Pitch Perfect (2012)

Director: Jason Moore
Writer: Kay Cannon

Notable Cast

Beca- Anna Kendrick
Jesse- Skyler Astin
Aubrey- Anna Camp
Chloe- Brittany Snow
Fat Amy- Rebel Wilson
Lilly Onakuramara- Hana Mae Lee
Cynthia Rose Adams- Ester Dean
Staci- Alexis Knapp
Benji- Ben Platt
Bumper- Adam Devine

 

Introduction

 

It’s hard to believe this movie came out almost 10 years ago.

Supposedly it was based on a book and Elizabeth Banks liked it so much she helped bring it to the big screen. This was also at the height of Glee’s popularity so the timing was something like this was perfect.

Other than Anna Kendrick’s involvement (I’d been following her movies since Twilight), that common ground with Glee piqued my interest and I saw it on HBO when it premiered some random Saturday night.

My first impression was mixed, to put it mildly. There were a few decisions made by the writers I wholeheartedly disagree with, but the highlights lying in their wake shouldn’t be completely overlooked.

My motivations for finally putting a review of this movie down on “paper”— there are a few, most of which came from a recent revisit, and I’ll get to all of them at some point in this post.

I won’t be shy about calling out the flaws as I see them, but there’ll be just as much to be celebrated elsewhere.

To quote various YouTube videos about tv and movies, a spoiler alert is now in effect.

Not just for Pitch Perfect and its sequels but 2 similarly themed TV series that happen to be among my all time favorites.

 

The Plot 

Once upon a time, there was a collegiate show choir called the Barden Bellas. They were the top show choir in the nation. Until one fateful competition when Aubrey Posen let her nerves get the better of her and she puked during the choir's performance, costing the Bellas the first place trophy... and the respect of their peers. The resulting incident had since gone viral.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to do the rest of the review like this, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
So from the get go, this movie already started on the wrong foot for me. This wasn’t just puke. It was projectile vomiting. Speaking as someone who got sick in school as a kid and was teased about it, I cannot for the life of me understand why exaggerated puke is used in movies or why it’s used for comedic effect. I could blame a certain Monty Python sketch but I don’t know if they’re the first ones to do it.
All of that being said, we do circle back to this point later in the movie, and while it is overblown and gross, the comedy that comes out of it- it was too ridiculous not to find hilarious. So I guess it depends on the circumstances in how it’s used.

 Also-- while these vocal groups are technically acapella groups, I'm going to continue using the phrase "show choir" to describe them.

Fast forward to the next fall, aspiring music producer Beca enrolls in the Bellas college. And after one of the Bellas overhears her singing in the shower, she recruits her to join the group.

After some coaxing, she convinces her to harmonize with her in the showers. And they sing David Guetta/Sia’s “Titanium”.
It’s hard not to echo Beca’s reluctance. It’s PG13 so nothing is shown, but what would you do if some strange girl asked you to sing when you have no clothes on? 

So they have the auditions for the group where everyone sings “since you’ve been gone” with varying levels of success (or lack thereof). Beca shows up late and auditions with something of her own. And Anna Kendrick wound up becoming a viral sensation- in the best way.

“Cups” was based on an older song, but she performed it accapella while using a cup as a percussion instrument. This led to a fully produced version of the song to be recorded and released. She did a music video that got tons of views, played a lot on the radio, and several subsequent videos were made by people who wanted to teach others to do the cup routine too.
If anything cool came out of this movie, that was it. I watched the video once and I actually learned the cup routine from YouTube. Whether I can do it now, I’m not sure. 

After auditions are done, the Bellas go through their own hell week and are drilled to the bone. Then they got over songs and Beca points out “there’s nothing from this century on here.”

So begins another major source of conflict in the story: Aubrey is THOROUGLY convinced that singing these songs will get them back to championship status. More specifically, performing the same three songs for every competition. 
I wish I was kidding about this... I have nothing against "The Sign," "Eternal Flame" or "Turn the Beat Around"... or any songs predating the 21st century for that matter. But how STUPID is this plot device? I know this is a movie and not everything is meant to be realistic, but be reasonable! No show choir or acapella group would do the same setlist for every competition they go to. They don't always have the same judges for each competition, but if they did, this would be greatly frowned upon.
Even more frustrating, nobody but Beca wants to stand up to her or makes any attempts to change this asinine ritual. 
I'm sorry... this stupid decision on the part of the writers (whether it's the book or the movie, I have no idea) kills a lot of potential joy that could be had watching this movie. 

Drama within the group aside, there's a side plot where one of the recently inducted Treblemakers (aka the rival all men's show choir on campus) tries his darnedst to be Beca's friend... and possibly more. But she wants no part of it. 

Later on, it's revealed that she has an issue trusting people because of her parent's divorce. Part of the reason her dad insisted she went to college for a year (it was part of a deal where, if she fulfilled her end, he'd help pay for her to move out to LA to begin her producing career) was to make friends. And through her time with Bellas, she finds more friends than she'd probably had her entire life and eventually, she lets her guard down with everyone else around her. 

Beca is probably my favorite character Anna Kendrick ever played. I'm not jazzed about the idea of remixing music, but it'd be cool to have that kind of talent. And I can relate to her having walls up around herself. I still have trouble being myself around people, even into my 30's. 
But it took me several semesters in college before I made the friendships I did, so I can speak from experience that college is worth it if only for that. 
While rewatching it the other day, I also remembered something else: throughout the movie, she wears a shirt with a button-down shirt over it. I thought this was a cool fashion statement and I made a few purchases in part to emulate it. Although, to be honest, I typically wear a sweater around the house anyway because that's what I'm comfortable in. 

Her friend (and later boyfriend) Jesse is also one of those movie characters I really liked spending time with. His excellent taste in movies may have a little to do with that (one was "The Breakfast Club"- aka my favorite movie of all time), but the conversations he had with Beca about music in movies were really fascinating to me. I'm not the most talkative person, but whenever conversations skew in that direction, that's one of the few times I feel free to open up and be myself. 

After several ups and downs, Aubrey finally deciding to loosen up the reins, and the Bella reinvented themselves, adopting mashups into their setlists, the movie finally arrives at the final competition night. 

Between the tight medley the Treblemakers did and the Bellas doing the coolest remix of "Don't You (Forget about me)" among several other songs, it was a tough call. And of course, the Bellas win.

Then the sequel comes along, a wardrobe malfunction blows everything up and they have to start from scratch again... but that's another movie. 
There's a third movie, but I don't remember much about it. It may have been vomit-free (part 2 has that in common with it, thankfully), but I think my issue was with the story. Something about it just didn't grab me like the first one did... with its flaws and all. 

...I didn't know where else to put this... 

I don't know what it is about show choir stuff in media, but why does it seem like the judges or commentators never care enough to do their jobs? In Glee, they always get random judges and they're there because their agents put them there. 

In this movie, it's Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, and they're always talking crap about all of the contestants... which is kinda weird because she's one of the producers of the movies. But it might be on the same level of irony as Jane Lynch (a show choir veteran) playing the mortal enemy of Mr. Schuster and The New Directions. 

Soundtrack

Not gonna lie... I got the soundtrack specifically for that epic championship winning number for the Bellas where The Breakfast Club song was among the ones involved in the mash-up. Today was the second time I'd listened to it since I got it.

While it has all of the songs from the movie, there were a few disappointments.

