Drews Script-o-Rama

www.script-o-rama.com

Google Video

This is a test post incorporating a new HTML feature from Google Video. All you have to do is search for a video, copy the provided HTML code, and paste it into Blogger's "Edit HTML" feature. The only problem is: Google Video is weak, weak, weak on content. I think this is the best they have to offer:



Thanks,
Mr. Fleig

YAY for Puckett...

Lauren, I am a huge fan of Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous”. It is one of my all-time favorite movies. Thanks so much for this post because I think you gave it so much credit that it greatly deserves. I think it is an amazing film and every time I watch it, I get this feeling of extreme happiness because the film is so moving. The script, the actors, and the cinematography worked together to make it an amazing film. Also, try listening to the soundtrack- it’s just as awesome.


-Candice

It's here. It's happening....

is one just one of the recurring quotes that underline the theme of the movie "Almost Famous." Directed by Cameron Crowe, headed with a masterful cast, this movie has just made its way onto my top 5 list. "It's a think piece about a mid-level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom (Lester Bangs)." This movie is said to be partially autobiographical of Cameron Crowe's life. The lead character, played by Patrick Fugit, who portrays Crowe, stumbles into the world of rock n' roll, due to accident...or fate, and poses as a journalist, at the tender age of 15. He is whisked away by the fast-paced style of the rocker life and tours with a band by the name of Stillwater, who's career is trying/pretending to take off. To get an interview with the band is his reason for being there, but below the surface, it's obvious that this journey is leading him to truths about the "real world" and the people in it. I guess you could say, he's learning about himself, but that's not meant to be the focal point of the movie. Besides the cast, including Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin, Frances McDormand and many others, the soundtrack could arguably be the best aspect of the film. The music featured is some of the greatest to ever come out of that era. Artists such as Simon and Garfunkel, Yes, The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, and Rod Stewart beautifully tell the story that Cameron Crowe has created. It is masterfully done! Mad props to Cameron Crowe....
Puckett

Blue is Green and Leo is back

No, i'm talking about the horoscope
i'm all about that guy we all drooled over during Disney's reruns of 'growing pains'.
The real reason we all saw Titanic ten million times.
that's right, you've guessed it
Leonardo DeCaprio

For your viewing pleasure, Leo takes on the starring role in Martin Scorsese' The Aviator.
As fate would have it, I chose to watch this movie with my boyfriend, Brian, and anytime Leo stepped on I felt guilty...
on the blog-related side, this made me focus on the film, and what an amazing film it is:

The movie is pretty...as in visually pleasing. Aesthetically pleasing. And yes, I could argue that Leo's presence helped, but Marilyn Manson could've starred and it would've still been just as pretty. Especially the use of color in this film:

The movie goes through two color changes. In the first part of the movie, when Howard Hughes (Leo) is sane and exploring the world of film and aviation, the movie has an old-timey color feel.

You could argue creative genius, or like Brian DeJean, get really frustrated over why the peas and grass were blue...

The second change takes place during the peak of Howard's (Leo) sucess and the beginning of his downfall. Basically, this part of the movie is in 'normal' color. In this part, the grass is green.

But that is just one aspect of the cool visuals in the movie. For fun, watch the movie with the sound off and just enjoy the camera work...that is, if you can look past the blue vegetables...

-Tori Harris

CNN says: O tedious 'New World'

After you read the first review check out this one: O tedious 'New World'

- Mr. Fleig

Wherever there's injustice...we'll be there!

Just last night, I watched an old favorite of mine-- The Three Amigos, directed by John Landis, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase... an ALL STAR cast, in my opinion! This movie is about 3 silent movie stars who take a job offer they got via telegram from a woman in an oppressed Mexican village. She mistakes them for actual fighters and hires them to rid the village of the dreaded El Guapo. The humor comes from the miscommunication throughout the movie, and comical elements thrown in here and there. Things like accidentally shooting the invisible horseman, and getting directions from the singing bush, and their "credo dance" are just some of the subtle humors you will witness. The chemistry between the three actors is what holds this movie together along with the fact that you can tell the actors brought alot of their own humor and comical ideas to add to the movie. The laughs are endless in this simple comedy.

Puckett

For the Love of Film

Who says you have to be professional critic to write a great review? I want all of you to read the review from the attached link. I think you will be surprised by a few things, namely where the link leads you and the quality of the review. We shall discuss in class.

Review of The New World

- Mr. Fleig

About the book!

I have read White Oleander like 3 times and it is easily 10x better than the movie.
In the movie you just kind of plunge into the relationship between Astrid and her mom but the book really develops their characters and you feel kind of special for being able to witness a relationship like that. Also, in the book you better understand all of her foster families and there are a lot of characters that they didn't even mention in the movie. Finally, you definitely get to see A LOT more of Paul in the book.

