Project Runway: Bright Lights/Big City

Another week, and more Project Runway.

I really don't like the face Suede talks in third person. Every now and then it's funny, but when he does it every sentence... cringe.

What's with the red ponchos? I understand it's raining, but these designers look ridiculous. Maybe it's an effort to humble them by making them wear something hideous. But of course Tim Gunn has his nice jacket, because he's amazing.

The challenge: Create a look inspired by the New York night life. The inspired-by-a-picture-you-take challenge is always a solid one.

Stella sucks for real. Hammering away and making leather? Get the fuck out.

I really like Kenley's picture. And her. Her dress is looking all right, so far. And I love when Tim calls things 'costume-y.' I think that's my favorite criticism.

Wow, Blayne explaining street slang to Tim Gunn is great. Seriously, Tim is the best part of this show.

The GOOD: Leanne, Jerell, Blayne



The BAD: Daniel (yuck), Jennifer, Keith



Emily's dress... the dress is so well tailored, just the ruffles are awful. But they're really awful.

How did Kenley win? I mean, I like her, but... meh.

Emily leaving makes me sad. Oh well.

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Hellboy II: The Golden Army

When I saw the trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, I thought it looked great. The only problem was that the first Hellboy looked awful and I never saw it. But since they were done by the director of Pan's Labyrinth, which I love, I gave them a chance.

The first Hellboy, for lack of a better word, was underwhelming. I'm not going to review it here.

Hellboy II was a far superior film. Rare when sequels surpass the originals, we know, but here it is again. It seems a trend for superhero movies that the second film is better (see: Spider-man, The Dark Knight, X-men). What I think happened this time around is Guillermo del Toro was granted all the freedom in the world because of his success with Pan's Labyrinth, and he could put that to use in Hellboy II. All of the creatures in this film are so well-crafted it makes the first film seem elementary.

Yet still, we're stuck with Hellboy, far from the most interesting hero in the universe. Actually, Hellboy himself is boring and predictable. The plot is decent at best, but if you're willing to just go along for the ride, it's a fun one. But without the strange creatures populating the Hellboy universe, I'm afraid we're pretty much looking at a worse Punisher (which is close to the bottom of the barrel).

Oh, also, you can save yourself some time and go into the sequel without seeing the original. Honestly, you will miss nothing.

Rating: 5/7

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Pineapple Express

When I saw the first trailer for this film, I was unimpressed. But 'Red Band' trailers are becoming extremely popular, and as with almost all other films (Step Brothers still looks awful), the redness makes it look much more appealing.



Don't know if I'll see it in theaters, but it can't be worse than Harold and Kumar 2 (but can be worse than White Castle).

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Project Runway: 5-02

Here we are, with another week of the fabulous Project Runway. Do these episodes not have names? My DVR isn't helping. Who knows?

So there's the traditional model-repicking. Some of these girls are gorgeous. I mean, they're no Heidi Klum, but then again, who is?

So the challenge seems to be cocktail dress making. This seems way too easy. But then again, it is the beginning, so maybe it is designed to weed people out.

I knew I could count on Tim Gunn to ruin things. A 'green' cocktail dress? The models do the shopping? This sounds more fun. I like how the designers don't even get to plan with them, they just have to go, go, go.

As the designers said (most of them), a majority of those colors and fabrics are just... unmanageable. I mean, you'd think that those models would have some aspect of what looks good. But no.

I think I like Emily. Her dress from the first episode was solid, and she's not obnoxious or negative.

Suede likes to talk in third person. I mean, I kind of like him, but the third person gets on my nerves, because when it starts as a voiceover, I think it's someone else talking about Suede. But, it's not.

Tim's visits are always the best. I love when he was talking to -insert black lady's name here- about her dress, and thought the outside was the inside, and when she corrected him, he was just like, "Oh... hmm........"

Suede's dress looks freakin' crazy, but I kind of like it.

Poor Wesley, his dress looks awful. And he seems nice. Bitches like Stella need to go.

Natalie Portman as a guest judge? Omgwtf. I'm skeptical she knows about fashion. But hey, whatever. I like her.

Terri's dress looked great.

Jerell's looks hot. Two weeks in a row for him.

Joe's dress looks really great. Suede's, decent, but could've turned out better.

Stella's looks like a train wreck.

Blayne's pink and black looked great, despite my thoughts of it originally going to be tacky.

[I would've posted pictures but they aren't up on Bravo's site yet. Maybe I'll edit it later.]

Man, it's hilarious that Natalie Portman thought the same thing Tim Gunn did -- that the dress by -insert name here- was inside out.

Suede winning is pretty sweet -- though honestly I'm surprised because it will be a lot of work to manufacture his dress. But hey, good job.

I think Wesley and LeAnn should have stayed, and that ugly finned inside-out dress should have gone home. Oh well.

Not a bad episode. See you next week.

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The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is an epic movie. It is intense, all-encompassing, long, action-packed, and emotionally drenching. It is honestly, without a doubt the greatest comic book adaptation to date. The only problem it has is that, at a 2:30 runtime, there's still too much to fit in.

The film aims to work on three levels, each with its own character.

The first is with the Batman himself. He has his problems. Bruce Wayne is conflicted, fatigued, and overwhelmed, yet he continues pursuing the Batman of Gotham City out of obligation. He would almost (almost is a key word) rather give up the superhero life and spend his days quietly with Rachel Dawes. But Alfred knows him just as well as the audience does -- and sees what the audience sees. The Batman must be here to stay, no matter how hard the times become, and how hard the darkness will try to prevail.

Beyond the Batman we have Harvey Dent. Harvey Dent is, as many critics have pointed out, the curve of the story. He starts as a D.A. who focuses on stopping crime lords. He rises in political power, and once he is the citizen of Gotham's ideals, he suffers an accident that turns him to Two-Face. While the make-up is still a bit retro-cheesy, it works. We believe in Harvey Dent.

All of this is completely shut out by The Joker.

Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker is -- without a doubt -- the best performance of the year. This is not nostalgia, or repayment for Brokeback Mountain, but a genuine praise. Forget Jack Nicholson. Honestly, no one loves Jack Nicholson more than me. But Heath Ledger (along with the Nolan's screen writing) takes The Jokes to unanticipated levels. He has no morals. No empathy. No rules, no ideals, no plans. He is the embodiment of Chaos, and he knows it. Yet everything he does seems planned to the T. Without Heath Ledger there would be no movie, and with him, this movie is his show to run.

I would be lying if I said the movie was not about The Joker. Sure, countless people describe this film about Harvey Dent's rise and fall, but please, name me one scene where Harvey Dent seems stronger, or even equal in power, than The Joker.

The film is filled with great scenes -- even the opening bank robbery is one to make 'Heat' jealous. Yet there is one -- perhaps one and a half -- fundamental flaws to the movie: We do not care about Batman, or Rachel Dawes.

Rachel Dawes, well, she was replaced by a better actress. I have nothing against Maggie Gyllenhaal. But her character seemed in excess, and all her scenes on the screen were filler at best.

But also, more importantly, what was up with Batman?

We know his cause. We know his means. We know his sacrifice (we get all of this in Batman Begins -- a great, but not quite equal film). What do we get from Batman this time around that makes him different from before? A few new gadgets? His girlfriend interested in the new, hip D.A.? So what? And I mean, his conflict was there. It was. But it was not fresh, and I found myself caring a lot more about the villains than the protagonist of the movie -- which I don't think should happen.

There is a scene in the film that shows the true power of The Joker. He is caught. The Joker is in a solitary room, unarmed, alone with a furious Batman. They are in a police station. Batman has his strength, his gadgets, the police, and free reign, yet still The Joker has the other hand. The Joker has no attachments to reality, no care for his own well-being. The only thing he has is information that Batman needs, but no matter how much beatings The Joker takes, Batman cannot force it out of him. Batman has to play the game.

This scene goes hand-in-hand with a scene just before it on the streets of Gotham (very minor spoiler here). The Joker stands in the street with his gun, facing Batman, who is on his motorcycle. Batman is charging The Joker, full speed, and instead of running like all other criminals, The Joker screams, "HIT ME!" But Batman cannot. He is bound by rules. Instead he spins out of controls and falls from his bike. The Joker, with no rules or sympathy or fear, controls all of Gotham City.

As I said, this is the best 'comic book movie' to date. It is not a perfect movie, but The Dark Knight is certainly one of the best movies of the year. Most everyone has probably seen it already, but if not... go!