The radio version of "Cups" with the full production wasn't a part of it... I can only assume the radio single came after the soundtrack came out and they just missed the opportunity. (According to Wikipedia, a subsequent soundtrack was released, including any songs missing from the one I have)

It's also a pet peeve of mine with movie soundtracks when the songs aren't sequenced in the same order they appear in the movie. The Bellas finale medley is track #11 and there's 4 songs listed after it.  

Curtain Call

Probably the coolest thing about revisiting this movie was the cast... in my view, Anna Kendrick was the biggest star going in, but over time, several others took this opportunity and made huge careers for themselves.

After the huge success of "Cups," Anna Kendrick insisted that she didn't want to launch a music career... but she continues to sing as Princess Poppy in the "Trolls" franchise alongside Justin Timberlake and many others.

I'm pretty sure I saw Rebel Wilson in "Bridesmaids" before this movie. Her character in that movie was not very nice. Not just the fact she read Annie's diary ("I did not know it was your diary. I thought it was just a very sad handwritten book"), but she conspires with her brother to boot Annie out of the apartment when she's not even paying rent. Ridiculous!
Throughout the franchise, Fat Amy is definitely one of the most memorable characters and even though her heart is in the right place, she isn't always the nicest person. But since this movie, I'd seen her in "How to Be Single" with Dakota Johnson- again, she plays someone who gives her friend tough love, but she means well. 
And more recently, she hosted the dog grooming competition show "Pooch Perfect" and she was a really great host. I don't agree with all of the design choices with these dogs (particularly the use of fur dyes), but I kinda hope it comes back for another season... as long as she's hosting. 

Again, to continue reaping the benefits of the ongoing show choir bandwagon in media, Skyler Astin was cast in "Glee" as the head of rival show choir Throat Explosion. I vaguely remember seeing him at Nationals, making a comment that everyone recognizes The New Directions was "that choir" where that one guy died... referencing the tragic loss of Cory Monteith they spent the better part of Season 5 struggling with.
But most recently, he was Zoey's friend (later boyfriend) Max on "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist"... it was fun, but also strange seeing him again in this movie. Watching him with Anna Kendrick had me thinking "this is weird, it's like he's cheating on Zoey"... even though that show hadn't come around until recently.

Side-note: I'm still not over the fact that show got cancelled. It NEEDS to come back. 

Despite the fact his character didn't become a Treblemaker until the very end of the movie, Ben Platt made out like a bandit... he became Evan Hansen, a role that earned him a Tony and he will reprise that role in the upcoming movie adaptation. 

Adam Devine was a jerk as Bumper... but I'd seen him in two roles since that redeemed him in my eyes. He was one of the interns in the Anne Hathaway movie "The Intern." Granted, he wasn't the perfect guy because he had a falling out with one of the girls at About The Fit and had to take Robert DeNiro's advice to win her back, but he had some good moments.
He also played himself on an edition of "The Price is Right: At Night" where he helped donate a lot of prize money to charity.  

...

Other than revisiting some of these musical numbers, one reason to revisit the movie is Lilly. She's so soft-spoken, you have to be absolutely quiet to understand what she's saying and the more you see the movie, the more you'll understand. She says some really random crap and it's pretty hilarious. 

Then she finds her voice later on and it turns out she's a bad-ass beat boxer.

On a slightly different note, she also makes an angel in a huge puddle of puke... yeah, it's gross, but it's also kinda awesome. 

And Cynthia Rose's name came from the Prince song "Starfish & Coffee," which was based on the childhood ancedotes of his then-girlfriend, Susannah. (IMDb has confirmation of this, so that's pretty cool)

I just can't help but feel like this movie could have been so much better if certain creative decisions were different. I still think the "same three song" setlist was a stupid idea and they could just as easily have figured something else out. Like Aubrey was just afraid to incorporate any 21st century music. The fact she's an Army brat doesn't give her enough of an excuse to be a complete tyrant and act like the victim when the others question her authority. 

One final "Glee" connection: the Bellas lost out on making the title competition, but earn their way back in because the next team in line got disqualified. 

I can't help but feel "Glee" took a page from that book and used a similar plot device. 

In Season 4, they lost a competition when Marley fainted during their performance. This happened because she was overdosing on laxatives to lose weight and her eating disorder finally caught up with her. All of this was brought on because someone else in the Glee club was bullying her, yet when they lost, she got all of the blame for it. 

Sorry, I'm still mad about that.. especially since the Glee club needed to win Nationals or else would have to disband... as someone who lived and breathed the show, it felt like the end of the world. (Whether this was at the point the show was starting to lose traction is up to individual discretion. I was on board until the final season when they tried to introduce a new cast of characters and it just didn't have that same magic).

But after a few depressing weeks, The New Directions was revived because The Warblers was disqualified for using steroids. Maybe not the best writing, but I didn't care.

In "Pitch Perfect," the Bellas were able to go to the title competition because another team was disqualified for having a high school student in their rooster. It's an all-collegiate competition, so at least that logic makes sense. 

Beyond all this, I don't have much else to add in terms of a conclusion.

Thanks for the good times, ROYAL PAINS

Interesting how "Castle" and "Royal Pains" started the same year within a couple months of each other. Both have been staples in our household since they begin. They had lots of lovable memorable characters and did a mix of comedy and drama.
And funny how they both ended the same year and had varying degrees of success- both as series and regarding their finales.

For the sake of consistency, but also the finale, "Royal Pains" won hands down.
But probably the area of greatest success: "Royal Pains" had a perfect blend of comedy and drama throughout every episode.

"Castle" had the edge of the characters.
But it was so great and fun as a comedy that when it dove into dramatic territory, it completely lost me.

Okay, enough "Castle" bashing... yes, I'm still very upset with the series after three months. I see it listed on TV where it is syndicated, but I can't stomach watching it again for a while.


"Royal Pains" was also great because you could look forward to it a certain time of year: it DEFINED summertime. Each year, you never really know what to expect. And of course Boris is the wildcard. You'll never know what he'll be up to and how it will affect Hank when he becomes involved.
And [last time, I promise] they knew when it was a good time to ride into the sunset. The show didn't get dragged down or repetitive or lose quality. And the finale wrapped up all the character story arcs in nice little bows.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Once upon a time, Hank Lawson was an ER doctor in New York. He made a judgement call during a surgery involving a very powerful individual that resulted in him being fired. And shortly after, his wife left him. His younger brother Evan, to get Hank out of his depression, talks him into joining him for a weekend in The Hamptons.
At a party they're going to, someone falls ill and Hank instinctively springs to the rescue.

By complete fate, the person he saved was mysterious billionaire Boris, who offers Hank his home. And offers him a proposition to be his on-call personal doctor. Boris is suffering from a mysterious illness, so mysterious that none of the doctors he'd seen in his travels have found a cure for it. [Come to think of it, I don't know if they ever named this made-up mystery disease].

But Hank also begins his own business as a concierge doctor where he makes house-calls to people who live in The Hamptons.
Naturally, this puts him into direct conflict with Hamptons Heritage, the local hospital and one of its lead doctors, Jill.

Even before "Hank-Med" becomes a thing, Evan coins the name for the business and designates himself as its CFO. And on one of his house calls, Hank runs into Physician Assistant Divya Kadare, who offers her services to him. Although resistant at first, he accepts her offer.

Combine all these characters and add more throughout the series- and you never really know what's going to happen. But it was such a fun ride while it lasted.

Hank and Jill eventually do find common ground and there is enough room in The Hamptons for the both of them. And of course romance blossoms between them. Then after a couple seasons, the showrunners decided to break them out. It was something I never understood and I think I was furious when it happened.
But clearly, there was only one woman in the world for Hank... and for the happy ending, the showrunners reintroduced Jill in its finale season- the first we'd seen of her in years.