This is one of the only movies that I think did its inspiration book a lot of justice. The casting was amazing and I can't imagine a better group of people to represent those characters

I'll lend you the book sometime if you want it!!!!!


*alyce

White Oleander

The other night I watched White Oleander and I thought it was very well done. I didn’t really pay attention to the mechanics of the film because I was so taken by the story and the acting. One reviewer described it as “A compelling coming-of-age drama about the arduous journey of a sensitive young girl through a series of foster homes and a fierce struggle to pull free from her dangerous and domineering mother’s hold over her.” That pretty much describes the plot of the movie shortly but perfectly.

Astrid, played by Allison Lohman (who may play Lilly in the screen adaptation of “A Million Little Pieces”, if that movie is still going to be created), was put in foster care after her mother, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, committed murder. Astrid goes through a few foster homes. The first is a trashy trailer with a jealous born-again Christian foster mother played by Robin Wright-Penn. The second is a sleek Malibu Oceanside mansion owned by a washed up B-actress and a TV producer whose marriage is in trouble, the foster mother being played by Renee Zellwegger. The last is a Russian woman who uses the kids to work at her little corner in the flea market. The character of Astrid was put in all of these different situations and she seemed to transition so well and so easily into being the person she was expected to be by the family she was with. The way she would act and dress when she was in each home really mimicked the lifestyle she was forced into.

Most critics have praised this movie for the amazing acting in it, and I must say I do agree! I was very impressed by Alison Lohman. She transitions so well and maintains this sort of innocence even when you know she isn’t really so innocent. Watching the movie really made me want to read the book because apparently the main character goes through even more foster homes and experiences in the book. I would definitely recommend this movie next time you’re looking for a non-new release. If anyone has read the book please let me know how it is!

- oh yeah... it's liz by the way.

The Ringer

This past weekend I went see The Ringer with Johnny Knoxville who tries to rig the Special Olympics. It goes into an area of comedy that many people don't try to fool with too often. I enjoyed the way the comedy was presented, because the feeling was more light-hearted rather than demeaning. The viewer, however sappy, gets invested in the characters in the innocence that comes along with the subject base. I found myself laughing at close to every line in the movie, and the important things is my friends we laughing along with me, that for me says good comedy.

~Jessica Allain

Team Kristen update

Not only did Kristen have a photospread in 2 magazines, she has recently appeared in the video for the up and coming (and dare I say very attractive) singer, Teddy Geiger.

You can view this video at: http://music.aol.com/franchise/firstview.adp

While I'm here, let's talk a little bit about Tristan and Isolde. I seriously expected this movie to rock my world but it ended up being just a little bit more than average. It was really hard for me to believe the love story because the two characters barely spent 2 minutes on screen time developing their relationship. I was hoping that maybe for atleast part of the movie I'd be able to enjoy their relationship but the whole movie just followed them being apart. I found this to be very tiresome and it grew old after a while. On top of that, it piled on cheesy lines like "How many did you love before me? none. And after me? none." I was hoping I'd fall for it but I really just fell asleep.

*alyce

My thoughts on Hostel

Although this may sound disturbing, I actually enjoyed Eli Roth’s Hostel. I have to admit, however, I was fooled into thinking it was a true Quentin Tarantino film. I think that they used Tarantino’s name to market the movie, and it was certainly a smart move because I know that is what attracted many viewers. The first half of the movie, I believe, was unnecessary. I don’t think that the nudity was required to set the mood for the film, and it reminded me of Euro Trip for a while, until the three back-packers arrived in Slovakia, and that’s where it moved from a hard-to-watch-with-your-older-brother into a sketchy film. I could tell, by the acting, that it was definitely not a Quentin Tarantino work. The actors were awkward and the script was weak. However, the comic relief with the American “surgeon” showed that Quentin Tarantino took place in the film. I recommend seeing this movie, unless, of course, you have a weak stomach.



Candice

Nicole...

I really want my own Tristan. I went to the movie website and looked for like 4 hours for what you were talking about but I couldn't find it. Please let me know what you're talking about because you got me really excited!

*alyce

Tristan and Isolde

Not only am I a sucker for cheesy movies, but I'm also a die-hard anything-that-resembles-The-Notebook fan. In my opinion Tristan and Isolde was nowhere near cheesy or predictable, but was definitely up there with my favoirte chick flicks (to use the cliche term) like The Notebook, Ever After, and Love Actually. By using battle scenes to complement the dealings of Tristan and Isolde, the overall movie wasn't overpowered by too much a good thing, i.e. romantic musings towards one another and forbidden love affairs in the forest. The landscapes were beautiful, the music harmonized perfectly with various scenes, and the use of the historic time period added to the believability of the plot. Some may say that it was your typical girly movie; however, I believe that Tristan and Isolde blended very well different aspects appealing to males and females. My favorite aspect of the film was the foreshadowing used throughout to hint at upcoming suspenseful scenes. Overall--I want my own Tristan. (P.S. you can have your very own if you visit the trailer website!)

