review explosion!!!!!
Feb. 9th, 2009 02:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
duchess_of_pieso every once in a while i get these weird 3-day-span headaches and i can't figure out what's causing them. they usually just hover in the background and then spike when i stand up, which makes me not want to move around very much. and it makes me cranky. i am finally being smart and charting them now to see if they correspond to my cycle. not that that would be a comfort...there's not much i can do about it if it is. but at least i would be prepared. as it is, i may have to live in a warm bath tonight.
so while i'm cynical and cranky, let's catch up on some reviews.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: PRICELESS (dvd)
it's a french film w/audrey tatou. to liken this to a romantic version of dirty rotten scoundrels isn't quite getting it right, but it's close. the main dude goes through periods of being sorely pathetic, but there are some nice payoffs. not the least of which is watching a very un-amelie audrey play a pretty terrible person. highly recommended.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: HARRIET THE SPY (dvd)
what the hell was eartha kitt doing in this movie? and i don't even mean that because it's a really bad nickelodeon flick, i mean...what is she doing? her character shows up for one totally unrelated scene in the middle and then in the group scene in the end. i guess it would make more sense if i read the book, but i don't wanna read the book. that's why i watched the movie. now i see if i want questions answered, i gotta do both anyway. i don't have the time for that.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: APPALOOSA (dvd)
what the hell is this cockamamie bullshit? i really don't like westerns, but i was willing to give it a shot if viggo felt it was worth doing. and you know what? it MIGHT have been halfway decent if they had got anyone--and i mean ANYONE--to play the female lead. i still like briget jones' diary and down with love, but i've hit a wall. i just can't look at renee anymore. and i feel like viggo is a little spoiled by association...like a beautiful juicy apple that has caught the rot. damn you, zellllwegggerrr.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: ALBERT FISH (dvd)
i only rented this documentary because a coworker of mine (who has wonderful vocal chords) did some voice work in it and i wanted to see what kind of work someone like her could get. i hope she got paid really well. i'm not even going to glorify this review with a summary because the makers were amatures, rolling around in shock-horror and putting this notorious old man up on a pedistal of awe and wonder. fk it.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: THE READER
have i reviewed this? don't think so. word in the industry is that harvey W. is pushing a campaign against slumdog millionare to make this one the front runner. why? i mean, i like that it's a different kind of holocaust film, one that doesn't focus directly on the camps, one with a character that regrets nothing, one with the new generation that must carry the guilt....however. holocaust film or no, it's still tremendously faulty. we already know the big reveal by the time it comes up, the ending scene with the survivor and ESPECIALLY the very last scene with the daughter is unneeded and retarded, and they should never have put kate in old lady makeup. enough time went by. get an old lady.
that being said. kate's up for her 6th oscar, and it only makes me love her more. part of me desperately wants them to put off giving it to her, like, no! she hasn't really done her best yet!! she deserves to win for a really great part! but you know what? this is a really great part. she was wonderful. i just let my personal feelings for the character get in the way of judging the craft. i wouldn't be sad if she got the little gold man this time...although i still want melissa leo to win. (even if i have issues with her as a person. anyone but *retch* angelina. TANGENT!)
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: TONIGHT: FRANZ FERDINAND by Franz Ferdinand (album)
i love them, so i love the album my default. there are songs i'm very happy with, but there are a few i'm not sure of. i need to listen to it more, but it feels very uneven to me. the synths are great...but i have to seperate my selfish want of another first-album dance-guitar fest and allow them to evolve. and i much prefer the single version of "lucid dreams" to the album version. i am not backing down on that.
but. i did buy a ticket for the first ave show on 4/28. take that as you may. it guarantees nothing, so settle the fk down. but. i am looking at airfare. let me know if you spot any good deals.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: BURN AFTER READING (dvd)
every time the coen bros put out a good film (read: no country for old men, o brother where art thou, fargo), i am their biggest fan. and then, in the middle of the good ones, they turn around and put out dreck. and not just any old dreck, dreck that is filled with great people whose performances might just carry the film despite the awful script...if only they weren't killed off halfway through the film for no good reason. what a fkn snore. next.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: A COLBERT CHRISTMAS (tv on dvd)
AHAHAHAHAHAHA *GASP* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAH
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: CORALINE (in 3D)
here we go. here's the stuff. granted, all the films i've seen so far this year were technically 2008 releases, but it still stands that this is the best film i have seen yet this year. and you know what? it will probably continue to be so for a while.
i'm surprised that they kept it pretty true to the book, changing very little, adding only a neighborhood boy for coraline to take her angst out on. the voices were wonderful, including dakota fanning, whom i wanted to have an opinion against, but i have to admit is growing up better and more talented than most hollywood brats. john hodgeson, always a favorite. the revival of the brit comedy duo french & saunders was a good choice and the out-of-the-blue appearance of TMBG was a fantastic surprise. great music, beautiful design, well-affected creepiness mixed with just enough cute (THE JUMPING MICE! OMG! THE SQUEEEES!! THE SQUEEEES!!!! i think i really annoyed the girl next to me). just beautiful. i felt like it was my birthday and every wonder that was made for coraline was made just for me.
