Trailer Mashup of the Week

Ok, I planned on posting a trailer mashup a week, but I got real sick last week and it obviously didn't happen. So this week you get a double dose.

First up, Reservior Dogs and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yeah, you read that right.

This next one is so weird I just had to share it. Star Wars and The Departed.

~Lauren

The Films Of Series

Some of you may have seen Kees van Dijkhuizen's nicely edited montage of 2010 cinema. What you may not know is that he has been using his editing talents to create what he calls "The Films Of [ ]" series. Each month he focuses on a different director. Thus far his montage of David Fincher's films has been my favorite.

This friday he's unleashing "The Films of [Baz Luhrmann]." I'll continue to post the montages as they come.

~Lauren

Last Night Review

I recently saw Last Night staring Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes, and Keira Knightley. Here's the trailer in case you haven't seen or heard anything about this film.

The acting surprised me. I tend to be rather hesitant when it comes to Keira Knightley, but I thought she was turned out a honest and heartbreaking performance as Jo, a woman torn between her husband and the old flame with whom she never got a chance to have a relationship. Eva Mendes is an actress I generally see as a window dresser or relegated to poorly scripted and badly acted parts. It was refreshing to see her here. I was surprised by how well she turned out a decent, solid performance as the other woman in Michael and Jo's marriage. Sam Worthington also holds his own, possibly for the first time in his acting career, as Michael, a faithful husband facing the temptation to stray. Guillaume Canet steals the spotlight from Worthington, and this is unsurprising as he's clearly the superior actor. Canet and Knightley work well together.

Perhaps most intriguing is the way the film cuts back and forth between the two story lines. The editing between Michael's night and Jo's night is seamless, perfectly executed in all ways. When switching between story lines like this there can sometimes be an issue of balance, but the film never stumbles over this problem as it strikes a perfect balance between the two series of events.

Overall I liked the film and hope to see more from the film's first time director, Massy Tadjedin. The film lacks the dazzle and effects of a lot of films coming out these days, but there is something enjoyable about it's simplicity. Even the score, the work of Clint Mansell, was regulated to simple piano, a sharp contrast from Mansell's famous works for the films of Aronofsky. I highly recommend seeing this film if you get the chance.

~Lauren

Thoughts on Thor (WARNING SPOILERS)

Thor. I know it's been out for a few weeks now and has been lording over the box office. It is summer movie season after all. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of Thor. But honestly, there are a few linger thoughts I have every time I see a trailer on TV or hear about how much another friend enjoyed it.

Basically, I've come to the conclusion that it is a deeply flawed film that I have little desire to watch again. And yes, I know I'm going to be burned at the stake by some friends for everything I'm about to say. So what exactly is my beef with the god of thunder?

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Editing

I love the Bourne movies, but unfortunately so does everyone else. As a result, filmmakers look at the Bourne films and somehow come out with the assumption that what the audience loved was the shaky camera and quickly editing action scenes. These deluded filmmakers try to copy this effect, and in some cases they up the ante and make the camera shake more and dare their editors to make faster cuts. The result is the recent trend of action films with fight scenes that no one in the audience can see or understanding. We're left with the vague notion that the hero is fighting someone and that something cool probably happens, but before we can process that there is even a fight going on our hero is standing victoriously over his fallen foe. And it sucks. Thor does exactly this. Kenneth Branagh, who'd never directed a movie like this before, took this popular approach to his fight scenes, harassed his editor to make the cuts even faster, and viola. One of my friends had no idea what the hell was going on in the climatic battle scene. She was not alone.

The film's editor, Paul Rubell, is on my bad side not just for the fight scenes, but for the whole film. The man has edited some solid action films in the past (Blade, Transformers, Public Enemies, Collateral). The point is, he should know better. He should not be pulling out editing reminiscent of a Uwe Boll film. The editing was to quick, even on simple dialogue interactions. As a result, it took constant effort to process what was going on onscreen.

To give credit where credit is due, I don't blame Rubell entirely for the Asgard editing botch. The man was clearly trying to mask the sub par CGI. Still, he doesn't get a pass for making walking and talking difficult to understand.

Acute lack of and/or nonsensical character development

You know how sometimes you wonder what got left on the cutting room floor? Thor is one of those films that I'd love to hear got loads cut out. I'd love to hear that someone cut out lots of character development scenes that explained some gaping plot holes. Unfortunately, I doubt this happened.

First up, let's discuss Jane. Natalie Portman has proved she's worth her salt in the last year, so why is she so wasted in this movie. Black Swan marked her out as a talented actress, not a pretty face only to be used as window dressing (see Megan Fox in Transformers for an example of an actress being used as window dressing). Still, she's wasted in this role. Jane's sole purpose is to convince us that she's some paragon of goodness that Thor falls in love with instantly, or so I guess. The film lost me as to the nature of his interest in her. Sure, she's cute, and the film tells me she's supposed to be smart, but why does Thor, who clearly has banged every babe in his home world and then some, go all mushy for Jane? It feels like there is something missing here, because I honestly find Darcy a more interesting character than Jane.

My biggest issue with character development actually concerns Loki. Why was the whole he's an ice giant plot necessary? I could have totally bought him as evil/jealous of Thor without it. This sub plot was just not necessary, and as a result these scenes just ate up time that could have been spent looking at Thor or perhaps explaining the whole love affair between Thor and Jane.

Girl Porn

There is a lot made about the subjection of women in film for the male viewers gaze. TO be honest, this entire film felt like porn for girls. I'll be the first to admit that I spent every second of this movie drooling over Thor. Good lord that man's eyes....anyways, I suspect that all my female friends liked this movie simply because of how attractive Thor was. Of course, none of them will admit that this was the sole reason why they liked the movie, although they'll admit that it's part of their love for it. Of course, Natalie Portman seemed to have a similar reaction every time Thor touched her. There was a look on her face that seemed to say, "Oh my God this sex god of a man is actually touching me! Don't faint, keep it under control, remember my line!" Yeah, I suspect it wasn't difficult to act as though she was in love/lust with him. It certainly wasn't for any of the female audience.

I'm not saying there was anything wrong with the movie basically being about how attractive this man was, but I cannot allow an actor's hotness to solely determine how good a movie is. If that was the way Hollywood worked, Shoot Em Up would have been a great movie because of Clive Owen's good looks.

~Lauren

Trailer Mashups

For the record, I love trailer mashups. They can be immensely entertaining, and oftentimes surprisingly creative. My friends are tired of me showing them these mashups as I come across them, so I've decided to start posting a series of them. They'll come as I find them.

Up first is this gem. Home Alone and I Am Legend. This combination works suprisingly well.The editing of the clips results in some hilarious moments while still keeping true to the threatening nature of the world of I Am Legend.

~Lauren

And we're back, sort of

I know we've been spotty in the past, our posts popping up randomly without any warning, sort of like UFO sightings. I apologize.

The good news is that (1) it's summer movie season and (2) I've got a lot of time on my hands in the foreseeable future. As for Katie, you'll have to pressure her into writing more. She's about to be employed. My future has less certainty.

~Lauren