All hail to Donkey

I just got home from seeing “Shrek Four”, or should I really say “Shrek too many”. DreamWorks should have stopped developing stories and concepts after the second spinoff, however, through the hokey take offs on “Beauty and the Beast”, “Zoolander” and the folk tale of “Rumplestilskin”, the character of Donkey seemed to shine through the rubbish storyline.

Back in 2001, when I was first transported from a movie theatre to “Never Never Land”, I was enthralled and captivated by the brilliancy of Donkey. Eddie Murphy could not be a more perfect cast, for his voice spoke through the character as Cinderella fit into her glass slipper (an antidote quite fitting for “Shrek). Donkey’s humor and petty stupidity made him the perfect sidekick; to the hard-edged ogre we have come to love. Perhaps there is some truth in the fact that audiences may not have admired Shrek the way they do today if Donkey were not present. Donkey, my friends, is the key ingredient to the Shrek formula.

The great thing about Donkey is that he incorporates his humor in three ways: First through his physical comedy (e.g. in the first film we see him being sprung from a sling shot), secondly, by his charm of song (e.g., he charms his Dragon wife by the tune of his voice) and thirdly Donkey makes us laugh by simply not using his brain all the time. In moments of desperation, danger and need, situations that always seem to find Shrek, Donkey lightens the load. He most certainty does not increase their chances of survival, but when he is on the screen audiences roar with laughter. Roger Ebert even said in his 2001 review, “Donkey provides some of the movies best laughs”.

In scenes where Donkey smiles and shows his big white buckteeth, he does it with such charm and silliness. He represents the common nickname associated with his species: the ass. Shrek constantly wants to shut him up, but right when he smiles, we want him to sing, dance and simply annoy us! Don’t we all have friends like that, where at times you want to just rip their heads off, but at the end of the day we love them for what they bring to the table? That is so Donkey!

Donkeys in general, as mentioned above, are referred to as assess. They are a descendent of the horse family and are known for their durability and energy. Perhaps that is why Shrek’s right hand man, was emitted as a donkey. Donkey is always durable amongst his physical wear downs and is energetic no matter what the condition. Donkeys have also descended throughout evolution for centuries. They served as aides throughout various wars by transporting supplies for the soldiers. They are fighters and never give up. The character of Donkey never quits on his spirit, nor relinquishes on Shrek’s. He may not be the smartest and strongest donkey, but his heritage is. It exists within him.

The Uploaded "Morning Glory"

"Morning Glory".... has potential, but how much can you tell from a trailer?!

In light of the fact that I just posted my review for "Letters to Juliet", I thought I would situate a light comedic trailer for movie goers to look forward to. I just went on Traileraddict and viewed Rachel McAdam's new film, "Morning Glory". The movie comprises of an all star cast, which includes Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford and Patrick Wilson. "Morning Glory" looks semi-promising, for a comedy, of course.

It seems to have the feel of a slight Nancy Meyers movie, who directed "It's Complicated in 2009 (a personal favorite) and "Something's Gotta Give". The only draw back I for see in "Morning Glory" is that it strays away from reality.

Enjoy, nonetheless!

A "Win-WIn" Situation

Applehead Pictures and Summit Entertainment produced a terrific film for the genre it lives in: the romantic comedy. Although I am a girl, I do not usually attend these “chick flick adventures”, however, “Letters to Juliet” was an enjoyable film that just made you feel good. How the plot of the picture flowed so well is slightly debatable. From the in-depth screen time that it gave to the country hill sides of Italy to the hokey love story that ties into one of Shakespeare’s classics, it left me with one thought: gosh I want to travel to Verona and fall in love, with a hot Italian of course!

“Letters to Juliet” is about a woman named Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) who is a fact checker for The New Yorker, however, as typical aspirations go, she yearns to be a writer. The audience soon discovers that she and her finance Victor (Gael Garcia-Bernal) are traveling to Verona as sort of their pre-honey moon, since they are not yet married. As the trip beings, however, it’s far from idealistic. Victor is a chef and is obsessed with travelling to all of the vineyards to try out Italy’s most salivating wine and cheese. Sophie’s plan all along was to sight see. For me, traveling with my boyfriend to vineyards in Italy sounds like a dream, however, to Sophie its not. The two decide to adventure on their own, which leads Sophie to Juliet’s Capulet’s house, a historical landmark one must visit while they are in Verona. There, she sees woman all over writing letters to Juliet asking for advice, on none other than love. Soon she befriends the “secretaries of Juliet” who slave away at answering all of these questions; they’re all very dedicated. Of course Sophie joins the team and discovers a love letter written 50 years ago, so naturally she responds, and thus her adventure beings.

Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) arrives to Verona with her hotheaded grandson after receiving Sophie’s response. She, like many of the other ladies, is on the prowl for her long lost love Lorenzo, whom she had a love affair with when she was just 15 years old. Sophie and her grandson Charlie initially butt heads, which only stimulates their sexual tension. As their adventure continues on the search for Lorenzo, within the landscape of Sienna the sparks fly between the two. With their hard work, laughter, tears and upsets, Claire eventually finds her Lorenzo in a heart felt embrace.

As for the ending my friends, you will have to tune in to see what happens. But, in any romantic love story, it does give audiences their much-desired Hollywood ending; so do not expect something out of the ordinary. “Letters to Juliet” is a movie that cannot be heavily analyzed, for one must take it as it is: pure entertainment. Seyfried gives a descent performance, however, at times I could not tell if she was acting or just rattling off her lines. Her scenes with the classic Vanessa Redgrave were believable; however, Redgrave provided her some craft to work with. Bernal’s portrayal as the self-centered Victor was a bit witty mixed with comedic elements. Fans of Bernal are used to seeing him in dramas, so to see him in a comedic role was different; for better or for worse. Although he had a descent amount of lines in the film, most of them alternated from “this is unbelievable” to his infamous “win-win” line; in reference to food, not his fiancé Sophie.

Finally, what makes “Letter to Juliet” work as a romantic film was that its entire story unfolded and ended in Italy. New York was a minor location; a location that represented reality. Italy was their fairy tale land. What made Claire and Lorenzo’s encounter so special, was that it did not take place in Central park, but it took place on a vineyard in Italy, a place where you know the wine is good, pure and lacks preservatives. I can honestly tell all of you that I was more captivated by the scenery of Italy, rather than the story, however, combining the two (Italy and the love story) made for an adorable romantic comedy.

I love to keep my readers updated with great new movie trailers to watch. Not only does viewing movie previews kill time, but it stirs the anticipation for new, juicy and upcoming films. I just recently previewed this one on apple trailers. It is entitled "Love Ranch" and it's the latest cinematic narrative from Capitol Films. It stars Helen Mirren (my personal favorite) and Joe Pesci. The story is about a couple who opened the first legal brothel in Nevada. It seems dramatic and very well written and I could watch this trailer over and over until its released in theaters! Enjoy:)

Harry Brown: gore central

When you attend a showing of an action/revenge thriller that contains lots of blood and gore, it’s usually a bad sign when the man behind draws your focus to his popcorn chomping and heavy breathing, rather than the actual movie. If guns and murder cannot drown out the crunch of movies’ ideal meal, then we have a huge problem on our hands. In Michael Caine’s latest drama Harry Brown, Caine plays an ex-marine who lives in the slums of London. His life is cold, raw and depressing, and the area where he resides is becoming very unsafe. Drug lords and gangs are taking over the housing projects where he lives and commit numerous murders on a daily basis to innocent civilians. Upon his wife dying of illness in a hospital, he lives his life in solitude, except when he plays chess with his best friend Sid. Sid, however, has been a bit disheveled and upset due to these young punks interfering with his daily life. For example, in one scene the audience observes him putting out a fire, which they lit on his doorstep. Harry Brown does not make its full turning point until these murderous gang members execute Sid. After Brown realizes that the police (Emily Mortimer) are not only useless, but cannot discover necessary evidence to jail these criminals, Brown taps into his past as a “killing marine” and to take matters into his own hands.

The movie is easily traceable for every step is not only predictable, but overtly gory. It’s intensity of death and suffrage adds nothing to the plot and if anything, it reveals too much pointless detail. As Harry Brown commits these murders, to seek justice for Sid’s death, Mortimer’s character, Alice Frampton figures out his “vigilante style” and investigates him, despite her discrepancies she faces at work. In the end Brown detonates his enemies and saves Frampton, with a secret twist that I will not give away, although the twist did nothing to heighten this unsurprising plot.

Although my summary was a bit harsh, Harry Brown was not a terrible movie. I think if the direction of the film somehow made it less violent, it could have added a softer element to the plot. As a woman, I love gore an action, more so than the average female, however, for some reason this movie made my stomach flip. It was unfortunate, for it took away from Caine’s performance. His ability to tap into this role was terrific and he lingered in character the entire duration of the film. What I loved about his performance was that he did not reveal what his character was capable of too slowly or too fast. When he did unveil his threshold for violence and killing however, he exposed it in a conventional manner. Mortimer lent a humane and sympathetic character trait to her role, and the audience could instantly tell that she felt too sorry for Brown to turn him into the law. She was always on his side.

Harry Brown contained great acting and a descent script; however, the abundant amount of violence took away the thrill of the revenge. The story contained original elements, however, felt similar to other retribution films we have viewed in the past. The saying less is more could have been applied to the overall narrative, a technique that Caine employed in his portrayal of, Harry Brown.

