I was planning on posting a review of The Dark Knight Rises after going to watch it with Josh last night. A lot of factors made me begin to feel less than excited about this upcoming project.
Everyone with a keyboard is going to be reviewing the film in the days to come. Won't people be tired of the hype?
Do I have anything unique to say?
In light of the tragic Aurora, CO shooting, how meaningful would a review of the movie really be?
I had almost decided that I just needed to get over myself and power through a detailed review when a friend from my literary and theater circles posted a link to the article Catharsis in a Cape on his Twitter. It was then that I knew that almost anything I had to say about The Dark Knight Rises would be redundant, for this NPR-written title had captured my feelings towards the movie with a single word--
Catharsis.
As a former English major, this word is pretty significant to me. In fact, in my mind it's one of the most powerful marks of good storytelling.
catharsis - n. A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
I have so much respect for filmmakers, screenwriters, playwrights, and authors who can craft a story fraught with conflict and tension that climaxes at a point so powerful I can hear my pulse pounding in my ears--and then all of that stress comes crashing down on me in a moment of perfect resolution. Such resolution should make an audience feel cleansed, "refreshed."
I love leaving a theater feeling emptied of myself and full of nothing but story.
I had never before thought of the powerful role that such emotional release could play in society as a whole. Especially in light of the Aurora massacre, I thought this article was a flawlessly eloquent expression of why comic book heroes so powerfully affect the masses and what an impact they have on the emotional development of a culture.
So rather than attempting to restate these profound thoughts, I'm going to just direct you to the well-crafted article on the NPR website.
I discovered most of my favorite music from this decade on my own as a preteen, but when I met Josh whose entire childhood had been defined by his nostalgic music-buff parents, the two of us couldn't help making cheesy eighties anthems the soundtrack of our courtship. The songs we would blare on Pennsylvania back roads with our windows down were energetic, full of emotion, and just plain sexy. It didn't take long for us to associate some of our best memories as a couple with rocking out and singing along to Journey, Chicago, and other gods of the era.
I have to admit that being the good little Christian girl that I was, the emotional and often hormonal high that eighties rock gave me was a little unsettling at times. I was beyond excited at the way that being married dissolved that tension between Josh and I and enabled us to just have fun and really enjoy each other.
Hey, if we wanted to make out on a hillside to Bryan Adams at midnight, we could!
Sorry if that's TMI, haha.
My point is, the 1980's were one, giant, decade-long party. The music, movies, fashion, and pop culture icons all pointed to the rockstar lifestyle founded on three things: sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Or sex, hateful music, and sex if you prefer to quote Rock of Ages' Catherine Zeta-Jones.
What, then, did I expect to find in going to see the eighties lovefest that is movie musical Rock of Ages? Well, I expected a dazzling trifecta of film, music, and theater, three of my all-time favorite things. I expected a good time like those that filled my high school days with Josh.
I expected the music I loved without the lifestyle that I knew went along with it.
PROS:
The music. This goes without saying. The vocals are good (although a bit uninspiring because of inevitable comparison to the originals), but what really take this film to the top are the ingenious mashups mentioned in the above featurette. Songs that I never would have thought to combine are layered together in a musical cocktail that always succeeds in creating powerful moments and telling a story.
Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough as starry-eyed pair of dreamers Drew and Sherrie are pure sugar. They are adorable and touching whether in the bar, at the beach, or rollerblading on the boardwalk. We can't help but share their enthusiasm be it about rock and roll or about each other. Well cast and well played. These kids rock!
As the critics have already declared, Tom Cruise is king in this film. He absolutely killed this role. Not only is the character vastly different from anyone he's ever portrayed before, but it requires an out-of-this-world amount of confidence and gutsy, ear-splitting rock-and-roll vocals. Cruise rises to the challenge, owning the character and really living in Stacee Jaxx for every second of the film--from the stage to the steamy hotel room.
CONS:
Too many subplots. Director Andrew Shankman took some creative liberties with the story line, and he's honestly made it difficult to emotionally commit to one character's (or even group of characters') progression. Is the main conflict Drew and Sherrie's struggle to gain the spotlight without losing love? Is it the Bourbon Room's battle against the squelching conservatism of the mayor and his wife? Is it Stacee Jaxx's internal fight with the lonesome and empty cowboy found inside his sexed-up rockstar exterior? I don't know, and I don't think they do either.
A climax to the film was also hard to pinpoint due to the fact that there were so many explosive musical numbers that seemed to "sum up" what had happened thus far in the plot.
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll. The Bourbon Room is a temple to partying becoming "a sea of sweat, ear-shattering music, and puke" every night. Drunken sexual encounters and unpleasant bodily functions are laughed off, stripping and pole-dancing are idealized, and a mocking homosexual romance is injected into the plot.
And then there's Stacee Jaxx. Stacee is always surrounded by a virtual harem of groupies who wander around with him in a perpetually drunken and drugged haze. His fiery interaction with Malin Akerman's mild-mannered journalist character involves a strip down which the audience witnesses fully, kissing of rather intimate body parts, and a whole lot of licking. Now that is TMI.
CONCLUSION:
Rock of Ages is both a glorifying tribute and teasing parody of 1980's American culture. That being said, a whole lot of filth accompanies what I had hoped would be good-natured fun centered around an incredible style of music.
I wish the movie had just been about Drew and Sherrie's inspiring romance kindled by good times together and a pursuit of crazy dreams. But alas, Stacee Jaxx's tortured character who has been shaped into a sex idol by the rock and roll industry shatters this innocence. Stacee even acknowledges to a magazine interviewer that being in the public eye keeps him from searching for true love, "the one thing that could save [him.]" Unfortunately, the "true love" he finds with this same magazine interviewer is illustrated by full-tongue french kissing and groping on a pool table to "I Wanna Know What Love Is."