Rating: 9.5/10

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Shear Genius: Do It Yourself

I've been watching the show Shear Genius, but have not been posting about it because, quite honestly, the show is bad. But like anything else reality, it's addicting. Today is TV catch-up day, so I'll post about this episode.

And if you thought the guys on Project Runway were gay, you should see this show. I love it. But when Daniel was screaming and crying when he met the Real Housewives, it was kind of over the top.

The only person I really like on this show is Gail. Nicole is all right, but a little too... I want to say ditsy, but that's not right. All of the guys are pretty ridiculous. I do kind of like Daniel, though. However, none of them are really that good at cutting hair. Bah.

This challenge is pretty funny. I don't know why you would try to do well on the first two rounds, because you probably won't end up with them. I would try to make it look awful to mess someone else up. But there's probably a twist where you end back up with whoever you had first. Well, and also I'd probably feel bad for the girl if I did something awful. Yeah, I'm not that mean.

HAH! I knew that shit was coming. "All clients go back to your original stylist." Even the attempted curve balls on this show are predictable. Maybe I just watch too much reality TV.

Charlie is pure comedy. When he's getting blamed for the girl's cut, "You still had twenty minutes to jazz that shit up," and, "Sorry, but big titties can't get you out of everything." Greatness.

So this challenge was pitched as giving them a cut they can style at home themselves. So, as before, it's not a surprise when they say for the elimination the clients will have to do it themselves the next day. This show is so bad....

A lot of these haircuts suck. Just, straight up, look awful. And not even when the clients did it themselves, but in the salon on a first run. I feel embarrassed for the contestants.

Man, Dee's client is really pretty. Yet some of them are crazy-looking. Where do they find people? Do they pass out fliers, asking for people willing to get their hair cut in any style and color? The mysteries of reality TV.

I don't like that Glenn's cut won. Though I guess she's not bad, I just wasn't feeling all that frizz. But what can ya' do?

Meredith going home makes me happy. Bitch got on my nerves. Plus her haircut looked awful. Color looked good, but the cut... yuck.

Oh well, maybe next week. Maybe not. Well, I'll watch it next week, but I may not post. We'll see!

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Project Runway 5: Season Premiere

Anyone who knows me knows I love Project Runway. I really missed this show. I wonder who will be this season's Christian, or Daniel V, or Kit (whom I still plan to find and marry). It usually takes 2-3 episodes to figure out who I like. Other than Heidi and Tim. And Michael Kors and Nina.

I think this challenge would be more interesting if I watched the first season in its entirety. I just watched the latter half, so this challenge is fresh. But it looks like they picked some ridiculous items.

I really like how Daniel's cup dress is coming. I also kind of like him, so he has potential to be a favorite. We'll see how he fares in the first judging before I place loyalty.

All of these tablecloth dresses are fugly. Not just ugly, but fugly. The yellow one looks like a raincoat. I love that Tim is calling them out as slackers because they used tablecloths. That's why I love Tim Gunn. And, because he's so flamboyant and fabulous.

I'm not liking Blayne. "Holler at'cha boy" and "Girlicious" are not going to work. Give me "Fierce" any day.

If there's one thing we can count on, it's that the models for Project Runway are always gorgeous. Like my friend Amy says, "Where do they find these girls and why can't they find girls like this for America's Next Top Model?"

My favorites for this challenge:

Jerell


Daniel


Emily


I would list some least favorites, but there were too many.

Man... making fun of Jerry's raincoat is hilarious. "Something you would wear if you were killing somebody." I love this show.

No gripes about Kelli winning. She did well and she's not annoying. By my philosophy (from the previous PR, and Top Chef) I should pick her as a favorite for the finals. Why not? I'll stick with her for now.

I kind of can't believe they sent Jerry home first for his raincoat. Sure, his outfit sucked, but at least he didn't just tape together some garbage bags.... Oh well.

Oh my God, on the preview: "It's a pterodactyl out of a gay Jurassic Park." I love Tim Gunn. Next week should be fun.

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Big Brother and Project Runway

The only show currently on the air that I watch is Shear Genius, which -- quite frankly -- is awful. However, Big Brother 10 has started up, and tomorrow is the season premiere of Project Runway 5.

Expect many posts about those shows in the coming weeks. Also, I'm still working on a domain for the blog. I'm open to suggestions.

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A Lesson From Hitchcock

I'm currently reading a biography of Alfred Hitchcock (the one by Charlotte Chandler). It is great so far, and I would encourage any fan of film to give it a chance.

Not only was Hitchcock a master director, but a caring person. But who cares about that, really? What I've found interesting is his 'ticking time bomb' theory to his movies. This structure revolves around the audience always being in-the-know, on the edge of their seat waiting to see when the shit on screen will hit the fan. One of many examples is in Notorious (one of his best), when Sebastian figures out his key was missing, yet Alicia and Devlin think they may have gotten away just yet. Or better yet, one step before, when Sebastian has not yet found his missing key, but we know he will. And we know he will figure it out. The anticipation is half the fun.

Let me search for a more common example, since I'm sure many readers have not seen Notorious. How about The Departed. The only real, true curve ball is that Costello is an informant. But that's not too shocking. Yet we spend a majority of the movie waiting, dying for the scene where Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon throw down. There are no tricks, just raw human instinct, leading to a huge climax (wow, major unintended sexual innuendo).

Hitchcock always said he did not like surprises because they made him feel out of control. I agree, and understand, but after the cut I will list some examples where a surprise worked (and as expected, there will be a couple spoilers).

I'm not simply talking about a 'twist ending,' either. No Sixth Sense or The Usual Suspects.

A good example of a great movie with hidden motives is Casino Royale. We don't know Vespyr Lynd is in it for Le Chiffre, we don't know Mathis is in on it as well, and but that is the way of James Bond films, and it works well.

A movie revealing hidden motives will usually use this plot point to propel the third act. If it is revealed too early, it will fall short, and too late, it will seem gimmicky. Keep that in mind. It's all right to hide information from the audience, but waiting until the last breath is hard to pull off.

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New 'Choke' Trailer

So there's been a new Red Band trailer for Choke released. It looks a lot, lot better than the original trailer. Maybe it will be all right after all. Anyway, here it is. NSFW.

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Movies to Study: Zodiac

The first movie in my official Movies to Study column will be the 2007 movie Zodiac. As always, be warned that a decent amount of spoilers will be ahead. But probably not enough to ruin the experience for you, just enough to get my point across.

We shall begin here with the director, David Fincher, who has also directed Fight Club, Seven, and Panic Room, all of which are good, if not great movies. But where Fight Club lacked in motif, and Panic Room lacked in ethos, Zodiac manages to encompass all of these criteria. The movie clocks in at 158 minutes and is split into two very distinctive halves. The first half is spent showing the murders, victims, and suspects hinting at the identity of the Zodiac. Yet when we arrive at the second half, the story focuses on Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his obsession over finding out the identity of the killer. Both halves are imperative to the success of the film.

The story opens vividly on July 4th, and we begin not with the first murder, but with Zodiac's first letter to the SF Chronicle. We jump right into the story, and James Vanderbilt's screenplay wastes no time giving us a punch in the ribs. We see the killings, and not only do we witness a mere shooting, but we see the Zodiac turn around, after nearly walking away, to finish the job.

The first part of the story is held together by the Zodiac's letters to the SF Chronicle, yes, but also with the actions the police take throughout the years. So we have the Zodiac, the newspapers, and the law. If any of these elements were absent the film would have failed. They serve to compliment each other, but more than anything, it gives us some grounding because when Graysmith eventually takes this into his own hands, we believe all the information he digs up and finds.

And there is so much information. Had this been a string of newspaper articles, the film could have been thirty minutes. But the way details are given in short supply (after the first few scenes) make the unfolding of the story a pleasure, despite the fact it's about multiple homicides.

In Zodiac there are many great moments, but two of the most impacting ones come close to the end of the film. The first is when suddenly, about two hours into the film, everything clicks for Graysmith. His wife/girlfriend/whatever Melanie gives him a copy of Arthur Leigh Allen's driver's license. Graysmith pounds on Inspector Toschi's door, screaming that he knows who it was. Toschi's out. He wants to beat up Graysmith for even coming near him. But in the rain, Graysmith slams the license up on the door. What follows, at the coffee shop, is a complete catch-up which seems like immense evidence against Allen. The time line, the weapons, the watch, the books, the military history, the stories, everything. But as Toschi tells him, he cannot prove this. Handwriting and fingerprints. It's both satisfying and crushing to watch this scene.

The second moment that seals the film is the end, when Graysmith visits an Ace Hardware store just to look Allen in the eye, as he said to Melanie much earlier. He wants to look at him, and just know. I've watched hundreds of movies where the bad guy goes to jail or gets killed in some way or form, simply because it is a movie, and none of those endings were as satisfying as this one. There is no arrest of the Zodiac -- the case is still supposedly open -- but we know, as does Graysmith, that Arthur Leigh Allen did it. And that's closure. That is a great story.

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Notes, and WALL-E

First off, yes, I know. I do have a new Movies to Study post in the works. It is partially typed up, but I feel I should re-watch the film again to give a better analysis. I doubt many of you will be surprised at which movie it is, but nonetheless I feel the next post will be a good one.

Also, today I finally saw WALL-E. Yes, I know. I tried to see it opening weekend, but circumstances prevented that from happening.

I may do a full review in the future (or possibly put it under 'Movies to Study'), but for now let me just say this: The only possibly better done animated film is Finding Nemo, but even then, it's still a close call. WALL-E (the robot, not the film) is easily the most lovable thing of the last decade -- if not in all of cinema. But not only WALL-E himself, but the super-advanced EVE, and still all the other robots that we encounter are adorable. I do not wish to spoil this film, but let's just say that for the first time in many, many films, I was almost (yes, 'almost') in tears at the end of the film. Seriously, it is impossible not to love this robot, Pixar, and this movie. If you have not seen this film yet, you are seriously missing out. A certified 10/10.

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New Column: Movies to Study

The other day I did a post about how Hot Fuzz is a movie that should be studied. Now that it has sunk in, I think this will be a good trend for my blog.

This new column, Movies to Study, will serve multiple purposes. First, it will be a venue for me to spread the word about movies that you readers may not have seen nor heard of. But even if you have, hopefully this will give you something to think about--to discuss.

Also, this will be a way for me to practice analyzing movies, as well as share some of my favorites. The articles will be focused primarily on the screenplay, but naturally acting, direction, cinematography, etc will come into play.

Lastly, I plan to attempt to stick to more recent movies. Sure some Hitchcock or Billy Wilder films are bound to pop up, but I'll try to stick to some recent flicks that are more easily accessible.

With that said, expect a new article tomorrow. Or later tonight.

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Hot Fuzz is a Movie to Study

For any who have not seen last year's Hot Fuzz, you are thoroughly missing out. Two nights ago I watched the movie for a second time, with a much greater appreciation. On a first viewing I enjoyed it, but seeing it a second time solidified it as a film instead of a movie.

[note: there will be a decent amount of spoilers after the jump]

The film works on multiple levels. First, we have the whodunit, the cop trying to find a murderer, some brutal deaths (which work because they are so over-the-top vivid), and it all fits together seamlessly. A lesser movie would have had Nick Angel been right in all his research and guesswork that Skinner was the main bad guy. That would have been the climax of the film, with more fluff inserted before. However, this film has our hero go astray, completely missing the more basic point of how every one of the victims was hurting the town's chances at the award. This ridiculous end-game leads us to the second point.

On another level the film works as a comedy. And it works well. There are many subtle, but also many slapstick moments. Elements of parody (which are also comedy) fall into my third level, so we'll pass on those for now. Consider, though, how the movie gets away with jokes. Toward the very beginning of the movie the police are talking about going through the whole phone book, and how they will start with Aaron A. Aaronson. The comedy works immediately, but at almost the closing moments of the film, we actually meet Aaron Aaronson in person. Most movies would have pulled this out sooner, but Hot Fuzz catches us off-guard. While we're still contemplating all the twists and turns of the mystery up to this point -- completely forgetting that small scene earlier -- we meet Aaron, and I erupted in laughter.

The third way this film works is as a parody. And not a parody like Epic Movie or Meet the Spartans, but Hot Fuzz is self-aware. We're not surprised when Nick and Danny do all the things from Point Break and Bad Boys II, but the moments parodied are fluid, not forced, and that is why it works so well.

I don't like writing conclusions, so I will finish this later. Maybe.

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The Dark Knight

I cannot wait for The Dark Knight. This movie looks so good. It needs to come out now.

That is all.

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