Needless to say, I was thrilled that they wound up together in the end.
I also find it kinda funny that Jill Flint wound up playing doctors on two different series. Did she get typecast or something?
She's equally great, if not better, on "The Night Shift." She has a lot of authority, but she also has a lot of heart. Great strong female character.
[Just looked up her profile- Jill in "Royal Pains" was an Admin Asst, not a doctor... but seriously, she's on a lot of medical shows. "Nurse Jackie" is another I came across, but since I never saw it, I don't know if she was a doctor or playing on a different role on it].

I hadn't seen much of Mark Feurestein beyond this series, but I'll always remember him as this character. Hank Lawson is VERY resourceful (he's practically Dr. McGuyver). He's very sensible and sensitive to his patients' needs and he's not afraid to deliver some cold hard truth- like what people need to change about their lifestyles when it could be a matter of life or death.
And when it comes to Boris (and really, in all his relationships), he's very loyal. He'll go to great lengths to help people. And with Boris being a man of mystery and secrets, he knows all about discretion.
Maybe the one flaw he had was his loyalty to Boris where he'd follow him to the ends of the Earth to places where he could very well become collateral damage.

So it was a big relief that when Boris disappeared, Hank turned down his offer to come with him. Because it'd be like being in the witness protection program. He'd never see Evan again.

Paulo Costanzo... wow, I can't believe how far he's come. He was on Animorphs all those years ago when they had a TV series.
The teens that were given the power to transform into animals in, I think, the 9th book- meet an alien that's the nephew of the one that gave them their powers. And so he can hide among the humans, he chooses a human form that compiles features from 4 of teenagers (there are 5, but Tobias had been trapped in the form of a red-tailed hawk since the end of book 1).
They called him Ax for short (I forget the long version, lol. I still have the books, but I haven't read them in ages. Great series!).

Anyway, Paulo found new life as Evan R Lawson (that's the way he introduces himself when he meets people- and of course he always adds "CFO of Hank-Med" at the end of it). He's neurotic and very impulsive. A lot of the time, he was the comic relief of the show.

Divya is probably one of the best female characters ever. She's very determined and tenacious- qualities she never lost. And she'd go on to prove that women can have it all. The show ended just as she was about to start school at Johns Hopkins, get married, and have a second baby.
There was talk a couple seasons of her never being able to conceive because of something that happened when she was a kid. Yet she defied the odds and her daughter Sashi will soon have a little brother.
...in reality, Reshma Shetty was pregnant and they just wrote that into the storyline.
Wouldn't be the first time.

There were moments where I thought for sure Divya would end up with one of the other characters. Her and Evan had such a fun dynamic that I kept holding out in case the two of them became romantically involved.
Never happened.
But just as well because Evan found the perfect counterpart in Paige. She's grounded and nurturing and while she supports him, she can tell him when he needs to dial it back.
Divya and Evan have a very love-hate relationship.
Paige's boss Russell, I think he was an interior designer or he was involved in restoring art works and such. He was a great character. Very stiff and demanding at first, but Paige softened him within one episode.

There was also the socially awkward Jeremiah who they introduced in one of the later seasons.
I think that might have been at a point where I hadn't watched the series in a while and didn't really know what happened. But there was this new guy that I had never seen before, had no idea who he was or what he was doing with Hank-Med. But I think it had come at a time where Evan and Hank had a falling out and Hank quit Hank-Med and they needed a doctor to take his place.
Either that or it was shortly after the 2-hour "Christmas/movie" episode where Hank almost died because of some mysterious illness. It was something that happened to him I think as  the result of people who wanted to assassinate Boris.

Anyway, I didn't really "get" Jeremiah at first. Maybe because of his awkwardness, but I warmed up to him when he and Divya were living together.
She had just had Sashi (I think that's how her daughter's name was spelled) and her parents cut her off financially- between her backing out of an arranged wedding and having a baby out of wedlock.
So Jeremiah was giving her a place to stay and he was very good to her. I thought they'd end up together, but again, it didn't quite work out.

In a way, I guess I kinda liked this show because it didn't follow into the clichés that had been done over and over again.

A highlight later on was the introduction of Hank and Evan's dad... who happened to be played by The Fonz himself Henry Winkler. [It became even more fun to watch him after I saw a couple episodes of "Happy Days" a couple years ago].
He was the deadbeat dad that walked out on them and their mom when they were kids. Something Hank held against him for years because he had to take care of his mom (who had a terminal illness) and his brother when he was only a teenager.

Funny enough, their relationship repaired (their half-sister Emma was also an interesting character they had around for a season), but after walking out on a wedding in the final season, Evan adopted Hank's former attitude and decided not to forgive his dad.
Even though his reason for leaving was being embarrassed about a heart issue he was having.

I read an article in the Entertainment section last Sunday and it made an interesting point. "Royal Pains" was going to be USA's last "blue sky" series, which were all the light-hearted dramedies they'd had over the years. "Monk" and "Psych" in particular. [I freaking loved "Psych" but also hated when it got serious... at least the ending was good]. Now it's going for a grittier realer direction that "Mr. Robot" is at the helm of because apparently that's what "millennials" are into nowadays.

Bleck, HATE that term. I was born in 1986. Us kids from the 80's and 90's deserve better. There's such a stigma about that term because of what it's associated with. People being addicted to their iPhones, SnapChat, Twitter and so on. As well as the economical one. How they want college to be free or government handouts. And there's the whole "everyone gets a trophy' thing.

I have an iPhone and yes I do like Twitter quite a bit. But I'm not on my phone all the time. Heck, my parents are on their iPhones and iPads more than I am when we have the TV on. I have my laptop... similar, yes, but I don't think it's quite the same thing.

Thanks for nothing, CASTLE

obvious spoilers for CASTLE ahead... not as obvious spoilers of the series finale


Ok, maybe I'm being a little harsh... but after last night, I certainly was in no mood to hold back my embattled feelings.

I don't know why, but for whatever reason, I started thinking about "A Bug's Life" and how some of its dialogue fit my feelings perfectly.

But first a little background:
Castle has been around so long that I almost can't imagine my life without it. Monday nights at 10pm are going to be very empty now. Especially with the news "Blindspot" is moving to Wednesday night at 8pm... yes, NOW it moves to another night when there's no more competition.
Maybe I should rephrase and say I can't remember Monday nights in the spring and fall without this show. Conceptually, it was brilliant. A mystery writer finds a new muse in an up and coming NYPD homicide detective and "thanks to his friendship with the mayor" he is allowed to come with the NYPD on cases so he can do research for his new Nikki Heat book series.

Wow, thinking back on that, I really miss those days... when it was just muse/kick-ass detective and writer... it was Castle and Beckett before Caskett.
I don't know when I had this thought- if it was in season 1 or 2, but I was thinking how I REALLY hope these two don't become a couple. Mainly because it's so predictable- all the shows and movies freaking do it.

Here's the crazy thing: with time, I warmed up to the idea so much that I couldn't have the show without Caskett... I mean, I was dying for them to declare their feelings for each other and begging for weeks that they get married after that horrendous cliff-hanger finale a couple years ago.
It was a triple-whammy: Grimm, Castle and Sleepy Hollow all had cliff-hanger endings that year and they involved someone being stuffed in a coffin or being presumed dead.
"Sleepy Hollow" hurt me so bad that I go the cliff-notes version of how Ichabod Crane and his "left-tieunt" escaped their coffin and purgatory and never watched the show again. And getting the buzz about how it got cancelled, I'm happy I did because that heartache, I couldn't bear.

