Catch Me If You Can - Performance Preview

I know that I mostly post about Film and Television on here, but I am also a huge fan of theatre. I especially love musicals and have performed in numerous of shows since I was a child and throughout high school. Besides the critically-despised Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, numerous of other shows are opening this spring on the Broadway Stage in New York. Of the many shows, I am especially looking forward to seeing Catch Me If You Can, starring Aaron Tveit, Norbert Leo Butz and Kerry Butler. The show opens this Sunday, April 10th and I will be seeing the show in May (rest assured, a full-length review will be posted). Below is some just released footage for the production, and it is making me all the more excited to see this!

Red Riding Hood (2011) - Film Review

From Twilight's director Catherine Hardwicke comes a retelling of the classic Grimm's fairy tale "The Little Red Riding Hood." Starring Amanda Seyfried as Valerie, a young girl living in a small medieval village called Daggerhorn, and Shiloh Fernandez as Peter the woodcutter, the film will leave Twilight fans with plenty of similar comparisons which is not exactly a good thing.

The plot itself is similar to the fairy tale itself: Red Riding Hood, is Valerie. There is grandmother who gives Valerie her infamous red hooded-cloak, the delicious baked goods, and the infamous forrest in which Red Riding Hood must journey through to get Grandmother's House. Add into the mix a broodingly handsome woodcutter, Peter, and another broodingly handsome wealthy young man, Henry (portrayed by Max Irons) and you get a Twilight-esque love triangle à la Jacob/Bella/Edward.

The film begins with Valerie and Peter as children, as Young Peter brutally murders a white rabbit. Fast forward several years, as Valerie and Peter are now teenagers frolicking in a beautiful meadow (kind of like that other meadow that Edward Cullen glitters and shines in). But their romantic moment is soon cut short with the arrival and announcement of Valerie's engagement to Henry. Valerie is less than happy to find out that she will be forced to marry someone that she doesn't love, but lucky for her trouble hits Daggerhorn not long after. "The wolf is back!" cries one of the villagers. And by wolf, I am not talking about the Big Bad Wolf from the fairy tale. No, Catherine Hardwicke chose to make Jacob Black make a special guest appearance in this movie. Well, not really. But the "wolf" referred to by the villager is actually a werewolf. Turns out the first victim to bite the dust is Valerie's younger sister, Lucy. It is also revealed that it's not only just a full moon, but a blood moon, in which any villager bitten by the wolf then will be turned into a werewolf themselves. Enter Gary Oldman's character, Father Solomon who decides to come and seek a vengeance he has against the werewolf as well. To make matters worst, Father Solomon adds that "the wolf is someone who lives in this village." Thus begins the mystery of who the wolf is, and who is to be trusted.

I must admit that I initially went to see this movie because I wanted to know who the wolf is. The trailer obviously pits the wolf as Valerie's love interest, the dark but good-looking Peter. But the only other character heavily featured in the previews was Max Irons' character, Henry, so I thought that maybe the wolf was him. Nonetheless, I went in to see the movie expecting it to either be extremely obvious as to who the wolf was, and was proven to be wrong. Though I was able to guess who the wolf was halfway through the movie, it was still a fun ride to watch the wolf terrorize the villagers of Daggerhorn and watch Valerie's struggle to figure out which person in her life is the murderous creature.

While engaging, the movie was not exactly great. The script by David Leslie Johnson wasn't exactly memorable or good, and the plot was a bit flimsy in my opinion. Shiloh Fernandez did a decent job at playing the role of Peter, but Amanda Seyfried was a complete disaster. I feel that she does the same exact thing in all of her movies. Flash those big frog-like eyes of hers and mumble a few lines and call it a day. The true star of this show however, is Max Irons. The son of Jeremy Irons, Max is a relative newcomer and true breakout star of this film. I enjoyed his performance and thought that he was the one redeeming factor.

Red Riding Hood, though engaging, was only so because of the mystery as to who the wolf is. And those viewers who have the mystery all figured out halfway through will find themselves sitting there asking "When are they just going to reveal it already?!" With subpar performances (besides Max Irons), and a lackluster plot, this movie is passable.

