There Will Be Blood

          Overall, I was displeased with There Will Be Blood. However, I loved how there was little to no dialogue for the first 15 minutes. This shows  that the makers of this film are skilled enough to keep our attention without dialogue. 

          One thing that I have realized after watching many movies and television shows is that when I hate a character, it is usually because of incredible acting and writing.  In There Will Be Blood, Eli is a character I cannot stand for several reasons.  First, I find him extremely annoying. He is the pastor of a church in a small town at a young age, so he thinks he has great power. At one point, Eli calls his father Able stupid and lazy, which at the time would have earned him a harsh beating.  The worst part is that he gets away with it. In that scene, Eli holds his head very high so that he is physically and metaphorically looking down his nose at his father.  He even shows his dominance by tackling Able and scolding him for being stupid and lazy.

          Also, there are subtile things that disgust me about him.  While getting beaten by Daniel Plainview, Eli screams like a little girl, and fails to fight back. 

          I wasn’t a fan of the cinematography in this movie. I found there to be many long shots that carried on for no particular reason. Also, the framing of some shots made me feel uncomfortable.

          Probably the reason why I did not enjoy this movie is because I was confused about the storyline. 

          One of my biggest problems with some movies is not being able to distinguish a basic storyline. Someone once told me, if you can’t explain your idea in one sentence, the idea isn’t simple enough.  This is exactly how I feel about There Will Be Blood. Throughout the movie I have been trying to figure out what the premise of the movie is. All I have been able to distinguish is that it is about a man’s life who is in charge of an oil company. His business and family begin to fall apart and he loses control.   

          Later, the movie skips ahead 16 years and avoids all of the problems that were created in the first section of the movie. Daniel Plainview tells his son that he’s adopted, which doesn’t make sense because he abandoned him than took him back out of love and regret. Than Eli comes back and is randomly murdered by Plainview. 

          There Will Be Blood definitely is on my “never to watch again” list. Two and a half hours of my life were wasted and I will not be getting them back. Two thumbs way down.

Gladiator

          Without a doubt in my mind, I can say that Gladiator is a film that holds a significant place in each man’s heart.  While people don’t normally say it, I firmly believe that Maximus Decimus Meridius is a man that is highly looked up to by men today.  My reasoning behind this bold statement is simple. Maximus displays all of the virtues necessary to be a good man. His honor, strength, loyalty, courage, and determination are the reasons why Gladiator is a phenomenal film.  If you were to survey the male population about the best guy movies, I’m positive Gladiator would be on the list along with Braveheart, Scarface, and Caddyshack.

          While the movie isn’t jammed with violence, it definitely has its moments.  To my surprise, much of the brutality is not shown in the film.  Ridley Scott would pan the camera away quickly but leave enough information on screen for the audience to use their imagination.

          Most of the movie is dialogue and storyline, which is a little unique for a “guy movie.” Luckily, the writing is good enough to keep the viewers interested in between fight scenes.  Unlike most movies I watch, I found it difficult to find flaws within Gladiator. The dialogue and storyline was realistic, the acting was superb, and the fighting was graphic and life like. 

          Along with Gladiator, Hans Zimmer has composed over 100 film soundtracks including The Lion King, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, Sherlock Holmes, and Inception. He is without a doubt my favorite composer and never fails to make a successful soundtrack.  Of his work, 50 soundtracks or songs have been nominated for awards. Gladiator alone won a Satellite Award, a Critics Choice Award, and a Golden Globe.  I have no idea how he does it, but every movie he composes for is extremely enhanced by the quality of his music.

          One of the best qualities that Gladiator exhibits is the wonderful characters.  While watching the film, one of my friends kept saying how much he hated Commodus.  What he probably didn’t realize is that the love or hatred for a character derives from the phenomenal acting and character creation.  Without Joaquin Phoenix, the film would have been severely lacking in quality.  The same goes for Maximus; if the character were poorly created or terribly acted, he would not be loved by the audience and the film would not have been as great of a success.  Little known fact: Mel Gibson was originally considered for the role but turned it down because he felt that he was too old. If he had taken the role, he would have starred in 3 famous guy movies: Gladiator, Braveheart, and the Patriot.

          If you’re reading this, I am assuming that you have seen Gladiator and am hoping you share my enthusiasm for it.  If not, than I am surprised that you read this far.  All in all, I love Gladiator and would definitely put it in my collection of guy movies.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

          Probably the biggest reason I love about Guy Ritchie films is because of the heavy incorporation of British humor. RocknRolla, Snatch, and Sherlock Holmes are perfect examples of this.

          The storyline for this film is absolutely unbelievable. The complexity of the rivalries between the various groups of characters is spectacular and captivating. While the beginning is a bit slow, the movie steadily increases in intensity until the final scene. One of the reasons why I love this movie is due to this rising action. Just as the tension becomes unbearable, the movie ends and leaves the viewer with the choice to make up their own ending. Either the ending can be comedic, where Tom throws the guns off the bridge, or it can be a happy ending, where Tom answers his cell phone first. Either way, the ending is magnificent. 

          I found the cinematography to be memorable, but not revolutionary. This could be because this is one of Guy Ritchie’s first movies.  Still, I feel that it is above average.  One scene where I was truly captivated was the drinking scene after the successful robbery.  I absolutely loved how sections would be sped up slightly, than slowed down to give the scene a time lapsing party effect. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the long shots with wide pans to fully show the environment. I feel like this is one of the few situations where this technique is used perfectly. Finally, I was thrilled by the extreme camera tilts. Multiple scenes have the camera flipped from 90 to 180 degrees. By doing this, Ritchie was able to capture the drunk-like feel of the party. 

          To his benefit, this seems to be one of Jason Statham’s better roles. Usually he is a complete monster, fighting unrelenting enemies sporting various weapons, shirtless, covered in oil. This film showed a more realistic side of him with better dialogue.

          Along with Statham, the rest of the cast was well chosen. Each actor seemed to fit their role perfectly.  

          Overall, Lock, Stock and Two Smokin Barrels is an astonishing film. While it is Guy Ritchie’s first film, it is also one of his best. 

Bones Season 7 Episode 3 "The Prince in the Plastic"

          I can say without a doubt that Daisy Wick is the worst character on Bones. While making comments that are illogical, she manages to ruin every episode she is in. However, she is the perfect example of a crazy girlfriend. In this episode, she focuses on the tragedy of a barbie-like doll being “murdered” instead of the actual murder. While this is insensitive, it also doesn’t make any sense. Who in their right mind would do this?

          On the other hand, I would like to congratulate Emily Deschanel for single handedly destroying my views on this season. I just learned that she became pregnant and ruined this season. I don’t understand why they couldn’t have hid her pregnancy from the camera. The Cosby Show did this for an entire season while Mrs. Cosby was pregnant. During that season, she was always shown with close up shots, or was having her stomach covered up by something. Open refrigerator doors and large teddy bears made hiding her pregnancy possible. This same technique could have been used on Brennan and the show would have remained wonderful.

          In the middle of the episode, the murder looked like an accident but later turned out to be murder. I would have much preferred an accident because most of the episodes turn out to be emotionally driven.

          Dr. Sweets just acquired his license to carry a firearm which makes absolutely no sense.  Shrinks stay in their offices and analyze people while real FBI agents go out into the field. Why would a shrink need to carry a gun if he’s going to be in his office?  It almost seems like the writers are trying to replace Bones with Sweets, which is a terrible idea.

          Because of all of the inconsistencies, I would have to say that this is one of the worst episodes of Bones that I have ever seen.

House M.D. Season 8 Episode 7 "Dead and Buried"

          The beginning surprisingly doesn’t open with a patient in the process of getting sick outside of the hospital. Subtile changes like these make the show interesting without changing any major dynamics of the show.

          I know I give a great deal of praise to this show. I am sorry, but I am going to give a bit more.  Within almost every episode that I have seen, which is all of them, there has been a great deal of medical speech. I understand very few operations and diseases that they talk about, but love when they explain things.  For the first time, I noticed that there is tons of banter between House and his team. Normally, House talks about personal issues residing within his employees while they avoid the personal topics by suggesting theories. To me, only half of the dialogue was interpretable which added to the power of the understandable. Without thinking, I ignore what I do not understand and wait for House’s side of the conversation to begin. While both conversations are complete, only half is understandable which makes that part more important.

          Much like Sherlock Holmes, House isn’t interested in helping other people, he is interested in entertaining himself. To society’s benefit, this so happens to be in the form of a doctor who takes on cases nobody else can solve.  Also, he happens to fake and play off of human emotions to get what he wants, which makes him a more personable character and slightly likable by his peers.

          Another thing that grabbed my interest is House’s passion to figure out the case of a dead child.  He has never done this before and is broadening his curiosities. Because of his obsession and addiction with puzzles, House figured out how a child died while potentially saving the lives of two of the family members.

          Two flaws that I noticed within this episode correlated with the dead child case. First, the child was in excellent condition after being buried for 5 years. The skin was still intact and was not dried up and leathery. Second, when House opened the coffin, the smell from the decayed body would have been terrible. House failed to cover his nose or even show a change in smell.