"Once Upon a Time" hit me hard Sunday night- now this... so I hope "Agents of SHIELD" doesn't make it another triple whammy. All are ABC shows, so obviously I am going to be super pissed with the network for allowing all these shenanigans to pass.

Anyway, back to Castle... the writing and the characters are so good and memorable and they stay with you... seriously, this is a great show that I will remember forever.
Not only did it deserve better, but us fans deserved better than the raw deal we got out of it.

When we enter into a show or book series or movie or anything- there's always an unspoken contract of trust. We have the reassurance our heroes will ultimately triumph, the villains lose and at least the protagonist has a happy ending of some kind.
"Allegient" was the last time this contract was broken- and I am still not over it [and the movie is a year away].
This betrayal seems 10x worse.

Granted, it was going downhill for a little while. Oddly enough, Caskett had been married for only a few weeks, but the show had become like an old married couple that was trying to reinvigorate their love life... and Season 8 was a colossal failure in the Caskett department.

I guess you could say that maybe the show was doomed from the start. We knew Caskett was getting together. We knew that Beckett was obsessed with finding her mom's killer and she was never going to stop. This show loves its conspiracies, so obviously once we found out who killed Beckett's mom, that couldn't be the end of that story arc.

Although if I'd written the show, it would have ended a lot sooner- before the whole LockSat thing. Caskett would have gotten married when they were meant originally and that'd be it.

Season 8 suffered because of all the time Castle and Beckett spent apart- Beckett being a complete cliché of herself- not letting the case of her mom's murder go and "shutting Castle out to protect him"... so she pretended that she needed a break from their marriage and put distance between them. And of course Castle being like the loyal puppy he is trying to win her back.
I was so pissed when she walked away that I screamed at her- I burned with rage towards her for nearly a month because of this.
Another quote from "A Bug's Life" fits this situation perfectly- specifically on how the writers let this happen.

But as for the finale itself, here are my issues:
1) it was too dramatic


This show has its share of comedy and drama- but when the drama outweighs the comedy, I can't stand it. it freaking kills me. Pretty much anything having to do with Beckett's character arc- I hated- because the show moved away from what I liked about it.
Last night- from start to finish, it was non-stop drama. And the last two minutes destroyed me because I was ready to calm down and relax, but there was one final twist

2) it was too unbelievable

I know this is fiction, but you still have to have a believability.
Truth serum in the Harry Potter world- I can understand that. This does not exist in real life. And if it didn't, it isn't THIS potent.
At least make it look like you're struggling with it- don't just spill all the secrets... at least when Barty Crouch Jr. [see "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"] was spilling secrets, he made it seem like it was a difficult thing to resist.
And a ceiling so magnetic that it disarms you of your firearms... ridiculous!

Also, I thought for LockSat would be Vicrom or some other character we knew for longer than 10 minutes... that was disappointing

3) it was MESSY- literally and figuratively

I know they only had a week to hash at this finale, but c'mon!! they could have done this so much cleaner. And I'm not talking about all the blood or potential casualties involved.

It was like what happened in Bambi- we get traumatized by whatever shots were fired and so on...
then the next scene immediately after it's all sunny and happy and cheerful- as if it's supposed to take our mind off what JUST happened.


Now for "A Bug's Life" to do its thing...




Seriously- I want to ask the writers this question... they want me to believe that everything's magically okay... or was the final scene a hallucination of the dream scenario that'll never come to pass?
The least they could have done is make it more cut and dry. Like someone calling for an ambulance or something...


the suspension of belief was WEAK- not just the final couple minutes but the whole show. No villain is THIS invincible or intelligent that they're always 10 steps ahead of the good guys.

So how the series (season 8) and beyond ended:







Andrew R. Marlowe started the series and ran it for several years. After he left, the show just plummeted into depths of mediocrity it could not dig itself out of.
Whether or not they were also the ones behind firing Stana Katic and Tamela Jones... I don't care... I'm going to blame them anyway.
Gotta blame someone, might as well be them.

I mean, this isn't as bad as "Gilligan's Island" (where they never get off the island) or "Lost" (they were dead the entire time!... and I actually laughed at that cuz that should've gone off the air ages ago).
But for me- maybe the worst finale I'd gone through since "Merlin"... I'm still not over that, by the way.


[Side-note: I've read two Richard Castle books- I think the first Nikki Heat book and one other- both were great reads. I hope I get to check out more]

Christmas Every Day (1996)

Cast:
Billy Jackson- Erik Von Detton [went to play a heartthrob/jerk in "Princess Diaries"]
Sarah Jackson- Yvonne Zima [had a tiny role in "Iron-Man 3" I don't recall]
Henry- Jackson- Robert Hays [from "Airplane!"]
Molly Jackson- Bess Armstrong
Uncle David- Robert Curtis Brown [he's from Bucks County PA- where I grew up!! :P ]
Aunt Caroline- Robin Riker
Cousin Jacey- Julia Whelan

Opening Remarks:
I may have mentioned this briefly in one of my compilation Christmas entries, but after watching the movie this year, I decided to do one final write-up.
For all I know, I might not be able to see it next year. And even if it's still on YouTube, I don't know if I'm going to have this same feeling next year. I would have waited for the 20th anniversary of this movie to write this otherwise.

I first saw this movie when it first came out and for some time, I watched it every time it aired... then it just stopped showing... a couple years ago, it made a comeback... only to disappear again.
But whenever it came back, there was much rejoicing on my part.

Rewatching it for the 2nd year since someone put it on YouTube, I couldn't help but get nostalgic over it. Just seeing the Jackson family room decorated for Christmas, I felt like I was home. That warm and fuzzy feeling came back and stayed for me throughout the picture.

Plot:

Billy Jackson (Erik Von Detton) is a 13-year old teen who lives in a small town on the east coast with his parents and his younger sister, Sarah. His dad owns the general store, one of many small businesses that are the trademark of the town. It's a place where everyone is very close and knows each other. As of the beginning of this movie, this is a notion that Billy doesn't quite appreciate, but will grow to with time.
And because this is a Christmas movie, it needs to be added that he lacks in Christmas spirit as well. So being the narrator of the town's annual Christmas pageant is an occupation he begrudges.

Christmas Day is more or less a disaster. Billy's Uncle David, Aunt Caroline and his cousin, Jacey, are visiting. Back in the day, his dad and his uncle worked together in the general store, then owned by their father. But after his father died, a rift occurred, so David left town and became a successful businessman. Now he's back with the mind to bring a super mall to the town-- something that many of the town's denizens do not want because it'd be disastrous for all the town's small businesses and their owners.

And as with a lot of family gatherings, a lot of arguing occurs.
Including one between Billy and his sister Sarah, which ends with both of them wishing it was Christmas every day (Sarah meant it for real, Billy did it sarcastically).
Either way, the wish was granted and it was Christmas again.
Sooner or later, Billy had to learn that only he can stop it from being Christmas every day. He had to change and with changes he made to his life, he'd affect so many others.
[Kinda like "Groundhog's Day" but with Christmas instead]

Thoughts and Comments:

Negativity first.
Looking at this now, there are some aspects about this movie that don't sit quite right.
This year in particular, I had a couple of moments where I was groaning and rolling my eyes at our protagonist. He went through a phase where he was renting movies (what the heck is Blockbuster doing open on Christmas?!) and imitating actors from westerns and kung fu movies. Most of it was standing up to the school bully Joey and trying to steal away his girlfriend Diane... none of which worked. Just cringe-worthy garbage. I realize it's a made-for-TV movie so it's not perfect, but still...

