The Big Lebowski

The Dude.

Acting is one of the most key elements to success or failure of a film. Some film types can survive without superb acting. These motion pictures can entertain the viewer with special effects or intense action scenes. A film based on heavy dialog and back-story can not survive with out excellent actors. One such movie that meets the dialog-based criterion is The Big Lebowski. The film follows Jeff 'The Dude' Lebowski (played by legendary Jeff Bridges) and his two close friends through a not so normal chain of events. The story is augmented by the supporting characters Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (played by the great Steve Buscemi). Written by Joel and Ethan Coen, the creative forces behind Fargo, the intriguing story succeeds because of the actors' impeccable skill.

As with many other films by the Coen brothers The Big Lebowski is an odd array of out of the ordinary characters slapped right in the middle of an improbable situation. The Dude is an unlikely hero living in the city of Los Angeles who becomes embroiled in a botched kidnapping. This is not the average kidnapper comedy that has been seen a thousand times before. The Coen brothers take a fresh look at an old tired subject. The story they have created is intriguing and entertaining, but the true entertainment comes from the unique characters. Walter, played by John Goodman, is a Vietnam veteran who seems to have some parts of post traumatic stress syndrome. Donny, another one of The Dude's close friends, is a quiet unassuming character who often interjects into conversation, but no one pays close attention to what he says.

I was in Tron, Ironman and I'm the dude. Get over it!

These are my friends.

Are you talking to me?

As well as these characters are written, they would not be as effective had they been played by other actors. This effectiveness of acting can be seen in the opening scene at the bowling alley where the supporting characters are first introduced. This scene is comprised of Donny, Walter, and The Dude sitting at their lane in the bowling alley discussing the attack on The Dude by some hired thugs (7min 25 sec). The Dude is approaching the situation in his usual lackadaisical way. Jeff Bridges conveys The Dude's overall demeanor in his laid back, sauntering, walk. Although being laid back, Bridges is direct in his speaking showing that The Dude is not the average confused old stoner. Bridges facial expressions during this scene show The Dude is distressed about the loss of his rug which 'tied the room together.'

Donny seems to be an outside observer in this scene and throughout much of the film. Buscemi conveys his character's attention during discussion by following the flow of the conversation with his head. He looks from The Dude to Walter and from Walter to The Dude depending on who is talking. He may seem to be paying attention, but his asking of simple questions dispels this assumption. Another technique Buscemi uses is while he is observing the conversation he furrows his brow as if in deep thought and contemplation. This look of concentration is juxtaposed with the look of confused happiness, an empty smile, Buscemi uses when Donny makes a point in the conversation. These techniques which are introduced by Bridges and Buscemi early in the film are used throughout the entire picture.

Although Bridges and Buscemi do an excellent job of introducing their characters traits to the viewer, Goodman superbly shows his character's inner traits. Throughout the conversation it is apparent due to dialog that Walter is becoming upset. Goodman conveys this anger with facial expressions and body movement. In the early part of the conversation Goodman puts on a stone face to show that Walter is firmly set in his position. The Dude begins to agitate Walter as the conversation continues. Goodman shows this agitation by furrowing his brow, leaning forward while talking, and turning progressively redder. As Goodman continues, his speaking becomes more staccato and flustered. When The Dude refers to one of the attackers as 'the china man,' Walter continues on his tirade momentarily then quietly addresses the non politically correct nature of The Dude's comment. Changing from this aggravated manner of speaking to a more politically correct and lower tone shows that Walter has some sudden mood swings and a short fuse, as he returns to his tirade quickly. 

Yes, Julianne Moore gets nude!

Nice pussy!

Lemme teach ya the way of da dude!