An Education (2009) - Film Review

Starring Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard, An Education is a British coming-of-age film directed by Lone Scherfig and featuring a very well-crafted screenplay by novelist Nick Hornby. It is based on a memoir by Lynn Barber and follows the story of a young school girl, Jenny who is well-educated, beautiful and smart. However, Jenny wants to indulge herself in more than just books and learning. She wants to experience culture in a society that is rather boring. In one of the opening scenes of the movie, Jenny is instructed by her father (portrayed by Alfred Molina) to focus on her education. "Then what about my hobby?" Jenny asks. Her hobby, by the way, is playing the cello. "Well, hobbies are hobbies. There is no need to practice them!" her father replies. Then after orchestra practice one fateful afternoon, a heavy downpour of rain is the set-up in which Jenny is introduced to Peter Sarsgaard's character, David Goldman. David, an older man who too has a love for music immediately charms Jenny and captivates her with his love for music, books and cultural excitement that Jenny longs to experience. What follows then is a movie which leads Jenny on a major detour from her schooling down a path of weekend getaways, art auctions and city excursions of beautiful places like Paris. In the end however, Jenny realizes that education, as boring as it can be, is important and ultimately provides stability for one's life. But of course she realizes that after several mishaps that I will not reveal so that I won't spoil the movie for anyone.

The movie is beautifully shot, with an antique classy 1960's tone to it that made the cultural environment all the more appealing and believable. Carey Mulligan gives a top-notch performance, one that makes you feel for the character and become emotionally attached to her, which is no doubt why she got a Best Actress nomination for this role. I cannot express how much I loved the script as well. The writing was simply captivating, and the story, a beautiful masterpiece. I also loved the costumes. Jenny's transformation from the book-smart school girl to a culturally sophisticated woman was masterfully displayed in her wardrobe. The soundtrack was also very fitting, with a plethora of Jazz Age tunes and a notable song by Duffy ("Smoke Without Fire") featured as well. An Education was a artistically magnificent film, and goes down as one of my top films in the year of 2009.

Chinatown (1974) - Film Review

Directed by Roman Polanski with the screenplay written by Robert Towne, Chinatown stars Jack Nicholson in the lead role of J.J. "Jake" Gittes, a cynical private investigator who is caught in a web of deceit after being set-up in the opening of the film. The movie is a film noir set in 1930 Los Angeles, California with a backdrop in the land and water disputes during the time.

After receiving a phone call from Evelyn Mulwray(Faye Dunaway) to investigate and see if her husband Hollis Mulwray(Darrell Zwerling) is having an affair, Jake Gittes(Jack Nicholson) does what he does best and snaps a few photographs of Hollis with his mistress. But after it is revealed that the woman who propositioned Jake to expose his husband's affair was not the actual Evelyn Mulwray, Jake finds himself caught in a massive string of lies and deception, especially after Hollis is found dead and murdered in a local dam. Determined to uncover the killer of Hollis, Jake finds himself on a wild adventure as he tries to unravel the mystery behind Hollis' death with a long list of suspects that include Noah Cross(John Huston), Hollis' mistress Katherine(Belinda Palmer) and Claude Mulvihill(Roy Jenson) to name a few.

The scenic locales of the movie was gorgeous. I couldn't get over how wonderfully shot each scene was, and the backdrop was just so fitting and added to the experience. The plot itself was very complex, and took me a while to figure it out and get into it. Being a murder mystery however with a noticeable face in the role of the detective (Jack Nicholson himself) made the movie intriguing however. I really enjoyed how the mystery played out, and the ending definitely does not disappoint. The only complaint I really had with this movie was its length. Exceeding 180 pages in its script, the movie is long. It ran for an approximate 130 minutes and I found myself at times checking my watch to see how much longer this movie was going to be. Though the last 1/4 of the film picked up its pace in terms of action and excitement, I still felt that the movie could have been slightly shorter.

Jack Nicholson's role in this film was what made him a Hollywood leading man, and I must say that his acting was indeed very memorable. The plot is thick and intriguing all together, and I must say that I did enjoy this film a lot. One thing to take note of also is the script's sharp dialogue. In what may be one of the most widely known lines from this movie, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." The screenplay was very well written and the dialogue, perfect. I did however leave after watching this film to ponder on the thought as to why the movie is called "Chinatown". Given that only the final scenes are set in Chinatown, the movie received the title for metaphorical reasons. Chinatown is a place of Jake's past. It is a place and state of mind that will always come back to haunt him. Chinatown is a must-see, especially for any fans of Jack Nicholson and film noir.

