tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68399276917364378832024-03-05T15:17:36.797-07:00We Review FilmAn Intermittent approach to reviewing and discussing films from then and now for all audiences.Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839927691736437883.post-19232918708676451872011-04-04T10:32:00.000-06:002011-04-04T10:32:12.476-06:00Gattaca (1997)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUCOXtz4DjI3XdwhFuH9reV-Te1pdGndbEzi9YrM9ukHc-pxP-g_j3Meu_EokNm6zs6KZrqitwwI5Kwl_M6vgXDOu_V3fCAXxLl-FS2xEAH3VJSX-gWGEluGRUoDXhhKR9vrO89MVEtM/s1600/gattaca_movie-poster-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUCOXtz4DjI3XdwhFuH9reV-Te1pdGndbEzi9YrM9ukHc-pxP-g_j3Meu_EokNm6zs6KZrqitwwI5Kwl_M6vgXDOu_V3fCAXxLl-FS2xEAH3VJSX-gWGEluGRUoDXhhKR9vrO89MVEtM/s200/gattaca_movie-poster-01.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gattaca (1997)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Directed by: Andrew Niccol</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gattaca has always been an intriguing movie to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although it is set in the future, this movie depicts a future that is entirely achievable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never mind the flying cars, the one piece suits, the apes, the robot uprisings, the faster than light speed travel, and the zombie apocalypse; this future is set in stone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether we want to or not, some health and ecological problems of today need to be addressed in the near future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s kind of where the plot of this film fits in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine a world where automobiles use only electricity, the Earth’s power comes from the Sun, and genetic engineering has been perfected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These three simple ideas solve some of the largest problems facing our Earth today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Automobiles using only electricity, no greenhouse gases would be emitted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we could greatly increase the yield from solar panels, we could phase out Coal, Nuclear, and Hydroelectric power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With genetic engineering we could get rid of unwanted traits, such as baldness, obesity, and even genetic diseases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the film doesn’t raise the largest issue that would oppose genetic engineering; Religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Religion would never support advancements of this nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is probably the only fictional part of the movie, because this could only exist in a world in which Religion doesn’t have an enormous grasp over people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is something that is so far off, that it may never happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many barriers to the health and ecological problems exist that it’ll be very hard to achieve what this film suggests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, don’t let the genetic engineering of the movie lead you away from the central theme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film leaves it up to the audience to determine if genetic engineering is morally and scientifically right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film opens up to two quotes, both representing the far ends of biases for and against genetic engineering.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Consider God's handiwork; who can straighten what He hath made crooked?" - Ecclesiastes 7:13</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother wants us to." - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Willard Gaylin</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVsGS98uQCGBBbJKFNEDak_7hV8NoTEhd6uMEjRdFTdxF8rePwkGj4ePY8Jz4buYmQLM8qLoRvbGm9j2hh_vqOHyQYUO_dYnzIRA3syVCAPsF3E9ylbAelG-uCNBbW7dIrCs3bd4qN7A/s1600/gattaca_still_ethan_hawke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVsGS98uQCGBBbJKFNEDak_7hV8NoTEhd6uMEjRdFTdxF8rePwkGj4ePY8Jz4buYmQLM8qLoRvbGm9j2hh_vqOHyQYUO_dYnzIRA3syVCAPsF3E9ylbAelG-uCNBbW7dIrCs3bd4qN7A/s400/gattaca_still_ethan_hawke.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first quote comes from the Hebrew Bible and the second comes from a PhD Bioethicist (Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics that deal with advances in biology and medicine).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two quotes seem like they represent both ends of the debate on whether gene altering is ethical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However both actually point out that we should alter who we are, because we were made “crooked” and that “mother nature wants us to”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vincent (played by Ethan Hawke) is a person that shakes the morality behind gene altering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was conceived naturally, so he is labeled in their culture as a “faith-birth”, “de-gene-erate”, or “God-child”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vincent narrates near the beginning of the movie that they have discrimination down to a science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t matter how smart he is, what he looks like, how much money he has; the only thing that matters is his DNA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we have Religious, Environmental, Discriminatory, and Political themes all wrapped up into the plot of Gattaca.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time that I watched the movie, I didn’t even think about any of these issues, because the movie doesn’t focus on these issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It focuses on how Vincent gets around the discrimination and lives his dream.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDdVxZ0kW0e_8JTp5OReC-fezJEONhb5iDPGGNHYlZLnIdiMwXQmo65rx_6QLF5SucRO2PwQfAYtDf23QtxvKfWtmwu3WhplUdxEkhiGyRwd3GAELb79h9o9ZNfwS44LjJoBxnzQc2KE/s1600/23gattaca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDdVxZ0kW0e_8JTp5OReC-fezJEONhb5iDPGGNHYlZLnIdiMwXQmo65rx_6QLF5SucRO2PwQfAYtDf23QtxvKfWtmwu3WhplUdxEkhiGyRwd3GAELb79h9o9ZNfwS44LjJoBxnzQc2KE/s400/23gattaca.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Perhaps the most peculiar vision behind this movie is that the world portrayed in this film was suggested when global warming wasn’t recognized as much as a global threat as it is today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the movie was made in 1997, we can assume that the director or writers weren’t inspired from an Al Gore book/film or had gone to a UN Summit Meeting on the crisis of our environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, these people may have used their own judgment to picture the world of Gattaca.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To put this peculiarity into perspective, here are some facts about the year 1997 that may or may not have a connection to the film:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The cost of gas was around $1.10 a gallon</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned, and was born in July 1996.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Diana, Princess of Wales, is taken to hospital after a car accident in Paris. She is pronounced dead at 04:00 a.m.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NASA launches the Cassini-Huygens probe to Saturn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Toyota Prius, the first hybrid vehicle to go into full production, is unveiled in Japan in October, and goes on sale in Japan in December.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bloomsbury Publishing publishes J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer’s Stone for us) in London.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year was not a huge year for the global warming or energy issues, so it’s pretty interesting that this movie deals with these issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also interesting that cloning (mans first step towards genetic alteration) and the Toyota Hybrid were announced the same year that this particular film came out.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTC6rX_yxEkZ1fpko6VXej0kYU9JBsU0t_HYO2DPZxSXk95k4J4LxMK6mRC99hkT1p0T_TgKLUzaKH-TPBSwjm4XE9XZkuosQNb7Xe7cc8GrKqQxE4CVqXeZtGhnn6hTZ0eMCkCN0dNWU/s1600/gattaca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTC6rX_yxEkZ1fpko6VXej0kYU9JBsU0t_HYO2DPZxSXk95k4J4LxMK6mRC99hkT1p0T_TgKLUzaKH-TPBSwjm4XE9XZkuosQNb7Xe7cc8GrKqQxE4CVqXeZtGhnn6hTZ0eMCkCN0dNWU/s400/gattaca.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The movie’s plot show’s Vincent’s struggle to be Jerome Morrow, a man whose identity he needs in order to live the life that he wants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real Jerome (played by Jude Law), is an eccentric immoralist that because of an accident is willing to give up his life for someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film really builds the relationship that Vincent and Jerome share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plot begins and ends with Vincent narrating, and it gives the film the sense of a story being told to us, rather than him saying, “Hey, I was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hard, here’s how it began…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plot has four overlying themes that come together in the end to give the movie its great ending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first theme is that Vincent has a heart disease, and was told that he would die somewhere in his thirties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only parts of the plot that we see this affecting him is whenever he works out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will eventually kill him, and he even hints that he may not make it back during his year long trip to work near Jupiter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second theme is that Vincent takes on the life of Jerome and must keep this a secret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I could go into everything he does in order to keep this a secret, but that is a huge part of the plot, so I will let you enjoy that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The third theme is the murder of the mission director and the eventual discovery of Vincent’s eyelash near the scene of the crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enter the “antagonist” and problem of the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last theme is the love story between Vincent and Irene (played by Uma Thurman).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vincent puts it best when he says, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“For someone who was never meant for this world, I must confess: I’m suddenly having a hard time leaving it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, they say every atom in our bodies was once part of a star.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I’m not leaving … maybe I’m going home.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The funny part about the movies love story is that Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke became a couple during the filming of this movie and actually got married (now divorced).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhss05_KqkCZDCm3KlF8o39fRu8CP6-wO_m8I1GxzlX6MVOZMY1TRRwL3n2LsPkj-42a2r-SUC91tDEGbbuJbtVgyOLXNS69YUKJSynm1ifMImxtMBhKMVdhKPj1ieEpyQWMx-XxSFtLnw/s1600/Gattaca%252520R2%252520003044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhss05_KqkCZDCm3KlF8o39fRu8CP6-wO_m8I1GxzlX6MVOZMY1TRRwL3n2LsPkj-42a2r-SUC91tDEGbbuJbtVgyOLXNS69YUKJSynm1ifMImxtMBhKMVdhKPj1ieEpyQWMx-XxSFtLnw/s400/Gattaca%252520R2%252520003044.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another part of the film that intrigued me was the soundtrack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film was scored by Michael Nyman, and I really enjoyed his particular composing to this film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although he is not seen as one of the major classical composers for film (John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, etc.), he does a wonderful job with this film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main theme that can be heard in the end fits the scene really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although a bit heavy on the violin, his music has a tone like clockwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I mean by that is that every note seems to begin and end at exactly the moment that they were meant to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This reminded me of the movie in that the “Valids” were designed; however Vincent was really the one that was meant to be.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtC-bYZNl4hIoHRv11W0fnGyfoWMu31wFBYJsZA1H_T9uuWv6Ifk26UGeZeohS16Ttw-UgG7U6MtYasdhdJlFTrxgJQzr8DDHMGWZBcdKzGDsO-dn9EDkGuAOej13F7zqbG5jObMa6V8/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtC-bYZNl4hIoHRv11W0fnGyfoWMu31wFBYJsZA1H_T9uuWv6Ifk26UGeZeohS16Ttw-UgG7U6MtYasdhdJlFTrxgJQzr8DDHMGWZBcdKzGDsO-dn9EDkGuAOej13F7zqbG5jObMa6V8/s400/untitled.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All in all, a great movie that takes a more philosophical approach to science fiction rather than the action packed approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would head over and read the trivia section on imdb.com to read some interesting facts about the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those who are Chemistry Nerds like me and are interested in what the structure of GATTACA looks like, here it is:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2GdItvq4zylcyDwWtTZ1rjJ75D8BVe8aZQQ1MNpuVUiJuiVJT_RByvQXVaNEJDBELhAuDJLgM-lQs7SgomXxCSp-7EE6FIg7bnqWxj8BuWRiYIpdOsbw8Riwj0BkFWEsKX7bQNFdv3E/s1600/Gattaca+chem+structure.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2GdItvq4zylcyDwWtTZ1rjJ75D8BVe8aZQQ1MNpuVUiJuiVJT_RByvQXVaNEJDBELhAuDJLgM-lQs7SgomXxCSp-7EE6FIg7bnqWxj8BuWRiYIpdOsbw8Riwj0BkFWEsKX7bQNFdv3E/s640/Gattaca+chem+structure.png" width="496" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gattaca is a pretty interesting movie to say the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is another example of a movie that I like to watch every couple of months because the actors actually did a great job in the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just the protagonists of the film, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone who had a part performed really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From Gore Vidal’s character of the director; to even the doctor that let Vincent get on the shuttle when he knew that he was an invalid (played by Xander Berkeley).