GRAVITY: Day 5 of 31

So, I saw Gravity yesterday.  Maybe you've heard of it.  It's this little sci-fi film that's getting some interesting buzz around the web lately.  At least that's how it was referred to when I first heard about it earlier this year.  Now, you've probably heard it described as "The best film of 2013!" or "The greatest science fiction movie since Stanley Kubrick squeezed out 2001: A Space Odyssey!" or "The single greatest technical achievement by man in the history of ever. And always."

That last one may have been a stretch, but it's a pretty decent movie I guess.  I'm just joking; it's a very decent movie.  Best movie of 2013?  Eh, maybe.  It probably is one of the greatest special effect achievements ever put to film.  In terms of cinematography and story telling, it's light years ahead of anything else to date.  Definitely a game changer (oh God, how I hate that term) in that sense.

I also love the fact that the story takes such a simple premise (if you can call 'having two astronauts have to use their survival skills and technical expertise to try to return back to Earth after barely escaping certain death due to an onslaught of charging satellite shrapnel that destroyed their ship and left them stranded in space' simple), and focuses the entire movie on it.  I really dig minimalistic movies.  This storyline brings to mind a couple other favorites of mine that involve similar circumstances, where a character or characters are stranded or confined to one place and they're trying to escape certain death.  Open Water (which involved two scuba divers being stranded by their boat and everyone hated it) and Buried (which involved Ryan Reynolds trapped in a coffin for 90 minutes, and no one saw it).  Gravity kind of completes the environmental trilogy, proving that deep space is just as bad a place to get stranded as the middle of the ocean, or six feet under ground in a box.  Although I don't know if anyone was going to make an argument against that.

The really cool thing about this movie, that sets it apart from the other two is the production value. 
While Open Water was filmed with a couple digital cameras on the cheap, and Buried was done very well, but never once left the coffin, Gravity uses every single camera trick and special effect in its repertoire. And it does it seamlessly.  This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing looking films I've ever seen in my life.  I've read that the director (who also did the amazing "Children of Men") spent the last four years working on this project.  Even spending a considerable time working on the 3D process, meaning the studio didn't just decide to post convert it later to make a couple extra bucks.  Knowing that going in, I opted to see it in 3D, and it was definitely the best 3D experience I had in a theater as well.  Much, much better than Avatar (ugh... but you know my thoughts on Avatar).


The reason the 3D works so well in this movie (and if you know the director's work, it's no surprise) is because of the extremely long takes that make up each scene.  While most movies cut to about 50 different camera angles to cover one action sequence, Alfonso Cuaron painstakingly films it all in one take without any cuts.  The long takes give your eyes and brain a chance to really register what's happening in front of you, and appreciate the robustness that the third dimension adds to the picture.

Now, that's not to say there aren't any cuts.  And since this entire thing was filmed on a green screen, I'm sure there's virtually hundreds of cuts in each of these 15 minute long takes.  However, the important thing is, we don't notice them.  It's all crafted together so beautifully with such a natural flow, it all just appears to be happening in front of you. Seriously, don't misconstrue what I said to mean there are cuts, but we don't notice them; for all intents and purposes, there are no cuts.  It's like you're right there, floating in space with them, not missing a beat.  Yesterday I said there was a short film in VHS2 that put the viewer in the eyes of the protagonist while he's haunted by ghosts. Well, Gravity puts you in the space suit of the astronauts, and you are directly in the middle of the action.  Or lack of action, as you drift silently through space.  It's a pretty miraculous achievement.

What makes this all the more note worthy, is that the storyline itself doesn't really need to be so technologically amazing. It could've just as easily been shot like a normal movie.  It could've even been shot for super cheap, and just edited together like a hundred other space movies we've seen.  The story of two characters on a quest to get home is nothing new.  But the way they present it, in a way we've never seen; experiencing their struggles first hand, that is what makes this movie amazing.  The viewer is watching anxiously as the characters bounce off the shuttle, trying desperately to grab hold of something in order to stop their descent into space. You hold your breath and grip your armrest as they miss ledge after ledge, drifting into total blackness.  This movie forces you to connect with them, and experience their panic first hand.  A rare feat these days.  And again, even rarer because it really didn't have to.  It's like someone came up with the movie idea, and pitched it to some executives.  The executives yawn and say, "Okay, go ahead; are you going to do anything different, that we haven't seen before?" and the production crew says, "Yeah, we're going to make it really, really good."  That's two reallys.  And they meant it.

