The War that Started all Wars

Okay, so this story starts on a cold Sunday morning. I had just woken up in my sister's dorm. It was a long and happy filled night. Since it was my birthday weekend I had spent the night in Newark celebrating with my sister and some of her friends. Anyways, I woke up and find my self alone in the dorm room. My sister had an RA meeting that morning, so I raid her fridge and look for something to kill the beast inside my tummy. I then sit on her couch and start flipping channels. As I am flipping through channels I think to myself, "200 channels and there is nothing to watch." I am about to give up on TV when I suddenly stumble upon a movie that is just beginning. The opening credits for the big production companies are being shown, you know like the woman holding a torch (Columbia Pictures) or the drop of water falling (Imagine Productions). Anyway I decide to keep it on and try to guess what movie it is. You see I would always think, if I was going to be big in Hollywood, I needed to know a movie the second the opening credits rolled by. So I watched and watched and came to the sudden realization that I had not watched this movie. So I keep on watching and find out that it was Underworld, the first one. I am a little nervous about watching it due to the fact that the movie's trailer scared the Jesus out of me when I was a kid. My aunt went to go see it and told to me to come with her, but I was too afraid. The trailer alone made me sleep with three night lights on for a good three weeks. So I was hesitant, but my curiosity overpowered my fear. So I watched it and I couldn't believe it...I LOVED IT! 

But this post isn't about Underworld or Underworld: Evolution (the second movie in the trilogy). No this is about Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which hit theaters last Friday. I was one of the lucky ones to see it on premier night at a Regals in North Brunswick. I say I was one the lucky ones because Regals decided to card everyone that bought a ticket to the movie that night, and since they hardly ever do that many people were caught without an ID. So that meant more room in the theater...just how I liked it. The movie, however, is what most caught my attention. 

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is a two story film. One of the storys is about the forbidden love of Lucian and Sonja, a lycan and vampire, respectively. For obvious reasons the two species could never intermarry, which causes a problem with the main characters. But they struggle through. This love also causes one of the leaders of the vampires, Victor, to go on a killing rampage. What also makes this situation more difficult is that Victor is the father of Sonja and he is very conservative when it comes to the "lover" of his daughter. So you can pretty much tell that Lucian is not the number one choice. The other story is about the war Victor starts on the Lycans and their spawn.  Now if you have seen the first movie, then you have a good grasp on what happens next. However, if you are new to the Underworld parade, then this is a good spot to start. There is nothing in the first two movies that you will really need to know to watch this. The first and second movie both re-iterate what happens in the beginning. So I suggest you get your ID and head towards the nearest theater near you.

Oh, and P.S there was really no need for this movie to get an "R" rating. There honestly wasn't that much gore and violence. Just thought my readers should know in case they were scared of watching this film... :)

What if you could live forever?

Okay, so I always had this fascination with death. It kind of creeped me out when I was a kid. I would sometimes lay awake at night thinking what was after death and if it was the end all to life. And christianity really didn't help me out. I would think abut heaven and hell and which of my friends would go to which. It was awful, but I'm over it now. Sort of.

 I have always wondered what it would be like to live forever. I thought it would give me more time to do things that normal people couldn't do, like be a doctor/lawyer/film director/photographer/president. I would know a lot of things about the world and its history and how it works. I would be one giant human library, if I choose to learn the rest of forever.

 But what if you wanted to live for someone for ever. In other words, you didn't want to live because you wanted to learn the rest of your life, but instead spend an eternity with someone? That is what The Fountain is about. 

 A Spanish conquistador(Hugh Jackman) and the Queen of Spain (Racheal Weisz), fall in love and look for the tree of life so that they could drink its sap and live forever. However, just like Utopian societies, things go wrong in paradise. This by far is one of my favorite movies of all time. I highly recommend it to anyone. I know its a love story, if you know me personally these kind of movies make me want to throw up a little inside :), but this is by far the exception. It really dives into the notion of immortality and its flaws.

Since it is the Eve of Inauguration Day...

....I thought maybe a good political film would get us all hyped up for the big event tomorrow. But I wanted to talk about a film that, in my own experience, not many have seen. No, it is not All the President's Men, although it was a good movie. No, this movie goes more along the comedic side of Washington D.C.

