Of teenage pregnancy, vampires, and the end of the world

I watched two movies this weekend: I Am Legend and Juno.

I Am Legend was very well-made. I knew coming into it that the producers had decided to change a significant amount of the original story by Richard Matheson, but I figured it would work for the public, as Matheson’s book was darker. The choice to cast Will Smith as Robert Neville was a brilliant decision, and putting Francis Lawrence at the helm was a fitting choice as well. Will Smith has already proven that he’s an extremely versatile actor. From comedic blockbusters such as Bad Boys and Men in Black to dramas like The Pursuit of Happyness and Ali, he has proven countless times that he can switch it up and deliver. Watching the movie, you can feel the intensity from Smith’s acting–and it’s not difficult to believe that he’s a guy who genuinely fears for his life. He also definitely did justice to Robert Neville’s character the way that Richard Matheson portrayed him in the book. Neville is suffering from not only having to survive everyday, but from loneliness and inner turmoil. Smith was able to address all these characterizations impeccably. I especially loved the choice to have him reestablish some normalcy in his life by conversing with the mannequins. He did a very great job in those scenes and at one point I even felt ashamed for him, like, I was thinking, “Jesus the guy is going nuts”, and I believe every one in the theater was thinking the same thing, so well done, Will Smith. And lastly, his dramatic performance in that movie…let’s just say I teared up a little. And I have never cried in a Will Smith movie. I mean, you don’t really tear up to Will Smith. I was tear-less upon the end of Pursuit of Happyness even though that was a relatively difficult movie to keep your tear ducts dry.

As for Francis Lawrence, I really like this guy’s work. I had initally discovered him from his work in Avril Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi video. And when he made Constantine, I was like, this guy knows how to make blockbusters, and yet create an artfully crafted movie. He’s kind of like Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro did Hellboy, which I didn’t care for at all, but it was overall a visually stunning movie and so was Pan’s Labyrinth, and both films were very focused and coherent. Lawrence carried on this CGI thing he used with Constantine that he applied to I Am Legend’s vampires. Although I applaud the ferocity of the animators’ vampires, I kind of felt like they were too CGI to be believable. Don’t get me wrong, they were horrific all right, but only in moments where they weren’t in close-up or in camera for too long. Once you squint and get a better look at them and realize that they’re fully CGI, then you kind of lose touch with the characters and the fear is less intense. Also, I felt like when they growled, they had a resemblance to The Mummy, so that was kind of weird. I think Lawrence really shone in the scene in the warehouse with Smith and the dog. It was so intense, I don’t think I’ve ever shrank into my seat like that in a horror movie. At one point I even covered my eyes because I was terrified of what might happen in the scene.

Anyway, overall, really good film. I would get this on DVD.

Another movie I saw was Juno, Diablo Cody’s movie that’s being called this year’s Little Miss Sunshine. The previews were great, and I’ve made a point to see every film Jennifer Garner is in, and since Michael Cera was in it as well I figured, what the hey. The movie was funny, sure, but at times it seemed like it was trying a bit too hard with the lines. Ellen Page did a great job delivering the quick witted lines and all, but oftentimes I would get sick of hearing Juno babble about pop culture references and whatnot. I was especially miffed about the whole idea to have Juno and the wannabe dad of her unborn child, played by the excellent Jason Bateman exchange ideas of coolness. When writers do this (inject their own opinions about what music is cool and what films are cooler than others), I feel like the movie is going into a yuppie/hipster direction, kind of like a Chuck Klosterman I’m-cool-because-I-listen-to-The-Stooges vibe, you know? But other than that, it was an overall great movie. Who was great? Allison Janney. That woman is hilarious. She was great in 10 Things I Hate About You and The Chumscrubber and she can add Juno to her list of accomplishments. Another good one was Michael Cera. He has the whole teenage awkwardness thing down. And he was able to rock out in hideously tiny yellow track shorts. Another good thing about the film: the soundtrack. I was surprised with that ending, where Ellen Page and Michael Cera do actual singing. That was cute.

Thank you, Wachowski Brothers

The dynamic duo that gave us The Matrix has decided to sprinkle their wonder dust on a new big screen baby: Speed Racer.