What a Trailer way to kill some time

During my many hours of procrastination, my number one distraction is to watch movie trailers. If you don’t have time to fit in a movie during a study break, then break it down and get the gist of what you’re actually trying to watch. They’re short, sweet and give me a glimpse into a plot that remains so different from my very own. Sometimes they make me laugh and sometime they make me cry and my number one rule, when going to the movies, is to get there in time to view the coming attractions, for sometimes, the trailers are better than the actual pictures themselves; they’re designed that way, especially if the movie is down right bad.

NINE

For some reason, one trailer that will always stick out in my mind is the preview for “Nine”, Bob Marshall’s most current musical released by the Weinstein Company. As the song “Be Italian” plays steadily in the background sung by Fergie, I remember being so intrigued by the feel of a Broadway stage mixed with the glitz and glam of Hollywood. As the trailer unfolds, I remember being mesmerized by the array of talent casted for the film. From Nicole Kidman to Sofia Loren, to Judi Dench to Daniel Day Lewis, it seemed too good to be true. There is something about Judi Dench’s voice that always draws me to her characters; even in a movie trailer. Furthermore, anything with Daniel Day Lewis attracts my attention, and to have his talents lent to a musical stirred my anticipation to see the film.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/nine/

MALICE IN WONDERLAND

After browsing through the current selection of Apple movie trailers, one trailer, in particular, sparked my attention. It is the trailer of a new film called “Malice in Wonderland” starring Maggie Grace, the girl from “Taken” who has that bizarre, limp run. She’s also from the first season of “Lost”. I almost didn’t click on it, however, am very happy that I did. It’s obviously a modern take on the classic tale of “Alice in Wonderland”. The film reminded me of a Tim Burton rendition, however, take away the acid psychedelic aspect and throw in some real life craziness and there you have it. The premise is centralized around Alice whose father is a billionaire. Struck by a cab in what seems like a seedy area of London, far from her home, we follow Alice as she’s trying to search for her mother in what seems like an entertaining dark fairy tale. All of the necessary characters are present, however, instead of being make believe, they take on the personas of actual people; low-lives. I would assume that the crooks she gets mixed up with will want some sort of ransom, but hopefully as the story unwinds, she can discover where she is and why she got there.

The Blindside

Hey guys!! This is my first post ever and just to be silly, I am going to upload my review on "The Blindside" although it's already been released, just so you can get a taste of my writing. Movies are my passion and ultimate escape through life.

To watch “The Blindside” is like attending one of my Syracuse football games. You cheer, you cry and you are touched by the victory that the story ends with. Based on the original true novel The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, by Broderick Johnson, the novel allows audiences to gaze into the life of Michael Oher, a traumatized and fearful young man who is raised in the projects with very little opportunity. He is then given a chance when the Tuohy family encounters him one night while he is walking home in the cold. Oher is protected, fed, sheltered and most importantly loved by these fine people. Furthermore, they provided him with all of the necessary tools, including playing college football at Ole Miss, which enables him to become the all-star NFL player he is today.

Just like in a football game, or any sporting event for that matter, the team needs all of the necessary components; otherwise they will have no chance of winning. It needs the right coach, the right trainers, and most importantly the right draft picks. Making a movie is no different. Without the right director, cast and crew, one is just asking for a cinematic crash and burn. What struck me most about “The Blindside” was not its tear wrenching story, but its casting choices for the characters; like any sport team, it drafted its actors well. Without that, I do not think the story would have unfolded properly on screen.

I vividly remember walking out of the movie theatre and being annoyed at my friends when they laughed in my face after I announced that Sandra Bullock would receive her first Oscar nomination as an actress because of her performance. That was in January. Jump to March, I chuckled to myself as she scooped her first Oscar and delivered her acceptance speech, while thinking about the eye rolls I received from my friends. I always enjoyed the works of Sandra Bullock from her box-office hit Speed to not-so-box office achievement, Two Weeks Notice, but never thought she had what it took to act in a compelling story. I viewed her as only to entertain and make people laugh, not captivate. The role of Leigh Anne Touhy was made for Bullock for she got every move, gesture and word of the character down to the bone. She not only lent her talent as an actress to the role, but as a businesswoman, she was smart and delicate about her choice. Not only did she defy the odds and my preconceived judgments, but also she knew her capabilities as an actress, which ultimately enabled her to fill her shoes of the role at hand.

I feel as though it is safe to say, that The Blindside is a win or victory for Bullock as an actress, more so than it is about telling Michael Oher’s story. It’s Bullock’s drama and no one elses. As the audience, we fall in love with Bullock’s sincere sensibility she lends to the role, which allows us, ultimately to relate and “root” to her character.