So, premise of the movie: good.  Technical wizardry on screen: amazing.  Acting: Eh... two out of three aint bad, right?  Wait, what?  Dave, you didn't like the acting?  It's got George Clooney, everyone loves Clooney!  Yeah, I know. Clooney was the man. Clooney rocked this movie.  Well, that only leaves one other person... are you telling me you didn't like Bullock? Come on; she's an Oscar winner too!  Yeah, for the Blindside.  Listen.  Clooney was great.  Sandra wasn't bad.  She just wasn't all that good.  Her character wasn't very relatable, or likeable, or even someone that I cared a great deal for.  I never really found myself connecting with her, or really hoping she made it out other than just because she was the main character.  She gave a couple good moments, one especially good one when she is saying a quick prayer to her daughter who died years before (which now that I'm a parent, came off much more heart wrenching than I would've thought before), but overall, I just found her kind of flat.  Not someone I was actively rooting for.  Of course, I wasn't hoping she'd die out in space either; I just found her kind of "meh."  If I were to compare her to Sam Rockwell's character in "Moon," another terrific space movie from a couple years ago, I'd say they're not even in the same league.  Sam was warm, sympathetic, and you spent the whole movie feeling for him, and rooting  that he'd make it out. There were also a couple moments where I thought the writing was almost embarrassingly contrived.  The stand out is when she makes her way to a Chinese space shuttle and picks up a radio conversation between some random Chinese guy back on Earth.  This was one of the few weak parts for me; but not enough to do any real damage to the film, just kind of a low point.

Overall, with all minor criticisms aside, Gravity is one hell of a movie.  An absolutely amazing technical achievement that will undoubtedly be talked about in film circles for decades to come.  Plus, the storyline of overcoming adversity, and not giving up, no matter how dire things look is always a crowd pleaser too.  The movie has some twists, which I won't even hint at because the marketing people actually avoided giving anything away in the previews.  Seriously, everything I saw in the trailers took place in the first 15 minutes.  I had no idea what was going to happen after that, so I went into this pretty damn eager.  That doesn't happen a whole lot in this day and age.  Most movie trailers show you every single action beat, along with the jokes, money shots, and punchlines of just about every beat of the movie.  Horror movies like Quarantine even show the last scene in the movie in every advertising campaign they run. Hell, it was even the cover of the movie for Christ sakes!  Studios will release exclusive sneak peaks online, months before the film hits theaters, showing unbroken, 3 minute long scenes from the movie.  The Evil Dead red-banned trailer showed every single kill and action sequence in the movie, so when I finally got around to seeing it, opening night, it felt like I was just watching a longer version of something I already saw.  No mystery.  No anticipation.  No enjoyment.

And shit, what do I know, maybe Gravity does have some longer trailers they've released that show a whole lot more of the movie; I don't know.  I haven't been seeking them out because I wanted to go into it fresh.  And it paid off.  I suggest everyone else does the same.  Don't read anymore about it.  Quit listening to everyone say it's the best movie they've ever seen.  Just go into it and make up your own decision.  But at least keep in mind how astronomically amazing the effects are.  You may think you've seen something like this before, but trust me; you haven't.

PS- I know this isn't technically a "horror" horror movie.  But shit, it had my pulse pounding faster than anything I've seen in the horror genre lately.  And really, who's to say what qualifies as horror?  I would say being alone, endlessly adrift in space is far more terrifying than running from a slasher in a hockey mask.  But maybe that's just because they never seem to put any pep in their step when they chase their victims.  If he at least put forth the effort to speed walk, maybe I'd get some chills.

THIS IS THE END: Day 2 of 31

I know what you're thinking.  "Jesus Dave, it's the second day, and you're already breaking the formula!"  Well, first off, cut the blasphemy.  There's no need for that.  And second.  It's my blog, and I'll do what I want.  And third, cool your jets man.  Really.

Okay, I doubt anyone was really that upset. 

So, night two of Dave's Horror-a-thon, and I'm watching a comedy.  And generally, I'm not a huge comedy fan.  So what's the deal?

Well, This is the End is a comedy with a horror premise.  So I'm counting it.  I like most of the cast. Seth Rogan. James Franco. Jonah Hill.  Jay whatever his name is (the skinny Canadian one).  And a slew of other comedians.  All the players that have made a name for themselves by playing themselves in pretty much every movie they're in.  So, what are they doing in this movie?  Well... playing themselves, actually.  But literally playing themselves. As in, Seth Rogan is playing Seth Rogan.  Not Seth Rogan is playing the Green Hornet, as imagined by Seth Rogan.  Or Seth Rogan is playing Precious, based on the novel Push, by Sapphire.  Make sense?  No? Alright, lets move on.

The story is, Seth Rogan picks up his buddy Jay from the airport.  They both play themselves, as actors and friends who haven't hung out in a while.  Seth has made all kinds of new celebrity friends in LA, and Jay feels a little left out, so they're having a weekend of just bros hanging out.  Video games. Beer. Pot.  The usual Seth Rogan fair.  I don't know, maybe it's because I was never a big druggie (shit, is that what you call it?  Every term I'm thinking sounds like something a cop would say) but I never got that big a laugh out of the extended pot gags that frequent these movies.  I don't want to be a wet blanket or anything, but it seems like all the humor revolves around people just smoking pot.  Like, not really even doing anything funny.  They're just smoking pot and having a good time.  That's the punch line.  Hmm.  Must be funnier if you're stoned. 

Anyway, they get that out of the way quick, and then Seth convinces his buddy to visit James Franco's new house for a housewarming party.  Jay isn't a big fan of Seth's new Hollywood friends, and he gets dragged along complaining the entire way.  Once they arrive at the party, we're treated to a lot of familiar faces, all playing themselves, either playing up their stereotypical media image, or doing a complete 180 on their public perception.  Michael Cera falls into the latter category, and it's the funniest Cera has been in quite some time. 

From there, shit starts to go down, and the story kicks into gear.  I don't want to spoil too much since this is a pretty new movie, but I think the previews have pretty much revealed the main storyline.  Suddenly, the Rapture happens. As in, the Christian Rapture.  All the good souls are beamed up to Heaven, and all the rest of us are left on Earth.  Which is now Hell on Earth.  At first everyone thinks it's just an earthquake, but things get more and more sinister as it goes on.  At first, I was a little worried about lumping this into the horror-comedy category, but by the end of the movie, it definitely earns the "horror" status, so I don't feel too bad including it.  Jesus, the things I lose sleep over...

The surviving party goers barricade themselves inside Franco's house and try to survive the Apocalypse.  That's essentially the plot.  It's never boring though, because all of these actors have a great resume of films that they constantly reference and use to mock themselves.  The movie also doesn't overstay it's welcome, which is something that can't be said for a lot of comedies in the last couple years.  Like This is 40.  Hilarious first 30 minutes.  Overly long and dramatic remaining 2 hours.  This Is The End keeps it at a pretty brisk 90 minutes, and just when it seems to be getting a little stale, they throw in a twist or two to change the plot up a little and turn the movie in a new direction.  Again, I was surprised how much of a horror angle they took at times.  Something I never would've guessed from the previews.  However, I didn't think the previews looked that good anyway; I just gave it a shot from hearing an onslaught of overwhelmingly positive word of mouth.  Right on mouths. You called it.

I could go into more detail, but that would be like someone explaining a joke, which kind of sucks all the humor out.  Maybe that's why I'm not normally a big comedy movie guy.  As someone who really enjoys analyzing and discussing movies, comedies really don't lend themselves to that thorough of an examination.  If you get too involved in it, you just end up giving away the jokes, and being as I went into this pretty fresh, I thought it was hilarious.  If I'd have known some of the gags beforehand, I don't know if I would've laughed as much.  And if you're not laughing at a comedy, then what the hell is the point?  I've always been more a fan of the really dry comedies, like Wes Anderson's films, or something like Shaun of the Dead or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.  The comedy elements are terrific, and the reason is because the story is great first and foremost, so the comedic elements feel real and well-earned.  It's not just people falling down stairs or getting kicked in the balls.  Nail down a good story, that would be worth watching even without the laughs... then add the laughs.  Holy shit, do I sound pretentious or what?  And I wrote Murder Party! What the hell am I talking about?

Anyway- that's all I've got.  Check out the movie.  You won't be disappointed.  Everyone in it is great and it's a lot of laughs.  And you can even throw it into a Halloween rotation if you want, I think it's close enough, as long as you watch some really putrid, disturbing shit as well to even it out. 

And for anyone who is really, really dying for a straight up horror review- here you go: This is my monster retrospective of the entire SAW franchise.  I stumbled upon it today and re-read it.  It's one of the funniest things I've ever written, and I still agree with everything I said.  Give it a read, but make sure you free up an afternoon first cause Jesus, I just go unplugged on this thing.

31 Days of Halloween...

Something I've always wanted to do was the whole horror-movie-a-day thing through the entire month of October.  It's no secret that I'm a die-hard horror fan, and like the rest of my kind, October is my favorite month out of the year. 
Great weather. Scary movies take over the television networks. Candy everywhere. And it's socially acceptable to hang mutilated body parts in your lawn, and for women to walk around looking like prostitutes. Themed prostitutes (the best kind!)

I look forward to this every year, and this time, it's even bookended with two more extra helpings of awesome.  For one, the Breaking Bad finale airs two days before October first.  And two, my birthday is two days after Halloween.  So, yes, I will have an extra bite of that awesome sandwich, thank you.  In fact, I think I have enough to share.  Oh, and throw in a side of Skull and Bones Sweet-Tarts (the best kind!)

What am I doing to enjoy the shit out of October this year?  Well, for starters, I want to do that whole horror marathon. Last year, I ambitiously picked 31 movies and planned to watch one a night leading up to Halloween.  Here's a link if you fact-checkers need verification.  All the ducks should be in a row.  Go ahead and give it a read too, while you're there.  I thought it was kinda funny. 

Unfortunately, I my eyes were bigger than my... well, I guess eyes would be the best analogy in this case, because I didn't get a chance to watch them all.  Between working my ass off with my cohort, Paul Kurutsides on getting our movie finished in time for our Halloween premiere, and managing work and family, I just didn't have time to enjoy all 31 of them.  I think I got through 12 of them.  Not a great ratio, I know.

This year, I feel like my odds are a little better.  I'm not guaranteeing I'll make it through 31 movies, because let's face it, things come up. However, I really want to try to post a blog update every day, on something Halloween or horror movie related.  Whether it's my thoughts on a particular movie I just watched or re-watched, or a favorite book or short story, or even a TV series.  There's lots I can talk about. 

I was originally toying with the idea of doing a video blog for each movie review- but quickly side-tabled that for a possible future project.  I'd love to do it, but I don't have the time or the resources at the moment, and frankly, there's already so many of those out on the net already, I don't know if I really need to re-invent the wheel.  Speaking of which, I figured I'd keep this short, and end it with one of my favorite Horror-retrospectives.  Every year, Cinemassacre does something similar to this- where James Rolfe tells a little about the most influential horror films of the genre.  He's an incredibly knowledgeable dude on the subject- and I can't recommend his videos enough.  If you're looking for a fantastic timeline through the most genre-defining films from the silent era up to now, I'd give this a watch; The History of Horror. Other years cover Godzilla, Sequels, Cult films, and 80's trash.  Like I said, he does such a good job with these, I don't know if I could really bring anything new to the table.  So, if you were into the idea I teased earlier of me doing a video blog over important horror films, just watch this instead- it's essentially the same thing.  If you didn't give a shit, you should be fine.

-Oh, and one more thing-  the flicks I have in mind for this marathon- they're not all Oscar-caliber material.  Some of them are brilliant, others are a little wonky, but they've all got their charm.  I selected the upcoming films based purely on the idea that these are movies I think of when I think of "Halloween."  There's plenty of great horror films I'm not including (in fact, if you want a list of great horror to watch, again, check out Cinemassacre's site- they go right down the list, and in my opinion, they get it right-)  I'm just picking out movies that give me that good old fashioned fun, Halloween atmosphere.  Bats, cemeteries, castles, witches.  That type of thing*  We've got all year for chainsaw wielding psychopaths-  these films should really encompass the holiday.  Yay paganism! 

See you in a couple days! 

*No, I'm not going to be watching Hocus Pocus. (even if it is the most attractive Sarah Jessica Parker has looked.)