Strip Me

Take what you want
Steal my pride
Build me up
Or cut me down to size
Shut me out
But I’ll just scream
I'm only one voice in a million
But you ain't taking that from me
Oh oh no you ain't taking that from me

I dont need a microphone
To say what I been thinking
My heart is like a loudspeaker
Thats always on eleven
And if you strip me,
Strip it all away

If you strip me,
What would you find
If you strip me,
Strip it all away
I’m still the same

- STRIP ME by Natasha Bedingfield

Over the course of the week, I've gotten to see two interesting documentaries. Usually I'm wary of documentaries, but the two that I saw recently did a pretty decent job and reached me on every level. After watching both of them, I walked away, not with a flight of fancy enthusiasm to conquer the world, but with a bigger quest for knowledge, research, and understanding—much of which I've already begun to incorporate into my own life.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

I will admit, this one was heavy-handed in its one-sided cause, but it also provided me with enough facts and resources to dig deeper to understand the underbelly of the American education system. The movie highly promotes charter schools as the premiere form of education for students and it shows a lot of pros about them, while heaping on the disdain for public schools. After seeing the film, I'm not FULLY convinced that charter schools are the complete answer, but their techniques and some other practical solutions provided in the film do shed some hope for the future of education that can be used on an at-home level. It also digs deeper into what circumstances are halting success in public schools across America. It was a hard pill for me to swallow at first, because I came from GREAT public schools and each of my teachers genuinely cared about my personal success in the realm of a quality education and positive social growth, but I could see where some of the data provided was valid. The truth I walked away with is that as a community, much can be done to help push education forward—through community involvement, individual awareness of the issue at hand, and by parents understanding that they DO have options and can make daily decisions to propel their child's academic level, there is hope for the future of America.

Here is a clip from the movie:

FREAKONOMICS

 This movie was definitely one that left me with my world turned on its side. There was a lot of information and intrigue to question various angles of basic life assumptions that I had never thought to question. It's broken down into four parts, each with their own focus. While these segments were not long enough to really provide a thorough conclusion about their individual topics, it provided enough information for me to process the data and come to my own conclusions about each topic, which I appreciated.

This was the first 3 minutes of the film. This part wasn't really what intrigued me, as much as it was the segment about all the tips and tricks that parents buy into to be "successful" parents who raise their kids to be "the best of the best." The segment on observations of the decrease in crime rates also got me to think about things from a different angle.

I'm not saying necessarily that you should RUSH out to the theaters to see these documentaries because they will BLOW YOUR MIND, but they are worth the watch on Netflix. They bring awareness and provoke thought. I feel that if we would spend more time thinking about such things and how we can challenge our own viewpoint of the things that are taught to us (and which we sometimes take at face value), as opposed to thinking about surface issues or how to get the next big awesome thing that will seemingly enhance our lives, then we'll be doing our communities and our own families a great service.

American Daydreams

As I look back through the recent offerings that Hollywood has released in theaters, I find myself wondering, "Can't they come up with something more original?" I am aware that due to the economy and other fears and facets of the movie-making industry that the safe bet is to ride the 3-D wave while it's here and to put out as many secure sequels as possible. I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. In fact, with the exception of Toy Story 3 (which I saw in 2D first), the 3D movies I've seen advertised just haven't seemed to be worthwhile endeavors for me. But all in all, I was in search of something new, something original, something creative that was able to stand on its own without so many extra gimmicks and bells and whistles—and I think INCEPTION did that.

Last night I decided to go to the midnight showing of Inception. Mostly because I was entirely anxious to see it, having read plot lines and script reviews online. Also for the sheer fun of going to a midnight showing! So I drank some coffee to stay awake before I headed out, stuffed my Twizzlers into my bag and headed out the door to experience Inception on the IMAX screen.

I must admit that part of the fun of going to the movies is the things you overhear in line and in the theater. Last night, as I was waiting in line, there were 3 guys on my right hand side talking about their girlfriends and how they don't really like them. One of the guys even said his girlfriend's name was "Anna 'Bail on James' Murphy," which made me turn my head and chuckle quietly. The two guys on my left side were MUCH funner anyway. One of the guys had missed a call earlier that day and was trying to guess who it was. "It's a 406 area code. I wonder if it's ______. Or maybe it's _____. Actually I bet it's ______ cause he said he'd be in _____" So I put my eavesdroppery to good use and looked up the area code on my phone.

"What's the area code?"

"Oh, it's 406."

"Ah. Okay. That's Montana."

"Montana! I knew it!"

After that, the guys both turned to me and began asking me what I was looking forward to in the movie. We all shared our relief that it wasn't in 3D and laughed so hard at different movie jokes from other failed 3D flicks.

We eventually were let into the theater and got to experience the summer blockbuster hit of ingenious proportions. It was so action packed and I fell completely in sync with the characters. I was so engulfed in what was happening to the team on the screen, holding my breath and freaking out at tense scenes. At one point, I turned my head and (no lie) every single person in my row was on the edge of their seats looking up, wondering what was going to happen next. With every twist and turn of the movie, I found myself trying to guess what would happen next, how things were all intertwined, who was good, who was bad, who was going to live, and who was going to die. There were so many things I loved about the movie. The imagination that went into each scene and the score that backed it up kept my hopes up that the movie-making industry might actually be returning to a state of originality and pure character driven masterpieces. I'm still holding out hope.

The actors in the movie did such an amazing job portraying each of their characters and had so much great chemistry that the dialogue and expressions conveyed totally added to the entire package as well. It was refreshing to me that others could see Ellen Page in her true versatile acting form, as opposed to the stereotypical role of JUNO that most identify her with. Joseph Gordon-Levitt completely blew me away in his role and the entire supporting cast was just perfect! And it doesn't really need to be said, but I'll say it anyway—Leonardo DiCaprio DID not disappoint! The intensity he brings to each character is wonderful and after seeing him in this movie, it's just a reassurance that he hasn't lost his touch.

The action scenes were intense but not overdone. I think my favorite part about it was that Christopher Nolan didn't feel that he NEEDED the movie to be made in 3D. It was complex, intriguing, and just a fun film to watch without extra bells and whistles. If I were to describe it, I would say it was a combination of The Dark Knight and The Prestige. Others have also mentioned that it exceeds the greatness of Memento—which is saying a lot.

I read this review earlier and it resonated with me:

He did not raise the bar. He took the bar and put it somewhere no one would ever, in their wildest dreams, think of finding it. . . .

Nolan’s exploration of the mysteries of the dream world is entrenched in truthful scientific research while offering a humanistic and philosophical take on how the dream is moved and how it can confuse or rearrange our individual realities. He also juggled multiple story lines, all supposedly progressing at different rates through time, without being the least bit confusing. . . .

But I think this Tumblr user pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said:

I will be INCREDIBLY surprised if the cast and crew of Inception doesn't sweep every upcoming award show they're nominated for! I highly recommend you go see this movie. It was worth every dollar I spent on it.

Even after the movie was over, the movie was not over. I got home, went straight to bed and (no lie) had an "Inception-style" dream. Leo DiCaprio was even in it and it was like I was still IN the movie. I felt like I woke up at least 20 times through the night, even though it was probably only 3—when my 1st alarm went off, when my 2nd alarm went off, and when my body finally woke up. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to fall right back asleep to see what would happen next.

Movie Trailer for Inception:

Bullet With Butterfly Wings

I just watched Shutter Island and I gotta admit, I feel like a rat in a cage. Seriously, I thought I had the plot nailed down in my head, and it turns out I had certain aspects, but I had NO clue it was going to end the way it did. And the way it did end left me baffled,with so many questions. It kind of reminded me of watching The Prestige and walking away and going, "What just happened?" I'm definitely going to have to watch that one again. I gotta admit, when I first saw the trailer I thought it would be a typical psychological thriller, which I love, but I wasn't expecting much. But it really surprised me. There were some serious jump moments where I (no joke) jumped back in my seat and put my hand on my heart to "steady" it. This movie is definitely not for the faint of heart—it's pretty graphic. I've always been fascinated with the human mind and behaviors and psychology, so it fed that part of me tonight. All in all, very enjoyable!

One major way I could tell it affected me was that afterwards, I walked across the street to The Jewel Box Cafe, which I now lovingly refer to as Hogwarts . . . cause it seriously looks like it inside . . . and I opened up my laptop and noticed that one of my icons that was normally on my dock was missing. And I seriously was like, "Am I losing my mind? Did I just pretend it was there? What is going on?" I think when a psychological thriller leads you to question your own sanity AFTER the movie is over, it's done its job. Job well done, Shutter Island, job well done—I salute you Martin Scorsese, Leo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley—you've made a quality film

Boys Wanna Be Her

So I'm not gonna lie, it was so hard to watch WHIP IT tonight at the movie theater with an unbiased opinion. I mean . . .

1. It's set in Austin, Texas where I'm from and I got NOTHING but love for my hometown

2. It's about roller derby chicks, who I think are completely bad to the bone. Seriously. I know that I don't seem like it, but I'm totally an alternative chick. From the screamo rock music to the glam makeup to crazy hair colors—I LOVE the alternative tough chick gig.

3. It's about GIRL POWER! And as a screenwriter, one of my favorite things is making the girl the hero, as opposed to the guy. I dunno why. It's probably a subconscious thing, or my appreciation for strong women as a whole.

4. I HEART Ellen Page as an actress. It's so hard for me NOT to like a movie she's in. That chick just always does a great job, in my opinion.


So yeah. It was tough. But I was able to watch it from a somewhat unbiased perspective. I still enjoyed it a LOT. Mainly because it was a chick flick, but it wasn't a TYPICAL chick flick with flowers and sob songs and sitting around a couch talking about how "He said he loved me . . . boo hoo . . . that homewrecker . . . boo hoo" business. It was a TOUGH-CHICK FLICK. Thus, I really really liked it.

However, there were things I didn't like. Let's start with what I DID like and then we'll go with what I didn't like and then I'll end with some notes about the soundtrack. Kind of that "lather, shave, lather" effect if you will (or if you won't).

WHAT I LIKED:
The Girl Power. Hands down. That was what made me enjoy the movie the most—the fact that it showed the power of friendships between girls and the fact that it shed some light on some of the more "socially acceptable" view of what a successful woman is and how wrong a lot of the stereotypes are.
The Scenery. Austin, Texas is and will always be my hometown. I'm not gonna lie, a GIANT smile spread across my face when I saw a shot of UNCOMMON OBJECTS on South Congress! And seeing the HI, HOW ARE YOU wall and all the other locations that reminded me of the quirkiness that IS the ATX was just wonderful.
The Actresses: They all did a great job. Even Eve was great as "Rosa Sparks." I must admit that when I saw her name on the cast list, I had my doubts. Most music artists are NOT good at acting. Eve's was a very likable character and she pulled it off well. Kristen Wiig and Ellen Page were phenomenal. Juliette Lewis did a great job playing the villain, "Iron Maven"—she made it easy to hate the villain, which is hard to do in a chick flick. I even found myself WISHING that Ari Gaynor had a bigger role.
Bliss' Journey. There are so many people from small towns that deal with the discouragement of always wanting to break out of the mold, but feeling they can never do it. That feeling that says you'll never make it. It was great following the main character's journey and feeling like you were right there with her.
The Portrayal of the Roller Derby Chicks. I LOVED that they gave insight into the lives of the ladies that participate in Roller Derby. It gives them a more "human" side, as opposed to being these tattooed, pierced, ragamuffin trash girls that most assume they are. I'm pretty sure that if I told my family I was going out for Roller Derby, holidays would get a whole lot more awkward. And my parents might disown me. Just sayin. ;) But yeah, I liked that the story went beyond just these chicks that hit each other.


WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The Choppy Film. As a disclaimer, I love indie flicks. It's true. I do. But more importantly, indie flicks that flow smoothly and don't leave the viewer wondering if the director took the term "CUTTING ROOM FLOOR" a little overboard. And I haven't read the script so maybe it's just written that way, but so many of the scenes didn't flow into one another and were just static jumps. And that kinda . . . okay, no. really annoys me. It's completely possible and beneficial that unless you are doing some intense action flick (see: Bourn Series) that you keep the scenes running smoothly in a preset order that doesn't confuse the audience.
The Love Story Arc. I get that she had to be in a relationship, but her whole relationship just seemed a bit too typical and awkward at moments. Mainly because I think the guy wasn't a really good actor. Sad, I know—but it's just my opinion. I just felt like there could have been a lot more developed into it in place of some of the more static film shots. I found myself not being able to fall in love with their love story.
The Supermarket Sweep. I felt like the movie tried to focus on so many little things that the few things that could have been BIG hit points were lost in the fuzz. It was almost like watching an episode of Supermarket Sweep, you know, and they have like 15 minutes to get as many things in the shopping cart as possible. That's just how I saw it. I think when you have a major motion picture, you should focus on 2 or 3 major points like: Adolescent Love, Fear of Living Up to Others' Expectations, and Fighting Past Stereotypes, as opposed to those 3 plus 15 other things.
The Pool Scene. Watching two people make out under water is a nice cinematic effect. Making it seem like they can make out underwater for 20 minutes without coming up for air is silly. I felt like it took away the realistic factor. I mean, unless somewhere just before, they both turned into merpeople. In which case, I take it back. But also, that would be trying to hard to add the sci-fi twist to the flick.
The Over-Girlyness. I get it. It's a chick flick. But really, it's a FULL BLOWN chick flick. And that was kind of a turn off at times. I'm glad that Drew Barrymore helmed the project. She did a pretty good job directing. But it's like when I try to make a brochure for a car company and involve one too many curly swoops. I think that some parts of the film could be toughed up and made a bit more "macho" if you will. There were certain parts where I was like, "Okay. This has gone from girl power to CHICK TOPIA." It just seemed so unreal at times. . . then again, it may just be a sign that I need to have more "girly girly girly moments." But then again, knowing myself, I'd probably run from that sort of environment.

Overall I really DID enjoy it. It made me laugh so much and I loved the acting. It definitely isn't one of those big award winning films (and I may just have to eat my words with some humble pie if it actually wins an Oscar) but it was a great Tough Chick Flick. And I DO have to congratulate the screenwriter and the director and all of them because this is SUCH a unique type of film. It's not Mona Lisa Smile. It's not Steel Magnolias. It's not The Next Karate Kid (which, by the way, should NEVER have been made). It's not Sleepless in Seattle. It's like MIRACLE for chicks. And I haven't seen a movie like that in a long while.

The music was great as well! The music supervisor did a great job! I loved that it involved a lot of different styles. I think my favorite song from the soundtrack is the LOLLIPOP remix. It's a perfect chick steeze 'get pumped up, ready to rumble' angle on that song. :D Also good songs from the album Har Mar Superstar's cover of Never My Love and Crown of Age by The Ettes.

The Verdict

Once upon a time in blasé film infested Hollywood . . .

Quentin Tarantino helped bring back the art of major motion pictures. That's right, I said it. He's a cinematic wonder. I went to see Inglourious Basterds today and at the end, I clapped so loud. Lucky for me, the ENTIRE auditorium clapped along with me. It is truly a genius film. It brought in refreshed techniques and a strong script with it. It's been a while since I've been so engrossed in a film like this.

I went into it knowing kind of what to expect. I mean, when it comes to Tarantino, you can always count on tons of violence—very vivid violence at that, random dark scenes that spew from his creative mind, and lots of language. And I was so surprised! I mean, don't get me wrong, there were definitely elements of all of that, but for once I felt like the main star of his film was NOT the guns, was NOT the language, but was his characters that were so strongly defined and so keenly portrayed. I mean, there were SO many little details that went into the web he wove and in the end, you just find yourself expecting one thing and being completely surprised at the outcome. I won't go into too much detail because I want you to go see it with an open mind, ready to be caught off guard like I was. Yes, I thought it was THAT good. As a beginning screenwriter, I've read through a lot of scripts and I've written and re-written and RE-re-written some of my own stuff. And it's always so tough cause you don't want to write what's already been done, and I feel like a lot of the movies I've seen recently have just done that. I mean, I know that especially in this economy, the movie studios are looking for what they know works, such as predictable rom-coms and bloodlusty horror flicks that rely on bloodflow to counteract the lifeless acting and storylines. I get it. But Tarantino bent all those rules and in Inglourious Basterds, teaches us to connect with a character so strongly that just the mention of a name of an antagonist in the flick makes your stomach turn upside down and you feel as if it's your OWN NEMESIS that you've had to come face to face with.

I love that in each of the chapters of the movie, I was given a strong piece of the puzzle that left me wondering how it all tied in and when that chapter was over, I was like, "Wait, no, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT??" In so many movies, they give it to you cause, sadly, if they don't, you'll probably never get it. But just as my mind was trying to wrap around what could possibly happen next, a new development came into the picture and it played into just a corner of what I'd just seen, totally blowing my perception of what might be coming up next out of the water.

It definitely inspired me to rethink some of my own screenplays and to challenge myself to explore plot twists I'd never considered.

Don't get me wrong, if you don't prepare yourself for a Tarantino flick, you're gonna hate it. That's just how it is. He is definitely a cinematically acquired taste. And after Grindhouse came out, many people lost faith in him as an artist . . . and I can't really blame them either—the trailer alone made me not want to even bother, but he totally redeemed himself with Inglourious Basterds. I think that any movie that can intrigue me, especially when I

A) am not really a fan of Brad Pitt
B) am not a fan of subtitles
C) am not a super huge fan of gore/violence
D) am usually turned off by the lame portrayals of just how morose Hitler is
E) am ruined from screenwriting and thus i pick apart every element of the movie

has become something of amazing art form. I really encourage you to watch it. I mean, go in knowing what you can expect from Tarantino, but be ready to be impressed in the cinematic quality it offers. From the soundtrack to the lighting, to the camera angles, and even to the wonderful supporting role portrayed by THE OFFICE's BJ Novak, I hope you get to clap at the end too. :D