Into the Wild

Uh, well... it's long, and they charge too much for admission. The acting is believable. The pace is s-s-l-l-o-o-w-w. Obviously, Penn has no directorial or writing ability. The story is weak. No character arcs, except for the father. And, it's a good thing Penn had a cinematographer with him. You can tell the ones Penn set up. Note to Penn: Don't let the actors acknowledge the camera's presence. If they do, don't let the editor include the shot. I didn't expect more from Penn, so the movie is predictable. Penn obviously has little mental capacity. Another note to Penn: Stick with acting. I'll bet Hollywood-ers will love this and nominate him for something. I've already done so. Moral of the story: Be sure to read the entire page when you're researching edibles in the wild.

Bourne Ultimatum

Whew! Matt Damon might not be able to write a film (thank you, William Goldman), but he can act. Damon plays the Jason Bourne character to a "T," so this series is grateful for his availability and presence. I can think of no one who would have done a better job with Ludlum's troubled protagonist. Damon is maturing, as does the Bourne character, and his actions and reactions are so believable, you might be tricked into believing you're watching a film based on a true story. Ultimatum is the best of the three, so far. I'm now reading The Bourne Legacy, and it is proving itself to be as riveting as the prequel novels are. (Thank you, Eric Lustbader.)

Stardust

C'mon, it's a good film. Not notable, but entertaining. Michelle Pfeiffer has an interesting role in it. You wouldn't expect her to play something so unflattering (at times), but she does it to perfection. Sure, some things are "over the top," but so was "The Princess Bride." It's a fantasy, for heaven's sake. Whoops! Was that a "spoiler" statement?

Once

The movie... well, it's more of a documentary... no, it's a home movie about someone who sings in the street... no, he can't sing... So, maybe it's just a cell phone camera exercise with a video of a wannabe songwriter who is looking for a married or unmarried partner to help him and sleep with him because he is sad and obsessed about his ex-girlfriend who probably got tired of seeing his crummy old guitar and getting scratched by the long guitar strings that dangled around the big hole in the face of the guitar box that was caused by his fingernails scratching against the wood and the fact that his job was to repair vacuum cleaners and sing(?) in the street for donations and then putting his dirty old guitar in a case that he carried everywhere until he arrived at his filthy apartment which is probably the reason he wanted to move to a bigger city to be discovered... This piece of crap has received 4 stars in some of the reviews I have read, and I personally know one person who thought it was a great movie. I guarantee you that, unless you desire to hear endless songs -- one after the other -- with the same background music, you will be tempted to walk out after the first 10 minutes. My wife and I wanted to walk out, but we didn't. We could not believe that a movie could be so totally bad. Our theater audience consisted of perhaps 20 when the movie began. By the 15th minute, there were 5 of us remaining -- disbelieving that it would get no better. This is an event that I would recommend you go see, if you are someone I detest or are someone I need to repay for past wrongs.

And then I met a serious writer...

Following my rant on 11 May, I was approached by another writer. This fellow has it together. He's already written and performed a one-act of which parts will be used in his screenplay. He believes he's not a screenwriter, so I met with him to assist in his further studies. I guarantee he'll market a screenplay before too long. He's industrious, hard-working, and serious about his goal. His story is one that is burning in his heart. And that's what it takes. He's also a songwriter, and he gave me his demo CD. A couple of his songs have been published, so he's proven himself in that category of creative writing. If he reads this blog, I want him to know that he has someone who supports his efforts. I've told him in person, but this puts it out there for everyone to know. By the way, I have still not heard from the (writer?) I mentioned in my May 11, 2007 blog.

Time Wasted Trying to Assist a (Writer?)