Another aspect is how dark it gets at points.
Almost every day we have Christmas (5 of 7 days), there's a big argument in the family about the value mall. Differences of values between the brothers and imperfections of the marriages beginning to show... it feels like the world's going to end and the rifts that form can never be fixed.
Plus there's the fact that a big theme of the movie is a sad reality. A lot of these small timeless towns have been ruined by big businesses. And not all of them have the luxury of the businessman having a familial connection within the town-- giving more of a chance for things not to change.

Now for the good...
Just like people who grew up in tight-knit communities can relate to this small town life, the same can be said about the characters. You can relate to one of them on a personal level or you have a friend or family member that reminds you of them.

In recent years, I've become a little disenchanted with Christmas so each year has been a little tough to find the spirit. Last year, I didn't really feel it until the day of- after everyone opened their presents and they really made a lot of people happy.
This year, I was feeling a little like Charlie Brown- not so much hating the commercialism of Christmas (although I hate the fact they start advertising even before Halloween), but just not feeling the joy of the season. Oddly enough, getting involved in a Christmas project worked wonders like it did for Charlie Brown.
Billy's had trouble finding the Christmas spirit, but also appreciating what's in front of him. Spending more time with my family over the month doing all these Christmas related things- that's really made me appreciate what I do have.
There's a moment where Billy's dad says that every now and then you need to step away from yourself and look at what you have in front of you... that's kinda sums up the way I've come to feel over the course of December.

Of course, the best day of the Christmases is the final one because all the pieces finally come together.
And I really love how Billy spend time with his relatives and does all these small things to make them happy. You also get to know them more as people than you maybe have the entire movie. And feeling the influence of the holiday spirit, they go on to do great things for other people... and the warm and fuzzies start piling on and I can't stop smiling :D

If you're lucky enough to find this movie, at least give it one look. It may not be perfect, but just family gatherings at Christmas, they don't have to be for you to fully appreciate them.
[And the reason I'm not giving away all the details... you need to experience them for yourself to appreciate them. And you're also free to make your own connections, whether it's with the characters, the town or the situations involved]. 

Summertime: Independence Day (1996)

Director: Roland Emmerich
Composer: David Arnold (damn his manipulative score!)

Notable Cast:
Captain Steven Hiller- Will Smith
President Whitmore- Bill Pullman
Jasmine- Vivica A. Fox
David- Jeff Goldblum
David's father- Judd Hirsch
Jimmy- Harry Connick, Jr.
Russell Casse- Randy Quaid
Defense Secretary- James Rebhorn (died in 2014)
President's daughter- Mae Whitman
Marty- Harvey Fierstein

Notable Awards and Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Visual Effects
nomination- OSCAR- Best Sound
Grammy- Best Instrumental Composition written for TV/Movie- David Arnold

Write-up:

Opening Remarks
It's hard to believe this movie turns 20 next year... makes me feel old :P
I remember when it first came out and what a huge blockbuster it was. I saw it on DVD a couple times, but don't think I really appreciated it until I got older and was able to understand more of the dialogue. Back then, the only thing I really got out of it was the epic presidential speech, the special effects and Will Smith being hilarious.

Oh those days when Will Smith was awesome...

I never thought this was the best movie in the world, but I wasn't aware it was considering "bad" in a lot of circles :P It's not super believable and thrives on special effects more than the things that really matter to a movie- a strong storyline and characters able to support it.

Unlike "Jaws," I don't mind so much seeing this year after year... but I do mind watching it when we have company over and they spend a good chunk of the movie talking about how this president is so much better than ours... that Obama never would have taken the offensive against the aliens, wouldn't have gotten directly involved with the final assault because he has no military experience, etc, etc.
I get that he isn't well liked among my family and their friends, but I don't need the political commentary every goddam time we watch this movie.

Although in truth, I only had to endure that commentary once or twice in the years we'd watched the movie.
I have my grievances with the Defense Secretary character, but beyond that, I just want to enjoy the movie- not relate it to real life and how our country has gone to hell over the past several years.
On that particular note, it's absolutely ridiculous how politically correct we've gotten lately so we don't offend every American.

Plot, Characters and Additional Commentary

Basic set-up: aliens are coming to Earth to annihilate the human race.

We have multiple storylines unfolding at once and like any good soap opera, all these characters come together in one way or another and contribute to the destruction of the aliens or helping out their fellow man.

The movie actually starts on July 2nd (54 minutes) and takes place between it, July 3rd (48 minutes) and July 4th (40 minutes).
Within the first day, Washington D.C., L.A. and New York are decimated.

Will Smith plays a pilot with aspirations to become an astronaut, but for whatever reason, NASA keeps rejecting him (can't imagine why... maybe he's too much of a maverick for their tastes?). He's on vacation, but upon this alien invasion, he gets called into work, leaving behind his stripper girlfriend (who he has yet to commit to) and her 5? year old son.
Not many people would find Jasmine's demeanor believable, but I commend her for it. In a later scene, she comes forward about her profession and says "it's good money... and my baby's worth it." There's such a stigma surrounding strippers and adult entertainers, so I personally find it refreshing that she owns up to it for these reasons.
[But maybe that's just me being biased because I'm currently writing about some characters who adult entertain for varying reasons].

Like I said before, these were the good old days when Will Smith was cool. I never watched "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and I got rid of his album after finding out I only liked 2 songs on it (the rest of was rap... excuse me for not knowing that in advance! We didn't have Internet back then).
But between "Independence Day" and "Men In Black," he was a huge star and one of the funniest actors on the planet... then he got serious with a bunch of dramatic films, dropped a few bombs (the latest being "After Earth," which nearly ruined his son, Jaden's, career... unfortunately not enough to ensure they stopped making "Karate Kid" movies... I still haven't gotten over the fact they did that remake, which out of love for the original, I am refusing to see EVER).

And the latest word is that Will Smith won't even be in the supposed sequel they've been planning for this movie... in that case, it's going to suck big time...
I enjoy a lot about Jeff Goldblum's performance in this movie, but that isn't enough to keep me engaged in this movie. Will Smith is responsible for so many laughs (many are real Laugh Out Loud moments) that keeps us going through the tragedy of it... and just might have made it bearable for a lot of people who find fault in the believability, the excessive special effects and the overbearing score.

Speaking of that score, it is freaking manipulative. When people die or we see destruction everywhere, it is so loud and overbearing that you are coerced into feeling depressed or devastated or (in the case of one death) cry your eyes out.

The Defense Secretary is played by the late James Rebhorn... not one of his finer moments. He annoyed me a bit in "My Cousin Vinny" because he was the expert witness that almost got the defendants thrown in jail for something they didn't do, but when Marisa Tomei's character gave her testimony, he conceded to her points and agreed he might have made a mistake.
He has no silver lining in this movie... except for admitting that Area 51 really exists. If not for that, the aliens would've won. Otherwise, though, he's practically gutless, insisting on taking the easy way out rather than reassuring that the American public is taken care of. He also happened to be the one person against trying out David (Jeff Goldblum)'s idea that gave us the ultimate victory.

Maybe it's because the only Jeff Goldblum movies I've seen were this one and the Jurassic Park movies... but I'm in the minority of the movie-viewing public. I really do like him a lot. Sure, his character is a little lame about his whole "I want to save the Earth" thing and he gets drunk when the military launches an unsuccessful nuclear strike (if I were to get that drunk during an alien invasion, it'd be over more important things... not that I'm belittling nuclear attacks... they still scare the crap out of me)

I seriously do enjoy him in these movies... not so much the Jurassic Park sequel where everything kinda suffers... but in these other two. And nobody could have played this particular character better than him.

