James’ Blog

This is not a movie for a guy or gal who wants to go to the movies and be entertained. If you wanna go and have a good time at the cinema, pick something else. Go see Rambo. I haven't seen it yet, be I'm hoping it's good entertainment.

Blood isn't a brilliant drama for the masses like The Godfather, and it isn't a brilliant drama for the few like No Country for Old Men.

There Will Be Blood sounds like a warning or a threat, and the title is very appropriate to the feel of the movie. But this is a beautiful movie. The camera angles are amazing, claustrophibically centering on the main character. The work between sound and camera, what's offscreen and what's onscreen is masterful, and begs studying. Daniel Day Lewis is superb, and his performance is the best I've seen anywhere in a long time. This is worth seeing for him alone.
But it's a difficult movie to watch. There's no conflict that needs solving. No building towards a resolution. It's a pure character study. What's amazing about it is that the character doesn't change in the traditional way, going from bad to good, or finding repentance or being punished. The changes are all below the surface. They are the evolution, the changes that happens to a changeless man over time.

So that's it, really. I don't recomend this movie to the regular guy. And by regular I don't mean average. I just mean, it's not your sunday afternoon entertainment. Certainly don't take a 1st date to watch this. Unless you don't wanna get laid.

I'm at a friend's house, having just watched Bobby. It's amazing how a movie set in 1968 can be such a period piece now. By coincidence, this morning I saw Easy Rider, that came out in 69. It was interesting to see how a recreated late 60's can be so artificial when compared to the real thing. Maybe that's why I could not buy Ashton Kutcher's hippie, I don't know. It would have taken a lot more effort from the director to make his 60's recreation feel more authentic, but it would have been worth it.
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So I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 the other night… and I'm there, enjoying my movie, when out of the blue, there's this huge Sergio Leone moment, straight out of Once Upon a Time in the West. I mean, the pirates are walking on this sand bank in the middle of the sea, going to meet the English for a parlay, and suddenly, extreme face close-ups, slow motion walking, and the same music, almost. They only changed the instruments, a couple of notes, but 90% is the same, the tempo, the instrument changes, everything, and it was nice, I was blown away. I loved watching that… but the theater was quiet. To them, it was just another scene. There was no one to share the moment with.

 So I'm sharing it with yous.

Also known as On the Lot. The apprentice-like reality show where wanna-be directors pit their skills against each other until only one remains, the winner, of a Spielberg produced one million dollars movie deal with DreamWorks.
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James' Take: Do yourself a favor and miss this one

I talked before about a trailer not doing justice to the movie. Well, this is the opposite case. The Wild Hogs trailer made me giddy. I was never counting on a new Easy Rider, but it felt like I was gonna be treated to another City Slickers. Some slapstick, a plot, great characters, and a compelling idea. And it could have been that, but the director blew it big time.

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