Category Archives: Movies
Christmas Eve Post:Top 5 Christmas Movies
Christmas is probably my favorite time of the year. I love eating the traditional Christmas type foods, playing in the snow(if we are lucky enough to get any), shopping for unique gifts for my love ones, but my favorite part of Christmas would have to be watching Christmas movies. Some of these movies mean so much to me because I have watched them every year since I was little, and I don’t hold back during this time. This article, if you couldn’t guess already, will be about my Top 5 Christmas movies, why they are so great, and a short video clip from the movie. Hopefully you are already familiar with these great movies and this article along with the video clips brings back some good Christmas memories and encourages you to watch these great movies with your family.
Music for snowy mornings – “Edward Scissorhands”
As you already know, I have a love affair with Danny Elfman’s music.
This morning I deviated from my current obsession with Beetlejuice and instead of listening to that soundtrack during my morning commute I was inspired by the snow flurries to put in the music from Edward Scissorhands. A coworker had reminded me about the beauty of it when I was talking about my love of the Beetlejuice soundtrack. She mentioned that she often played it when laying her grandson down to sleep. Just after that conversation I went and found my copy of the soundtrack and set it out where I’d be able to just grab it and go but continued on with my unexplainable Beetlejuice fascination.
A Galactic Collective Unconscious in Star Trek?
Romulus & Remus
Every now and then I end up in an incredibly geeky conversation at work. This week I was mentioning having shown Star Trek: Nemesis to my friend Amanda. As I was writing about the things that I like about the movie (even though it’s not my favorite) I mentioned the Remans and how it was interesting to have a movie focused on them. That immediately led to me wondering about the naming of the Romulan homeworld and how they ended up with names from Earth mythology. (Romulus and Remus)
As I was typing all this out, because of course I had to lay out my train of thought for my fellow geek, I speculated on the possibility of a galactic collective unconscious in the Star Trek universe. Carl Jung talks about it a great deal and uses it to explain how things like ancient civilizations on Earth developed similar myths, legends and stories without being able to communicate with each other. He says that we all have access to this collective unconscious that is universal to our species and we draw from the archetypes already in there when we create many of our stories and legends.
What if that could be applied on a galactic scale to many races in the Star Trek universe?
Think about it.
“And then they fled from the roof on flamingos.” – Syfy’s “Alice”
Last night I got to introduce a couple of friends to the Syfy miniseries “Alice†at our weekly Stitch n Bitch. I know I’ve mentioned this show in passing a few months ago but I wanted to go into a bit more detail on it and see if I can entice you guys to give it a chance.
The setting of this version of the story puts us in modern times but in Wonderland approximately 150 years have passed since the Alice of Legend was there. The main character of this retelling, Alice Hamilton, is often asked if she is The Alice but she continues to deny giving the story a plot that doesn’t feel like a reincarnation story or a sequel. It was presented on Syfy as a 2-part series but if you nab the dvd be prepared for a full three hours of awesome visuals and story. There is no break in the middle so you may find that it’s later than you realize when you finally make it to the end credits.
The cast is a mix of actors and actresses that I know well (Kathy Bates, Colm Meaney, Tim Curry) and some that I hadn’t seen, or at least I hadn’t been aware of, before watching the movie (Caterina Scorsone, Andrew Lee Potts). For me, such a mix tends to make me sit up and take more notice of a movie. I can now claim to have a bit of a crush on Andrew Lee Potts as Hatter. If you’re interested in sets, costuming and other visuals you won’t be disappointed. Wonderland is presented as someplace that looks real enough to believe it might exist.
The storyline is different enough from other retellings and reimaginings that I actually found myself caught up in the story. Last night the girls were watching and making guesses about how certain things would turn out and were pleasantly surprised to be wrong. This version of the story brings the characters to life as more “human†and at the same time with less “humanity†in many cases. There are many elements that have an “American McGee’s Alice†feel to them, name the dark tone of Wonderland and many of the characters. Yet at the same time we’re given a heroine who is believable. We’re not even asked to believe that she’s related to the original Alice in any way.