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also enjoyed Alan Arkin’s character of Detective Hugo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wasn’t really known until he won the academy award in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), but I thought that he played a great role in this movie as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that his character played a “invalid” detective that got his position by his skill and not his genes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anton, Vincent’s brother, is his boss probably only because he is a “valid”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hugo is really the only one who plays the part of the detective. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anton is just obsessed with finding his brother just so he can reclaim his superior title that Vincent took away from him when they were younger.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0hBxL0Vw1uN7o9knzzll_Q626NGyjtT4rZoIkMEyKEb7jBZLtXjUzsWWMqtJoshkUwPfmG3krPdpR2OEmVmYKw7g7mzA5CzkNgAupQKvkd0bP9NnSCi0tsvhpyERHB83PLnmvuPZS7o/s1600/gattaca-08-g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0hBxL0Vw1uN7o9knzzll_Q626NGyjtT4rZoIkMEyKEb7jBZLtXjUzsWWMqtJoshkUwPfmG3krPdpR2OEmVmYKw7g7mzA5CzkNgAupQKvkd0bP9NnSCi0tsvhpyERHB83PLnmvuPZS7o/s400/gattaca-08-g.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message for non-Fans:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve read that a lot of you don’t like it because of the inconsistencies that the movie has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should remind you that sci-fi movies in the Nineties didn’t really focus too much on inconsistencies as much as they do today, so consider that before having any skepticism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d also like to address some points that another author brought up that were his/her top inconsistencies of the film:</span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">The discrimination is de facto</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">.</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's explicitly stated that there is no law against being an "In-valid" (a term breathtaking in its awkwardness and completely tone-deaf).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why does everyone act like it is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there is no law against being In-Valid, why don't the In-Valids protest their condition?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's set in the future, after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did all records of the civil rights movement mysteriously vanish? </span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This point suggests that there are a ton of invalids walking around, and that most of them are unhappy with what they do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The author does not think that maybe the invalids are happy that people who were genetically engineered to be “perfect” are talking on the more prestigious jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To bring up the point that “it’s set in the future after all” is stating that we know how humans will act in the future.</span></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">The Gattaca Corporation is right not to give Vincent a job</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">.</span></b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">He has a heart condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just a potential heart condition; something that will show up if checked (see the scene on the treadmill).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Space exploration is stressful and that last place you want someone to get a heart attack is a few thousand miles from Earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is it wrong to protect Vincent from that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, not wanting Vincent to be working there is perfectly reasonable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is by far the most blatant example of how little thought was put into the scenario. </span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Everyone knows space exploration is super stressful!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is probably the one point that makes the most sense, but remember that Vincent is tricking the Corporation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do not know that he is an invalid, just as they don’t know that he has a heart condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this movie was set in present day times, then for sure, we would want to protect an astronaut from having a heart attack in Space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But again, this is set in the future, and is about one man’s dream to get away from his genetic disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So by that fact, this can’t be the most blatant example of “little thought”.</span></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">Everyone spends time and effort supporting a system they don't believe in</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">. </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most obvious case is the doctor, who knows Vincent is an In-Valid, but keeps his secret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why does he go along with the system?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More importantly, why doesn't he tell Vincent he knows earlier?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he sympathizes, then wouldn't he tell Vincent he does, just in case Vincent needs help? And the end makes it clear that no one is particularly upset that Vincent fooled the system; they just shrug it off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if it's not that important to them, why do they accept it? (Consider what would happen in the segregated south if a Black man was discovered to be passing for white.) </span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not sure whether the author actually watched the movie intently, because this is explained in the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells Vincent about how his son is a fan of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the doctor goes on to say that his son isn’t all that they promised, which means that his son is most likely like Vincent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore he sympathizes with Vincent, and that’s why he lets him go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t find out until the end of the movie as well, so it’s not like he knew the whole time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This point makes way too many assumptions.</span></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">The constant genetic testing is pointless and expensive</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">. </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why does anyone bother?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would make sense under the system to check when hiring someone, but every day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time someone enters the building?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes time and costs money to make genetic tests; why bother?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the guy who was OK yesterday might change his genes today? Spot checks, maybe, but checking every person every single day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many people are you tying up to do all this testing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much money do you tie up in equipment to do the testing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How often are you going to find anything from it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, finally, what does it matter if you do, since there is no explicit ban on In-Valids?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This movie takes place in the future, not present day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are a corporation and can do whatever they please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, the author makes too many assumptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For all we know the Gattaca program is very exclusive and they want to make sure no one steals intellectual material about their missions.</span></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">Genetics can only do so much</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">. </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">Everyone seems surprised that the head of Gattaca could commit murder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is no "murder" gene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, there is no gene that makes you a better worker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All you can test for is physical traits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Vincent fails on that count due to his bad heart. </span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don’t really understand the author’s point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is he saying that the movie has an inconsistency because it has genetics in it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People were surprised that he killed someone, for that very reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tries to cover his tracks by saying he doesn’t have “a mean bone in his body.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, this movie takes place in the future, for all we know, they found an anger/murder gene.</span></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">Why go through all that rigmarole to make yourself a Valid</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"> Vincent has to keep track of every piece of stray skin, bring sacks of urine and blood and spend hours trying to "prove" he was Valid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Couldn't someone hack into the database and change Vincent's records?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better yet, pay someone who works in the records department to make the change (you can bet there would be people who'd do it).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Viola -- no need to go to all that trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No need to worry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, yeah, that heart condition. </span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This isn’t a documentary; it doesn’t take place in the present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This argument is like someone saying that a plot is wrong because it’s not the easiest thing to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of having a plot?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No more needs to be said.</span></span></div><ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">Huh</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">? </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">There are many little things that just don't work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, there are records that have everyone's genetic profile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet they leave out important facts like someone is paralyzed in a car accident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How was that little detail missed? </span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Agreed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one assumption that is correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are also missing the fact that Jerome has a British accent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it doesn’t make the movie unbearable.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hope this cover’s most points that skeptics have about the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not, I’d be happy to address more.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk9wrRq8HCM45qaWJApD9D5JftdtWiw9-GjxZLO8-uRhSWYsqFdg8sFKmWkvWQKu6_2jKYN2Zoay3P89TTcnzOEu5f19Ihh8PGUlyFrDxF9yc5NpQ81EvgP9Bkm1G6JFG0z8bU7tANCg/s1600/gattaca1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWk9wrRq8HCM45qaWJApD9D5JftdtWiw9-GjxZLO8-uRhSWYsqFdg8sFKmWkvWQKu6_2jKYN2Zoay3P89TTcnzOEu5f19Ihh8PGUlyFrDxF9yc5NpQ81EvgP9Bkm1G6JFG0z8bU7tANCg/s400/gattaca1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message for Fans:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Watch the movie one more time, and let me know your opinion on the amount of algae in the lake, as well as the style that the future is depicted in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems to be very retro.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also let me know if you liked the soundtrack as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Potential topics to discuss:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Philosophy in Science Fiction</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Actors/Actresses in this film</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Genetics</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Religion</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Setting of this future</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ethics</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVTmnLxjUKzD9Y0u-z2Fy_kdlbLTNZ3aVaARYYeBfHbhnT4nsDFwXWldf2lJlH17k_fQdH8Bh5mOH2pJ1eQH-iprsXykP5sx93Y1E-g9P_Po8pqvxYnkROgprHDisUaLoyKuObfsRSAw/s1600/gattaca3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVTmnLxjUKzD9Y0u-z2Fy_kdlbLTNZ3aVaARYYeBfHbhnT4nsDFwXWldf2lJlH17k_fQdH8Bh5mOH2pJ1eQH-iprsXykP5sx93Y1E-g9P_Po8pqvxYnkROgprHDisUaLoyKuObfsRSAw/s640/gattaca3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839927691736437883.post-4296544642955601042011-02-25T15:38:00.000-07:002011-02-25T15:38:38.660-07:00MacGruber (2010)<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgAs3-idO5JcAzq5KVbg77GQCfc-BCnADOotSJQl6RXwdSPEWLo0PZ8jiMAztTDJ2OeD9qBNEXzT4wN08VYncN1ovyPURbvR__-ozsvwCPHh-4WDg5NL61_w2DbV7HiFrbDDTb-1_Uko/s1600/macgruber-movie-poster-final-high-resolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgAs3-idO5JcAzq5KVbg77GQCfc-BCnADOotSJQl6RXwdSPEWLo0PZ8jiMAztTDJ2OeD9qBNEXzT4wN08VYncN1ovyPURbvR__-ozsvwCPHh-4WDg5NL61_w2DbV7HiFrbDDTb-1_Uko/s200/macgruber-movie-poster-final-high-resolution.jpg" width="135" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MacGruber (2010)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Directed by: Jorma Taccone</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Starring: Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every single review I’ve read about MacGruber said that it was a terrible movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve met people that said they hated it, and apart from the few examples of some friends, I’ve never met anyone else who enjoyed the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if people refused to see the movie because of the <a href="http://wereviewfilm.blogspot.com/p/definitions.html">reviewers stigma</a>, or if they just didn’t care to see it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly I was pretty surprised when I heard that they were making a movie out of this particular SNL skit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MacGruber as a skit was pretty funny the first time I saw it, and they varied it in some humorous ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The formula of the skit was a MacGyver knockoff in which MacGruber is always trying to disarm a bomb in a control room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The skit varies in who is with him and where the control room is located.