely Mann's Chinese on Hollywood Blvd. which I have been dying to go to since I moved here. The theatre was taken over for the night for The Batman Begins premier which lead to a comical adventure where Sam and I had to weave in between tourists, barricades, and security guards to find entry to our film.

Upon exiting the theatre I wanted to see the main auditorium and I directed Sam and I to an alternate exit. Opening the door marked exit we found that not only was it not an exit or a route to the Batman Begins Premier, but rather it was an unfinished mystery hallway. We both stepped into the corridor and I turned left to see a dead end. The door was closing rapidly behind us. Sam suddenly jolted towards the door to prevent it from locking us in.

Perhaps it was the utter lack of entertainment and humor from the film. Whatever it was, his dramatic instinctual dive towards the door proved to be the comedic moment I had craved all night. Who says Sam doesn't do physical comedy?

Entourage: The Second Season:
Having never seen the original this was a new experience for me. I found the content of the show realistic and enjoyed that they run around my neighborhood throughout the episodes. B

The Upside of Anger:
This film, though hindered by temporal inconsistencies, is a deep and depressing adventure through life after the happy years and coping with anger and disappointment through alcohol. Predictable but touching, Joan Allen (a MILF by all standards of the word) and Kevin Costner deliver very memorable and honest performances that make this film worth seeing. Try it for a hotel Pay Per View choice...Cari and I did. A-/B+

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