Heck, she’s even a Judo instructor and uses that to kick butt in Wonderland when push comes to shove. Who wouldn’t love that?
There are some awesome and memorable characters and moments in the series. The Hatter in general is awesome (because when is the Hatter not awesome?), the White Knight is so loveable that you’ll want to hug him, squeeze him and call him George, and Alice manages to not always be a damsel in distress. Wait until you meet the Walrus and the Carpenter and discover the “Oystersâ€. Those and the Tweedles reach some serious levels of creepy.
If you’re a fan of any of the Alice in Wonderland incarnations but haven’t seen this one (even I put off watching it for months), go ahead and give it a try. Then come back and let me know what you think.
Even more music to make you feel epic – Beetlejuice
Well, this music might make you feel more manic than epic but it’s still some awesome music.
There are some composers whose work is extremely recognizable. For me, Danny Elfman is the one that I can pick out usually within a few notes. While I’d heard his stuff with Oingo Boingo growing up I don’t think I sat up and paid real attention to his music until I watched Beetlejuice. I remember being young and knowing that just the opening chords of the main title, complete with the creepy sounds of “Daylight come and me wan’ go home…†scared me even then but I loved the music.
“All Jedi had was a bunch of muppets.” – We’ll miss you Irvin Kershner
I got the news last night about Leslie Nielsen and while my mom wasn’t surprised I was floored. I’d had no idea he’d been ill for awhile…only that I hadn’t seen him in anything for a bit.
Then this morning I get smacked with the news that Irvin Kershner, director of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, passed away as well.
For me, though I saw Mr. Nielsen in many things (one of my favorites might have been his appearance in the show “Due Southâ€) it’s Irvin Kershner’s death that hits me hard. As you all know, I love Star Wars with a passion and I adore Empire out of all of them for many reasons (it was the introduction of Boba Fett after all). My love of Empire might date back to when it first came out in theaters in 1980. Though I wasn’t quite in this world yet my mother did go to see it while in the last stages of pregnancy with me. She and I both blame that one movie viewing for my Star Wars obsession and I don’t mind in the least.
Empire was memorable to me for its darker tone, music, intense character development and of course Boba Fett. I have always agreed with Dante from “Clerks†that Empire was better than Jedi. Don’t get me wrong, Jedi was also amazing and wonderful (and I much prefer Luke in Jedi) but there was something about the darkness of Empire that called me to when I was younger and still reaches out to me today as a 30-year-old geek girl. I have to thank Irvin Kershner for giving me that. While George Lucas had the vision, it was Kershner who brought it together with the cast and crew to make something so incredibly memorable.
As a bonus, Kershner also happened to direct a couple episodes of one of my “guilty pleasure†television shows, SeaQuest DSV. Don’t worry, they weren’t from the unmentionable season 3. Instead it was the pilot episode that he had a hand in and it’s obvious in the quality.
I’m always saddened by the loss of actors, musicians, composers and directors that I’ve grown up watching or enjoying their works. Today I find that I’m even more melancholy than usual. I think I’ll have to break out my copy of Empire and then Dracula Dead and Loving It (just for you, Leslie) and have a drink or two while knowing that though these men may be gone, their legacy will remain with us.
(this post brought to you by Elf who can, on occasion, wax poetic)
Delightful Downloadable Deals
Like many other gamers and geek aficionados I’ve had the “wait & see” mentality concerning buying DLC, games, and movies this year. It seems as though everything gets replaced, sequalized, or clearance so quickly there is no need or advantage to purchase early (unless you have a special interest in something, like Mass Effect lol). Well due to Thanksgiving weekend once again Microsoft and Sony are slashing the pricing on a lot of there digital content which will all be offered good through November 29th.
“First sign of madness, talking to your own head” – Thoughts Before Harry Potter
I haven’t seen the new Harry Potter movie yet.