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people with him were always either Kristen Wiig or Maya Rudolph and the person hosting SNL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples of hosts that played a part in a MacGruber skit were Shia LeBeouf (plays MacGrubers homosexual son), Jeremy Piven (plays MacGrubers doubtful Assistant), and Betty White (plays his Grandmother).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here and the links to Hulu where you can watch the full length skits:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/19684/saturday-night-live-macgruber-father-and-son"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.hulu.com/watch/19684/saturday-night-live-macgruber-father-and-son</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/208931/saturday-night-live-macgruber-jeremy-piven"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.hulu.com/watch/208931/saturday-night-live-macgruber-jeremy-piven</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/147977/saturday-night-live-macgruber"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.hulu.com/watch/147977/saturday-night-live-macgruber</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There were also other skits besides these three, which you can also watch online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even had the real MacGyver play his father, which was probably my favorite skit of all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll notice that most of them are basically the same type of skit only varied to a certain extent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when I heard that they were making a movie out of these skits, I was pretty skeptical of how the movie would turn out (which is how, I believe, all mainstream reviewers were as well).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before we continue on to the movie, we should speak about the current Saturday Night Live cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will Forte is no longer on the cast, however, when he was, I actually really enjoyed the cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stopped watching SNL for a long period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had followed it all the way to when Will Ferrell was on the cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I stopped watching the series because it really lost its touch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then came the new cast with Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen, Tina Fey, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan, Kenan Thompson, and of course Will Forte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve left out other great additions to the cast, but these actors really brought SNL back from the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will Forte skits were pretty original and he really brings a special type of comedy to his acting which we can see in MacGruber.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsj-dcU2PLoMFkbUiYR3IAUfcbP03K_4jOiOlr3cW4kI-E34nWGJEx9obJQGCX3HGGbkxjhnLbHHG4n0l32MNjsoo0RbTCGyQgv6QX4MW6spnJHWR5PZAPmtInXcrMnc-sIlNQuz56FQ/s1600/Macgruber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSsj-dcU2PLoMFkbUiYR3IAUfcbP03K_4jOiOlr3cW4kI-E34nWGJEx9obJQGCX3HGGbkxjhnLbHHG4n0l32MNjsoo0RbTCGyQgv6QX4MW6spnJHWR5PZAPmtInXcrMnc-sIlNQuz56FQ/s400/Macgruber.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The movie opens to a desert scene in which a convoy carrying a special type of nuclear weapon is attacked and the bomb is taken by the antagonist of the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The antagonist is named Dieter Von Cunth and is played by Val Kilmer, who plays his part rather well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This scene sets up the premise of the plot, and shows a typecast bad guy for the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next few scenes involve the resurrection of MacGruber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MacGruber went into hiding because Dieter von Cunth had killed his wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name of the villain in this movie is a joke in itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty self explanatory, but the use of the German name combined with a word that is a homonym for a profanity makes the name rather humorous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time we meet MacGruber, his former colonel and Lt. Dixen Piper (played by Ryan Phillippe ) come to ask for his help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Piper describes MacGruber, we get the first sense that this movie is mocking MacGyver and all other Ex-military super soldiers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is Piper’s description of MacGruber:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The Legendary MacGruber. Former Navy SEAL, Army Ranger and Green Beret. Served six tours in Desert Storm, four in Bosnia, three each in Angola, Somalia, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Sierra Leone. Recipient of sixteen Purple Hearts, three Congressional Medals of Honor, seven Presidential Medals of Bravery and starting tight end for the University of Texas, El </span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Paso.”</span></i><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pretty ridiculous, but it adds to the comedy of the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you add up all the tours he went on in that statement, it adds up to a total of 25 tours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The average tour length in the military is 6 months to a year, so he was probably in the military for 12.5 to 25 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those of you that haven’t seen the show MacGyver, the whole basis is that he uses gadgets made out of random items to solve the particular problem that he’s in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the basis for MacGruber, except MacGruber can’t make any of the gadgets he makes work out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best gadget he makes is the use of a celery stalk, but you should discover the use yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-o_7sdN86Wzj-_vk6WW4hNUVlIu9obHXnFLK4TPeke4s4nAp6s-aJN-BS_FxZSyzkASEBB2_yJb8eo2YEBVWJVn28k5dBsPjJjM-NohFdSz3mQSdza-9vcgZeQG-3G_utYtlQpnq8Hs/s1600/1273902346_1600x1200_will-forte-in-macgruber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-o_7sdN86Wzj-_vk6WW4hNUVlIu9obHXnFLK4TPeke4s4nAp6s-aJN-BS_FxZSyzkASEBB2_yJb8eo2YEBVWJVn28k5dBsPjJjM-NohFdSz3mQSdza-9vcgZeQG-3G_utYtlQpnq8Hs/s640/1273902346_1600x1200_will-forte-in-macgruber.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The funniest elements of the movie are the situations that occur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film has a series of situations that eventually lead to MacGruber fighting the antagonist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These include getting his outfit and car back, building his team, building his new team, finding out info on Dieter von Cunth, staking out a coffee shop, raiding a Warehouse, crashing a party, hanging out at MacGruber’s house, going to Vicki’s house, and finally the end scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Broken down, it sounds pretty simple, but each scene is really treated like individual SNL skits that fit together really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of people don’t know this, but Will Forte was actually one of the writers of the movie’s script.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can see his kind of humor in little additions to the plot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best addition that I thought was one of the funniest scenes in the movie is when some guy makes fun of MacGruber’s car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gets the license plate number off the car and repeats it over and over to himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later in the movie when MacGruber is crashing Cunth’s party, Ryan Phillippe’s character is flipping through MacGruber’s notebook and it has nothing but sketches of KFBR392 (the license plate number) with creepy childlike voices repeating the numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A small addition to the plot, but it really came out of nowhere which can be the best type of humor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The sex scenes of the movie are most likely the most awkward and funniest sex scene that I have ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It starts out with Mr. Mister playing Broken Wings, and the song just fits the theme of the movie perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The soundtrack of the movie is also part of the whole joke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie may use present day songs, but they are usually cut off to MacGruber playing 80’s songs on his Blaupunkt removable player.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve never seen anyone who loves Blaupunkt as much as MacGruber when he says, “How dare you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was a blaupunkt!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You owe me a Blaupunkt!”, after one of Cunth’s men destroys it.</span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51s-osfUZnBVwTFUEdha83GSkcVrw3_irW0SxJG4lJm-SL8AGGo4igGpXhHVX5KVuv54rnm_FkZYc1Y7qluUjazRQqP4LBpoQ34HDpU8dtL2R62oMxDyCa7xDkVkbdtz8IDCq-MxBsAk/s1600/macgruber-movie-image-will-forte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51s-osfUZnBVwTFUEdha83GSkcVrw3_irW0SxJG4lJm-SL8AGGo4igGpXhHVX5KVuv54rnm_FkZYc1Y7qluUjazRQqP4LBpoQ34HDpU8dtL2R62oMxDyCa7xDkVkbdtz8IDCq-MxBsAk/s640/macgruber-movie-image-will-forte.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 347.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MacGruber’s character has some great one liners that aren’t always funny by themselves; it’s that he repeats them over and over that make them funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course some of them too are just funny by themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These Memorable ones include some profanity, so be prepared:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time to pound some Cunth!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">...dead at the age of who the fuck cares.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MacGruber don't play like homie, and homie don't play that game.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, they were fucking great guys. And this is a fucking asshole of a day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There's a big difference between winging it and seeing what happens. Now let's see what happens.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, my face is a vagina, huh? Well, I bet you wish your nose was a dick... so you could use it to fuck butts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Your god can't save you, but I can.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You're loco, man! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Subtitles: "You're crazy, man!"</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No, leave it….I…like…holes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yeah, I’ll take the X5 (slams bartenders head on the counter).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t know anything.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">11.)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I got a better idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How about no fucking way.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBfUfiLFRIxvSgSI0W5dTYKS2lX4DBln4aU0P-BD7O6h4i0o8B5ToQt4HsoQtjqs1t8uC-4wH8-o0jOLPxfTlyLX0qfSX6_XLS5da8tpsYySAqcJ3Ozm5TYsRsBaEaolhIyBLZMA3fu8/s1600/Macgruber3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDBfUfiLFRIxvSgSI0W5dTYKS2lX4DBln4aU0P-BD7O6h4i0o8B5ToQt4HsoQtjqs1t8uC-4wH8-o0jOLPxfTlyLX0qfSX6_XLS5da8tpsYySAqcJ3Ozm5TYsRsBaEaolhIyBLZMA3fu8/s640/Macgruber3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best part of the movie is the acting by Will Forte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He real put himself into this role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not going to say that his acting was something like Oscar worthy, but for this particular role, no one else could have done it better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he has just lost his whole team, he is so funny trying to get Piper to join his new team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That whole scene of the movie is great, and I suggest you watch it multiple times to really enjoy it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This movie also has you not thinking about any other skits or movies that Will Forte has been in. You only think of him as being MacGruber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is different from say Mike Myers in roles like Wayne in Wayne’s World (1992) and the Austen Powers movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I see Mike Myers, I don’t really see him as a British spy, I can only see him as Wayne Campbell (or Dieter).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kristen Wiig also plays her part well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The song she plays is really funny, and you can watch it on youtube:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would actually like to hear the reasoning behind not liking this movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You obviously know my reasoning behind liking it, so hopefully I’ve spread the word for people to go out there and check it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This type of humor isn’t for everyone, but if you liked movies like Anchorman (2004), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Get Him to the Greek (2010), and/or The Hangover (2009); then I could see you enjoying this movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watch it and let me know what you think!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message for Fans:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the end of the movie, his last line is “I do”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a little hard to hear, but I heard it the second time watching it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next time watching the movie, try to find more one liners than I could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure there are other funny ones out there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message for Non-Fans:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve heard that it has cheesy humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason that this movie didn’t get much attention is because the pretentious reviewers hated it and it spread to other reviewers like a disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why I stress the point that you should see a movie and judge it for yourself before saying, “It looks stupid,” or “I heard it was stupid.