Greatvity (My review of Gravity 2013)

Wow

Look at that.

Beautifu..

What the F…!

Oh my!

Oh my gawd!

Ohmygawdphmygawdohmygawdohmygawdohmygawdohmygawd!

Oh sh!t!

Oh sh!t you just didn’t

Sh!tsh!tSh!tSh!tSh!tSh!tSh!t

*breathe breathe breathe*

Wait What!

C’monC’monC’mon

OhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhSSSSSHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!TTTTTTTTTTTTT!

*inhale, deep breath, relax*

Gravity 2013

Homesick, and I haven't even been to Nebraska

Alexander Payne's Nebraska (2013, written by Bob Nelson) is a wonderful film.  Starkly beautiful, achingly desolate, filled with eccentric characters that in the hands of a lesser filmmaker would come across as stupid social stereotypes played for cheap laughs.
Don't get me wrong, I laughed, I laughed quite a bit, but it was because I understood, and related to, the characters on the screen.  Not as some sociologist observing rural America from behind a one way mirror, but as someone who grew up in a town filled with similar faces, decade long grudges and colloquialisms that were unique, but never strange.
The strange thing is that Payne reminded me so much of my growing up years in a town in north east Canada, next to a military base built in the middle of nowhere, populated by former, or decedents of, trappers and fisherfolk.  Payne's Billings to Lincoln road trip is full of plowed farm fields, bales of hay and herds of cattle.  My Happy Valley, Labrador was full of cords of winter wood, snowmobile trails and the occasional skid of salt cod (from a costal relative). I will say I did see a herd of caribou on a roadtrip from Ottawa to visit my mom, but trust me, they weren't domesticated livestock.
Even with all these geographic, occupational, climate differences Nebraska brought me closer to home, even more than movies by people on the island part of the province I grew up on.  Watching Nebraska I saw the small town soul, where you are not competing with architectural marvels, or a tossed salad of wonderfully diverse faces and cultures.  A town's heart is the people, who have often been there as long as the first buildings.  Valley-folk know the first families that settled there, who followed next, who married who, where they're buried, even what branch of the family tree you're sitting on.
And its with this close-knit small community of people the short hand develops, salutations become very local.  A smile came to my face watching Nebraska when the question "How long did it take you?" was asked because it brought back a flood of memories of being greeted by friends' parents with the question "And who's your father?", I knew the "hello" and "how are you" were implied in that opening question, I knew the shorthand.  The whole script is in that shorthand.  So much is conveyed in short sentences of monosyllabic responses that I could almost see the script being not even 10 pages long, but carrying an encyclopedia of emotion, and history in every single line.  Woody's (Bruce Dern) explanation on why he embarked on his journey is one sentence, ONE SENTENCE! and yet it is spoken with a lifetime of experience behind it.  And the climax of the film is so simple, so perfect, so full of emotionless emotion, yeah, many lumps appeared in my throat.
I could be all film nerdy and gush on about Nebraska, the brilliant performances, cinematography, music, but I won't.  What Nebraska did for me was bring me back to where I came from, to people that I love and miss, warts and all.  It gave me small town without the flagrant yokel, and showed a world of honest blue collars.  It made me homesick without even knowing where I came from.  It reminded me of the shorthand I knew.
It was a wonderful reminder.

Devalued

It started out as a tweet and a rebuttal (take a bow Mr. B1rd, he's single ladies).  After watching two big spectacle movies, one in a theatre (Thor: The Dark World 2013), the other at home on Blu Ray (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2013), I mentioned how quickly the two movies began to fade from memory.  The comment that came back was maybe things would be different if I stayed still instead of wandering around maybe I'd retain more.
Okay, I have a child sized bladder ... shaddup.
Upon reflection (no, not about my child sized bladder) he's partly right, I did not give at least one of the two movies my complete devotion.  But there's the rub my friend.  Why didn't I give the movie my complete attention?  I am a supposed amateur cinephile after all.  I paid a university money to teach me about it.
I'll admit it, I have devalued the movie going experience, but why?
The movie going experience is the descendant of the theatre experience with less gaslight and more popcorn.  Dependent on where you lived you had limited choice of what you could see, when you could see it and where you saw it.  Seeing a movie in the days of theatre was part chore, part reward.  You gathered the troops, moved from point A to B, got there in time to get the coveted middle/middle seats, watched the movie and then went home full of comments and questions.  And if that movie was Star Wars(1977) you then played lightsabre fights until parents determined enough was enough.
I bet now you're thinking,"Oh look at this old fart, discovered the internet so he could tell kids to get the heck off his virtual  lawn.  Man, what a cinematic curmudgeon."
Well, duh!  Look at the blog's name.
Hear me out as I continue this magical blustering tour.  If I was truly timelocked in my opinion about movie going then these words would of been published in a 'Zine upon the mass marketing of the VCR and movie rental stores, but I had the grandest of times turning the TV to the proper channel/setting, pressing play and hunkering down to a movie, or two, or maybe a marathon on the weekend.  The movie was still the center of the event though, alone or with friends.  Alone, it let you revisit movies you loved, or introduced you to movies you'd never see at the movie theatre, either due to their age, or they catered to a non-mainstream audience.  If it wasn't for the videocassette I would not have been introduced to Wells, Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Kubrick until much later in life and that is a depressing thought indeed.  Socially, movie nights at a friends house brought fun movies to masses, brought boys together with girls, but the event still had the movie as the fire we all sat around, except in this case the fire told the story and we chatted about the fire when it died out.
So what happened?  I now have access to multiplex after multiplex, I have on demand, netflix, streaming, you tube, laptops, tablets, smartphones, HD TVs, I have it all.  I can buy, rent or find movies that I would never had the chance to see.  The cinematic world is my oyster and I'm too lazy to shuck them.
I think movies are having a hard time being the center, and movies deserve being the center of attention. They have become so accessible that they're not always the event you are excited about.  They're used as filler while you're on the bus, at a cafeteria, while doing chores, because they're so dang easy to find and watch.  You are no longer watching the movie, you're using the movie as filler.  Add to that the simple fact that priorities shift when you get older.  Unfortunately, my paycheck doesn't come from watching movies so to get time to watch them I often end up multitasking, I'm not giving them the attention they deserve.
So I need to make a change, I need to value the movie watching experience more than I have been of late.
One - Put time aside to watch the thing, start to finish, even if it's got to be 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning.
Two - Watch it on a screen it deserves to be watched on, theatre or surround sound TV, not a phone, not a tablet or laptop (unless travelling)
Three - My default movie setting should be movies as art, not commerce.  It'll be hard to turn off the cynicism, but I need to remember the creativity that goes into making film, not just the big bucks.
Four - Talk about movies.  Chat with my friends.  Invite the to watch a film with me and make time to talk about them after.  If I can't kidnap a pal, then listen to others talk about it, podcasts, websites, other blogs. Use my laptop not for watching movies, but for enjoying movies.
Movies can take you to other world's, other places, other times, but you got to give them the chance to do it. Seriously we all need time away, movies are a pretty cheap ticket, so go enjoy the trip, send me a postcard.

Chem Trailers

Growing up there was nothing I loved more than seeing movie trailers before the movie, I remember very few of them, but it was like getting a cinematic Sears Christmas Wishbook.  The one trailer I remember was probably the scariest movie moment I ever had, and will ever have.  My mom came with me to the Arcturus Theatre back home to see Gus, a Disney flick about a donkey drafted by a college football team to kick field goals.  Yes, its a real movie, no is not a fever dream, look it up on IMDB.  I'll wait.
....
I accept your apology.
Anyway the theatre decided it was perfectly time to play before an audience of rugrats the trailer for Burnt Offerings, an adult haunted house movie.  So here I was, bright eyed and bushy tailed, waiting for a donkey to kick a football and eventually sign up with the Steelers and become a member of the beloved Steel Curtain.  Okay the last part is the present day.  ITS BEEN A TERRIBLE SEASON, WE NEED A NEW KICKER! Sitting in the theatre watching that trailer scared me.  I had nightmares for weeks, and decades later it still stands as my scariest cinematic experience, and this is coming from the guy who watched Gary Busey in Silver Bullet. Gary Busey!!!!  I eventually saw the movie and it was kind of meh, but for me its not the same movie as the one I saw in that trailer.  In fact, with the fog of many decades blurring my judgement, I don't think the trailer actually gave away much of the movie.  It still conveyed the elements of fear and terror, but it didn't give anything away.  They felt like two sides of an awesome coin.
I think this affected me, because I love trailers, well more classic ones.  I own the 42nd Street Forever collection and I can lose hours of time on the You Tubes playing trailer treasure hunt.  Some are fun, some are amazing, some are frikkin' works of art.  Just for fun, pop on You Tube and look for trailers of films from your childhood.  If you want to peek into my twisted psyche try Halloween (1978), Exorcist (1973), or Dawn Of The Dead (1978), or for a laugh Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Airplane! (1980) or Strange Brew (1983).  All great movies, all with really good trailers.
And that's why I feel bad for the modern trailer.  You're no longer wacky, quasi-artistic, teasin' two minute tempatations, hooking the viewer into spending money a few weeks in the future.  Now you just give away the story, all the jokes, or all the tentpole moments while being sandwiched between actual commercials and the movies the audience has been waiting 20 minutes to see.  I feel bad for you modern movie trailer, the neglected middle child of the movie going experience.  Now all trailers aren't bad, but your lumped in with so much crap, being played for an impatient audience who'd rather get the last text message in than watch you.
But you can be fixed.  Firstly, get rid of those commercials, we didn't pay $12+ bucks to watch a big TV show.  Secondly, let the film maker be creative with the trailer.  Let them play Hitchcock, or let them work with someone who knows how to tease with two minutes of film.  Let them use footage that won't be in the finished product, let then shoot something original.  Let them tempt you with an appetizer, not a sampler f the main course.  Save the money shot for opening weekend reviews, not six month before.
Gimme Burnt Offerings, gimme something that'll stick in my head until opening night.