The characters in this story have been given interesting and entertaining dialog by the writers, but it is up to the actors to make the characters exude a certain feeling or trait. In each of their roles the three main actors add a level of feeling to the characters that is lacking from many of the offerings of the dark comedy genre. Goodman's portrayal of Walter as the 'know it all' with a short fuse is downright hilarious. Jeff Bridges steps out of his usually serious persona to portray a character as laid back as they come, 'quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles county.' Steve Buscemi is as entertaining as ever. His depiction of Donny, the character to rarely speak, adds depth to an otherwise bland side character. After viewing this film one can see why actors who can actually practice their craft are worth their weight in gold. 

Here's the movie trailer:

Reservoir Dogs

90's Style movie poster.

Alright ladies & gentlemen fasten your seatbelts as I enter the great world of some of my favorite film makers of all times. If last entry was about Robert Rodríguez, the film maker, the musician, the visionary, the mexican most prolific movie maker in the entire world, todays entry will be about the elegant debut of his number one guy Mr. Quentin Tarantino.

1992 was not only a great year for the Seattle Grunge scene, it was also the year that would introduce us to Robert Rodríguez & Quentin Tarantino, the greatest movie makers of our times. On the one hand we had a low budget mexican story by Rodríguez, essentially a B Movie made with friends, and on the other hand we had a B movie with great actors and again a low budget. If Rodríguez was into exploiting the Mexican druglords & scumbags scene, Tarantino was into the same league but, into the American side of the story.

Scumbags never looked so good before.

Reservoir Dogs, is a tribute to hundreds of B movies, and yet the feeling it delivers is something completely refreshing, a new age in film making. Featuring some very talented actors such as Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth, just to name a few of them, we can not skip the directing talent of Tarantino himself. Reservoir Dogs, features landmark elements established by Tarantino such as vintage music, vintage environments, vintage cars, vintage exploitation and the most amazing lines you could find in a movie (for instance, Madonna's Like a Virgin argument) Also, the way Tarantino deals with the most violent scenes is also one of his signature talents that are well depicted in his later movies (all instant classics if I might add)

Bloody mess.

So, the story has it, that a few scumbags have been hired for a Diamond robbery, nothing too original you could say, but it just so happens that things go wrong badly, and as soon as they're done with the job they're surrounded by cops shooting everywhere making our scumbags a little frantic. In the in between one pal gets shot, and that complicates things a little more, so our buddies run away to hide in an abandoned warehouse where they shall meet to decide what's next. Our buddies haven't met before so they all go by color aliases such as Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blue & Mr. Brown, so that in case of being caught by the cops they would have no clue about real names.

Talk is cheap.

Action speaks louder than words.

The abandoned warehouse becomes the main stage for the movie development, where our scumbags arrive in different times during the movie. The first couple to get there is Mr. White & Mr. Pink, who has been severly shot. Mr White keeps the talking to make Mr. Pink feel a little better while they wait for the other guys to arrive and sort of decide Mr Pink's faith.

Enter next character: Paranoia. As time goes by every character becomes paranoid and starts looking for the one ass that framed them good. In between these scenes, we see another Tarantino signature element which are the intertwined scenes that explain a little more about each character's origin.   Paranoia gets into our scumbags nerves and, after Mr Blonde arrives with a cop, he's set to torture the cop until he talks sense, and informs them with the truth behind the set up. Unfortunately the cop has no clue and that pisses Mr. Blonde a little: enter the infamous ear scene!

What's hidden in that Trunk?

Honey why didn't you tell me you had your period?

Overall the film is a must, a hit, an instant classic. The idea of having scumbags trapped in a warehouse not trusting anybody in there turns the movie into a paranoid massacre no one should skip from watching so if you haven't watched it yet you have two options: 1. Watch it now  and 2, fucking kill yourself.

That's one fine looking ear you have there.

Paranoia?

This movie established new rules in movie making, and hundreds of cheap wannabe Tarantino flicks were made after this grand debut. The film was also chosen as the most influential movie in the last 15 years, by Empire Magazine. Also, the movie was awarded in many independent movie festivals around the globe and boy, Tarantino's flicks are just like wine.

Here's the movie trailer:

Ghost World

a great comic book adaptation.