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll admit that it does have some potty humor, but it still has enough hilarity in it to make it enjoyable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Potential Topics to Discuss:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saturday Night Live</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Will Forte/Kristen Wiig as an actor/actress</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">MacGyver</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the top action films</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8b6ojv5i-FGuqY9Bg88tw4kkJDXDlc-_qNdLe_JEvhM_44H0xqh2hjiGVwyAMjgCdtj29bDywkUJQQpw8805NuUbzHCsYJqKjOvE8Cyey6CaFybRr27soG5bbi-rsCiYikQvAkFoR8Fs/s1600/MacGruber2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8b6ojv5i-FGuqY9Bg88tw4kkJDXDlc-_qNdLe_JEvhM_44H0xqh2hjiGVwyAMjgCdtj29bDywkUJQQpw8805NuUbzHCsYJqKjOvE8Cyey6CaFybRr27soG5bbi-rsCiYikQvAkFoR8Fs/s400/MacGruber2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839927691736437883.post-54613619431777766952011-02-21T12:17:00.000-07:002011-02-21T12:17:17.043-07:00When Harry Met Sally (1989)<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH10ZWxm4OIcxFtyRCU16KFg_hou5deMNQPchwt2aXnlijFodGkgca0SgYxhOS6QZWPPYB9SLlLnwRrUZ-doKLc5E5R5Lrjt8XHBsPsxFb32l6h0N5kY5etNkJJY4bKCa1Z7Rp0dFHK8I/s1600/when-harry-met-sally-movie-poster-1020190621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH10ZWxm4OIcxFtyRCU16KFg_hou5deMNQPchwt2aXnlijFodGkgca0SgYxhOS6QZWPPYB9SLlLnwRrUZ-doKLc5E5R5Lrjt8XHBsPsxFb32l6h0N5kY5etNkJJY4bKCa1Z7Rp0dFHK8I/s200/when-harry-met-sally-movie-poster-1020190621.jpg" width="134" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When Harry Met Sally (1989)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Directed By: Rob Reiner</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Starring: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The separation of feminine versus masculine movies has become more and more apparent over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A group of guys can drive to the theatre, watch some TNT-fueled Ass-kicking by watching movies like The A-Team (2010) or The Expendables (2010) and get their testosterone pumpin’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or the ladies can have a ladies night out by watching movies like Sex and the City (2008) or the Twilight Saga (2008-?) and scream at the hot boys on the screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given that both cases are huge over-simplifications and I’d never go so far as to label movies as Gender specific, rarely did we have Romance movies that wouldn’t gear towards a specific audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enter the Romantic Comedy genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Geared towards no specific audience, what better way to bring in more people than to make them laugh while following a love story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is where When Harry Met Sally fits in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has its subtle and apparent humor as well as the typical cute romantic story line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rob Reiner adds a different blend of directing towards this film with the whole movie progressing forward with intermittent clips of real life couples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These couples tell their stories about how they met which adds to the overall theme of love in this particular film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what separates When Harry Met Sally (1989) from newer Romantic Comedies?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples of newer Romantic Comedies are movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Knocked Up (2007), etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These movies rely on the comedy of the plot to keep the audience entertained and the romance is then understated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I enjoy most about When Harry Met Sally is that the movie has a great balance of comedy and romance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pzSA5GFuGOeRchzvAyEXODzQIbNuZdMEI2NYdnk27XKmPMAN79qpXKLDv3XNEUZyu2nFwI3RQZ3BXnmhEtzwVoqaUO84OcuWDtKyO4o_190MBa-bKM5pzKjxS7lSTQ0XuU6G2-n27gk/s1600/whenHarryMetSally3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pzSA5GFuGOeRchzvAyEXODzQIbNuZdMEI2NYdnk27XKmPMAN79qpXKLDv3XNEUZyu2nFwI3RQZ3BXnmhEtzwVoqaUO84OcuWDtKyO4o_190MBa-bKM5pzKjxS7lSTQ0XuU6G2-n27gk/s400/whenHarryMetSally3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The movie goes through phases in which both Harry Burns (played by Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (played by Meg Ryan) meet with each other in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It starts out with the first time they meet in College, where both are riding together to New York City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meg Ryan is driving this old beat up Subaru (classic!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and waits impatiently for Billy Crystal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as he’s in the car, the relationship that they share starts to get its foundations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found the character of Harry as the funniest because of his modest humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he’s eating the grapes and spitting out the seeds, he spits the first seeds right onto the window, and doesn’t say anything about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is funny to the audience because its something we can relate to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its not ridiculous humor, it’s funny for its modesty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harry is also a very open person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He describes his sexuality and his "dark side" very freely with Sally, a person to whom he’s just met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now does this describe your average college male?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d say probably not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, what better way to break the ice then to act like Harry Burns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His rules for men/women relationships are classic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are the rules:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Men and Women can’t be friends because the sex part gets in the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Unless both of them are involved with other people, then they can... This is an amendment to the earlier rule. If the two people are in relationships, the pressure of possible involvement is lifted... That doesn't work either, because what happens then is, the person you're involved with can't understand why you need to be friends with the person you're just friends with. Like it means something is missing from the relationship and why do you have to go outside to get it? And when you say "No, no, no, no, it's not true, nothing is missing from the relationship," the person you're involved with then accuses you of being secretly attracted to the person you're just friends with, which you probably are. I mean, come on, who the hell are we kidding, let's face it. Which brings us back to the earlier rule before the amendment, which is men and women can't be friends. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.)</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are two kinds of women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Low Maintenance and High Maintenance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqmIubZL7GluBOESufo6MNSaUd0k50ISCEVzQ5YxgyrWugWgDB4r7UIBi9kPiJHhCWOxxRc8ciTr4MtI6T6EqNjHXlMVhvvTuwYP9-LCBiNGdSf3jh_MnDuHf7qIRpSiNj5Jff49oaBA/s1600/When_Harry_Met_Sally_162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZqmIubZL7GluBOESufo6MNSaUd0k50ISCEVzQ5YxgyrWugWgDB4r7UIBi9kPiJHhCWOxxRc8ciTr4MtI6T6EqNjHXlMVhvvTuwYP9-LCBiNGdSf3jh_MnDuHf7qIRpSiNj5Jff49oaBA/s640/When_Harry_Met_Sally_162.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The second time that he meets Sally is on an airplane, and he appends his rules like they are part of some sort of constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This creates the effect that they continued talking right where they left off in New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They still retain their personality, but act more “mature”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Costume and hair changes represent the advancement of the years, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They both have a significant other in their lives at this point, which leads them away from any type of interest in one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s only until after both of those love lives leave them that they finally run into each other a third time and become friends.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ABNUOuLrik12TqR7iSHmrbMr8imGyzD8qK930nAnJUrA4v6dYOpsF8byJrWvNUmb-K-vTk-uVbpvfLcmkMzzb_5jqojCWJoLGn3ZLUfZgnzK8id9hANlkgcHh44C0KXEq9R9KULT-tc/s1600/2540_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ABNUOuLrik12TqR7iSHmrbMr8imGyzD8qK930nAnJUrA4v6dYOpsF8byJrWvNUmb-K-vTk-uVbpvfLcmkMzzb_5jqojCWJoLGn3ZLUfZgnzK8id9hANlkgcHh44C0KXEq9R9KULT-tc/s400/2540_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What happened to Billy Crystal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember watching him throughout the early to mid nineties, watching him host the Oscars for a couple years, and then poof, haven’t seen him in many movies since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find that a shame because I always enjoyed watching him act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the last thing I remember him in was Analyze That (2002) or his voice in Monster Inc. (2001).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, are there people out there that exist that didn’t enjoy him acting?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I’m biased towards him because I enjoy his acting, but maybe we haven't seen him because he decided to retire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some actors enjoy acting for their entire lives, while others make a decent buck and a decent flick, and are happy with their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should say, however, that they are thinking about making another Monsters Inc., and Billy Crystal’s voice works very well for his character.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0VS_JWzu-xeo06Z2kbzJi34AB7Z4VfBJbLCZtc0xaK2KR6h8O5bjTPlsJrMRXK02s0h9Y4joyPmgV-kz3QuA6lu1-EPw8ElcADIlpmKhf7Fz85KsAACljgoQfshfB8UzFfS_VBwaTB8/s1600/When-Harry-Met-Sally-when-harry-met-sally-2681335-1600-900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0VS_JWzu-xeo06Z2kbzJi34AB7Z4VfBJbLCZtc0xaK2KR6h8O5bjTPlsJrMRXK02s0h9Y4joyPmgV-kz3QuA6lu1-EPw8ElcADIlpmKhf7Fz85KsAACljgoQfshfB8UzFfS_VBwaTB8/s400/When-Harry-Met-Sally-when-harry-met-sally-2681335-1600-900.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What happened to Meg Ryan?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time happened, that’s what.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people can take it, others can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t say that she didn’t need surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is completely her choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there are some things that you can’t fix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Age is one of those things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are, however, numerous interesting to watch movies out there that suggest the opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people actually come out looking years younger after surgery, and what we must realize is that it’s a gamble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I prefer people to age naturally, but that’s my opinion on the matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Otherwise, I think Meg Ryan films ended somewhere after You’ve Got Mail (1998).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best line of the movie is when Harry realizes that he loves Sally and runs to tell her the following:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">“I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”</span></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictksAXbZAaR8pztKxq7C6II73TJdfSxJrpU3kjuHPTT4Zk3DJHIAR54IU9dQvG6-k1QlujiqUxdwIVpZhNvXD30yagMmV6nbWb406cx7qDBAP1n1EzEe02EK5Bg7nky7Gjk76tsX3D5c/s1600/When-Harry-Met-Sally-when-harry-met-sally-2681616-1600-900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictksAXbZAaR8pztKxq7C6II73TJdfSxJrpU3kjuHPTT4Zk3DJHIAR54IU9dQvG6-k1QlujiqUxdwIVpZhNvXD30yagMmV6nbWb406cx7qDBAP1n1EzEe02EK5Bg7nky7Gjk76tsX3D5c/s640/When-Harry-Met-Sally-when-harry-met-sally-2681616-1600-900.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To end this article, all I have to say is just enjoy watching the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can be very enjoyable to watch with your significant other or even by yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is really nothing to notice/pay attention to because it’s a rather simple plot. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this, the article was pretty hard for me to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not personally, but intellectually. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This movie is pretty self-explanatory, I’m sure I could spend maybe 10 minutes and have the entire movie summed up pretty well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to discuss some random aspects, so the article may have jumped around a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if you’re ever confused while reading this article, ask questions, and I’ll answer them to the best of my abilities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message to Fans:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you enjoyed this movie, you'll also enjoy You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message to Non-Fans:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Could be seen as too romantic for some, I can see that. You may disagree that it has a good balance of humor and romance, however, even after Harry tells Sally he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, he tells a joke about the New Years song. If you absolutely hate romance films, then take the easy road and stay away from this film.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Potential Topics to Discuss:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Open</span></div>Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839927691736437883.post-60567443695308838742011-02-11T08:51:00.000-07:002011-02-11T08:51:59.900-07:00Moon (2009)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyI-idIYvxgVHDMD3L3nYF0CdgPQ0gmv5xpZNqeqT5VYv-6p9Nl7abNHhfDXmrIdXHxH1rKscg1NvCnFucGVVDq6CRqth92LOeI0zdwLx9CNtVPsukdjbSte1cf2bsj1ZKgBCZqUbh4_s/s1600/achtung.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyI-idIYvxgVHDMD3L3nYF0CdgPQ0gmv5xpZNqeqT5VYv-6p9Nl7abNHhfDXmrIdXHxH1rKscg1NvCnFucGVVDq6CRqth92LOeI0zdwLx9CNtVPsukdjbSte1cf2bsj1ZKgBCZqUbh4_s/s200/achtung.