I Might Have Something To Say

Now that is a strange looking household appliance.

It is a bit weird that in a time where I should be thinking about planning for my future, household renovations, getting a car (again) and all those other wonderful grown up stuff I went out and bought a sound mixing board. Am I in a band? Nope.  Do I manage a band? Nope.  Did a band come to me and ask to be their engineer?  Nope.  Am I building a spaceship set for my epic film “Star Valkyries From The Shadow Nebula”? No….. Well, not yet anyways.  That strange contraption’s sole purpose for being in my house is that I came to the realization that I desperately need a creative hobby. Desperately.

Due to my job and obligations I lead a very structure life, so structured that CBC Radio’s Fisherman Broadcast set their clocks by my activities (Shout out to all my East Coasties! Where ya at!).  I know that I cannot deviate too far from my daily/weekly/monthly gameplan and I certainly won’t be digressing myself of all my worldly possessions, putting a bindlestiff over my shoulder and seeing the world.  So here I am fighting the doldrums of a scheduled lifestyle, trying to find something that I can work into the few precious hours
of downtime that reflects my likes, my interests.

Movies and marveling at the magnificence of my own mind.

So I’m in the alpha stages of trying to start my own podcast about movies.  Wow, that’s a seller’s market in podcast land let me tell you, what with them being so rare.  But even in this sea, nay ocean, of movie podcasts I hope to keep my Curmudgeonly stamp on my foray into this and who knows people may like it.  Again this is the alpha stage, I don’t even know the logistics of recording, or the financial of putting a podcast out to the public, but I won’t know anything until I try my best to see this experiment to the end.  I do know that I will be off on the right foot when I invite my friends to join in on the conversation, ‘cause I am confident in the creativity of that mob, and I certainly know that they have opinions they wouldn't mind sharing.  I’m still ironing out the format, length and design of the show, but I got a seed in my brain that I feel good about and with help from my friends I got a feeling that this may be fun.

And who knows what this could become.

I hope to use this blog for updates on my podcasting progress, so please stay tuned and I hope you’ll give me a listen in the future.

A Non-Film Story With a Strange Segue

It starts with a dog.  Well, not just a dog, my dog, The Illustrious Dr. Jones ESQ., Victorian adventurer, bon vivant and gentleman scholar ... Jones for short.  When he was adopted at the age of two from a rescue agency eight years ago (the then) we promised to treat him better than the family that gave him up.  This meant three walks a day, seven days a week, of varying lengths (he doesn't like when it is raining).  Sure its a chore, but it's healthy, relaxing and when you can see how happy a dog is on his stroll it's gratifying.  They wear their emotions on their tails you know.