A couple of months ago, a fellow Guild member asked me if I would meet with him to discuss a film project that has been burning in his heart for some time. I didn't know what to expect, and I'm not sure he knew what he wanted from me. During the meeting, he briefly outlined the story to me, and I must agree that it is an interesting and compelling story. I gave him every indication that I was willing to help him get and stay motivated to write his project. I suggested that he write a Treatment. He agreed to a two week time frame (because he knows the subject so well), after which we would meet again, and I would read the treatment to lead him to the next step.
Let's go back a few months here, leading up to our first meeting: We ran into each other in a local casino. He was finishing a stint at a table game, when I approached him and asked what he'd been up to lately. It was then that he described his burning desire to do something with this idea. I told him at that time to e-mail me with a suggested meeting place and date. Almost two months elapsed before he contacted me and arranged the aforementioned meeting.
So, we met as I described above.
At least two months have gone by... I've not heard from him, but I've written an e-mail to him to which he did not respond, and I've seen him. It happened that my wife and I visited another casino in the area when I spotted him at a table recently. I don't know if he saw me. If so, he didn't acknowledge. I did not approach him because he was busy. If he saw me, I would be curious to know why he didn't at least e-mail me about his project.
Perhaps the meeting we had did not go well in his mind, and he no longer wants any contact with me, or he's embarrassed that he has not finished (or worked on) his project.
It's no skin off my neck, but I will be reluctant to go further in offering encouragement to this person without some explanation for his past behavior.
Caution: You who ask for help should assure yourself that you are truly eager to work on something, to see it through to fruition or mutual abandonment. Otherwise, you are only "burning a bridge" that might lead to success. Such audacious behavior is much like sending out a written work before it's ready to be seen by others.

"Wild Hogs" - A Surprise

My wife is not an avid movie-goer, but sometimes she surprises me. When she saw the trailers on television for "Wild Hogs" (the movie), she expressed an interest to go see it. We did. The theater was filled for a Saturday afternoon -- another surprise, given the beautiful desert weather. The movie opens with a bang, and has just the right punch lines and sight gags in the right places. Some years ago, I co-wrote a biker script titled "The Next To The Last Ride." It was hilarious (in places), but had too many characters, too many situations, and too little interest for the readers. The parallels in "Wild Hogs" with TNTTLR were fun for me to identify. The incompetent leader, the rival biker gang, the love interest, the sight gags -- things like that. I believe John Travolta was uncomfortable at times with his role, but he pulled it off anyway. William H. Macy is the consummate actor. I've not seen him in a role where he was not convincing. Martin Lawrence is always good for the subtleties and the comic takes. Tim Allen does his regular schtick quite well. Ray Liotta did his best. The denouement was a surprise and made good sense. I think that's something TNTTLR lacked. Go see "Wild Hogs" and laugh a little.

Academy Awards

So, an Oscar went to Jennifer for "Dreamgirlz." Hmm. I almost walked out of the movie because I couldn't understand the spoken dialogue. (Obviously, Dreamgirlz was not nominated for Sound.) However, I shifted in my chair for another hour and more. Based on what I saw of Jennifer (and she has a great voice), I can hardly wait to see her next movie. I do not wish to denigrate what she did in her role, but I do hope that the Academy will nominate and select actors for acting. Jennifer obviously got the votes because the voters felt sorry for her for losing on American Idle. (I have never watched this TV reality show, but I have heard some of the singers that came from it. Taylor Hicks' was a winner, I believe. He isn't my kind of singer, though. He moves too fast on stage for my taste. I had a childhood friend who was also afflicted with cerebral palsy. I saw Hicks on a TV commercial -- for a car manufacturer? Or, was it a tomato sauce? Idolatry is dangerous due to contagion.) I was satisfied with the other Oscar selections, I suppose. "The Departed" was a good movie (see my previous blog on it). Martin Scorcese did a magnificent job with the film. He can not be taken to task for the casting. The script... uh... well... see my previous blog on the film. Helen Mirren was superb in "The Queen." And, "The Queen" was a good movie, as well. After all, I confess that I did not see all of the movies. I did not see all of the nominees. I would never go see Algore's abomination. Sorry to see that it was given a green light for more misinformation. I would like to see Algore address an audience of scientists. Perhaps he could learn something about Truth. I understand he avoids scientists like he avoids truth. He can parlay his info to laymen, but has problems explaining his views if he must base them on scientific fact. Let's hope that Roger Cheeseburger makes a comedy from Algore's material. I might go see that.