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Be Aware!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order for me to properly write about this movie, I need to write about the plot; which will contain some major spoilers!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOLBFAU__rysFNN10ouwQcb22MRjC09vbQLqI1F1hA3FUJJKbNTYZS6A-BAZHjBGUrdys-0BXIFZImQAFnfF9qq0jt952RRwVmD-QgdzVAp9kWLE8VgNbE1q8YqgwEyxBIP7qCOWke-w/s1600/Moon+MP.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOLBFAU__rysFNN10ouwQcb22MRjC09vbQLqI1F1hA3FUJJKbNTYZS6A-BAZHjBGUrdys-0BXIFZImQAFnfF9qq0jt952RRwVmD-QgdzVAp9kWLE8VgNbE1q8YqgwEyxBIP7qCOWke-w/s200/Moon+MP.bmp" width="135" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Moon (2009)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Directed By: Duncan Jones</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you’ve ever thought about what it would be like to have “Cabin Fever” or being alone for years, then I’d suggest watching this movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam Rockwell does an amazing job portraying the effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say that this movie and Cast Away (2000) were pretty effective at portraying how humans are affected when left alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The effect of being by yourself is exemplified more in this film when we see the before and after effect of each clone side-by-side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve all thought about what it would be like if we were to be alone for years at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom Hanks in Cast Away (2000) started talking to a Volleyball and Sam Rockwell learns how to play Ping Pong well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However Rockwell plays a character far from a Fed Ex Employee stranded on an island. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His character works voluntarily by himself on the Moon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is an employee of a multi-national corporation called Lunar Industries that gives Earth all the power that it needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This power is called Helium-3 fusion (I know, it sounds like a product that Gillette makes), and surprisingly this type of power has been purposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you know anything about chemistry or physics, you can look up the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3">Wikipedia article</a> on Helium-3 and read all about what has been suggested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a Scientific American article that provides an overall explanation that is understandable to someone that hasn’t studied chemistry or physics.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">[<a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=is-moons-sci-fi-vision-of-lunar-hel-2009-06-12">Scientific American Article on Helium-3</a>]</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s just say that it actually was possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, so we learned how to induce two Helium-3 particles to fuse together to make Helium-4 and release energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A huge corporation controls this whole process and provides 70 percent of the Earths power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think I would be correct in saying that this corporation would probably make a decent amount of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why would a company go through all the trouble to clone and genetically engineer hundreds if not thousands of said clones to die after three years just so they wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of training new people?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean come on!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make a bunch of clones, sure!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But train a new guy every three years, now that’s ridiculous!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sarcasm aside, here is a graph portraying the only feasible option to use clones:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6Mes0J73ITEXbObjGYf8EtwgaiuZbQMHxm-bFnhBQG383-6ECRl7HAMUVEhX2bk_T-BK29rgZq4BK5hGbaWUUCEmuUDLS08xu6-keKje-vBXQwpXwJfv1ObzR7-tLhEGkoNJEePT5Io/s1600/CvTP+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6Mes0J73ITEXbObjGYf8EtwgaiuZbQMHxm-bFnhBQG383-6ECRl7HAMUVEhX2bk_T-BK29rgZq4BK5hGbaWUUCEmuUDLS08xu6-keKje-vBXQwpXwJfv1ObzR7-tLhEGkoNJEePT5Io/s400/CvTP+Pic.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Note that after a certain time, the cost of training people and sending them to the moon would one day cost more than the original price of cloning one man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, however, would probably take years to occur depending on the price of “cloning”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hate taking this realistic approach to judging a movie (especially a science fiction movie), however this one loop hole needed to be addressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that we have that out of the way, we can move on to discussing the actual movie.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Moon is a movie that I never expected to enjoy as much as I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say that because it has a pretty freaking depressing plot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie starts out with Sam Rockwell’s character (named Sam Bell) doing his daily routine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His beard and long hair suggest how long he has been on the Moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It then shows us what he does, how he fills up his time, and the extent the loneliness has affected him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is so lonely that when he meets his clone, all he wants to do is touch him because he hasn’t touched another human being in what he believes is years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll get to what I mean about “what he believes” later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see him talking to his plants, to himself, and to his only other counterpart on the base; GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GERTY is an interesting character in this film, because he perpetuates Lunar Industries plot to use clones for their process on the moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GERTY’s parallel to HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was enjoyable, and it was a relief to see a robot that doesn’t end up murdering or plotting against humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best thing about GERTY, however, was “his” use of emoticons (For the layman, an emoticon is a facial expression pictorially represented by punctuation and letters and is usually used to express the users mood; for example; </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> ).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These emoticon faces with Kevin Spacey’s voice, make GERTY a main character in the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The relationship that GERTY and Sam share is crucial to understanding why GERTY ended up betraying the corporation and helping the newly awoken clone to escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GERTY lived with so many Sam Bell clones that he became more and more human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His emotions force him to want to help out the decaying Sam Bell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say decaying, because that is really what is going on with his character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks like radiation poisoning, but I’m sure it’s just his genetic code being unwound or something science like that.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4i3suaCU0eAt_NI150pxoF9DNI-T5KhI1COkFl4e_Bn2nIP9CZ6bCGjafSspPVjXYt33VnqNM2hmZk-P9FKKKuXb2oEvUd0gbafd76b3c2keKOJmYwlmMNNp6pZ5Uz_YnjcVonQx1cOI/s1600/Moon_sci-fi_Kevin_Spacey_Gerty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4i3suaCU0eAt_NI150pxoF9DNI-T5KhI1COkFl4e_Bn2nIP9CZ6bCGjafSspPVjXYt33VnqNM2hmZk-P9FKKKuXb2oEvUd0gbafd76b3c2keKOJmYwlmMNNp6pZ5Uz_YnjcVonQx1cOI/s640/Moon_sci-fi_Kevin_Spacey_Gerty.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRipYJgAiLhmXMBlA0qDzY15PKYdUrBqpKNT8KMJcCgvtZ3VcL7Hx0ybLc6LUrxWi6qxXDu_BAmSVlqv2JSj9MVSD49qpon-JipTddXD3pIgouf40PcqVanx51xj76PKfkdD4Cvmf12uI/s1600/crying_face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRipYJgAiLhmXMBlA0qDzY15PKYdUrBqpKNT8KMJcCgvtZ3VcL7Hx0ybLc6LUrxWi6qxXDu_BAmSVlqv2JSj9MVSD49qpon-JipTddXD3pIgouf40PcqVanx51xj76PKfkdD4Cvmf12uI/s640/crying_face.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The most confusing scene to me in the movie was when Sam burnt himself with hot water while filling up a cup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During this scene, he sees a woman sitting a few meters away from him, which is why he burnt himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However this woman wasn’t the same actress who plays his wife Tess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if this was supposed to be some sort of hidden message, or just some random girl his mind made up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could have potentially seen the same person outside on the moon when he crashed his lunar rover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I couldn't find a picture on the internet, but the random girl is a brunette that could be played by the same actress who plays his daughter. I'd suggest watching the scene and letting me know what you think. The person he saw outside on the moon looked like it had an astronaut suit on, so it could have been another clone or just a figment of his imagination. </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Most likely he was just going crazy, but it’s just an interesting thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps he was programmed to go freaking crazy so that he couldn’t have done anything wrong?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I know, that doesn’t make sense)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, it could have been a side effect of genetically engineering clones to die after a certain time, but what would I know; I’m not a cloner.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj256wngsgvTvyXLnLN30liyrwRXITMISD0bqEGlvfl04Ovv-ObFe0rsSsRdDTVwWhzcAcLBeWnsadcHBk60n6-o9OXNgU1KRIg8Di4x_rwS93BDd6kAmYLehTKXxmidaqbtTQeKJAei5k/s1600/moon-movie-image-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj256wngsgvTvyXLnLN30liyrwRXITMISD0bqEGlvfl04Ovv-ObFe0rsSsRdDTVwWhzcAcLBeWnsadcHBk60n6-o9OXNgU1KRIg8Di4x_rwS93BDd6kAmYLehTKXxmidaqbtTQeKJAei5k/s400/moon-movie-image-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I would’ve liked to have known which clone he was, or what cycle of clones the base was on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought about it a little bit, and judging from the original Sam being there for three years, and his daughter being born while he was there, we can extrapolate which clone he was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when Sam called his daughter near the end of the movie she was 17 years old (the actress who played her was that age).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we say that his daughter was born near half-way through his contract, then 15-16 years had passed since the original Sam left the moon base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now here is the tricky part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How long do these clones really last?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could say three years, however GERTY wakes them up and they think that they’ve been in an accident while they’ve been on the base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The point is that we don’t know how long these clones last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For closures sake, let us say that they last for two years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would mean that the Sam that is dying would be the eighth clone and the Sam that heads to Earth is the ninth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the scene where GERTY lets him log on to see his contract, we can see videos of previous clones getting “disposed of”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have yet to count them and see how many different clones I can see on the screen, but it’s all just food for thought.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6qQjfnAtVJVJdQIIhRyJ4vG4k3wiiofifda-msoqiT5rs-KIdt0oSDJCgOfqbG8FwbbNksVPHz-UoU1i1SY0fP4MSD0MX9kOKwMb1yhMbyz823b1SPhs1xkB30zXqG7nxxGN1DoxDNc/s1600/moon_sam_rockwell3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6qQjfnAtVJVJdQIIhRyJ4vG4k3wiiofifda-msoqiT5rs-KIdt0oSDJCgOfqbG8FwbbNksVPHz-UoU1i1SY0fP4MSD0MX9kOKwMb1yhMbyz823b1SPhs1xkB30zXqG7nxxGN1DoxDNc/s640/moon_sam_rockwell3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Moon uses two camera shots overlaid to create the effect of two Sam Rockwell’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Special mention should be given to Rockwell for acting so well during these shots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His reactions are perfectly executed and it seems like someone is actually hitting him when his “clone” hits him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched the special features on how they did it, and they used an interesting method to film the part where he is wrestling himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The double that they used for Sam Rockwell wore a green mask and then they filmed Sam Rockwell making a “struggling” face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They then digitally put it over the green mask and voila! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sam Rockwell has an identical twin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s pretty interesting when movies use the same actor to play identical twins (or in this case clones) and then to put them into the same shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Some e</span>xamples of movies like this are Nicholas Cage in Adaptation (2002), Leonardo DiCaprio in The Man in the Iron Mask (1997), Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger (1999), Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap (1998), and Edward Norton in Leaves of Grass (2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The interesting thing about older movies is they didn’t have the technology that we do today, so you really have to give credit to those movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have yet to see Leaves of Grass, but I’ll probably watch it just because Edward Norton is in it (We all have our favorite actors). There are numerous other examples, including a handful of fighting/karate movies where the protagonist and antagonist are played by the same person (probably an ego thing; no one can beat me except myself).</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All in all, Moon was rather enjoyable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knows if it is a comment on corporate policy, cloning, or a thought about who would win in a game of Ping Pong against yourself?