and seeing it in 3D was ....wow. sure, they pull a few in-your-face pranks, but it really works the best when you feel like you're looking into a diarama. like if you just moved a little bit this way...you could see around that house. or if you put our your finger, you could feel the glossy blue of her hair. the flowers all stood out individually. the tunnel in the wall was extremely effective. for once i felt like 3D was used to bring me into the world, not to have things poke out of it at me. well done.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: DARIUS GOES WEST
if you'd like to give to a charity this year, here's a good cause at a good price: http://www.dariusgoeswest.org/
for $20 you can buy a dvd of this video. $3 goes to the organization to print more dvds. $17 of it goes to research DMD--duchene muscular dystophy, the most prevalent and most fatal of all forms of MD (most children stricken will not live past 20).
anyway. the film is a documentary about darius, a 15 year-old with DMD who takes a funded ride across the country from athens, GA to L.A. and back in an RV with his buddies in order to convince MTV to "pimp his ride." (the ride in question being his wheelchair.) darius recognizes that kids his age have no idea who jerry lewis is and the work the commedian does for MD, and darius decides that getting on pimp my ride will spread awareness to his generation.
along the way they stop in miami beach, new orleans, the grand canyon, san francisco. his friends painstakingly help him swim the waves of the atlantic and then carry him to the shore to put his feet in the pacific. this is a boy who had never left his home state or county, whose older brother died of the same disease at 19, never having gotten these opportunites. it's really a nice story, and darius is fkn hilarious.
it's not the greatest in terms of editing or cinematography, but really well put together for a bunch of teenagers with video cameras.
so after the screening, all of the crew (darius' friends) and darius (in his pimped out wheelchair) came in for a Q & A. now they travel all over the country spreading awareness. note that the trip was made in 2005...that makes darius the same age now that his brother was at the time of death. he knows there's no cure for him and he hasn't got much time left, but he's keeping on, and is probably the smilest person i've ever seen. they're working to get a dvd to EVERY SINGLE middle school in america. and they're almost there.
so if you only watch it once--which you should--$3 is worth the price of admission. you can consider the remaining $17 as a donation to better things. at least go watch the trailer!
http://www.dariusgoeswest.org/
okay. whew. end reviews.
so while i'm cynical and cranky, let's catch up on some reviews.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: PRICELESS (dvd)
it's a french film w/audrey tatou. to liken this to a romantic version of dirty rotten scoundrels isn't quite getting it right, but it's close. the main dude goes through periods of being sorely pathetic, but there are some nice payoffs. not the least of which is watching a very un-amelie audrey play a pretty terrible person. highly recommended.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: HARRIET THE SPY (dvd)
what the hell was eartha kitt doing in this movie? and i don't even mean that because it's a really bad nickelodeon flick, i mean...what is she doing? her character shows up for one totally unrelated scene in the middle and then in the group scene in the end. i guess it would make more sense if i read the book, but i don't wanna read the book. that's why i watched the movie. now i see if i want questions answered, i gotta do both anyway. i don't have the time for that.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: APPALOOSA (dvd)
what the hell is this cockamamie bullshit? i really don't like westerns, but i was willing to give it a shot if viggo felt it was worth doing. and you know what? it MIGHT have been halfway decent if they had got anyone--and i mean ANYONE--to play the female lead. i still like briget jones' diary and down with love, but i've hit a wall. i just can't look at renee anymore. and i feel like viggo is a little spoiled by association...like a beautiful juicy apple that has caught the rot. damn you, zellllwegggerrr.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: ALBERT FISH (dvd)
i only rented this documentary because a coworker of mine (who has wonderful vocal chords) did some voice work in it and i wanted to see what kind of work someone like her could get. i hope she got paid really well. i'm not even going to glorify this review with a summary because the makers were amatures, rolling around in shock-horror and putting this notorious old man up on a pedistal of awe and wonder. fk it.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: THE READER
have i reviewed this? don't think so. word in the industry is that harvey W. is pushing a campaign against slumdog millionare to make this one the front runner. why? i mean, i like that it's a different kind of holocaust film, one that doesn't focus directly on the camps, one with a character that regrets nothing, one with the new generation that must carry the guilt....however. holocaust film or no, it's still tremendously faulty. we already know the big reveal by the time it comes up, the ending scene with the survivor and ESPECIALLY the very last scene with the daughter is unneeded and retarded, and they should never have put kate in old lady makeup. enough time went by. get an old lady.
that being said. kate's up for her 6th oscar, and it only makes me love her more. part of me desperately wants them to put off giving it to her, like, no! she hasn't really done her best yet!! she deserves to win for a really great part! but you know what? this is a really great part. she was wonderful. i just let my personal feelings for the character get in the way of judging the craft. i wouldn't be sad if she got the little gold man this time...although i still want melissa leo to win. (even if i have issues with her as a person. anyone but *retch* angelina. TANGENT!)