Ghost World is a brilliant film in my opinion. Why? Just look at the message board and the comments on this website. It's amazing how much people have taken from this movie, especially a relatively lesser known one.

When I first watched this movie, it was a revelation. It was just that good of a movie. The characters, the story, the location all of it was just perfect.

Many people have related to this movie because of its "coming-of-age" or "just out of high school" aspect, and they are true in describing this movie in those terms. But what I really thought was great was how this movie, to me, was about the search for something meaningful and more importantly for Enid, something "real", especially more so in our often contrived and plastic modern world.

Two very special friends.

Have an adult day.

That's where "Ghost World" comes in. It is described as so because if you look at the setting of the movie, you can not really tell where in the United States it takes place in. It could be virtually any one of the suburban areas that has sprung up in the past couple of decades. It's true that there is a great deal of comfort and leisure, but at the same time there is a lack of soul. Its not the big city, where they try to emulate its culture and activities, nor the small town, where they try to emulate its sense of tranquility and community, but rather a facade of both, ending up being none. No one is truly happy, yet everyone puts a smile on, and that is what really bothers Enid, I believe. Its a world where sterile hip-hop music is used to celebrate a high school graduation, authentic 50s diners are anything but, and a white "blues" band sing about picking cotton all day long for the man. All contrived, all far removed from its source, all as real as a slushie from the Sidewinder food store.

After all why is she attracted to Seymour? I don't think because he's the dorky record collector with a sour outlook on life, but because he is honest about it. He's not a stuffy collector who claims to know everything, but a guy with a passion for something, even if it isn't something "cool". Even with the Coon Chicken incident you can see that its sincerity that Enid is searching for. Enid is not a racist but she picks the Coon Chicken ad for her art project because it reflects how little society has have not changed, even if it whitewashed itself. Like Seymour said people still hate each other but they hide it better.

Waiting for that bus.

Catwoman!

Rebecca on the other hand seems to have accepted that society and life at large kinda sucks, so she "sells out" by working at the coffee shop, which is an obvious Starbuck's knock off. But in my opinion, she just realized that she can't change the world and how it is, so she goes on a different road from Enid's. A scene which highlights this is when she shows a liking for brightly colored glasses for her new apartment, while Enid gawks at her for being overtly excited for cups. But who's to say that Rebecca is wrong for liking those cups? How is it different from Seymour's fascination of 75s? Rebecca may have changed some throughout the movie, but at her core she remains to be the cynical and independent person that she is.

Finally, Enid goes away from it all, fulfilling her desire to one day to disappear from it all, because it seems that she can not rely on anyone, not even Norman the bus bench guy. Rebecca is working most of the time, her father is marrying the person she dreads (showing a disinterest or plain aloofness in Enid's life), her art teacher is a talentless hack who doesn't really care for her (or any of her students really, even though she pretends to) since she didn't fight for her after the art show debacle and Seymour disappointed her twice. First by dating a person whom he knows is not his type, yet he conforms to her (literally, just look at those tight jeans she bought him!) and secondly becoming overtly renewed in his relationship with Enid only after a night where Enid and Seymour took their relationship to bed(with a help of a bottle of champagne.

Regular people, regular jobs.

Love & Vinyl.

Did Enid commit suicide in the end? Personally I don't think so, it would be such a surrealistic end to a story that is steeped in realism, but that is another reason why Ghost World is such a great movie. There is such an open space for interpretation and such depth that one can talk about it for hours, discussing about it and getting more out it with every viewing of the movie. There's a whole lot more than what I just wrote about, but I don't want to bore you with my interpretation, and there are other things in the movie that other people see in it that I might have missed or disagree with.

But thats a mark of a good movie. Just look at the message board for yourself. 

Here's the movie trailer:

The Island

Is cloning right?

Michael Bay has directed some big budget action adventures that have an over-the-top feel. He tones it down a bit and, despite borrowing from a myriad of past films, his 2005 effort, The Island, is an intelligent, entertaining adventure with science fiction as its source material.