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moon didn’t really have much advertising in the United States, and that was a shame because this movie deserves more recognition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Sam Rockwell will become more and more of a mainstream actor and will probably stop getting parts as a villain in Iron Man 2 (2010), a villain in Charlie’s Angels (2000), a villain in the Green Mile (1999), a backstabbing con man in Matchstick Men (2003), and a hilarious Guy in Galaxy Quest (1999).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Also, i</span>f you haven’t seen Choke, and like author Chuck Palahniuk, then I suggest watching it.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCtLm6PWwY_qw_rwLc1PAnseRII0za8xwW9iQ0gE2DWwZaRzVaI9UDYVDSeyseI6Vr0Fbtvd00kg0SiiUlLm2nVLNUQ4IcqSSk4WFFjuTv1x_ECjWXRXjqT3kfRbXEU6QQfWkB1hoI_A/s1600/Moon-movie-spc06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCtLm6PWwY_qw_rwLc1PAnseRII0za8xwW9iQ0gE2DWwZaRzVaI9UDYVDSeyseI6Vr0Fbtvd00kg0SiiUlLm2nVLNUQ4IcqSSk4WFFjuTv1x_ECjWXRXjqT3kfRbXEU6QQfWkB1hoI_A/s400/Moon-movie-spc06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message to Fans:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m there with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not against you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you find that I’ve said anything here that offends your vision of how Science Fiction should be talked about, at ease!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t write about movies that I find stupid, ridiculous, or boring (unless I’m writing a special article).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really liked this movie, so don’t feel threatened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you disagree with something I said, let me know your version, I would love to hear about it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that we’ve got that settled, here’s something to notice next time you watch Moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the two clones are wrestling, watch the clone’s face that is in the headlock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can barely notice that it’s digitally put into the shot.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message for Non-Fans:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Like I have said before, if you don’t like Science Fiction, then I wouldn’t say that this movie isn’t for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It focuses more on the depressing nature of Sam Rockwell’s character more than the fact that the setting is on a moon base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you liked Sam Rockwell in other movies like Choke (2008), then you’ll enjoy his acting in this movie as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Interesting Fact: The director, Duncan Jones, is the son of singer David Bowie.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Potential topics to discuss:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cloning: A reality?</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sam Rockwell as an actor</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Helium-3 Fusion</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Flow of the Film</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kevin Spacey as a voice</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cinematography</span></div>Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839927691736437883.post-19745686409781243752011-02-08T10:27:00.000-07:002011-02-08T10:27:51.998-07:00Sunshine (2007)<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HvsN8ahaStfOPMNi8ZPp1lLUoHffvSvKdploAXd-pgPYgxHCKk4MtUteKEUc-iXLHg6yUb0-s8Vg581_HQEAX5Ed2jpsxMmDV-ZULANbp8Xs5rMeMXVBe-m6-dAwx1SySxTzvkQtoVQ/s1600/sunshine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HvsN8ahaStfOPMNi8ZPp1lLUoHffvSvKdploAXd-pgPYgxHCKk4MtUteKEUc-iXLHg6yUb0-s8Vg581_HQEAX5Ed2jpsxMmDV-ZULANbp8Xs5rMeMXVBe-m6-dAwx1SySxTzvkQtoVQ/s200/sunshine.jpg" width="135" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sunshine (2007)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Directed by: Danny Boyle</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Starring: Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If someone were to tell me about a science fiction movie called Sunshine, I would tell them that I would pass on watching it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me that sounds like a low budget horror science fiction movie about the sun getting a mind of its own and starting to rain vengeful rays of sunshine upon us all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or it could be a romantic science fiction about two astronauts who look into the sun…and fall in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the real movie is far from either of those.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all my stipulation about what the hell this movie could be about, I decided to watch the trailer for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trailer is what really brings the audience in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had been looking for a good sci-fi movie to watch because I was on a role of watching very entertaining sci-fi flicks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first was Pandorum (2009) and then I re-watched Event Horizon (1997).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pandorum had a “twist” ending that made it worthwhile, and I laughed once again at watching Event Horizon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made up a tag line for that film that fits it perfectly; “The crew of the USS Event Horizon built a hyperdrive, a hyperdrive that could go faster than the speed of light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just didn’t know that this hyperdrive would take them….to Hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come watch Event Horizon this August and prepare to take a trip…a trip…to Hell.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to add the accent of the movie announcer guy to make it hilarious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So after I watched a classic sci-fi and a newer sci-fi, I was looking around for another one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A friend suggested to me that I watch Sunshine, and that’s where our story begins.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ywi-c4z-dEf5Jn239EvKnO6di7KyBIIvhyNEDebd4YmkO8sl_V5ETrubhSqHJI_7eujEDYq-DXYPgkvHIAMOHuapLZr-BPaK4ORjT_bLj9yP-4mNu2Kbt0fwvPp7-bgRRkOFzcJX5qc/s1600/62129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ywi-c4z-dEf5Jn239EvKnO6di7KyBIIvhyNEDebd4YmkO8sl_V5ETrubhSqHJI_7eujEDYq-DXYPgkvHIAMOHuapLZr-BPaK4ORjT_bLj9yP-4mNu2Kbt0fwvPp7-bgRRkOFzcJX5qc/s640/62129.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The preview was actually done very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t give any plot away as movie these days are prone to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It used the theme song from Requiem for a Dream, and I think that a lot of previews like to use that song to grab the audience’s attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first line we hear in both the movie and the preview is, “our sun is dying”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A brief but descriptive line about why the movie exists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walking into this movie, you can’t think about the science of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of people just can’t stand the fact that sci-fi movies aren’t real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if they were, they would be incredibly boring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about the two main issues with space films: Gravity and Space being a vacuum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Realistically, we have no technology to create artificial gravity on a ship (although 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) suggested a very interesting method).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apollo 13 (1995) used zero gravity, but one would need a huge budget in order to create that effect. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the expenses come from the use a large aircraft that has the set built into its fuselage and flies in a parabolic pattern, which causes a freefall effect and thus zero gravity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we have space as a vacuum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a ship were hit, there would be no fire in space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fire requires oxygen to propagate, so if a ship were hit by a “photon torpedo,” you wouldn’t get to see much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which brings me to my point: who cares?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re watching a movie, not a documentary on a set of astronauts that saved us all by restarting the Sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can’t stand the fact that they’re ignoring the laws of physics; then get used to it, because it happens all the time.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now that we’re passed the real life comparisons, let’s move on to the actual movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Danny Boyle once again does a great job directing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plot was interesting to me because you don’t see many of these types of sci-fi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film industry went through a phase for awhile about missions to Mars and I’m sure that because of Avatar, there’ll be newer sci-fi’s about ships going to other galaxies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So a sci-fi about a Mission to the Sun was pretty out there for a science fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though, I wouldn’t necessarily call this movie a science fiction; I’d actually refer to it as a Pseudo Religious Sci-Fi Horror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Science-Fiction Genre is kind of a given seeing as how the film is about a space ship traveling to restart the sun, but I’d like to focus on the Religious and Horror aspects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTy4mr981ylm3XvaBVtVwy4HZX-1tG0NBxUTDROwBfeeKXJzqodes6dpAXegYyRsZNwU5bmFllqm6_qOLspbm0S7GL060ZnmIGS0lWw6et-Jp-C9Ar3kS5ugK5v0tTFfmh3tEqJk5VjM/s1600/sunshine-icarus-ii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTy4mr981ylm3XvaBVtVwy4HZX-1tG0NBxUTDROwBfeeKXJzqodes6dpAXegYyRsZNwU5bmFllqm6_qOLspbm0S7GL060ZnmIGS0lWw6et-Jp-C9Ar3kS5ugK5v0tTFfmh3tEqJk5VjM/s400/sunshine-icarus-ii.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whether you agree with me or not on some points that I make, you have to agree that this film has major religious attributes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun becomes a metaphor for god to some key characters in this film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They only differ in the way that they interpret it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If someone feels connected to a God by staring at the Sun, then I’d say, “Good for you!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Boyle does a great job in interpreting how these people feel connected to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have three central characters that perform these light purifications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have the ship’s Captain, the ship’s Psychologist, and the crazed Captain from the other ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of the three people represents the extent of religion here on earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Respectively you have the devout worshipper, the preacher of the gospel, and the religious fanatic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Captain is really the only one who is directly “purified” by the Sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He ascends to “heaven” by direct exposure of the Sun’s rays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Psychologist explains at the beginning of the movie what the Sun means to him and he brings the Captain unto his belief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before the Captain dies, the Psychologist has the utmost need to know what he sees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To him, he wanted to know what "heaven" looked like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end he sacrifices himself just so he can glimpse upon the Sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally there is the crazed Captain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He kills for the Sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sees himself as an angel sent to stop all others from destroying what was “set in motion”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my opinion all three are great examples of how Religion is performed in our age.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEile5FICu_E1j296EpgrZY-d_r3VRL3lVBKrIWe30fZYZx6MMJygcv5EHMrM2xrUmJzAd0VXtMdTcYlKZz98kGLEstPKiNpnljMvguGU5sfsBh1JKQf6QXY3RITJODmPw5uJTTrQCfxc3M/s1600/sunshine-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEile5FICu_E1j296EpgrZY-d_r3VRL3lVBKrIWe30fZYZx6MMJygcv5EHMrM2xrUmJzAd0VXtMdTcYlKZz98kGLEstPKiNpnljMvguGU5sfsBh1JKQf6QXY3RITJODmPw5uJTTrQCfxc3M/s640/sunshine-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Film surprises you on the sudden horror attributes it has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one, you don’t expect a guy coming onto their ship to try and kill them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t expect to the antagonist of the film to be a man whose skin is melting off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole atmosphere of the film starts out pretty bright, and as the film progresses, the atmosphere becomes darker and darker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found this ironic seeing as how they were getting closer and closer to the sun, but it adds to the intensity of the plot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those dark points of the film you have the bright points when the religious characters purify themselves through the filter.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The film has an interesting lineup of actors, among them Boyle uses Cillian Murphy again (He cast him in the 2002 horror film 28 Days Later).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cillian Murphy is an up and coming actor in my opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, he’s shown up in some major films since his major role in 28 Days Later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among these there are notable films such as Cold Mountain (2003), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010) and Tron: Legacy (2010).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, he has taken out his British accent and replaced it with the one that we’re all used to in all the movies since 28 Days Later. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing I found entertaining in his character was that he was supposed to be playing a brilliant physicist, but it really didn’t show. Boyle also uses Chris Evans (Fantastic Four (2005), The Losers (2010), and the upcoming Captain America).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris Evans’s character was the only one that actually cared about their mission to the Sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed like everybody else didn’t base their decisions as well as he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was surprising seeing him play a role where he wasn’t playing:</span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Jock</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-eEpLfch5a385pGYSntE8-4fQQBe3Vl9KZ5V2o9q8qoEwVdt8N022cQgCWamgjj0VLBsw6VA-e1yoOqjs9Avh7K4gN1sJ5TWM6rjpUWoDupiZBTtVspe2KN9WOKWfnRzpkNmG0AF_0A/s1600/evans_notm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-eEpLfch5a385pGYSntE8-4fQQBe3Vl9KZ5V2o9q8qoEwVdt8N022cQgCWamgjj0VLBsw6VA-e1yoOqjs9Avh7K4gN1sJ5TWM6rjpUWoDupiZBTtVspe2KN9WOKWfnRzpkNmG0AF_0A/s320/evans_notm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">B)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Superhero</span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TfjNs5nox5Hp_UCKg1bZB4EgvXYo8P4l2q6Ve1x-46kXNhSHNqEO-n7mahYvdsBbLhNp9rw8ldsdRYI-gl0LGtFrVrMNc3Ai2_xgQMo5r7OPLpQEGH6yHvHYOzKiKti0EZxFxEACXWY/s1600/FantasticFour_humantorch-thumb-500x278-12043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TfjNs5nox5Hp_UCKg1bZB4EgvXYo8P4l2q6Ve1x-46kXNhSHNqEO-n7mahYvdsBbLhNp9rw8ldsdRYI-gl0LGtFrVrMNc3Ai2_xgQMo5r7OPLpQEGH6yHvHYOzKiKti0EZxFxEACXWY/s320/FantasticFour_humantorch-thumb-500x278-12043.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">C)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some type of Comedic Relief</span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqXNolO4sW5YYNEKBDuivVWmNRz1qsdLKV-PTntWJQEjbk_2q0n3PnLl0jJ8mX-MZ51G69Coq-5czaMOngNvjP_36dDHHfCPeXm5VOXO5aZHKj6QkgD4kbg4c80a7dpgzYo2WCcVl_H4/s1600/Chris_Evans_The_Losers_01022010_008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqXNolO4sW5YYNEKBDuivVWmNRz1qsdLKV-PTntWJQEjbk_2q0n3PnLl0jJ8mX-MZ51G69Coq-5czaMOngNvjP_36dDHHfCPeXm5VOXO5aZHKj6QkgD4kbg4c80a7dpgzYo2WCcVl_H4/s320/Chris_Evans_The_Losers_01022010_008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">The rest of the cast was pretty typical, and included one more big name actor; however I will leave it up to you to see if you can recognize him.</span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This seems like a movie that I would enjoy watching in high-def.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in standard definition, the views that they render of the sun are pretty fascinating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never really imagined what the surface of the sun would be like, however they create a very intriguing look at how the surface would look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film definitely offers a lot of impressive visuals, and I would almost see the movie just for them alone.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A message for Fans:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I understand the debate people have on movies like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some fans of science fiction can’t stand how movies don’t account for their science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bit of advice; just go with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’ll be worth it in the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should enjoy the movie for the same reason that Trekkie’s enjoy Star Trek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it’ll never happen in our life time and this is what we get.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A message for non-Fans</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you hate science-fiction then I wouldn’t say that this isn’t a movie for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has many different types of messages in it so it can be enjoyed for more than just the fact that it’s about a space ship going to the Sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try and watch it the same night you’d watch a horror movie, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkktNn2Z1FMMeobeZEqa-cm8w0JgjrOdXbIWU2V9JlC9AC89Qe_kRXA7hE3ibq2MpE7oVLd86cDsoWXJ9C8-xF7jyF5VZ-JmQS5ztiO5TdrGWyzCdAkFL_M4NGhC1AjnjVfPKLVLNyrcA/s1600/image3full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkktNn2Z1FMMeobeZEqa-cm8w0JgjrOdXbIWU2V9JlC9AC89Qe_kRXA7hE3ibq2MpE7oVLd86cDsoWXJ9C8-xF7jyF5VZ-JmQS5ztiO5TdrGWyzCdAkFL_M4NGhC1AjnjVfPKLVLNyrcA/s400/image3full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Topics to Discuss:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Religious Aspects of the Film</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Characters</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Science of the Film</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Other Sci-Fi’s this reminds you of</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Danny Boyle movies</span></div></div>Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839927691736437883.post-51364077145765970162011-02-04T10:20:00.000-07:002011-02-04T10:20:37.637-07:00What About Bob (1991)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydH8TqH949eJVYxqcDh6Qr_IXBPWGN39sWe_N7I7adA8sGG6kukOqILFWG3kLYCTTHDRbJrFj3utKzvHV8HqAM8QsR2BsZzXoaX-VTgDTqhmOLjfltw0Boz4__NOhe_qkofFqlLzdOds/s1600/what-about-bob-movie-poster-1020190729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydH8TqH949eJVYxqcDh6Qr_IXBPWGN39sWe_N7I7adA8sGG6kukOqILFWG3kLYCTTHDRbJrFj3utKzvHV8HqAM8QsR2BsZzXoaX-VTgDTqhmOLjfltw0Boz4__NOhe_qkofFqlLzdOds/s200/what-about-bob-movie-poster-1020190729.jpg" width="134" /></a><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What about Bob? (1991)</span></u></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Starring: Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss, Julie Hagerty</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Directed By: Frank Oz</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Produced By: Laura Ziskin & Bernard Williams</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What About Bob is one of my favorite classic Bill Murray Films.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an original nineties comedy focused around two central characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of people either have not seen it or saw it way back when and don’t remember it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, this is a movie that I enjoy watching every now and again because of its satirical humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People quoted What About Bob just for those certain scenes that we remember.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The two central actors of the film are Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I actually have not seen Richard Dreyfuss in much lately besides the occasional supporting roles in movies like Red (2010) or W. (2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Murray has always been an actor that I appreciate seeing in movies, ranging from Caddyshack to Ghostbusters to even Lost in Translation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve found that people either love Bill Murray (like Wes Anderson) or just flat out don’t care for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve heard people say things like, “I love his comedy, but I can’t take his drama.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That excuse can be applicable to many different actors or actresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One such example was Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction (2006).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will Ferrell had the label of comedy written all over him, and he played a serious role in this film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must admit that when I watched the scene in which he’s flailing the lamp around the room narrating what he does, I couldn’t help but laugh at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only saw the actor from Anchorman finally being who I recognized him as: the film comedian of my generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However I must say that he actually did a wonderful job playing a drama role in that movie and that I enjoyed Stranger than Fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Will Ferrell, Bill Murray retains his comedy roots in What About Bob, which makes the film a must for fans of Bill Murray comedy or the man himself.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20E-ATBXeo8AiJ6ieHHGmCGRjgKX0A_V1jHfhMuXM6pGtQPVcGdvtmVBEjdt-8mh00XXajBdKJb-L0ApI3RIovktayG1ZbTlh-h9W1htBpz5xwj4GGqAtc_TR-Dsn5HeCa48pwIxNTfM/s1600/398760_f520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20E-ATBXeo8AiJ6ieHHGmCGRjgKX0A_V1jHfhMuXM6pGtQPVcGdvtmVBEjdt-8mh00XXajBdKJb-L0ApI3RIovktayG1ZbTlh-h9W1htBpz5xwj4GGqAtc_TR-Dsn5HeCa48pwIxNTfM/s400/398760_f520.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Less thought of in the film is Richard Dreyfuss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of people think that the central character in this movie was Bob Wiley (played by Bill Murray), but I would actually say that Dr. Leo Marvin (played by Richard Dreyfuss) was the protagonist of the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie is actually about the eventual downfall into insanity of Dr. Leo Marvin perpetuated by Bob Wiley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Murray’s Character plays the important role of making us laugh, however in a few scenes Dr. Leo Marvin has subtle satirical humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of these is my favorite scene of the movie:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dr. Leo Marvin had just dropped Bob off at the insane asylum and upon his return home his wife gives him a phone call which is the psychiatrist that he just convinced to take Bob into custody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Psychiatrist tells him to return and when Leo returns, she tells him that she can’t keep him because he convinced her entire staff that he wasn’t insane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leo is then forced to take Bob back to Lake <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Winnipesaukee and on the return drive Bob starts to drive Leo crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leo lets out a yell, stops the car and gets out going to the passenger side of the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He opens the door and yells “Get out of the car!”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However, this shows my favorite scene in that Richard Dreyfuss pronounces that last line as, “Get outta ba daaaar!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a YouTube clip that plays the scene:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wBNNKoX8GoA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Richard Dreyfuss plays his role as a psychiatrist with so much satire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He plays a typecast Psychiatrist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the first scenes you can really see this when he says the typical “how does that make you feel?” while his index finger lies so menacingly on his chin and lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That represents the perfect image of a psychiatrist to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final scene I will reference Richard Dreyfuss is during his characters interview on Good Morning America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is so nervous about Bob being on his interview with him that he responds to a question with an answer to a different question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richard Dreyfuss then looks at the floor and makes this perfectly “what the hell did I just say” face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This reminds me of <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://wereviewfilm.blogspot.com/p/definitions.html">second-hand embarrassment</a></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much like I Love You, Man (2009), we feel the characters embarrassment when they do something stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Leo Marvin saying that was nowhere near Paul Rudd’s character leaving a message on the phone in I Love You Man; however it still represents that kind of a joke.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAcwKtsXaYuY5SusYrM6sRToT0g4FefiDGy-DOWHCUcoDSQVNLE2jwlazjRmsG8NB2UT37-O-kVnMkRmo0iVcZyhw4AN3L7XC5xVcqYBvTaDUF34ueiqdLKsZBMRRG6Rk_bq2VrLyVNY/s1600/what-about-bob-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAcwKtsXaYuY5SusYrM6sRToT0g4FefiDGy-DOWHCUcoDSQVNLE2jwlazjRmsG8NB2UT37-O-kVnMkRmo0iVcZyhw4AN3L7XC5xVcqYBvTaDUF34ueiqdLKsZBMRRG6Rk_bq2VrLyVNY/s640/what-about-bob-original.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is so much to say on what Bill Murray does in this role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Emma Stone said in Zombieland (2009), “This guy has a straight line to my funny bone!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Murray has a lot of memorable one liner’s in this movie including:</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 72.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I want!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gimme!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gimme!</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 72.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mmmmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mmmmmmm. Mmmmmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fay this food is so delicious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mmmmmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mmmmmmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Etc. (The scene is him eating dinner at the Marvin’s house and him saying mmmm over and over till Leo yells, “Would you stop that please?”)</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 72.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Leo, I see salt and pepper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there a salt substitute?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 72.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful... I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One liner’s are a great thing for a movie to have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that the reason the movie Anchorman was so successful is because the entire movie is just full of memorable one liner’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem with newer and newer comedies is that the preview you see is nothing but the funniest parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s like a broken record when you go to see them at the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just chuckle when you see the scenes you previously laughed really hard at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then when you leave the theatre, you leave with the feeling of “that was okay.