Let's All Go To The Lobby
In the spirit of tidying up loose ends before the new year, I wanted to once again quickly pop my head up to talk about today's Movie of the Day (TM) and a few other things that I've been meaning to mention but haven't had the proper context to do so. Here goes:
- Today I took an excursion to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (a destination that's only about five minutes from my apartment, but given that there's always traffic, pedestrian and vehicular, it usually takes about twenty minutes to get there and costs me several blood vessels to find a parking spot). I'd like to say that I went to this "unfamiliar" locale to really get out and see different parts of Los Angeles, but really, I only went because the movie I wanted to see was playing there at the best time (and it was early enough that traffic and parking weren't issues).
That movie was Milk, which I finally saw after weeks of procrastination. Yes, the trailer intrigued me and, much like Valkyrie, it was a moment in modern history with which I was generally unfamiliar (the assassination attempts on Hitler and the gay rights movement, respectively). Plus, after two days of mediocre movies, I was looking forward to something that had been well-reviewed and had a solid team behind and in front of the camera.
Happily, I was rewarded for my choice with a solid movie that did basically what Valkyrie should have done: presented a story wherein the ending was already known, but gave us characters with genuine depth and emotion and made you care about their inevitable fates. In Valkyrie, the characters were cyphers, just huffy British actors going through the motions and turning the gears of the pedestrian screenplay. In Milk, the characters are flesh and blood, understandable and real. Sean Penn should easily get an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and he would deserve it, too.
It's not as easy to write about why I liked a movie as it is to write about why I didn't like a movie, so I'll basically just say that Milk is absolutely worth seeing. Is it perfect? No, but it's pretty damn good. Is it Best Picture worthy? Eh...hard to say. Unfortunately, for all of the strides made in popcorn entertainment this year (Dark Knight, Iron Man, Wall-E, Tropic Thunder, etc.), there has been a definite lack of great dramas. I mean, Dark Knight was great and all, but if it's already December 27th and we're still talking about it as a Best Picture possibility, then there's something wrong with the year (that's not to say that big summer movies or superhero movies shouldn't be considered for Best Picture, and certainly Dark Knight comes close to that level, but it still not Best Picture caliber, in my opinion).
So could Milk squeak in as one of the five nominees? Like I said, in a stronger year, maybe not, but this year, it's definitely got a shot. And really, if it gets nominated, I'd be perfectly happy. And if some bullshit like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button gets in instead of Milk, I'd be perfectly unhappy. But the bottom line is that Milk is great and worth seeing...the end.
(As a side note, what do I think will be nominated for Best Picture this year [I think the ballots went out yesterday or will go out Monday]? Realistically and based on reviews and not necessarily personal opinion: Doubt, Slumdog Millionaire, possibly Milk...uh...Revolutionary Road...? See, it's hard. I also haven't seen some of these movies yet, so it's hard to say. The Wrestler? Fucking Benjamin Button? Frost/Nixon? Wall-E [which should be, but it will get Best Animated Feature instead...the Academy didn't go through all the trouble of creating that category only to nominate an animated film for Best Picture]? Gran Torino? The Dark Knight? I'm seeing Doubt tomorrow and then a double feature of Revolutionary Road [which, thank God, is only two hours long] and Slumdog Millionaire on Monday, so perhaps I'll be better equipped to discuss this then.)
- Two notes from my trip to Sarasota in November that I've forgotten to mention: 1) I learned of a very disturbing and random booty call that took (takes?) place between two people from high school. I don't know who reads my blog so I won't name names, but I'll just throw that out there so I don't forget again.
2) Speaking of high school, Pine View apparently has a drama club! For those who didn't attend our school (coughnumber11inthecountrycough), I was in the Pine View Drama League (the drama club) throughout high school, as were the majority of my friends. It was really the centerpiece of my high school experience and I even got to serve as President during my senior year (with varying degrees of success...). Tragically, two years or so after my class graduated, the school shut the League down...I wasn't there and don't remember exactly why, but it was probably because they didn't like our plays disrupting the orchestra's auditorium (our school greatly favored the orchestra, going so far as to build an auditorium to their specifications, which hindered our theatrical productions) and the increasingly adult content of the shows themselves. Also, I seem to recall some sort of vandalism issue, but whatever...the point is, they shut it down.
But during my visit to Pine View in November, I saw a sign on the Media Center door that beckoned students to attend the meetings of the "Pine View Drama Club" (no "League"). Weird...and makes me wonder what it's like. I always felt that, when I make a name for myself and become rich and famous, I would donate a chunk of money to Pine View (as I had a great high school experience and believe in the school's mission statement), but dictate that a portion of it would have to be dedicated to re-forming the League (or a basic drama club) and renovating the auditorium. I'll likely still do that, but I'd be pretty disappointed to find that this new club is doing shows of Our Town or South Pacific or other such generic tripe. I can't say I loved every show we did (I still have serious issues with Death of the Smiley Face and Lizzie Loves Joe Loves Sharon), but at least it was always interesting (except maybe Sorry, Wrong Number and The Hitchhiker...). Anyone up to see a Pine View Drama Club show?
- I'm glad that this writer wrote his editorial on the matter, as he basically sums up my exact feelings about the whole "Twentieth Century Fox has the right to distribute Watchmen" case that saw a ruling in Fox's favor on Christmas Eve. I highly doubt that this is going to actually keep the film itself from being released, but it sure is a shitty move on Fox's part. But then, some sources have said that Fox actually approached Warner Bros. with this fact before production started and Warner chose to proceed anyway. Either way, it's quite the clusterfuck. But as the blog writer points out, while Fox may be right about this issue, legally speaking, they still suck. Maybe it's because they haven't put out a decent movie since The Simpsons Movie (2007) or The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and the rest of their recent output has been pretty execrable.
I used to love Fox as a studio: this was the studio of the Die Hard Trilogy (there was no fourth movie), the Alien films, Moulin Rouge, Edward Scissorhands, Broadcast News, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, True Lies, The Abyss, Raising Arizona, the Star Wars Trilogy (and to a much lesser degree, the prequels), X-Men 1 & 2 (what third movie?), The French Connection, half of Titanic...etc. But in the last eight years, under the leadership of Fox executive Tom Rothman, Fox has lost its way (there are many discussions online about this topic and the lobotomy Rothman gave the studio...oh, look, here's one...and here's another), so it basically gives this perfectly legitimate move an air of desperation and poises Fox as the creativity-sucking studio about to deliver its death kiss unto Warner Bros., a studio that has taken some definite chances with this property. But still, like I said, I'd estimate that there's a ninety-nine percent chance that we'll still be seeing Watchmen in theaters in March. Will it be distributed by Fox or Warner Bros, though...that's the real question.