Well from 2010 to 2012 I went through some course changes in the direction my life was taking.  I suffered the stresses of not one, but two job restructurings and my personal status reverted back to being single.  Through all that I came out with Jones at my side and I have kept the promise that I made eight years ago to treat him as best I could.  It has come with some compromises, like moving to afford a backyard, and we can honestly say that my work/life schedule is very structured, whimsical flights of fancy are not even on the page anymore.  One of these days I might have the time to go on a date again.  Now don't get me wrong, I have great friends who help out immensely whenever they can, especially when I travel for work and the occassional out of town fun trip, but bottom line is that Jones is my responsibility, and for the happiness that dog gives me I wouldn't give that up in a New York minute.

So during these walks, and my commute to work, I have time to fill my brain with audio content and I've dove into the varieties of podcasts that are available out there (for free).  I listen to comedy (The Bugle), geekery (Radio Free Skaro, Loudest Geeks in The Room, Rooster Teeth), informative ones (Hardcore History, Stuff You Should Know), but the bulk are about video games, an interest I haven't gotten rid of in my waning years, and one of my favourite ones is the Giant Bombcast.  I like the humour, the opinonated, but non-malicious, comments from the group, and the banter among the podcasters.  I enjoyed the two hours of commentary from these guys and really appreciated the way they handled post E3 2013 coverage that was different from the knife-sharpening, torch lighting, bandwagon riding venom coming from most of the rest of the internet.

And here's the segue

Last week Ryan Davis (no relation), co-founder of Giant Bomb and pilot of the Giant Bombcast passed away unexpectedly at the age of 34.  He was on his honeymoon.  I never met the man and I only know of him from his website, occassional interview and his podcast, but for some reason his death shook me a bit.  He, through his podcast, was/is part of my regular Wednesday schedule of bussing and dogwalking and I find it weird that as of today I will not be hearing his opening greeting and off track digressions.  It's like finding out a player on your favourite sports team is gone, it doesn't affect you in real life, I still get up walk the dog, go to work and so on, but it's still something you will miss.  He will be missed, by this old f@rt in suburbia, who has to go home from work to feed and walk his dog.  Thanks for the two+ years of entertaining me on Wednesdays Mr. Ryan Davis.

Implosions!

Supposedly Lucas and Speilberg came out this previous week saying that the film industry was on the verge of imploding, something about if enough mega-blockbusters don't profit in a year the industry could suffer on some catostrophic level.  They also discussed how much harder it is for even them, the fathers of the modern blockbuster, to get their films in theatres (Spielberg said Lincoln, regardless of its pedigree, was this close to being on HBO).
Now, I'm no number cruncher, but I do have enough outside-looking-in-via-the-internet knowledge to know that the film industry has become, more and more, a big business being run by big business people who think in big business terms.  Like any business it's about what can turn a profit and at this point in time it's the safety of the remake, reboot and the sequel that appeals to the bankrollers.  Heck, my whole blog (and my pipedream for a subsequent podcast) was inspired by the amount of remakes coming out over the past few years.
One thing I will not discuss, mainly doe to my ignorance, is the growth of crowdfunding and the like to put the production in the hands of the people.  It's too young to determine success/failure, or abuse of the fandom out there.  But hey if you want to send cash in an envelope for me to jumpstart my podcast my addres is .....
As usual I seem to have gone off on a tangent.
Look, I'm not arguing againt the comments of the producer and director of the Greatest Movie Ever Made Ever! (Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981), but I do think that there are good movies out there that aren't blockbusters and will not be regulated to being seen between Game of Thrones and the repeat of the episode of Game of Thrones.  You may have to wade through a sea of cookie cutter safe bets, but they will be there and you will get to see them in their natural habitat, a real movie theatre.
You'll have to vote with your wallet and with your feet.  They do track how many seats get filled in a theatre on top of overall box office.  For example, a couple of friends and I saw "This Is The End"(article on that later this week), certainly not a cookie cutter mega-blockbuster reboot, yesterday at 11 am, and the theatre was nicely filled to the point where we didn't have great seats.  If your nearest theatre isn't offering anything beyond only the biggest movies, go to the next one, but go now and don't say "I'll wait until its on demand".  If you wait the abacus readers will label a good film a failure and you will get stuck with sure things.  Look I hate a crowded, phone lit theatre full of idjits who wont stop talking/texting, but I still go, I just got smart enough to find matinees to coincide with a breakfast and a movie outing, and I am still contributing box office receipts to a movie that deserves it.
And I'm lazy, so if I'm finding a way to support the movies, anyone can. 
I'm not sure if this post made any sense, but I'm rusty, it been over a year you know.