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before getting back to Bill Murray’s performance in this film, we need to understand the different roles that he gives in his movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a flow chart that I think explains a typical Bill Murray Performance:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA12FNudkopo2lFQUSs_0jLolxkQ8dz-C41Y_cw9XXM481Hk29AmVp8iOjZi7d64-qZvq7n1qSSNSCbxKGGMWOYMgKHjvuhu08I7IfgDlCmMemuIXzZZBrSM3uByBHU5g6SKzRtlqYCVI/s1600/BMFC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA12FNudkopo2lFQUSs_0jLolxkQ8dz-C41Y_cw9XXM481Hk29AmVp8iOjZi7d64-qZvq7n1qSSNSCbxKGGMWOYMgKHjvuhu08I7IfgDlCmMemuIXzZZBrSM3uByBHU5g6SKzRtlqYCVI/s640/BMFC.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was going to include three Genres, but even in movies like Broken Flowers and Lost in Translation, one still finds humor in either his mishaps or his nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus I included Drama into the Dramedy Genre by the role of serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone who’s a fan of Wes Anderson knows that there is a 95 percent chance that Bill Murray is in one of his films.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much like Tim Burton loves using Johnny Depp, Wes Anderson loves using his troupe, Bill Murray being one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll notice that I included What About Bob into the Central Character Role in a Comedy Genre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve seen the other movies that are included with that, you’ll notice that his humor is pretty much the same in those films as well (to a certain extent).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Character of Bob Wiley is appealing to us because he represents every kind of crazy that we have seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Murray once again does a wonderful job at being comedic in the sense of playing a character that is nowhere near who he actually is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His character is built on dependencies, intelligence and fears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bob Wiley is dependent on having a psychologist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see at the beginning of the film that he has learned techniques from previous Psychologists in order to cure what he believes is every psychological disorder known to man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is dependent on his fish Gil as really the only thing in his life that represents a relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Bob Wiley is an intelligent man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He finds out eventually using his comedic cunning that Dr. Marvin is vacationing at Lake Winnipesaukee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people could say that he is intelligent enough to fake all these symptoms or know all of the drugs used to treat these symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is intelligent enough to be a psychologist already because he knows so many methods that the all of his previous Psychologists have used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill Murray acts out his fears in the most comedic sense possible and this is really self explanatory if you've seen the movie.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKckqtkQMJaJcCnZKGOGOnL5tfxoFFeNA9HhOFv_XQt0F7wpxeKKtQquvPLX1G6SWZTaI5BIY5ZOsBMk_XL47q7-rD2AycUjHYVjuQhZCt5jLzMhFcqpKfMox5a5AibcZMKj5-SOh5Aok/s1600/WAB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKckqtkQMJaJcCnZKGOGOnL5tfxoFFeNA9HhOFv_XQt0F7wpxeKKtQquvPLX1G6SWZTaI5BIY5ZOsBMk_XL47q7-rD2AycUjHYVjuQhZCt5jLzMhFcqpKfMox5a5AibcZMKj5-SOh5Aok/s640/WAB.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I enjoy watching What About Bob even to this day because of the feeling the movie gives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has that early nineties feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The quality of the film is not today’s super hi-def 1080p 3000 Hz ultimate extravaganza goodness, and you know what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact it just makes the movie even better because that’s just how we like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s pretty hard describing the feeling that the movie gives, but I guess you could say that it’s like remembering a time that was literally not too long ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure you get the feeling when you watch other movies like Beetlejuice (1988), The Breakfast Club (1985), or other late eighties/early nineties flicks.</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message for Fans</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We all love Bill Murray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of us like him enough just to go see any movie he’s in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re a fan of any of the actors that I mentioned, then you need to rent this movie and watch it again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s classic Bill Murray and a classic Film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you do end up watching it again, listen to the names Bob and Siggy call each other when they’re playing “Tourettes”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them are pretty funny.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A Message for Non-Fans</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I understand if this movie isn’t your kind of humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that some people “don’t understand” the humor, it’s that they don’t care to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people would rather watch movies like You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (2008).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Personally that humor doesn’t appeal to me, but to some it does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, let me tell you this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give it a chance!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least read what I’ve said here and try to see it the way I do, and maybe you’ll enjoy it as much as I have.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Potential Topics to Discuss:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Characters in the Film</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bill Murray</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What this movie represents to you</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Soundtrack</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Other</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxio_7vIPMjf9Xj6RDmkr3v95g1fB4FK3BX6z245Ulug6KkF7I0kpECzBSxrLrQEFRJHuEkHl1w8tfGOA_6-U1B7cE68S3j-ckauPLUz2PQlS1QWuTaQfgJMUdiJb6DqHPUdndu6-yH0/s1600/D11100-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxio_7vIPMjf9Xj6RDmkr3v95g1fB4FK3BX6z245Ulug6KkF7I0kpECzBSxrLrQEFRJHuEkHl1w8tfGOA_6-U1B7cE68S3j-ckauPLUz2PQlS1QWuTaQfgJMUdiJb6DqHPUdndu6-yH0/s400/D11100-2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
</div>Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6839927691736437883.post-45434515918094073012011-02-03T10:19:00.000-07:002011-02-03T10:19:04.303-07:00Tron: Legacy 2010<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbA-wNS-aqZzuKhSzLKhKe2YEG3Rsdp3IYfMZh8dpoLJ5Vasrrny5cX6tGnrO7fd0U1RZI0COj7wY_ouYHRE6wjdvrq_BJntBkIaO9OuvkvT-zaQyXBi_u4KcjvPSm3NuoDT1x3feVIH0/s1600/tron-legacy-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbA-wNS-aqZzuKhSzLKhKe2YEG3Rsdp3IYfMZh8dpoLJ5Vasrrny5cX6tGnrO7fd0U1RZI0COj7wY_ouYHRE6wjdvrq_BJntBkIaO9OuvkvT-zaQyXBi_u4KcjvPSm3NuoDT1x3feVIH0/s320/tron-legacy-movie-poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><u>Tron: Legacy (2010)</u></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Directed By: Joseph Kosinski</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Produced By: Donald Kushner</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Tron: Legacy has the <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://thefilmcatalyst.blogspot.com/p/definitions.html">3D Fever</a></span>. I was surprised to see the post at the beginning of the movie which read, “Some scenes in this movie were meant to be viewed in 2D…” I enjoy 3D movies all the same, however, this is another movie that exhibits <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://thefilmcatalyst.blogspot.com/p/definitions.html">3D Denaturation</a></span>. I wish I saved the few bucks so I could have not worn the Chinese Disney two cent 3D glasses and viewed the whole thing with my own two eyes. However don’t let my rant on eye nuisances (worn glasses/contacts since I was a child) stray you away from this movie. </div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">When I first heard they were remaking Tron, I was enthralled. Finally, I have an excuse to rent/buy the old one so I can watch the new one! Considering I wasn’t even born when the first one came out, I had the opinion that the visual effects from Tron [1982] would be on par with such films as The Dark Crystal. Surprises ensued: </div><ol><li><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Not only were the visual effects not JimHensonvision, but they were actually very impressive for the time. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1mMt2ViVhVcyyS0f7F_5n0Da-vyBwobNJZK4Z9R06bQhxWcfYjEy0HEU_-DZydTLsPP2yeOrbaWmaLeU9LGU_XUEgXIwJdwU_iAWlufjy0KNLktVWIjHvOD4uK8Upw0IpKPlMmcy5q0/s1600/Tronvsdc.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1mMt2ViVhVcyyS0f7F_5n0Da-vyBwobNJZK4Z9R06bQhxWcfYjEy0HEU_-DZydTLsPP2yeOrbaWmaLeU9LGU_XUEgXIwJdwU_iAWlufjy0KNLktVWIjHvOD4uK8Upw0IpKPlMmcy5q0/s400/Tronvsdc.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Jeff Bridges was in the original?!? The Dude plays the dude who goes into the computer? I didn’t know this, why?</div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The bad guy was played by the guard of the bad guy in Titanic? (David Warner who plays Ed Dillinger in Tron and played Spicer Lovejoy [looked up the name, and yes that's his name] in Titanic)</div></li>
<li><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">I’ve seen Master Controls face somewhere before. Oh yeah! South Park!</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://blstb.msn.com/i/72/B4F1F63F54E71E29C49ECBD9C4DBF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="http://blstb.msn.com/i/72/B4F1F63F54E71E29C49ECBD9C4DBF.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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</ol><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The fact is that the original deserved either a reboot or sequel. Not for the sake of the Plot, but for the sake of what we have accomplished in Computer Animation since 1982. Twenty Eight Years is one huge margin for a sequel to be released, and most of the time it wouldn’t pass as an acceptable margin. The only reason that it does pass is because the majority of the movie takes place on “The Grid”. The Grid was appealing to a sense of the unknown back in 1982, and it still appeals to the unknown in 2010. </div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Tron_Legacy_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Tron_Legacy_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Before the movie even came out, I heard from so many different people through the Grape Vine, that it was either a Reboot or a sequel. I didn’t really care either way, because I saw that they were using not only Jeff Bridges to act in the film again, but also using Bruce Boxleitner to play Tron/Alan again. After the viewing of the original Tron and research on IMDB, I felt that I was worthy to see the new one. I went into the theater expecting to enjoy the visual effects the most, and that’s how I felt when I left. The computer reconstruction of Jeff Bridges as a 30 something year old was very impressive. I’ve seen a few movies where they try to accomplish facial reconstruction, and it’s one of the hardest things to convince audiences to believe. </div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">I hate spoiling anything about a movie someone hasn’t seen, so I won’t go into details about the plot. What I can say about the plot is that it’s not quite as good as the original, but it works out well with the utilization of Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner. </div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The Soundtrack was another staple of the film. Daft Punk was commissioned to write a score for the film, and they actually did not stick to electronic music like we’re all used to. I would’ve enjoyed more electronic beats for “The Grid”, however their utilization of a full scale orchestra as well as songs like Derezzed and the Ending Credits made the whole thing come together. The scene that opens with “The Son of Flynn – Daft Punk” was probably the first scene where you realize that Daft Punk is scoring this film, and it really opens up the movie.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sidewalkhustle.com/wp-content/uploads/Daft-Punk-%E2%80%93-Derezzed-TRON-Legacy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://sidewalkhustle.com/wp-content/uploads/Daft-Punk-%E2%80%93-Derezzed-TRON-Legacy.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">When I heard that the only thing Tron Legacy got nominated for in the Academy Awards was best sound editing, I was a little shocked. Sound Editing, maybe, however it makes more sense that it would be nominated for Visual Effects. I don’t really think that Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010) had more impressive Visual Effects than Tron, but I guess that’s for the Academy to decide.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">A message for Fans</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">I realize that it most be shocking to you that I’ve never seen the original Tron, however, I believe the first time I saw it was when I was somewhere around three years old, so I never really got to think about the movie. What we must remember is that this film takes what was then a breakthrough in Visual Effects and tries to accomplish it again. I heard that they spent somewhere around $50k just for one of those suits.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">A message for non-Fans</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Don’t let the Science Fiction/Fantasy Genre of this movie steer you away from seeing it. It can be enjoyed by all sorts of different audiences.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Potential Topics to discuss:</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Generation differences in two movies</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Visual Effects scenes that you remember</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Characters</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Vehicles</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Plot (with Spoilers)</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Soundtrack</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">What this movie represents to you<br />
Other</div>Drthnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485833969908240871noreply@blogger.com1