          However, I am confused how is House getting away from being off the hospital grounds all the time. The show said the signal was jammed for only 45 minutes in the beginning.  Luckily, he got caught and punished in the end to show that he was breaking the rules and this wasn’t entirely a plot flaw.

          Finally, I loved the use of split personalities in this episode. While it is commonly talked about in psychology classes, it hasn’t yet occurred on the show. Multiple personalities isn’t a “medical diagnosis,” but it did serve as a cause to other diagnosis’.  To my discontent, this case ended abruptly because the focus was on the dead child case. While I wish the focus could have been on both cases, I feel that the writers did an adequate job bringing emotion into the other case.

Elf

    Elf is by far one of my favorite Christmas movies. Because kids are the targeted audience, the acting isn’t the best, but it is still extremely enjoyable.

          One thing many people probably don’t know is that Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man and Cowboys and Aliens, also directed Elf. Along with directing, he also plays the doctor the doctor who gives the paternity test.

          Once again, Will Ferrell is playing his usual perfect role, which he does flawlessly.  His roles usually consist of dumb jokes and hilarious lines, but this movie also shows a more sensitive side of Ferrell. Along with Everything Must Go (which was a disaster) and Stranger Than Fiction (one of my favorites), Elf shows a more fragile version of Ferrell which brings a wonderful change to his routine.

          One of my favorite lines in the movie is when Buddy (Ferrell) says, “I think you have the most beautiful singing voice in the whole wide world,” to Jovie (Deschanel).  I love this because Deschanel is actually a famous singer for the band She and Him. The casting for Jovie is perfect because she is a character who is a wonderful singer but is nervous about singing in public. I would have to agree with Buddy that she has one of the most beautiful singing voices in the world.

          Also, I found it humorous that Emily Hobbs (Mary Steenburgen) is Ferrell’s adopted mother because she plays his mother in the movie Stepbrothers. Once again, she plays a mother who is loving, caring, and extremely supportive.

          I am surprised when I saw the wonderful use of forced perspective in the film. This was used whenever the elves and Buddy were in scenes together. With a steady camera, the elves would be a great distance away from Will Ferrell in order to make the viewer think that they were smaller. This was also used in the Lord of the Rings franchise with hobbits and humans.

          Overall, I would have to say that this is a modern day Christmas classic that will be watched for many years to come due to the wonderful writing and acting.

Dexter Season 6 Episode 8 "Sin of Omission"

      One thing that I feel that the show Dexter has been missing recently is the close interaction between Dexter and Deborah. Since season 1, they have been very close and have shared mostly everything with each other. After Rita was killed, Dexter pulled away and their relationship has become even more distant since Deb became the Lieutenant.  To my displeasure, it only seems to be getting worse. Dexter keeps shutting Deb out of his life and Deb cannot take it. I am really hoping that they will get back on track because that is when the show seemed to be the best. Watching Deb in pain over her lost connection to Dexter is heartbreaking to say the least. All she has been trying to do this entire show is connect with people. All of her boyfriends are for a desire to connect because she cannot truly get this from Dexter. This being said, I would be very happy if Dexter opened up to Deb about his Dark Passenger and how he kills people. Not only would this bring them closer, but it would add complexity to their already confusing relationship.

          I must say that I am extremely disappointed that Brother Sam is out of the season so quickly. I know he died a few episodes ago but his funeral made me realize how much I actually miss him.  

          I don’t understand why, but Lewis is seeming a bit more like a creep. Usually the writers downplay something like this for a dramatic reveal in the final episodes.  

          I am actually enjoying the interactions between Dexter and Travis. Dexter has started reading the bible, something I am confused about but also proud of him for. By doing this, he is able to connect to Travis in a way he could not earlier. It would be interesting if they somehow teamed up against Gellar. Dexter seems to be taking on possible apprentices. Jonah who killed his mother, Travis who is in need of guidance, and Lewis who seems to be more of a stalker than an apprentice.

          Despite being Tom Hanks’ son, Colin still can’t act. The scene where he found out his sister was turned into the Whore of Babylon was very hard to watch. I have no idea why the casting crew chose Colin Hanks for the part of Travis Marshall but it was definitely a mistake.  So far, he has been the worst actor on the show, surpassing Julia Stiles.

          As Dexter wandered through the abandoned church where Gellar hides out, the tension became unbearable. For the first time in a while, Dexter donned his kill outfit and lurked in the dark. To add to the creepiness, Gellar saw Dexter come after him. Like a game of cat and mouse, the suspense built until the episode ended. It is this kind of cliffhanger that I have been waiting for all season. There are only 4 episodes left and so little time to answer all of my questions.