All posts by Carl V. Anderson

Film

Aeon Flux

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Pull out a $10 bill and hold it in your hand. Now take a good long look at the above image. You have to admit, Charlize Theron is pretty attractive and aesthetically speaking this is a great movie poster. While you’re looking, hold tight to that $10 bill…are you doing it? Look carefully and really take it all in…and now put the money back in your pocket and send me a thank you note for saving you your hard earned cash.

Thanks to my local comic shop I had the opportunity to go see a sneak preview of Aeon Flux tonight with James, Jeff and John (I was the odd man out…no J in my name). We had great BBQ beforehand and enjoyed excellent conversation. The movie? Well contrary to what my friends say it did not suck. In order for a movie to really suck you have to have some kind of emotional connection to it. It takes passion to generate feelings of suck-i-tude for a film. Aeon Flux just couldn’t generate that spark of passion. It was a movie that was simply just there. At roughly 90 minutes I heard many say it seemed too long. For my part I wish they would’ve added 30 minutes to the movie and made me care about the characters. There is nothing storywise that you haven’t seen in movies before and done much better. This year alone The Island explored similar themes and was a fascinating, fun, rollercoaster of a ride. Aeon Flux was blah. Too soon into the movie I was asked to make an emotional connection with a character who dies…she was onscreen for all of 3 minutes. I never saw the supposed “bad guy” do anything bad and didn’t have any emotional connection to him or the other characters as the twists of “who is the real bad guy” began.

The frustrating thing about Aeon Flux is what it could have been. The actors all do a great job, they simply have no material to work with. Charlize Theron is beautiful to look at in her form fitting black outfits and does a fine job in a very two dimensional role. Marton Csokas and the other actors/actresses are all convincing enough in their various roles but there just isn’t anything for them to do. Charlize Theron kicks a great deal of butt but frankly I don’t care because I don’t have anything worthwhile to tell me why I should be glad that she’s kicking their butts. It is a poor, poor story that I have to believe any amature screenwriter could have taken and built a better film with. It is unfortunate as I was really looking forward to this being an entertaining movie. The special effects are good and the settings are interesting, but not enough to bolster this weak story.

Should you see it in the theatre? No. Wait until it comes on DVD and then get a friend to pay for the rental. You’ll be glad you did.

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Christmas Time is Here

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(My desktop wallpaper. Click for larger image. If applied to background in the ‘stretch’ position it will fill entire screen at 1024×768)

As much as I enjoy Halloween it pales in comparison to my love for Christmas. The weather, the music, the lights and decorations, the food, the friendship, the air of good cheer…they are all facets of a holiday that is by far my favorite. Traditionally we put up our Christmas tree and turn on the outside lights on Thanksgiving. This year however we had family staying with us so last night was the night designated for trimming the tree. I was able to get some, but not all, the outside lights up this weekend when it was an unseasonable 66 degrees. The rest of my pursuit of Griswald fame will have to be done this week in temps between the 30’s and 40’s.

I really enjoy my subscription to Real Rhapsody. I signed up for it last year prior to the holidays and became sold when I was able to create playlists of all my favorite Christmas tunes. The first thing I did yesterday upon arriving home from work was to set up the ’05 Christmas playlist. Present are great tunes from the likes of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Kay Starr, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Amy Grant, Josh Groban, The Andrews Sisters, and of course the wonderful A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi. We had light snowflakes falling occasionally throughout the day and this plus the Christmas music really helped set the mood. Personal favorites are O Holy Night (the Josh Groban version is by far the best), Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s rendition of Baby, Its Cold Outside, and of course any Christmas song that Bing sings.

I set up the tree, strung the lights, and laid out the Christmas decorations. When Mary got home the three of us set out to trim the tree. I don’t know if any of you are like this but we all have special ornaments that we like to hang each year. I sometimes want to do a more fancy themed tree but we have so many ornaments that have such personal significance that ours is more of a hodge podge of various items. There are ornaments from our first Christmas as a married couple. Tori likes to hang her beautiful sandollar ornament that Scott gave her to commemorate her first Christmas. I have a gold metal snowman with my name engraved on it that my third grade teacher gave me. A few years ago my brother Jason gave me a Yukon Cornelius ornament and there is one that is a sheet of music that says ‘Messiah’ on it that I always want to save to hang myself.

Afterwards we ate a great meal and watched a Christmas movie (another family tradition). This year we picked While You Were Sleeping.

This movie has been a favorite of Mary and mine ever since we saw it in the theatre in 1995. For years this framed movie poster decorated our walls. It is one of the better romantic comedies in my opinion as it hearkens back to those great romantic comedies of the 40’s and 50’s. We consider it a Christmas movie since the majority of the film takes place between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The characters are all so wonderful, especially Peter Boyle, Micole Mercurio, Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. What I especially love is all the little affectations that Sandra Bullock brings to her character…the way she talks, her mannerisms, the silly way she walks through the snow to her building door…they are all small things that she brings to the character that you may not notice the first time through but the combination of these things makes the character much more real. Great movie. It was especially fun to watch after my recent visit to Chicago.

I’m so excited about the Christmas season and that I have the opportunity to share it with all of you. Throughout movie and book reviews, etc. I will no doubt give a healthy dose of Christmas themed posts. I wish you all warmth, comfort and joy throughout this holiday season.

Film

Pride and Prejudice

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(Non-spoiler review)

What happens when you take one of the most beloved works of classical romantic literature, one that has been given an amazing 5 hour miniseries treatment, and reimagine it with new stars but less than half the screen time? Surprisingly, despite some flaws, it turns out to be a very pleasant theatrical experience.

The biggest complaint I have about director Joe Wright’s version of Pride and Prejudice is the time factor. Why make a 2 hour version of a movie that requires a crash course introduction to the characters when adding 30-45 minutes could have done wonders in making the first third of this film far less confusing? I have to admit that I am extremely enamored of the A&E/BBC version starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It is extremely faithful to the book and allows the viewer the time to get to know the Bennet family and all the other important characters in all their flawed glory. I had predetermined that I was not going to see this new version out of loyalty to the other but I love period romantic movies and being a holiday weekend it was a perfect movie to go see as a family. I am so glad that I had seen the miniseries a few times. The reason being that the several hours of that version, equating to several chapters of Jane Austen’s novel, flash by on the screen with little chance of comprehension if you are not familiar with the source material. To be fair, this new version makes no bones about the fact that it simply wants to concentrate on the relationship between the main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Even this, however, is very rushed at first and I was thankful that I had the background to better understand the antagonism between these two characters.

Again, this is my biggest complaint. Other than the first third of the movie having to cover far too much ground I really enjoyed this film. Keep in mind throughout the review that I would give the BBC version a full 5 out of 5 stars. I would give the latest version of Pride and Prejudice 4. I would love to see these actors and actresses given a decent amount of time to handle this source material as the cast was wonderful. I prefer Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as the leads but Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden were fantastic. The gave a slightly younger energy to the roles and despite the time/editing constraints they had a very believable chemistry throughout the film. Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn were terrific as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Again though I felt like the roles suffered some due to the lack of time to flesh out the characters. My foreknowledge of the characters went a long way towards my ability to understand them on the screen but I’d love to hear what others thought who are not familiar with the story. Particularly in regards to Sutherland’s Mr. Bennet. Alison Steadman and Benjamin Whithrow were marvelous in the 1995 miniseries. In that version the roles were played more strongly to their comic element and in some ways I actually prefer this version. The characters are still very funny but Sutherland and Blethyn made the characters seem much more real and less one dimensional. The joy of any of Jane Austen’s works is the wit and satire of her language and Sutherland and Blethyn did not get the screen time necessary to revel in their many wonderful lines. One of my favorite scenes in this version is a conversation late in the movie between Elizabeth and her father…I like the emotional resonance in it much better than the BBC version.

The turning point of this film, for me, came in the second ball scene…the one held at Mr. Bingley’s estate. Mr. Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance and their repartee during the dance is terrific and Joe Wright films this scene in such a remarkable way that I was sucked into the film. It is a fantastic moment in the movie. There are several other wonderfully filmed moments, one of the best being an outdoor scene where Darcy and Elizabeth have a very heated exchange. Wright picked an outstanding location…lots of beautiful green trees and land with rain falling down…that really adds alot to the scene. Another thing I really enjoyed about this version is that the settings were slightly darker than the BBC version. The Bennet home better depicted their social status giving better understanding as to why Mr. Darcy would object to any relationship that would require ties to the Bennet family.

The only other complaint I have is the fact that the screenwriter, in the interest of trimming material to fit the time constraints of the film, squashed scenes and settings together that are actually more powerful and entertaining in the more faithful BBC version.

Ultimately what it may come down to in regards to preference is which version you’ve seen first. I am happy that I went and saw this version and I will definitely check it out again when it comes out on DVD. The cast was great and there were several terrific scenes. The settings of the film were beautiful and the soundtrack was wonderful. If you are a fan of period pieces I highly recommend this film…but don’t let it be your only exposure to Jane Austen. Read the book and/or see the BBC version to experience all the marvelous nuances of her work.

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Happy Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! A day of Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole and football. I can’t wait! Hopefully my 37 year old body will still be able to handle the rigors of stuffing myself followed by hours of running around outside playing ball. Should be a fun day.

I hope you all have a wonderful, delicious, relaxing and fun filled holiday weekend!

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November 21st, 1968…A Day That Will Live in Infamy

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On this blessed day in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-eight the heavens rolled back, the angels sang, and an American baby boy was born in a German hospital far from home. The bundle of joy was, of course, yours truly. Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Today marks the beginning of year 37. Three short years until I reach the fabulous forties! What to say about this most wonderful of days? “I was born at a young age…”

Actually I know for a fact that at least one person has been waiting for this day since that fateful day when I posted about Nipplegate…he is sure that my mother has embarrassment planned for retribution. In order to start the salvo I’ll tell a little story of my own.

My parents current home, the one I lived in from the third grade until I went off to college, is a split level home. In the center is a stair case that goes up from the basement to a landing where the front door is. The stairs then continue on up to the upper floor. We had a full glass door in addition to the front door which we frequently left wide open in the warmer months. The shower was downstairs and my brother and I had a habit of just running towel clad…or sometimes naked…up the stairs to our room to change after the shower. Why it never occured to me as a young man to take my clean clothes down there with me is a mystery for greater minds than my own.

I would guess I was around 12 or 13 when this specific event occurred. I had showered and was skipping up the stairs in front of the open door when I noticed a neighborhood kid, Mike, coming up the outside stairs. He hadn’t seen me and in blind panic I ran back down the stairs and proceeded to round the corner to hide my nakedness back in the bathroom. As I ran I looked back to make sure he had not reached the front door and discovered my nakedness (which in itself is funny because we went skinny dipping as kids out in the local creek). I was running to what I thought was the opening of the bathroom door and at the last second I turned my head from looking at the front door only to run full speed, head-on into the wall next to the door opening. Cartoon-style my naked form struck the wall and immediately crashed to the floor. I lay there, stunned in my nakedness, listening to the front door bell ring. Months, days, or perhaps just seconds passed as I crawled into the bathroom. When my brain quit sloshing I stood up only to see a ginormous goose egg right in the middle of my forehead. It was huge! I looked as if I had a small alien growing out of my forehead.

God, in his infinite wisdom, did not see fit to answer my prayers and immediately remove the offending blemish and so I had the sheer pleasure of relaying this story to all who I came in contact with over the ensuing days. There’s a moral about nakedness, running, and knowing how to judge where you are in your surroundings when not looking in this story somewhere but I think my brain is still bruised from that incident.

So there you go. I’ve told the nipple story, the farting in college health class story, and now the Chariots of Nakedness story. Feel free to add your own!
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I share my special day with one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time, Troy Aikman, with Belgian artist Rene Magritte, with French author and philosopher Voltaire, and of course with my favorite classic horror femme fatate Ingrid Pitt.

Thank you Ingrid, same to you.

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I am thrilled to be alive and happy to be celebrating another year of existence. I am grateful for friendships old and new and am glad to share my day with you.