Nicole Hanney

Memoirs of a Geisha

I went to see Memoirs of a Geisha this weekend with my mom, which was a good thing because she read the book and would describe anything I didn't understand to me. I really enjoyed the movie. For those of you who don't know what its about, the film is set in the late 1920s thru the 1930s. A girl, Chiyo, is taken from her parents and sold into a Geisha house (which is a house where women entertain men for money, or other possessions). She was not born into a household where she would become a geisha, much less know what a geisha is. In the geisha house, the head The whole movie follows the life and struggles of Chiyo
One of the best features of this film was the allure and wonder it gave me about Japanese life before World War II and how it changed because of the war.
I heard that the movie was not as good as the book, so I am definitely looking forward to reading the book. And for those of you who did read the book, I heard that the ending was a little different so there will be somewhat of a surprise element for you as well.

- Christina

Here you go Morgan...

-Candice

Thumbs...parallel..

...for LOVING the movie :) but only having film class every other day :(

(sorry i couldn't find a picture of parallel thumbs for my entry)


Morgan

Thumbs Down

Thumbs down for overly cynical critics


alyce

Thumbs up for MILLIONS

Playing Devil's Advocate

After you read Christina's post on Brokeback Mountain, check out the following link to a segment from NPR. It presents a diffirent p.o.v.

No Breakthrough on 'Brokeback Mountain'

- Mr. Fleig

Brokeback Mountain Is Breaking Barriers

Friday night, a couple friends and I went to see Brokeback Mountain. Going into the movie the only thing we knew was that it revolved around the life of two gay cowboys. I had no idea what to expect because, well basically, I have never experienced a movie that revolved around a gay or lesbian plot. The plot develops extremely slowly and for about the first 30 minutes of the film, I was quite confused on what was happening. Once the plot begins to develop, the film moves along slowly and does not necessarily keep the audience too interested.
Even with the slow pace of the movie, the actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal created the perfect gay couple for the movie. Their personalities just seemed to fit together. It must have been hard to film some of the scenes in the movie because both of these actors are straight, but they quite convincing in their portrayals of the homosexual roles, which says volumes for their acting ability. I really believe that this was Heath Ledger's breakout role, showing his abilities as a serious actor.
The film begins with Ennis Del Mar, Heath Ledger, and Jack Twist, Jake Gyllenhaal, arriving at a sheep herder's trailer for jobs in the summer of 1963. The two young men come from different backgrounds, one being a ranch hand and the other a rodeo cowboy, and do not previously know each other. They are given the job to take sheep up Brokeback Mountain, hence the name of the movie, during the summertime. The two men gradually fall in love with each other. The story follows the two men's life-long bond with one another and the struggles they face with trying to hide their love.
The film was based on a short story written by E. Annie Proulx and directed by Ang Lee. It has been nominated for 7 Golden Globes, including best actor, best director, and best motion picture, and has already won 24 awards and has been nominated for 13 others.
While the movie was well-made, there are many who believe that it is a difficult movie to watch because of the level that the characters pursue their homosexual relationship, and I somewhat agree with that. However, watching the film I could only think of the love that the men had for each other and the fact that they were two men did not phase me as much as I expected it might have. I would encourage everyone to see the film for the mere fact that it breaks a barrier that so many people have been trying to build over the years, the barrier that homosexuality can exist but you should not pursue it. Ang Lee dared to stretch the limits of film making and pushes the audiences to see through the fact that the men are gay and only see the love they have for one another. It is a classic love story, in a different light than has been portrayed before.

- Christina

And I thought Saw 2 was bad...HA!

This Friday I went to see the movie Hostel…unwillingly. The movie was produced by Quentin Tarantino and written and directed by Eli Roth. Roth thought of the idea for this movie after being shown a website where people could pay money to pretty much slaughter some one. Pretty sick, right? I thought so too. When Eli Roth proposed this idea to Tarantino he said it was “the sickest idea he’d ever heard.” Over 150 gallons of fake blood were used in this movie. That’s a lot.

The plot follows these two young guys who meet up with another guy from Iceland and go to Amsterdam to go wild have a little fun before they graduate from college. For the first half of the movie, it was pretty much like taking the guys from American Pie and sticking them in creepy Europe. In Amsterdam they are told to go to a Slovakian city because “the girls there…they’ll do anything.” They meet these two suspicious girls who try and show them a good time. After characters start disappearing you soon find out what exactly this particular hostel (which is an inexpensive lodging place for mainly young travelers) is involved in, and all the people running it.