The president Bill Pullman plays isn't exactly in the best part of his presidency when this crisis happens. The flurry of negative press is delivered by his press secretary at such a rushed pace that I cannot remember any of it.
But it's times like these that really define a presidency- how you react under pressure amidst circumstances such as this.

Randy Quaid plays a drunken inept crop duster who once, get this, got abducted and probed by aliens. Most people would look at that biography and laugh their asses off because it falls in line too perfectly with this movie... but it's great that he gets to get involved and winds up playing a heroic role in our overall victory.
It comes a little too late, but his stepkids get to remember him as a hero and less for his lack of parenting skills.
I do find it a little ridiculous that his daughter's one bit of characterization is that she doesn't want to die a virgin and keeps making eyes at the young guys she comes across.
Lisa Jakub had much more going for her in "Mrs. Doubtfire."

He doesn't have much screentime, but Harvey Fierstein (also from "Mrs. Doubtfire") is there as well. Again, one of my favorite voices EVER among actors :P
Watching the movie this time around was the first time I really watched him in this movie, rather than just listening to him... I then recollected how he had a boyfriend/partner in "Mrs. Doubtfire" and looked him up. For whatever reason, it took me this long to kinda realize that he's gay :shrug: that would explain all the hand movements and the whine in his voice when he was stressing about calling his mom about the invasion.
...yeah, my gay-dar has never been the sharpest, but so what? And apparently, according to some IMDB messageboards, he really is a nice guy in real life. Not that I ever had any doubts about that.

As far as aliens go, they may not look like much when they're in suspended animation... but in action, they're pretty terrifying. Also infuriating when it comes to the impenetrable shields on their ships. If the aliens in our own world are that much more advanced than us... we're pretty much screwed.

Even more so now that Will Smith won't be in the sequel. He was the only pilot skilled enough to outmaneuver an alien and the only person brave enough to talk smack to their faces.
The entire time he's out on the salt flats either confronting the alien or dragging its ass across the desert... best part of the entire movie :P


"And what the hell is that smell?!" [totally improvised- more to the salt flats than the alien itself- then he proceeds to kick its ass even more]

Final Comment

Gotta love the parody of this in the 2nd Austin Powers movie when they demonstrate the power of the "laser" on the White House.

"That was just footage from the movie 'Independence Day' but the real laser would be a lot like that... yeah."

But it terrifies the president [this is back in 1969] so much he gives in and pays the ransom... but almost blows up the moon:

The President: Jiminy Jumpin' Jesus, I can't believe we're gonna pay that madman. I got nukes out the ying-yang. Just let me launch one, for God's sake.
Commander Gilmour: Sir. Are you suggesting that we blow up the moon?
The President: Would you miss it?
[looks around the table]
The President: Would you miss it?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (book- 1999, movie- 2012)

Writer (book AND screenplay) /Director: Stephen Chbosky
Type: Coming-of-age high school dramedy

Cast:
Charlie- Logan Lerman
Charlie's mom- Kate Walsh
Charlie's dad- Dylan McDermott
Charlie's sister, Candace- Nina Dobrev
Sam- Emma Watson
Patrick- Ezra Miller
Brad- Johnny Simmons (young Neil from "Scott Pilgrim vs. the world")
Mary Elizabeth- Mae Whitman
Alice- Erin Wilhelmi
Aunt Helen- Melanie Lynskey
Dr. Burton- Joan Cusack
English teacher, Mr. Anderson- Paul Rudd

Personal Exposition- My Life as a Wallflower
Yet another topic that begs for an AA reference:
"Hi, my name is... and I'm a wallflower."

Other than my time participating in concert choir, high school musicals, that's probably the best way I could describe myself in high school. I was a wallflower... and I was okay with that. Most of this was to maintain my grades. Can't say that I'm a huge nerd because my grades were above-average (I believe I was 136/522) so I wasn't exactly among the best and brightest.
And the rest of it... I just have trouble making friends. I'm afraid to participate socially because when I was younger, I had a few experiences where I wanted to get involved and nobody wanted to hang out with me. Either because I was weird or they thought they were better than me.

Ultimately, that wound up defining a lot of my social life. I've had occasions where I made a friend or two, but a year later, they'd make other friends. People with stronger personalities that I didn't feel I could compete with for my former friend's attention. I got really lucky in middle school when I had classes with a couple of  the same people and things naturally worked themselves out.
But high school kinda felt like hell because, except for lunch period one year and concert choir, I never hung out with anybody. Just didn't have that confidence to put myself out there to form friendships.

Then in college, my junior year, a couple people started asking me to hang out with them... they were a bunch of weirdoes too and I couldn't imagine why they were interested in me. But after a while (can't remember if it was weeks or months), I took a chance simply because I was in no position to turn down friends.
(So I guess you could say that was my "Cady Heron meets the Plastics" moment).

It's a little trickier in the workplace... because I want to maintain the façade of professionalism, but I also don't want to come off as a snob or worse because I don't socialize. What I need to do, I think, is learn how to read people so I know which ones I can be gregarious with and which I can't.
I'm not sure if that makes me more of a wallflower or a people-pleaser. :P

Exposition

I'd seen this book on the shelves for a couple years, intrigued by the title. But I think I need the extra push from the fact it'd become a movie... I didn't get to see it until it came out on DVD (thanks a lot, Hollywood, and your stupid wide-release-only movies).

According to my Goodreads page, I read this within a month. But if I didn't pace myself, I could have done it within a day. It was the most compelling book I'd read in a long time.
The first one I devoured and connected with since "Twilight" (fall of 2008) and the first that affected me personally since "The Giver" (2000-2001)- where it stayed with me for weeks afterwards.

I guess you could call it divine intervention or perfect timing, but it was like this book was something I needed to read because it corresponded with something I was going through.
Or what I had been going through a while... periods of depression where it was hard for me to participate in my own life... being unemployed, putting all this energy into the application and interviews processes, and my efforts going unrewarded... [this went on between 2011-2013 and I finally got "the call" last March]

The Book
Spoilers Ahead for who we hadn't read or seen this book/movieThe book wound up being different than I pictured it would be. I thought it'd just be about a shy protagonist struggling to survive high school. I didn't know Charlie had a history of depression or that his best friend had committed suicide. Or had any idea about the troubling secret in his past that he'd just come to grips with.

This was a heavy book in a lot of places. I remember multiple times where Charlie talked about bursting into tears, crying and such. Some was warranted as were the periods of depression and loneliness he experienced. I've had those kinds of moments myself. But after a while, I started to feel self-conscious about him being so emotional all the time. All while hoping "please don't have this be a reoccurring thing in the movie."

The book had a lot of sex and drugs. Not that I'm totally vanilla about all that. I just never grew up around all that. At least not until college where half the population were smokers and some of my roommates frequented frat parties and such. Charlie recalled a situation he was in where he was at a party and walked in on a girl being forced to give a guy a blow job. His new friend Patrick was gay and had a complicated relationship with a football player. After his [football player's] father caught them together, Patrick started taking Charlie to a certain park where he'd pick up random guys. And his other friend Sam used to have a reputation- when she was a freshman, she got taken to a lot of parties, got drunk and such...