Are you stoked? ARE YOU INSANE?! Why not? It’s fucking Speed Racer! If you didn’t grow up watching Speed Racer every Monday afternoon with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, gazing in awe at that Mach 5, you must have had a sad childhood. Call me old-school, but this is too too nostalgic for me. And the fact that one of my favorite young actors, Emile Hirsch [Imaginary Heroes, Into the Wild] is playing Speed only makes it 100 times better.

Something tells me Warner Brothers is banking on this to be a hit. And judging from the audience reactions when the trailer premiered, I think it’s going to be. Starring Susan Sarandon, John Goodman and Christina Ricci, as well as Lost’s Matthew Fox playing Racer X, this one looks like it’s going to be a blockbuster hit and the future of film-making, just like The Matrix was back in ‘99.

When I went to Comic-Con last year and I saw the Mach 5 parked in the middle of the exhibit hall, I was close to doing backflips! Here’s a picture I took at the con:

Now tell me, are you going to pass on this movie? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Catch the trailer of Speed Racer at http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808406004/info

Cordelia should have her own column

So I’ve been in a creative slump this past week.

I have a million projects due on the final week of class and I’m seriously lagging. Don’t get me wrong, I had all the time in the world to get them done, but alas, ever the procrastinator, I failed to get myself in gear in advance.

I don’t know what it is, but for some reason I couldn’t get myself into work mode. I would open Microsoft Word with every intention of writing my paper, but fifteen minutes would pass and I would still be staring blankly at the blinking cursor on my screen. Then I decided to sit down and envision my poster presentation instead. I started doodling and drawing on my pad, convinced that if I just let the hand work its magic, I would come up with something. Needless to say all I came up with was a bunch of squiggly lines and “I heart Chris Carabba” scrawled over and over again.

So then I figured I’d take a break. An undeserved break, because I hadn’t gotten anything done and logically, I should have pushed myself until I came up with something–anything, other than professing my undying love for Dashboard Confessional’s frontman on yellowpad.

I decided to go see The Golden Compass. I figured, maybe a little dose of fantasy would get the wheels in my head in gear to write my Tolkien paper. Turned out to be a waste of time, but Eva Green and Nicole Kidman were both worth watching. Eva Green is amazing. Extremely underrated, but amazing. I think she was in the movie for about five minutes as the witch Serafina. I was disappointed, because I think she’s a great actress (If you haven’t seen The Dreamers, you’re missing out) and one you definitely need to give more screen time to. Speaking of which, Chris Weitz, if you’re reading this: Shame on you for not giving Daniel Craig more screen time. Of course, Lord Asrael has more of a starring role in The Subtle Knife, but still! How could you! Anyhoo, I also thought Nicole Kidman did a great job. She was conniving in the movie, that Australian woman. I thought it was a treat, considering she never really does villain roles. As for the kid who played Lyra, Dakota Blue Richards, I thought she was annoying as hell. Her face seemed to always contort into this menacing, child monster sort of way, kind of reminiscent of The Omen.

Anyway, although I had a couple of things to say about this movie (for instance, how awesome as usual Ian McKellen was), I emerged uninspired, and therefore, had to postpone another brainstorming session until the next day.

The next day didn’t yield any amazing ideas either. All I came up with was the title of my project and half a paper. Very unimpressive, I know. I didn’t know what it was that kept invading my brain space. Whenever I would start a project I would just space out and get distracted by the stupidest things. I would have this brilliant idea and then when I started to write it, I would get tired right away and stop working. I needed some serious pep.

And who else do you go to for some serious pep than Cordelia Chase, hmm?

All right, losers, it’s from Buffy.

I watched When She Was Bad, an episode from Season 2 of Buffy when Buffy is all uber-bitch because she’s mad that she almost died from Season 1 blah blah blah and is alienating all her friends. Anyway, Cordelia pulls her aside and tells her, “Get over it. Whatever is causing the Joan Collins ‘tude, deal with it. Embrace the pain, spank your inner moppet, whatever, but get over it.”

To make a ridiculously long blog post short, I spanked my inner moppet, and thanks to you, Cordelia Chase, I am now on my way to finishing two papers.

The Zen of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Who knew?