*ducks any flying objects thrown her way*
Don’t worry I do intend to see it. I’m even taking my mom who is also a HP fan. I am, however, extremely nervous about how well the film is done.
You see, I’ve watched the HP films with growing dislike. I’m a huge fan of the books. I’ve attended midnight release parties and waited in lines for ages. I’ve stayed up all night reading the just released book from cover to cover. I’ve devoured fanfictions set in the fandom and even written a few myself. Heck, I even entered (and won) a costume contest dressed up as Ginny Weasley in her seventh year at the last book release party.
And yet I can’t bring myself to like the movies. I’m currently rewatching them in hopes that I’ll be able to look past the bad taste that they put in my mouth and be able to enjoy the newest one. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.
For me, a self-proclaimed snob in regards to many fandoms, the movies simply leave out and change too much from the original source material. Yes, I realize you’re trying to cram larger and larger novels into a single movie not over 2 hours long but there are some things that are being left out that end up kinda crucial to the plot later on. Take the third book and movie “Prisoner of Azkaban†for example. In the book they reveal not only the authors of the Marauder’s Map (Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs) but also explain who those nicknames belong to. In the movie you see the author’s names on the map but you never hear who they were. It’s important to realize why each one of the “Marauders†had their particular name. In later movies, Pettigrew is referred to as Wormtail but there was never an explanation in the films about that name. Maybe they expect you to have read the novels. Maybe they expect you to just not remember the map authors or not question at all.
Maybe they just left out the wrong things in the movies.
As the movies continued I was more and more disappointed with the scenes they chose to leave out and the things they changed around. The fourth movie was especially disappointing with the complete lack of Snape’s scenes as he was rather important in the book. Now we’re to the final movie which has been split into two parts. The very fact that they split it into two full length movies gives me hope for it. Of course, I also had hope for the Star Wars prequels and we saw how those turned out.
I have friends that love both for being what they are. I sometimes wish I could share their views but I’m enough of a snob to be unable to separate the two. Instead I often describe the movies as being made by someone who just maybe glanced at the dustjacket of a Harry Potter book in the store.
So I’ll go see the new movie this weekend and that will determine if I’ll decide to see the final part in theaters next year or if I’ll wait for the DVD. (And I’ve done it. I didn’t see Revenge of the Sith until about a year ago.)
For those of you that might have seen it what were your thoughts on it? Did it do the final book justice? Are you looking forward to the final installment next year?
More music to make you feel epic – X-Men: The Movie
That’s right…I have more music suggestions that will make you feel as though your normal commute is much more exciting than it actually is!
A movie score that I feel gets overlooked too often is the score to the first X-Men movie. I’ve heard several people scoff at Michael Kamen’s compositions for this film (he’s probably best known for the scores to films such as “Robin Hood: Prince of Thievesâ€, “Highlanderâ€, “Mr. Holland’s Opus†and also for the orchestral side to the Metallica S&M concert) but even if you are one of those people, I urge you to listen to the score once again, this time without the distraction of the movie.
The first track on the album, “Death Camp†sets the tone for the rest of the music, and you can feel the build and tension in the music leading up to the sudden quiet. The music from the opening credits, however, is found later on the album in the track called “Cerebroâ€. I’m personally a huge fan of that particular track with its sweeping strings that make me want to fly down the freeway in a manner reminiscent of the film’s opening credit sequence.
Other tracks such as “Ambush†and “Museum Fight†help to provide that feeling of action and excitement without feeling as cliché as other movie scores. These tracks maintain a slightly different feel that only heightens the experience of watching a superhero movie. Not to mention, cleaning house and listening to these track make you feel like you’ll actually win the battle against your dust bunnies.
There is one track on the album that is easily my favorite and I can listen to on repeat endlessly. “Logan and Rogue†is the final track on the score and from the moment I first heard the melody in the theater (the scene where Logan finally gets to Rogue and lifts up her limp form) I was captivated. Easily the most memorable piece of music from the movie, it’s replayed in its entirety during the end credits of the film. Every time I hear this piece I feel like I want to cry and soar at the same time. Don’t ask me how it manages to produce that feeling, but listen to it with your eyes closed and see what you think. Even those who turn up their noses and call Kamen’s score to X-Men campy and terrible often have nothing but good things to say about this particular track.
From the melodic and sad tones of the strings in the track “Logan and Rogue” to the forceful use of the same instruments in ” Ambush”, Michael Kamen shows off his ability to create an epic movie score without crossing the line into “too cheesy”. HIs score makes you feel as though it could still be applied to your own life’s soundtrack. Which is what makes it so wonderful in my opinion.
For this Elf, out of all 4 X-Men films, the score to the first is easily the most memorable. My second favorite is the score to the third movie but Kamen’s work on the music for the first film is brilliant. When the movie came out in theaters I happened to be working at one during the film’s run and would often sneak into the theater at the end of the movie just to close my eyes and listen to the music from the “Logan and Rogue†moment through the end of the credits.
Even if you think that Kamen’s work is cheesy or not epic enough for X-Men, give it a listen without the film. Let me know what you think!
A Creature of Style – The Joker
Bolland Joker
Time to spark some controversy and debate.
In the realm of the DC Universe I admit that I’m definitely in the Batman camp. And yet, within that camp my favorite character is…
I’m sure you’ve guessed it.
The Joker.
That’s right. While I have a terrible fear of clowns in general, I can’t get enough of the Joker. Maybe it’s because he openly flaunts being a psychopathic clown. Maybe it’s the snappy purple suits. Who knows? But I adore him. I’m a particular fan of the Brian Bolland version of him in comics with his shape perfectly lean and pointy. With Batman: The Animated Series we added in the voice of Mark Hamill and for me, that’s become THE VOICE I hear even when I read the comics. (If you’ve never seen any of the special features showing Mark Hamill doing THE VOICE, look them up on youtube and prepare to be amazed.) Jack Nicholson in the first Batman movie, while somewhat cheesy maintained the image. (For the sake of this post I won’t go into the abomination of the Monkey!Joker with barefeet and dreadlocks on “The Batman†cartoon)
And that image they all maintained was of style.
Rarely did you see the Joker looking disheveled. Those purple suits, often done as tailcoats, the neatly shined wingtips, the vest and tie. Even his hair was always neatly arranged. When he was locked in Arkham that man could make prison garb look stylish. But everything about him was neat. Heck, there’s many a woman (and man for that matter) who found him drop dead sexy, myself included.
So when Heath Ledger was first announced to play the Joker in “The Dark Knight†many of us pre-DK Joker fans were somewhat offended. Suddenly there were hoards of new fangirls claiming “Finally, the Joker is sexy!â€
Pardon? Finally?!
And while the initial inrritation was over his “sexiness” or lack thereof, it led to more discussion about the character in general and why people like him. Now, don’t get me wrong. I was highly impressed with the now popular Ledger!Joker. I left the midnight opening show thinking he was wonderful and fit in extremely well with the universe that Nolan had created for Batman. And yet…he’s definitely not my favorite Joker. Why is that, you ask?
Because he’s not neat. Gone is the pressed suit with a tail coat and shiny wingtips. Gone is the very careful way he was vain about his appearance. Gone is the paper white skin and permanently green hair. It was replaced with a Joker that instead works for Nolan’s universe but lacks the many things that I found to be appealing about the character himself.
Gone is the style.
So while I can appreciate the Ledger!Joker as an incarnation, and indeed he was great with the acting, the laughter and the wonderful lines, I just can’t find it in me to name him in my favorite Jokers. To me, the Joker was as much a creature of style as he was a murdering psychopathic clown. To take away one takes away part of what makes that character so wonderful, in my opinion.
Now that I’ve opened this can of worms I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are you one of the fans that only came to like the Joker after the Dark Knight? Are you a staunch lover of the original character? Do you like both? Do you hate me for my quick dismissal of Monkey!Joker? Go ahead…let me have it!
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