The Making of Walt Disney Picture's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

An interesting video a friend showed me of how the popular Walt Disney animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came into existing, detailing all its production work from soundtrack to special sound effects to the animation itself. Just thought I'd share...

Somewhere (2010) - Film Review

Somewhere, starring Stephen Dorff as Johnny Marco, a Hollywood actor caught in an aimless lifestyle of fame and fortune.

The movie opens with Dorff's character Johnny driving in circles on an open field in his black Porsche convertible. At least four minutes pass by before he finally stops the car. At first, I was wondering what the hell was going on, but it all makes sense at the end of the film.

With a very retro cinematography in the movie, I was confused as to what the setting of the film was. Yes, the Porsche was indeed the latest model, but Stephen Dorff's old-fashioned sunglasses paired with shots of Los Angeles in ways that was unfamiliar had me confused at first. But thankfully, it all started to make sense when the characters were playing Guitar Hero and texting on their Blackberries.

The plot itself is simple. A successful actor living an aimless lifestyle amidst all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, which actually isn't all that glamorous from an actor's perspective (as if we didn't know that already). The actor has a daughter (played by Elle Fanning) who his ex-wife leaves with him saying that she will be "gone for some time." And through spending time with his daughter, the actor is able to give up his lifestyle to start a new beginning.

I thought that the film was decent; the script, simple; and the actors acting just enough to make their characters believable. It was nice to see Stephen Dorff in something other than an action film, though there is nothing special about his performance here. As for Elle Fanning, I can't say there was anything special about her performance either.

I couldn't emphasis enough how simple this movie was meant to be. The soundtrack was at its bare minimum, as was the dialogue. But like I said, it did what it needed to.

But what annoyed me was the plot. The movie is only 91 minutes long, and it took 46 minutes before the wife calls. Then again however, there wasn't exactly much to the plot so had they revealed that scene earlier, there probably wouldn't have been much else to fill the remainder of the film with.

Somewhere was more of a authentic look into an actor's life, and though the story was not perfect, it was still entertaining at the least. Bottom line: There is a reason why this film almost went by unnoticed at the Box Office.

Buried (2010) - Film Review

Directed by Rodrigo Cortés and featuring a script written by Chris Sparling, Buried is a dramatic thriller starring Ryan Reynolds. Chris Sparling, was a former lecturer at Boston University's College of Communication which I thought was an interesting piece of information when I discovered this film.

What you may want to know before watching the movie, is that this is practically a one-man-show. Besides Ryan Reynolds, viewers do not see any other person in appearing physically in the film. And the premise of the entire film? A man stuck inside a box buried beneath the ground somewhere in Iraq as he struggles to survive and escape with only his Blackberry and a lighter accessible to him. The man, Paul Conroy, is portrayed by Ryan Reynolds, who gives a stunning performance giving that he has to entertain a movie audience for 94 minutes within a wooden box.

The film starts out in pitch black darkness, as a muffled noise of Reynolds' character Paul wakes up and discovers his current whereabouts. Crying out loud for help and failing to receive any response, he turns on his lighter, giving the audience a sense of what his small surrounding looks like. Though the movie starts out a bit slow, the story becomes more and more intense as it progresses. Paul's Blackberry begins to ring with his kidnapper telling him to follow specific instructions to survive. He also continues ongoing phone conversations with numerous of people in hopes of them locating his current location and getting him out of the box.

In one of the most intense scenes that had me at the edge of my seat, a snake slithered its way into the coffin that Paul is in, forcing him to use the little amount of space and tools he has to get the creature out of the box before it attacks him.

In summary, I thought that film had a really clever idea. And the fact that the concept of the entire movie was spent inside a box documenting one man's struggle to survive was strange. At first thought, one might think to oneself, "how on earth can an entire movie be spent in a box with one man and be interesting?!" And that was my thought exactly before watching this movie. However, my initial perception of this film was proven wrong as I was kept at the edge of my seat for most of this movie, and found myself connecting with Paul Conroy on an emotional level, rooting for him to survive in the end.

And without giving the ending of the film away, let's just say that I absolutely hated this film, not cause I didn't enjoy the concept and story, but solely because I hated the ending. But without judging the movie by how the plot ends, I must say that I did enjoy it and would give it an 8/10.