Well, I didn’t want to see this movie in the first place so I didn’t expect to like it. In the first half of the movie the nudity was outrageous. I have never seen that much nudity in a movie…and it was all so unnecessary. I don’t mind a little nudity in a movie, but in this movie it seemed like every other scene there was a naked woman in there somehow. Until it got to the gory half of the movie. This movie definitely lived up to its gory reputation. I read in a review that “this movie makes any other movie from it’s genre look like a penguin documentary.” And they weren’t lying! I couldn’t even believe some of the things they were actually allowed to show. It was absolutely disgusting. I don’t see why people would want to spend their time making or watching a movie where humans are completely butchered right in front of your eyes. Whatever. Anyways, the movie had a decent ending. I didn’t lose sleep over it, but I definitely almost lost my dinner. My eyes were covered for a pretty nice portion of the movie, but I definitely caught my share of disgusting scenes.

I guess for a movie that was written, directed and produced in 12 months it was well done. Many of the shots were very well composed. Something interesting- Eli Roth put almost every single crew member somewhere in the movie. I thought that was pretty sweet. All in all, I guess the movie was well done. I’d never see it again…never!

liz

Long Live Narnia!!!

Ok, Instead of talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the entire film, I really just want to talk about one scene in particular: the battle scene. I am a HUGE sucker for intense and overly dramatic war scenes like the ones from The Last Samurai and Troy. The opposing sides in this battle gave it the potential to be extremely cheesy: A fairy/ice witch battling a 12 year old boy and an enormous lion (Liam Neeson)? Yeah, it definitely could have been bad. But they did it so beautifully. They were constantly changing the camera angles showing their formations and intense faces with awesome music in the background. And right before the Narnians? attacked all noise stopped and it was completely silent while the two sides came running at each other. Then all of a sudden intense battle noises picked up right as the two met. It was SO powerful! The movie is definitely worth seeing because of that one scene.

Oh, and I don't think I've ever cried so much for a computer generated lion in my life. It was truly pathetic.

-Alyce

Monolith sighting number THREE

Don't forget the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It happens when they are in the TV room where they can transport chocolate through the TV. They switch the channel on the TV and 2001: A Space Oddysey comes on. Then the legendary music comes on as the chocolate bar is transported into the TV, in the place of the monolith. It was pretty sweet.

And Blair I noticed that too when I watched Zoolander the other day... such a good movie!

Liz

Another Monolith Sighting!!

I also saw a monolith sighting over the holidays! I was watching Zoolander with the family then I saw something that looked familiar. When Derrick and Hansel are trying to get the files out of the computer, they begin to beat the computer making monkey noises as the music from 2001 plays. Then Hansel even grabs a bone to hit the computer with before Derrick stopped him. Who thought you would find a piece of Kubrick in a movie about a really really good looking male model assigned to kill the prime minister of Milasha. I thought that I could share my sighting since Alyce shared hers.
-Blair

Monolith Sighting!

In one scene from "Clueless", there is an obvious reference to the monolith made iconic by Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is waiting anxiously for a call from homosexual semi-boyfriend and of course at that time (late 90s?) the phones were pretty bulky and rectangular. The shot pans up from the bottom of the black rectangular telephone using the exact same music from 2001. It mimicks the scene when the monolith is rising up from the ground and you can barely see the sun peeking from behind it.

Who would have guessed you'd find a piece of Kubrick in the same movie as Alicia Silverstone and Britney Murphy. What a holiday surprise!

-Miss Alyce Lauren Thibodeaux

Interesting Review

This article from the “New Yorker” reviews King Kong and Memoirs of a Geisha. I have not viewed King Kong, but for those who have seen Memoirs of a Geisha, I found it interesting and informative. Enjoy!

http://www.newyorker.com/critics/cinema/?051219crci_cinema


-Candice

Millions...

After a failed attempt on Friday, Christina, Liz, and I watched Millions on New Year’s day and completely enjoyed it. The whole movie had us talking and we were interested throughout. For me, the cinematic style was incredible.

The film, a British work, utilizes the incredible imagination of a five year old by the name of Damian and his conflicting opinions by his brother and family. Damian has an extreme fascination with saints during the movie and receives many visions and pieces of advice on everyday life. As he is sitting in his playhouse, encountering a visit from a saint, a bag of money literally falls out of no where. The bag is filled with pounds, and there remains only a few days before the switch to euros and therefore the insignificance of the money. The movie describes the differences in opinions and ethics between Damian and his older brother Anthony in the ways they spend the money.

There was not a low point in the movie, nor was I ever disinterested. There was suspense, comedy, and drama. I think it was amazing because of the cinematic aspect, but because of the message it conveyed. Also, as Mr. Fleig mentioned, it was surely poignant “without the cheese factor that comes standard with most holiday films”.

-C. Bates