An Epic

This post is an epic. No, it is not about an epic movie. This is far more important. This is one blogger's quest for a film. An epic quest lasting nearly a year. The quest, for Léon: the Professional. This may seem silly to you, dear reader, but wait, for the story will unfold, and then you will see.

Once, long ago, in the Summer of 2006, a certain man, let us call him 'Finix,' was doing what he did at some point every day- venturing to the Internet Movie Database for some light hearted fun at finding out studio briefs, reading articles, commenting on message boards, etc. There was a quote that instantly caught his eye, this one here:

"The rifle is the first weapon you learn how to use, because it lets you keep your distance from the client. The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn."

Needless to say, Finix desperately needed to see this film, regardless of quality. He quickly found out what the movie was title, Léon, and eagerly began looking for it. And yet, no matter where poor Finix would go, the film eluded him. Could this really be so obscure that not a single Blockbuster, or Family Video, or even the lovable nut who owns every movie ever made and lives above his store, had it? It couldn't be! Natalie Portman! Gary -Fucking- Oldman! Jean Reno! These are not obscure names, their movies should be readily available to all.

Sadly, Finix was ready to give up after about 6 months. There was no hope, it would never be found. Then, just as the darkness was about to close in, someone lit a match! His roommate, CC, and he were talking one day about what movies they would like to see that summer. and he mention how Léon had been on his list for almost a year, and she had never heard of it. No one had. But then Finix began to describe it, and she said 'Oh! That's The Professional. Léon is the European title. ' Well, the search was back on. The first store he looked, they had it, but only on that obsolete beast, the VHS. The search continued, without success, until a couple of days ago, when he was searching through the 'Favorites' section of Family Video, and saw it. Just sitting there, waiting for him. JACKPOT!

Having watched the movie, the expected happened. It was not nearly as good as all the buildup had deserved. However, it was not a letdown either. And, most importantly, like any epic, this one has an uncertain future. Léon: The Professional has a longer version available. I do not know where to find it, but my story continues, and the quest will never die.

-Fin-

God Help Humanity

I don't plan on writing about TV with any regularity, but I had to with this. I was looking at IMDb's studio briefs, and was pleasantly surprised to see NBC had won a night, Tuesday, and has been experiencing better ratings than it did during the year. Then I looked more closely, and found that this was the result of America's Got Talent and The Singing Bee. What disappoints me about this, beyond the fact that anything related to reality 'vote' competition shows' success makes me sick, is that this is bad news for TV all around.

I was quite the fan of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a short-lived show last year about the backstage life of a show obviously ripped from Saturday Night Live. One premise of this show was that if networks stopped playing to the lowest common denominator, and instead produced quality, intelligent television, eventually that network would dominate. This show was killed by shows like The Bachelor and American Idol. The existence of Studio 60 led me to believe that its thesis was something that NBC was planning to attempt, and with it came such quality shows as Heroes, claimed by many (myself included) to be the greatest show released this season. My opinion, it is the best new show since House.

Sadly, it appears to me that the good days of quality TV is dead. I read an article last week that a new show, Masters of Science Fiction, was quite possibly the greatest show made in 20 years. Sadly, it was considered 'too smart' for its audience by network ABC (which, I'd like to add, uses brainless television to be the top network every week except those with new episodes of American Idol). Therefore, the show was pushed to be Saturday nights at 10 pm, a time slot sure to kill any show, no matter the quality. I even planned on watching it myself, but with such a time slot, I was unable to catch it, being out having a social life. Thus, even with my semiconscious effort (the most any TV show deserves), I managed to miss it. How then for those that just watch whatever is on? Unlikely they will be looking for quality television on ABC at 10 on a Saturday.

In conclusion: reality TV= the death to any chance that television will ever become accepted as a place to look for art and quality.

What film could be if only it tried

The Life of David Gale
Directed By Alan Parker
Featuring: Kevin Spacey, Laura Linney, Kate Winslet, and Gabriel Mann
IMDb

Now, contrary to the title, I am not going to be saying that this is the greatest film ever made. It isn't. It's a damn good one. What I mean by the title, (and I suppose Apocalypse Now would also fit here) is that film frequently fails to meet up to the full potential of the genre, and this film does not. Fail, I mean. The basic story of the film is that a death penalty protester, David Gale (Spacey), is about to be executed in Texas, and is giving three 2 hour interviews in the week leading up to his death. Bitsey (Winslet) is the reporter, and she becomes convinced of Gale's innocence in the murder and sets out in the last day to prove it.

What this film has that so many do not is realism. One of the many potentials of film is to create reality. It is something that theatre can't do. Sadly. Movies tend to try for realism to a point, but there is always the permission given of 'well, its just a movie, the audience will go with it.' Gale does not allow itself to do that. You can't always save the day in the last minute. Its a fact, but most movies do not allow for that. They'd rather save the day when the timer on the bomb hits one second, teasing us that maybe, just this once, the bomb will go off. Not saying that I am bloodthirsty in every movie I see; rather, I abhor the body count that summers rack up (although I am known to enjoy James Bond and Jason Bourne's antics). What bothers me is not that everyone lives all the time, but simply that that doesn't happen. When in history has anyone ever cut the right wire right at one second? But I ramble, and not about this movie. so moving right along.

I surfed the IMDb boards as I frequently do after watching a film, and found that a few people are railing that this film has terrible acting, a waste of the stars' talents. I disagree. Sometimes, the best acting you ever see is when you can't tell that they are acting. You don't sit there thinking, "wow, Kevin Spacey is fantastic." That is also good acting, but good acting with some removal, you know that the performance is good, and so does the actor giving it. In this, they are simply acting, simply creating real people with real faults and real virtues. David Gale is a fully fleshed out man, not just an amazing character like 'Verbal' Kint.

Direction: 4
Artistic Vision: 4
Acting: 4.5
Production Design: 3.5
Cultural Relevance: 5
Overall: 9/10