Disneybear

I saw this movie today and liked it. It seemed to have a little more intelligence than your average movie you see these days. It had a lot of dialog and I miss that in movies. You actually have to pay attention to figure out what is going on. There was a little too much fighting that reminded me of The Matrix when I was watching it. Lo and behold, I get to the credits and find that it is by the same brothers that created The Matrix. I find it interesting that the story is based on a comic book series. The story is definitely not for kids! