Old School Movie Review #10 -- Baby Mama

I guess I can hardly call this one "old school" cause it still feels so recent. Maybe its just that I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler more than I can describe. They are both so much fun in the Baby Mama, and though both of them are similar characters than we've seen, you buy em and fall in love with both of them so fast.

The plot is expected, not much of it is a surprise, but the dialogue is witty and hilarious and some of the extra characters make it a serious kick in the pants.
Tina's boss, for example, is a very granola/borderline Fabio played by a starting-to-look-sort-of-old Steve Martin.

It is the perfect example of what happens when a good writer sits down and defines characters well and then envisions only the most devastatingly hilarious things for them to say. It also has a little chick flicky/heart warming side too so it was good times all over. I recommend it to anyone.

In my humble, yet correct opinion: 4/5

This one could be a renter or an owner. maybe and owner for me.

between daylight and darkness...

Caved. That's my only excuse. I caved. I didn't really want to read it, and I knew it wasn't going to be all that great, but I read the whole thing anyways. Well, this one. I don't know that I have the stomach for the next two.

Disclaimer: I am going to teach English and/or literature at some point in my life. A professor that I respect says that it made a lot of his students into readers-- so I digress. I borrowed--not purchased-- this novelty item and found myself reading it much later than twilight.

Admittedly, for a young writer, I have to say I give her credit for her zeal to tell an unfamiliar story though so familiar in a lot of ways too. I hate to say it, but from the Mormon girl perspective I couldn't help but see all of the ties of vampire thirsting after human as an uncanny parallel to the chastity lines...etc. I loved the way the story moved for the most part, in that it was engaging and left me wanting to read more. On the other hand, not a lot happens in this book... in fact, it takes a few hundred pages before you forget your reading. Until then, my eyes are sore from reading the same phrases, "he was a marble Greek pagan god..." and "i could not make out his expression..." All I have to say is, if you don't know his expression- then don't be a writer... or at least don't worry about trying to describe it over and over if you have run our of your black piggy bank of midget words.

In her defense, because I do want to write something that people like to read as well, I have to say she has done just that: provided a fun topic of conversation. I have heard a handful of people say the words: "I am not really a reader. In fact I don't usually read at all... but for some reason (probably peer pressure or your mom) I have picked it up and found myself flipping..." that is a good sign. Making readers out of not-readers is a good business too. I believe in that at least. I spent a lot of time at the high school recently, and seen lots of these books... so I guess that professor was right- at least they are reading. And if they get through these books, who's to say they wont stop to pick up another one? And then another? Reading Epidemic! (But don't take MY word for it... da na na!)

Not my favorite, not the best writing by any means, but fun. I personally am not allowed to read the other two because I fear it might cause me to have some sort of spazm in the brain.

My humble yet correct opinion: 3/5

A borrower.

Vantage point -New Movie Review #3

way to take a cool genre and transfer it to film so nicely. frustrating, exciting, high speed, and yet conscious of my occasional need to breathe.

i loved this movie because of it's creative editing that gave it such a fast pace and high energy the entire time, while still clinging to the need to delve a little deeper into several characters.

if this movie had a concept it would probably be: "from every pair of eyes their is another story—another piece to the puzzle that is the history." (which, i might add, would be a great concept for a stage production as well...)

it begins from the vantage point of what would be one step closer than the average citizen encountering the media: the camera and reporting crew of the event. after we discover the event as we would in any normal situation—by the news stories—then they start the clock over and re-tell the same story from another character's "Vantage Point." i was impressed. the 24, LOST, and Memento-ish movie made for a mini-series style engaging story that felt all too real because of the editing and filming. it made me think of how the media transfers to the people and exercises the right to censorship and editing. there will never be a way for us to see all of the angles of an event. if i had to recreate the story of 9/11 it would only seem appropriate to tell it from every angle possible. telling the story as if every party involved was the protagonist of their own story—because they are.

i might bring this up in a class about editing and how we film what stories we want to tell. how can the stories be best represented? how else can we tell a story rather than the one story line in a linear form? or we could talk about how to write stories: how can we connect characters to each other or intertwine separate characters' stories into one?

Refreshing, witty, beautiful, real. - New Movie Review #2

Where has this screenwriter been all of my life? Diablo Cody, whose only credit is her blog-like book called "Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper," is nothing short of a brilliant writer. Every line in the movie seemed so effortlessly fun. After reading the first little bit of her book, I can see that the Juno that was in the movie was really a great depiction of perhaps how Diablo sees herself. Spunky, cute, fun, unknowingly hilarious and endearing.

The style of the film was not unlike Nepoleon Dynomite in the filming style, but the pace was given an adrenalin rush. Some of the real moments were so incredibly understated and real that they really catch you off-gaurd in the very intelligent & fast-paced humor of the rest of the film. I think the realness is what gives it the charm.

Some of the actual shots in the film are long and poignant. I am going to need to see it a few times just to catch the wonderful composition and cinematography, but some frames could almost be torn apart and analyzed for the thematic stories that they tell. What a piece of art to give to a starving audience that loves to think.

Yes, there are some irreverent things involved, but I loved them too. Why edit the reality of this young girl's life that is so compelling as it stands alone? I was glad to get a glimpse into it because it once again reaffirmed how grateful I am for the relationships in my life and how important my people are to me. Refreshing, witty, beautiful, real.