Pretty sure that is not what love is.
I understand that the point is to show what the breakneck-paced rockstar life can lead to in contrast with the hometown wholesomeness of Drew and Sherrie. It is a film about being true to yourself, holding onto your dreams, and deciding what you really want. Unfortunately, Rock of Ages shows us a little to much of what we really don't want. I think these points could have been made with less near-explicit sexuality and attention to drugs and alcohol. Definitely not a family movie. Probably could have used an R rating instead of the tenuous PG-13. All in all, a disappointment.
This is a book by two professor friends here at Roberts. I recently reviewed Cheap Love for the Beacon, and got a very positive response, so I thought it might be good for both me and the Starr's if I reposted the article here on Nine to Phive:
As a young married student trying to make her way through college with her husband who is also still in school, I did not need to be asked twice to write a review of Carrie and Erv Starr’s new book Cheap Love: Living and Loving on Less. Believe me when I say with conviction that this book benefited me at least as much as I am about to purport that it will benefit you. “Eighteen years ago,” the story begins, “we spent our honeymoon in a borrowed tent. Ten years later, we celebrated our anniversary on an Alaskan cruise . . . we realized we had a unique story to share.” How right they were, and how glad I am that the Starr’s acted on this realization.
The first word that comes to mind when one begins to peruse Cheap Love is “enchanting.” The book follows the love story of the professors Starr from the time they began dating in college to the aforementioned anniversary cruise, emphasizing the couple’s financial stewardship which they believe has carried them to where they are today. The narrative portions of the chapters, penned mostly by Carrie, are frank, conversational, and strike one as somewhat spellbound. The moments of youthful wonderment with which this starry-eyed (pun intended) pair populates their tale makes it easy to relate to the love which they describe for each other.
At the end of each endearing chapter of the Starr’s life together, be it “The Dating Game,” “From Hell to Hope,” “Get Rich Slow Schemes,” or “Five Starr Family,” Erv takes a moment to impart his “Bottom Line.” True to his academic nature, he extracts from the story the money-saving and relationship-strengthening concepts which he and his wife learned to practice during the most recently described stage of their life together. These tips are often profound revelations, but they are sometimes truths so simple that they are easy to overlook. Whichever the case, they are always challenging. Not only is this method of summary a very effective addition to the structure of the book; it is also downright humorous. I chuckled to myself every time I heard what I felt sure was Carrie’s audibly enthusiastic voice come rambling to some sort of conclusion just in time for Erv to seemingly add, “Okay, that was the girly version of the story. Here’s the point.” Obviously, my own imagination played a part in this entertaining spectacle, but that just goes to show how well the book is written. In the format of a nonfictional text, Cheap Love is still capable of capturing the mind and heart.
The Starrs flawlessly mesh the complex spiritual elements of romantic love and financial responsibility in a very informative but very easy read. Since the majority of divorces are caused by monetary stresses, this is a highly practical approach that will draw many married and otherwise committed couples into this very beneficial text. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of picking up this honest and insightful book, becoming a part of the Starrs’ love story, and allowing it to transform your own.
Josh and I were planning on going to a movie with some friends tonight, but nothing in theaters tickled our fancy. Some married friends of ours offered up their Netflix account for the evening, and we were all amazed to note that this seemingly ultra-cheesy movie had 4.5 stars according to the Netflix rating system.
In Troll Hunter, a group of Norwegian college students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
Is it just me, or does this not look like a 4.5-star film?
Well, let me tell you, it was "pretty d*** spectacular" as the poster implies. Think Norwegian Blair Witch Project, but infinitely better.
I am a huge mock-umentary fan. They impress me so much more than actual documentaries!
1) You have to come up with something new.
If people wanted to watch a movie about something they'd seen before, they'd watch one that was--oh, I don't know--not a total lie! It requires genuine creativity and originality to come up with something compelling enough for mockumentary-style filmmaking.
2) You have to actually write a story.
Yes, documentaries have plots, but that's just because that's how it actually happened and you were coincidentally in the area and had your camera running. You get no credit for that! Make a mockumentary and write your own plot, ofr crying out loud!
3) You have to make important plot points feel spontaneous.
Little details that might show up in an actual documentary and end up being important later need to be intentionally and carefully planted in a mockumentary film, but it has to seem like "Oh my gosh, did you see that? I can't believe I caught that on camera!" Tricky business.
4)You have to (or rather get to) make up "science" to back up the goofy premise of your film!
This was my favorite aspect of Troll Hunter! The filmmakers took the time to invent scientific rational for the existence of trolls. All of the mythic elements of trolldom are interwoven with reality. Science explains away why trolls live so long, how they interact with their own kind, and even why sunlight (UV rays) turns them to stone. It was very impressive.
5) The actors have to achieve all of the gritty "real life" emotions without making them look hokey.
I don't know what else to say about this. How do these guys deliver all of this carefully planned dialgoue upon which so much of the plot hinges as though they just made it up off the top of their heads?
To sum it up, a fabulous, captivating, and entertaining film. It has the dry, academic quality of a documentary (you know, that sense that you're learning something), but it is interspersed with the humorous quirks bound to result when a bunch of college kids go backpacking in a grumpy old troll-blaster's van and with exciting plot twists and character development. I also really enjoy foreign language films because you actually have to pay attention to them. You can't put them on and then go into the next room to make a latte--unless you understand Norwegian. The special effects are not half bad either. Take a look.
All in all, a must-see. Get thee to Netflix!
I must add that the film makes a laughingstock of Christianity. I was not the least bit offended, however, because the depictions are so far-fetched that they were truly hilarious.