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: TONIGHT: FRANZ FERDINAND by Franz Ferdinand (album)
i love them, so i love the album my default. there are songs i'm very happy with, but there are a few i'm not sure of. i need to listen to it more, but it feels very uneven to me. the synths are great...but i have to seperate my selfish want of another first-album dance-guitar fest and allow them to evolve. and i much prefer the single version of "lucid dreams" to the album version. i am not backing down on that.
but. i did buy a ticket for the first ave show on 4/28. take that as you may. it guarantees nothing, so settle the fk down. but. i am looking at airfare. let me know if you spot any good deals.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: BURN AFTER READING (dvd)
every time the coen bros put out a good film (read: no country for old men, o brother where art thou, fargo), i am their biggest fan. and then, in the middle of the good ones, they turn around and put out dreck. and not just any old dreck, dreck that is filled with great people whose performances might just carry the film despite the awful script...if only they weren't killed off halfway through the film for no good reason. what a fkn snore. next.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: A COLBERT CHRISTMAS (tv on dvd)
AHAHAHAHAHAHA *GASP* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAH
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: CORALINE (in 3D)
here we go. here's the stuff. granted, all the films i've seen so far this year were technically 2008 releases, but it still stands that this is the best film i have seen yet this year. and you know what? it will probably continue to be so for a while.
i'm surprised that they kept it pretty true to the book, changing very little, adding only a neighborhood boy for coraline to take her angst out on. the voices were wonderful, including dakota fanning, whom i wanted to have an opinion against, but i have to admit is growing up better and more talented than most hollywood brats. john hodgeson, always a favorite. the revival of the brit comedy duo french & saunders was a good choice and the out-of-the-blue appearance of TMBG was a fantastic surprise. great music, beautiful design, well-affected creepiness mixed with just enough cute (THE JUMPING MICE! OMG! THE SQUEEEES!! THE SQUEEEES!!!! i think i really annoyed the girl next to me). just beautiful. i felt like it was my birthday and every wonder that was made for coraline was made just for me.
and seeing it in 3D was ....wow. sure, they pull a few in-your-face pranks, but it really works the best when you feel like you're looking into a diarama. like if you just moved a little bit this way...you could see around that house. or if you put our your finger, you could feel the glossy blue of her hair. the flowers all stood out individually. the tunnel in the wall was extremely effective. for once i felt like 3D was used to bring me into the world, not to have things poke out of it at me. well done.
REVIEWS OF THE DUCHESS: DARIUS GOES WEST
if you'd like to give to a charity this year, here's a good cause at a good price: http://www.dariusgoeswest.org/
for $20 you can buy a dvd of this video. $3 goes to the organization to print more dvds. $17 of it goes to research DMD--duchene muscular dystophy, the most prevalent and most fatal of all forms of MD (most children stricken will not live past 20).
anyway. the film is a documentary about darius, a 15 year-old with DMD who takes a funded ride across the country from athens, GA to L.A. and back in an RV with his buddies in order to convince MTV to "pimp his ride." (the ride in question being his wheelchair.) darius recognizes that kids his age have no idea who jerry lewis is and the work the commedian does for MD, and darius decides that getting on pimp my ride will spread awareness to his generation.
along the way they stop in miami beach, new orleans, the grand canyon, san francisco. his friends painstakingly help him swim the waves of the atlantic and then carry him to the shore to put his feet in the pacific. this is a boy who had never left his home state or county, whose older brother died of the same disease at 19, never having gotten these opportunites. it's really a nice story, and darius is fkn hilarious.
it's not the greatest in terms of editing or cinematography, but really well put together for a bunch of teenagers with video cameras.
so after the screening, all of the crew (darius' friends) and darius (in his pimped out wheelchair) came in for a Q & A. now they travel all over the country spreading awareness. note that the trip was made in 2005...that makes darius the same age now that his brother was at the time of death. he knows there's no cure for him and he hasn't got much time left, but he's keeping on, and is probably the smilest person i've ever seen. they're working to get a dvd to EVERY SINGLE middle school in america. and they're almost there.
so if you only watch it once--which you should--$3 is worth the price of admission. you can consider the remaining $17 as a donation to better things. at least go watch the trailer!
http://www.dariusgoeswest.org/
okay. whew. end reviews.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 07:22 am (UTC)http://shaneprigmore.blogspot.com/
I am a weird stalker.... jeezus, I hope he doesnt google himself...
Also, we need to get our stitch on...
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 06:02 pm (UTC)yeah, i wish i could have gotten to the forum. unfortunately, i had to plan around a very busy individual. and, although said individual is a friend and it was mostly just a coffee chat, it was also a career chat that i've been desperately needing.
have you checked out the website lately????? eeee!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 06:05 pm (UTC)although, i will admit that i'm kind of disappointed in the premise of push. it seems a lot like x-men, without being cool. and a lot like jumper, with the potential to suck just as much. and a lot like wanted, without the silliness.
but yeah, now that she's making her own choices, i'm pulling for her. i hope she keeps to the smart track like elijah did...but becomes a better actor than elijah did....
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 06:07 pm (UTC)i don't know about these headaches. it may mean i need to go on a different pill. i hope not. i like mine.