Thank You for Smoking, staring Aaron Eckhart, is a political movie about a lobbyist for the cigarette companies, and his struggle through daily life in the nation's capital. You may think it is a film criticizing the crummy lobbyists on capitol hill, but it is not...completely. It is actually defending them. It plays devil's advocate, a key trait that I love in movies due to the fact that the world is not black and white and needs to be seen through the prespective of all.

In this witty comdey Nick Naylor (Aaron Ekhart) goes from people to people and proves to them how they have been brain washed into thinking that cigarettes kill. In one scene he is talking to his kid, Joey Naylor, and explains the work he does. He then gives him an example. You have to read it below, it would be preferable though that you watch the film, but this should be a great motivator.

Joey Naylor: ...so what happens when you're wrong?

Nick Naylor: Whoa, Joey I'm never wrong.

Nick Naylor: But you can't always be right...

NN: Well, if it's your job to be right, you can never be wrong.

JN: But what if your wrong?

NN: Ok, let's say that you are defending chocolate, and I'm defending vanilla. Now If I were to say to you: 'Vanilla is the best flavour ice-cream', you'd say...

JN: No, chocolate is.

NN: Exactly, but you can't win that argument... so I'll ask you: so you think chocolate is the end all of ice-cream, do you?

JN: It's the best ice-cream, I wouldn't order any other.

NN: Oh! So it's all chocolate for you is it?

JN: Yes, chocolate is all I need.

NN: Well, I need more than chocolate, and for that matter I need more than vanilla. I believe that we need freedom and choice when it comes to our ice-cream, and that Joey Naylor, that is the definition of liberty.

JN: But that's not what we're talking about.

NN: Ah! But that's what I'm talking about.

JN: ...but you didn't prove that vanilla was the best.

NN: I didn't have to, I proved that you're wrong and if you're wrong I'm right.

JN: But you still didn't convince me.

NN: It's that I'm not after you, I'm after them.

[points into the crowd]

Okay, so the dialogue may have had more of an impact if you watched it. But this is what the movie has to offer, an inside into the world of politics and smooth talkers. And like most films, things go wrong and the main character looks for ways to fix his problems. But how? Well, you'll have to find out. 

Overall, it is a great film and if you are interested in politics, it will be even more interesting. Even as I write this review, in a small Starbucks in Georgetown, I get the chuckles. It was a very funny movie, heartfelt and with a great morale. So pick it up at your locale Blockbuster or order online at Netflix and watch it. I'll see everyone on Wednesday, when I get back from D.C. 

Escaping to NY

So far I have been writing about movies that have come out in theaters and have captivated my mind. But now, since I haven't had the chance to go to the movies lately, I want to go in a different direction and talk about the most important rising star in the film industry: ME!

Okay, maybe I am a little full of myself, but I was taught that to be great you have to think that you have already achieved greatness. It might not make sense in english, but these words have motivated me through the toughest times. Anyway, since this is a film blog I wanted to introduce my work to the world. I gave this film to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts as part of a portfolio. I won't give the summary until you have watched it. I want to see what people think of it before i give it away. So here it is...

Hopefully you have watched the short before you read this part, if you haven't its your loss. The story begins with a girl contemplating suicide. Yea I know, you don't really know this at all due to the fact that there is no monologue that says this. So, she is cutting an orange when suddenly she cuts her finger. She looks at the blood in her hand and starts to think. That is when the music starts and we venture inside of her mind. In her mind we find her soul and if we listen to the music really closely, we find out that she is not happy living. Also the way her body moves is another clue to her dissatisfaction with life. She is dancing her around in her world when suddenly there are blackouts. She keeps on dancing, but these blackout keep on coming. The short comes near to an end and we finally see that there is a complete blackout. We venture out of the mind to find that the girl has killed herself! Gasp! 

Now it is time to dive into the symbology. When a person comes close to death or is close to passing out, things start to get dark. I wanted to represent this in my film so I decided to use blackouts. The room was meant to be all white because I wanted it to represent innocence. The girl was innocent before bad thoughts came into her mind. Her soul, the dancing girl, was dark because she was corrupted. If it were up to me, at the end, I would have painted the room a darker color, but seeing that this was school property I didn't.