They don't sugar coat much in this book. It's realistic, but not to the point where it's overbearing.
I remember reading it was one of those books that got challenged by school systems. With all the sex and drugs, it's hard to imagine why that might be.
There was also another scene that stuck with me. Throughout the book, Charlie's sister was really mean to him. Her boyfriend hit her once and their parents found out later on. But there was a point where she asked Charlie to take her to the abortion clinic.
What shocked me most was that their parents never found out about it, and in a way, that's a good thing. For both parties.

Despite everything going on, how challenging some of it was to get through emotionally, it was a cathartic read. I loved that Charlie was an avid reader. His narratives read the way I often write. They meander, touching on multiple topics at once, and just going on forever. And I didn't get sick of it. Loved the way he talked about the book he read for class (and that Mr. Anderson gave him for additional reading).
Mr. Anderson was such a great character. Probably will go down as one of my favorite fictional teachers because he was very supportive of Charlie. I liked him so much that I was afraid that of some big reveal later on that would undo this amazing teacher-student relationship he and Charlie had.

All the characters were defined so well that you could either relate to them because you saw yourself in them or people you knew.

The Movie

Because I'd already read and loved the book, I really didn't need to worry about not liking the movie. I already knew Logan Lerman from the Percy Jackson series. Of course Emma Watson from the "Harry Potter" series. Nina Dobrev ("Vampire Diaries"), who didn't look anything like how I read the character in the book, played his older sister.

Overall, I was very pleased with it as a teen movie and also as a book-to-movie adaptation. A couple of scenes didn't make the cut. Most were for good reason (toned down the sexual content and Charlie only had one major breakdown scene, which was in the epic 3rd act climax... I write that as if it were a cliché, but I felt like it was handled very well). One scene I kinda missed was Charlie taking his sister to the abortion clinic because that was a great bonding scene for them. Luckily, that was available via the DVD extras.

I liked how it was approached as a dark comedy where it knew where to be light, but also to go very dark. And it did so without completely losing me. Certain movie overdo it with the drama and I never felt that here.
The tunnel scene is probably the most iconic in the book, where Charlie says "I feel infinite"... that was done so well... it was really something special.
All of the actors played their roles so well. Especially loved Ezra Miller as Patrick. I'd only seen him in one other movie since ("Beware the Gonzo"), but he was born to play this character. Nobody else could have made him so hilarious and also grounded and angsty.
I'd never seen "Parenthood," but I can't imagine anyone else playing Mary Elizabeth (the opinionated Buddhist vegan) except Mae Whitman.

With him playing so many idiots, it's good to see Paul Rudd play a nice straight character with a really good moral compass... my only nitpick was that Mr. Anderson wasn't in the movie nearly enough for my tastes :P

Great use of music throughout. I'd only heard "Asleep" by The Smiths one other time... and it was part of the "Sucker Punch" soundtrack. Personally, I still prefer Emily Browning's voice to those lyrics :shrug: but that's just me.
Using "Come on Eileen" at the homecoming dance was inspired... especially how it was like Charlie's soundtrack for when he approached the dance floor to meet up with Sam and Patrick... and that's saying a lot because I HATED this song. I still don't like it a whole lot (sounds like a bunch of hillbillies who can barely carry a note), but I can't help appreciating in this one instance.
Then David Bowie's "Heroes" for "The Tunnel" scene... powerful stuff... wow

Aunt Helen and Dr. Burton

As for comparing to the two mediums (book vs. movie), the movie did one thing that the book really didn't... it explained Aunt Helen's presence in Charlie's life, their relationship and how it contributed to him being [pardon the language] fucked him up.

Towards the end of the book, something happened in the 3rd act that resulted in Charlie being hospitalized... to me, it was very vague and never fully explained.

I literally had to read on Goodreads.com (where I posted my review of the book) that Aunt Helen molested him. Then other people commented how he psychologically exhibited those signs of abuse throughout the book- how it explained him being so emotional and such...

Not so much the fact that it happened to him, but I was frustrated that so many people picked up on this and I had no idea. Frankly, it made me feel like an idiot because to them, it was glaringly obvious.
In my personal defense, I had never experienced any of that and never personally knew anyone who experienced any of that... so how am I supposed to pick up on that?

I was also thrown off because Charlie kept saying Aunt Helen was his favorite person and he had nothing but good things to say about her. [Another thing that should be very obvious... that sense of shame and betrayal because it was at the hands of someone you really cared about and trusted].
And the way I read her character in the book, she read a lot older to me... someone as beautiful and young as Melanie Lynskey surely didn't come to mind. I expected someone much older with some gray-hair at least.

They were kinda vague about it in the movie too, but there was a bit of pay-off at the end. Where it was addressed. The breakdown scene begins where Charlie and Sam start kissing and she's rubbing his leg, startling him to the point where he stops... this image flashes on the screen multiple times and we see Aunt Helen's face intermingle where she says "don't wake your sister"...

Joan Cusack is in this movie only for a couple scenes as his doctor at the hospital. I loved her in this. She had such a comforting on-screen presence. One of those actresses I'd only see so much of, but enjoy being around them when they're doing their thing on screen. She was really good to Charlie where he was having difficulties. Definitely a quality over quantity type of deal.

Other Comments

Both medias have their give and take. I miss hearing Charlie's thought-provoking narratives, how he spoke about the books he read. The characters were represented well in both versions.
One negative I can derive is that we really didn't see much of his parents. Not a lot of interaction between them. I watched one of the deleted scenes and the writer/director talked about how great Kate Walsh was in it... I appreciated that she was good in the scene. I just wish the movie spent more time on her and his dad. I never fully connected with either of them.

This is one of those movies where, later on, I would like to see it with commentary. Just getting to know some of the actors more. Getting inside the director's head... it's amazing to me that the guy who wrote the book got to write the screenplay and direct the movie... it's so rare where writers have so much freedom with their material.
Apparently, John Hughes had bought the rights to it... but the movie got put on hold after his death. I read that it was Emma Watson's favorite book and I'd been under the impression she was the reason the movie happened at all. As much as I love John Hughes, I'm glad that this movie went to someone else. His work is great and I will love him forever for his Brat Pack movies, but something like this... I don't think it would have worked out quite as well with him behind the camera.

This movie was ultimately the reason I watched "Rocky Horror Picture Show" a couple years ago... I wanted to understand the whole phenomenon of it... I still don't quite get it :P but I'm still interested in giving it another go. Only next time, I'd like to watch with other people and preferably at an earlier hour so I don't FALL ASLEEP halfway through.
The last thing I remembered was the "Touch Me" musical number and I woke up halfway through the cabaret scene... I didn't know what the fuck was going on! Reading the synopsis later on, it said how they were coerced into it... I missed that entirely, so mentally, I wasn't engaged for the final 40 minutes.

I promise, I'm really good with weird :P but I'd like another chance to wrap my head around all that.

This is going to sound a little messed up, but I'll try to explain this:
This is one of those movies I like to watch when I'm going through something... where I'm feeling down on myself, lacking energy, PMSing or whatever reason... in an odd sort of way, it makes me feel better...
Not so much the "other people have it worse than you" cliché as the fact that it feels kinda good to explore things I'm feeling through these characters. It's healing :shrug:
That's all I can say, really... plus the fact I should see it with my friends, Sam and Dave, at one point so we can experience all those feels together :P

Unorthodox Christmas: Die Hard (1988)

Director: John McTiernan
Based on the book "Nothing Lasts Forever" by Roderick Thorp
Composer: Michael Kamen (also worked on "Lethal Weapon")


Cast
John McClane- Bruce Willis
Allen- Reginald VelJohnson
Hans Gruber- Alan Rickman
Hollie Gennaro McClane- Bonnie Bedelia Culkin
Karl- Alexander Godunov (RIP 1995)
Deputy Police Chief Duane T. Robinson- Paul Gleason
Reporter Richard Thornburg- William Atherton
Argyle- De'voreaux White


Oscar Nominations
Best Sound
Best Sound Editing
Best Film Editing
Best Visual Effects


Write-up:


"Origin" Story
I don't remember the exact conversation, but roughly 5 years ago, we were talking about Christmas movies. My dad said "Die Hard" was his favorite Christmas movie. That gave me the idea to get him the movie for Christmas (along with "Invincible" because I enjoyed it and since it was a football movie, I thought he would too).


Previously that season at my college's animé club, we played a music video called "The Ballad of John McClane"... which showed scenes from the movie alongside an actual song, which discussed the plots of the entire "Die Hard" franchise. Worth checking it, it's a riot 8-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTyw6cq86kY
[some spoilers included]


Anyway, I guess you could say the rest is history. Since that first Christmas, we'd watched "Die Hard" pretty much every year as part of our Christmas traditions.
Something that can't really be said about my previous "Unorthodox Christmas" entries, although I could make a habit out of "Lethal Weapon"... or any other Shane Black film that takes place during Christmas time...


The Story in a Nutshell


New York cop John McClane flies into LA for a Christmas Eve party at his estranged wife's company.
At the same time, the building falls into the hands of German terrorists who hold it hostage, hoping to steal millions of dollars from their vault.


Basically, John McClane (who was freshening up after a long flight, therefore not encased in the hostage situation) turns vigilante. He fights back against the terrorists, killing at least half a dozen, and (after a couple failed attempts) gets LAPD involved. With only a stolen walkie-talkie for communication with the outside world, John McClane also develops a friendship with Allen- the cop sent to Nakatomi after a couple "false alarms".


Actors and Characters






John McClane has become such an iconic character. I hadn't seen any of the other films in the franchise, but it's my understanding that he's become less realistic with each film. The latest "Die Hard" likened him to a video-game character because he came off "super-human."
But in the original, he's just a regular cop who really rises to the occasion when Nakatomi falls under attack. His reaction time is sharp and he thinks very quickly on his feet. Not to mention he accomplishes all of this bare-foot. (Someone on the plane randomly suggests "talking off your shoes and making fists with your toes" to calm down after a flight). The part of the movie everyone remembers is when he runs over broken glass to escape gunfire. That and his "yippee-kai-yay" comeback.


Hard to believe that this was a role so many people turned down (Tom Berenger, Nick Nolte, Sam Neill, Al Pacino) and others balked at the casting of Bruce Willis.
But then, I never saw "Moonlighting," Bruce Willis's current gig... where he supposedly played a goofier character.(Funny enough, he "moonlighted" as John McClane while filming the TV series in the daylight hours).

Earlier today, I mused to myself about who I'd cast in a remake... cuz I imagined Christoph Waltz playing Hans Gruber (he always plays such a great villain)...but I was at a loss about John McClane. Nobody I know in movies today has that killer combination Bruce Willis had: a dry sense of humor, good build and major ass-kicking skills.


As for whether I'd take John McClane or Martin Riggs in a bet on who's the bigger bad-ass...
Riggs would probably win...
in the sense of humor department, McClane might have the edge.



Reginald VelJohnson, I know as the father from "Family Matters" (part of the TGIF line-up that I, ironically, didn't really watch until years later via Nick at Nite reruns)... funny enough, he wound up playing a lot of cops in his career.
Although the two characters don't meet until the last 3 minutes of the movie, the chemistry between him and Bruce Willis and the developing relationship between these characters... one of the film's many highlights. Just love it.






While comparing "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon," as great as Gary Busey was as Mr. Joshua... Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber was an even better performance.
So I was stunned to learn that this was Alan Rickman's first film role. With the accent, he's very intimidating, but he has his unique gentlemanly charm and dry sense of humor. Probably one of the best movie villains of the 80's.


Interestingly, the bad guys are supposed to be German, yet none of the actors are from that country. (And Bruce Willis was actually born in, then, West Germany). The casting apparently focused on people with imposing on-screen presences.


A Russian Segway


And of all those people, Alexander Godunov is easily the most terrifying. Who can blame him, since his brother was the first casualty at the hands of John McClane. Yet in real life, he's the exact opposite of his character. He was a ballet dancer who trained with Mikhail Baryshnikov...


I recently encountered Baryshnikov as part of "That's Dancing," a documentary about dancing throughout the heyday of Hollywood. He was much younger back then. So I not only found him attractive, but also a very engaging host of that particular portion. And after seeing some of his dancing on YouTube, I must say I'm impressed...


Never mind that Russia (more specifically, its figure skaters) has been on my mind a lot since the Sochi Olympics... I just found this fascinating... that these two men knew each other.
Although, as I understand it, their professional relationship fractured in later years.
Alexander Godunov died at the age of 45 (according to Wikipedia) of hepatitis, brought from chronic alcoholism. And apparently his defection from the USSR (another thing he and Baryshnikov had in common) caused a diplomatic incident during the Cold War.


The Jerks


Aside from our hero, our hero's love interest, our hero's partner, our villain and his comrades, we have two groan-worthy jerk-ish presences that need to be addressed.


Coincidentally, one of them played an equally, if not more, jerk-ish entity in "Ghostbusters."
William Atherton was the EPA guy who shut down the gird where the Ghostbusters were storing the captured ghosts.
In "Die Hard," he plays a sleazy opportunist TV reporter... what kind of person threatens to report a Latina babysitter to Immigration if she doesn't let him in the house to interview the McClane kids?
The character in "Ghostbusters" may have been in the right, but there's no excuse for that... THAT should be the reason why random people pick a fight with this actor.
(But then, "Ghostbusters" fans can be very hardcore when it comes to that movie...)
Because of his newscast, Hans Gruber learns who Hollie really is and takes her as his own personal hostage.

The other jerk in question is Ellis... Hollie's co-worker who's clearly interested in becoming more than friends and therefore annoyed at John McClane's interference with the Germans for his own selfish reasons.


Both of these guys get what they deserve in the end and they're definitely worthy of celebration.


While on the subject, I could also discuss Paul Gleason for the umpteenth time. After his shenanigans in "Trading Places" and his cutthroat authoritative attitude in "The Breakfast Club"..
Here, he plays another position of power: a deputy police chief. He's only trying to do his job, maintaining control of the situation, but we automatically buffer against him because he doesn't believe John McClane is an asset. He has to be the so-called "voice of reason."


But for a refreshing change of pace, he does get knocked down a peg when the FBI shows up.


Final Comments


Like "Lethal Weapon," we have great memorable characters and a balance between comedy and drama....
While Alan Rickman brings the better villain performance (ok, not necessarily better, but more enjoyable), I like the depth in Mel Gibson's character more than John McClane... even though he was the character that launched the vigilante archetype


Both movies have a running time over two hours. Watching "Die Hard" the other day, I felt like it just dragged in places during the third act. We're slowly building to the climax where Hans takes Hollie hostage and the bad guys start making their getaway... I wouldn't necessarily take any scenes out, but things just took a little too long.
The laughs also get fewer and further between during "Die Hard"... nothing but drama and action until the bad guys are thwarted.


As for the Christmas content... the movie takes place on Christmas Eve night, we hear Christmas songs throughout... but nothing beats hearing "Let it snow" when the end credits roll.