Star Wars 7 Rumor

And the rumors begin....


http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Luke-Skywalker-May-Creating-Jedi-Academy-Star-Wars-Episode-VII-All-34743.html

Another Star Trek Trailer

Follow this link to see the new trailer...looks intense....


http://www.startrek.com/article/first-look-new-star-trek-into-darkness-trailer

Lincoln

     There is a scene near the end of "Lincoln" that shows why movies matter so much as an art form.  Almost every viewer of this film will know going in that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater merely days after the Civil War came to a close.  So, any filmmaker who makes a movie about the last days and months of Lincoln's life will have to depict that awful moment when Lincoln is murdered.  How Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner bring this tragedy into their film resonated very well with me.  It was effective, mostly because the human wreckage that a murder (or even a death for that matter) brings can be every bit as horrifying as the death itself.  I will not ruin the surprise of the artistry of this film, but I will say that how that fateful night is depicted was noteworthy.  The movie itself is a standard piece of narrative done with excellent craft at every step.  It is a work of wonder, while not being groundbreaking.  It reminds us that a film needn't be groundbreaking in order to be great.

     The movie's overall story concerns itself with the months of Januray through April of 1865, most of the action taking place in the month of January.  As the Civil War draws to a close, President Lincoln is faced with a choice.  Will he push for a Constitutional Amendment banning slavery, or will he not risk his political capital at a time when the country is being unified around the war effort?  Daniel Day Lewis plays the president.  At this point in time, Lewis has done so much extraordinary work that it seems redundant to talk much about it.  His work here is again great.  Surrounding him is a remarkable cast of character actors who all bring tremendous professionalism to their roles...David Straithorn as Secretary of State Seward, Tommy Lee Jones as abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Lincoln, etc., etc., etc.  At the center also of this work is beautiful photography as well as a wonderful script by Tony Kushner.  This movie is almost entirely dialogue driven, so a script that is able to keep that dialogue lively and riveting for 2 1/2 hours is quite an accomplishment.

     The other thing that this movie accomplishes is to give an earthy realism to the fight for the 13th amendment.  This movie shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  A lot of the unsavory wheeling and dealing that it took for Lincoln to get this amendment passed is shown.  Just because the 13th amendment was a good idea does not mean it was ratified in a just and honest matter.  150 years later, I see a president of African ancestry right now wheeling and dealing with congress over the budget.  I also hear a lot of talk about how divided we are as a nation.  We are divided as a nation.  We have big differences among us.  But, as I watched this film, it became more real to me how conflict follows any society, especially a democratic one which encourages dissenting voices.  We have not as of yet taken up arms against each other in a Civil War, and I think that we can be grateful for that reality in the face of our differences.

      As I mentioned earlier, the photography the film was beautiful.  It sort of reminded me of photographs from that era, which I would imagine was part of the point.  As such, there was a truth
to the movie that was striking.  It almost seemed as though I was watching the events as they unfolded.  The wonderful performances also brought that realism out.  One aspect of Daniel Day Lewis' portrayal that I really liked a lot was showing the side of Lincoln as a folksy storyteller.  Lincoln's duel nature of being both a down home guy from the Midwest while also being a tough as nails politician was a wonderful addition to this story.  While some of the domestic difficulties portrayed were somewhat standard, it was still heartbreaking to see how much struggle the Lincoln family had, both in public and in private.

     I must say, if I were voting, I would vote for Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" over this film for my favorite movie of the year.  This film is a wonderful work of narrative, and I would recommend it to anyone.  However, it feels like it represents a very traditional style, while filmmakers like Anderson are bringing fresh vision to their movies.  I almost hesitate to say that, because this is a
very good movie.  Having said that, this movie felt like a return to form for
Spielberg.  This is a solid, passionately told narrative.  Of the movies of his that I have seen, this is by far his best work since Schindler's List.  To be able to have so many films that can be so watchable, entertaining and universal is a true contribution.

December Quiz Answers

Well, I got a lot of hits on this quiz, but only two responses.  The winner is my sister Faith!  She got 8 points.  Here are the answers...thanks for reading!


"Bright light, bright light!!"-Howie Mandel, "Gremlins"

"You sit on a throne of lies."- Will Ferrel, "Elf"

"A lovely cheese pizza just for me." Macaulay Culkin, "Home Alone"

"Kids: Don't buy drugs...become a pop star and they give them to you for free!" Bill Nighy, "Love Actually"

"You're not a bad mother...just a barking lunatic!!!"-Hugh Grant, "About a Boy"

"Welcome to the party pal!!!"-Bruce Willis, "Die Hard"

"Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to..."-Maureen O' Hara, "Miracle on 34th Street"

"It's nothing sir, just a small compound fracture..."-Danny Kaye, "White Christmas"

"You use my own words against me."-George C. Scott, "A Christmas Carol"

"Mr Martini, how about some wine?"-Donna Reed, "It's a Wonderful Life"

New "Man of Steel" Trailer

Family Films: Brave

Recently, I went with my kids to a local theater and we watched the new Pixar movie "Brave".  I asked them about it, and they had some good stuff to say.  If you are interested in totally being surprised, thre are a couple of key plot points revealed here, so know that going in.  I record these interviews on my iphone, and it has a fun old style recording screen when I do the interviews.  At some point in the interview, Jack got more interested in seeing how high he could make the sound needle go than actually talking...but before it went there, I got some good stuff from them :)....

Joel: "So we went over to the Riverview theater today and saw a movie...what did we see Wessie?"

Wes: "MMM...Brave."

Joel: "Now what...do you know what the company that made this movie is called?"

Jack: "I don't know."

Joel: "That thing with the lamp."

Corrie: "Pixar."

Joel:  "What other movies has Pixar made?"

Corrie: "Cars"

Joel: "Cars...Jack said Wall-E."

Jack: "Nemo!"

Joel:  "Nemo...they all kind of look alike don't they?  Similar style."

Corrie: "They all look like they're made of clay."

Joel: "I really liked 'Brave' a lot, I thought it was one of my favorite Pixar movies.  My favorite Pixar movie is of course what?"

Jack: "Nemo."

Joel: "Not Nemo."

Corrie: "Wall-E?"

Joel: "No not 'Wall-E.'"

Corrie:  "I was about to say 'Kipper'!

Joel:  "Not 'Kipper', that's not a..."

Jack: "What is your favorite Pixar movie?"

Joel: "Ratatouille."

Steph:  "That movie is gross."

Joel: "It's not gross, it's a cute movie...it's odd."

Corrie:  "I like how the rat is like...he doesn't like eating rat foods..."

Joel:  "What I liked about Brave is that I really felt like it told a classic fairy tale kind of story.  The girl was a strong willed character, but it reminded me of a Grimm's fairy tale.  Let me ask you some questions about why I feel that way.  Is it all a happy-go-lucky story?"

Corrie and Jack:  "No!!"

Joel: "What is the main character's name?"

Corrie: "Merida."

Joel: "What does she do wrong in the movie?  What does she do that really gets her into trouble?"

Corrie:  "She wants a spell that will change her mother, and she does get one, but she got tricked, because it changed her mother but not in the way she had in mind."

Jack: "She changes her into a bear."

Joel: "So she has to figure out out to get her right again.  There's a lot of fairy tales where people in the same family do some strange and sad things to each other.  I can think of one right away..."

Corrie:  "Snow White?"

Joel:  "Yeah...the one I think of the most has to do with two kiddos who get lost in the woods..."

Corrie: "Hansel and Gretel."

Joel: "Yeah...the mom wants to get rid of the kids!  Fairy tales can be pretty harsh, and this one goes along with it."

Corrie: "It's not just the parents who make a mistake in 'Brave'."

Joel: "Well, one of the reasons many of them are so harsh is that they want to make a point, like an Aesop fable.  What was your favorite part in the movie Corrie?"

Jack:  "My favorite part was the end."

Corrie:  "O like the end and I like the part where she's riding through the woods with Angus and shooting the targets in the trees...I bet she put them there."

Joel: "I also really liked the art work...very pretty...how great the drawing looks"

Corrie: "That's drawing?"

Joel: "It's drawing that people do on computers...whereas 'Winnie the Pooh' is hand drawn, this one is made on computers."

Jack: "Then they put all the pictures they made into one big moving part!"

Joel: "So do you think this movie is too scary for little kiddos?"

Corrie: "It's not the most kid friendly movie in the world...it's not like 'Winnie the Pooh' or 'Kipper'"

Jack: "It's a little bloody..."

Corrie: "There's no blood!"

Joel: "It made me think of the two ladies in my life, the mommy and the girl in our house, but you guys don't fight like that.  And mommy doesn't get to pick out your husband for you.  Did you like the archery scene Corrie?"

Corrie: "That was really fun."

Joel: "Do you want to shoot archery like that."

Corrie:  "I liked it when I shot the middle of the target when we went."

Joel: "How many did she get in the middle of the target?  All of them!  She was walking across the targets and the last one she split the arrow?"

Corrie: "Yeah the guy had shot it in the middle and then she split it."

Joel: "What's your favorite Pixar movie?"

Corrie: "This one!"

Jack: "I like a lot of them..."

Corrie: "The one I liked best before was 'Tangled' that's Pixar isn't it?"

Joel: "Actually, that's a Disney movie but not Pixar..."

Jack: "WOO HOO-My favorite Pixar movie is....IS.....I don't know..."

Joel: "OK...Jack is now just talking loud to watch the sound needle go up...allright, that's all for now."

Hobbit and Legos...fun

Check this out:


http://twentytwowords.com/2012/12/05/the-hobbit-characters-pose-with-lego-versions-of-themselves-10-pictures/