  Even though the clip was like 2 minutes long, it took me a good 6-8 hours to edit it. I wanted things to go perfect so I would trash drafts I did of the short until I thought it to be worthy to show to the world. You can ask Ms. McClanahan,my ex-computer and design teacher, when I am unsatisfied with my work I will trash it and do it over until I like it. If you also noticed in the clip Talia is shaking, that is because I made her dance over and over until I thought I had great clips. I felt so bad, but I knew that she understood. I am still forever grateful to her because thanks to her and her comitment to this project I was accepted into the most competitive film school in the nation, and possibly the world.

Tisch School of the Arts Class of '13....YAY!

You're So Young....

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if we never grew old, but instead we grew young? Life would be so much more simpler wouldn't it? Well, not exactly. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button explores the life of Benjamin, a boy who is born old and, as the years pass by, gets younger. As a child his life is harder, due to the fact that people don't understand his predicament. However he soon meets a girl named Daisy, who loves the little old Ben. The movie dives into the life of these two extraordinary people and the trouble they have with father time.

But lets go back to the cool thought of being able to grow younger. In a certain way, as the movie stated over and over, people go through a phase of being dependent on someone, then being independent, then going back to being dependent. As a baby we are dependent on our mothers and fathers. But as we get older we gain experience and knowledge of the world around us. But then father time kicks us in the rear and we are back to square one. We grow more and more dependent on loved ones as our ability to hear, react and other body functions begin to fail. An older person with stiff legs is no better off than a newborn baby.  

Over all the movie grabbed you and never lets go. To this day, two and a half weeks after I saw the movie, I am still in a sense of awe. It gives me the shivers to think that one day I have to compete against such a masterpiece. Cate did a phenomenal job portraying Daisy. Her performance at the end was spellbinding. Brad Pitt also did an excellent job. I am amazed at the art behind the make-up. As Brad enters his last years he looks soooo much younger. He really does look like a teenager. If we look at him today he looks like any normal 40 year old guy. But the make-up artists took away those years and made him look really young. It was amazing.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a hit. It deserves every Oscar it will be nominated for. If you have seen the movie try reading the short story. It is a little different from the movie, like most tend to be, but it is as captivating as the movie. I feel that the short story was also a little funnier than the movie. But it went much quicker, it was only a couple of pages long. But believe me, if you watch the movie and read the book, you won't be able to get Benjamin out of your head. It was just an awesome story that everyone should hear once in their life time. 

From Slumdog to Golden Globe

WARNING!! THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Don't you just love Bollywood? I know I do! This week I saw Slumdog Millionaire, a movie about a by from the slums of Mumbai who wins 20 million Rupees from the Indian version of Who wants to be a Millionaire, and was blown away! Its vibrant colors and stunning imagery of the streets of Mumbai were all spell bounding. It is a film everyone must see.
Jamal, a boy from the slums of Mumbai, is one question away from winning the 20 million Rupees when he is suddenly taken away by the local police. He was charged with cheating and taken away to the police station. How could a "slumdog" ever know all the answers to a game show. But Jamal doesn't go on because he is smart, he goes on to try to find his love: Latika.
Danny Boyle's film has been critically acclaimed and for good reason. The movie grabs you and doesn't let go until it ends. Even as I write this entry I have trouble describing how grand the movie was. It is one that you have to see instead of read.
There wasn't anything negative about this film. I loved it! However I had some questions. If this film is an Indian film there should have not been any kissing. I know that Jamal and Latika kissed for like a second, but still even the thought of it is forbidden in Bollywood films. I was also astonished at how Salim, Jamal's brother, was so evil ever since he was a boy. The scene in which Salim doesn't help Latika get on the train and she is later caught was really mind boggling for me. I was think "How could a little kid be so evil?" It was really astonishing becuase he knew the trouble she would get in if she were caught, but he didn't care. He left her and stopped his brother from helping her. Someone like that, most of the times, gets worse as time goes by.

The Beginning...

This is my first blog and I really am lost... I have had a lot of issue with blogger (blogs go missing, profile disaster, clips don't work) but after a good three days I have finally posted my first blog. Here you will find blogs on everything film....whether it be the new camera's out to the new films in theaters....whats good and what's just plainly horrible...you'll find it all here

Juan