In the not too distant future, there is a segregated world of men and women who function with a limited view and knowledge of their antiseptic world. Their only way of life is that they must work, follow the rules and dream of being selected in the lottery to go to The Island, the ultimate destination of happiness and fulfillment. One of the populace is a male, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), who begins to question his existence and role in the world even as he develops a friendship with a female, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson). He also experiences nightmares about an outside world and expresses doubts about the validity of his surroundings including the lottery. He relates these concerns to a friendly doctor, Merrick (Sean Bean) and later to an outsider, McCord (Steve Buscemi), a computer geek. As he explores the floors above him, he stumbles onto another level where he discovers a terrible truth and lie. Realizing that their world is only part of something much more, Lincoln and Jordan make a break to the outside with McCord's help and find themselves pursued by bounty hunters led by Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou). It seems that Merrick works for a cloning corporation dependent on enormous outside funds, and it is involved in secretly cloning humans for individual sponsors. The problem is that the corporation has gone too far in its experiments with tragic consequences. Searching for answers, Lincoln and Jordan eventually find themselves face to face with Lincoln's sponsor whereupon they decide to stop Merrick's evil plans and expose his horrifying activities to the world even as Laurent closes in. 

Something's fishy.

The lottery reading.

This film is engaging from the very start with its interesting premise, and it does a good job of maintaining a steadily building mystery until the startling revelation which spins our protagonists in another direction. And if it seems the storyline is derivative of a multitude of other film plot lines, it's because concepts such as duplicate humans, memory loss, corporate societies, and the pursuit of individual freedom and identity in a futuristic setting have been visited before. There are strong echoes of Coma, Logan's Run, Minority Report, Total Recall, and especially George Lucas' early THX 1138 and John Frankenheimer's Seconds. And savvy viewers may recall an older made-for-television movie along the same lines called The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler. Yet by liberally borrowing from these stories, The Island reinterprets familiar themes into a reasonably entertaining story unto its own with a nod to science fiction author Philip Dick.

Adapted from his own story by Caspian Tredwell-Owen and Alias alums Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the narrative takes a deliberate path, and its exciting action scenes, particularly the numerous chases on foot and by car, are in service of the plot. Michael Bay has been notorious for filming elaborate, 'shoot 'em up' and 'blow 'em up' set pieces that resemble a massive video game. Here, he holds back a little and concentrates more on staying true to his storyline. 'The play's the thing' and events move so rapidly, you don't notice the credibility gaps that strain logic at times. 

The evil doctor.

Clones.

Sean Bean (who is making himself quite the first choice in movie villainy as in Goldeneye) is quite good as the sinister Merrick, and Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) registers in a role that could have been one dimensional and without heart. Ethan Phillips (late of Star Trek: Voyager) lends able support as a resident of the clone world. And let us not forget the wonderful Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) who gets some of the best lines and exits much too soon. The leads, McGregor (Star Wars) and Johansson (Lost in Translation) are quite photogenic and work together quite well. One wishes they have future screen pairings.

The special effects are effective and especially impressive when Lincoln meets his dead on double. Those scenes are so good, they are seamless. The world of the near future is realistic in its depiction in much the way Blade Runner integrated futuristic vehicles and technology with older, existing buildings and settings. The pace is well edited, and the film never feels slow and boring.

You don't wanna mess with my weaponry lady...

...That is a massive cock!

Again, there are a couple of scenes which really strain credulity, but they come and go so quickly that you are on to the next scene. One obvious complaint is the product placement that becomes a bit self conscious and annoying after the third or fourth product logo is conspicuously shown. You'll see what I mean. It's also hard not to have a slight feeling that the film's main theme has controversial, political implications with the debate over cloning, stem cell research and the abortion fight in recent headlines.

Although it is ironically a clone of other film plots, The Island delivers legitimate action and thrills without sacrificing its linear storytelling. Let yourself go and don't pay too much attention to the occasional plot lapses, and you'll find this a reasonably diverting adventure. 

Here's the movie trailer: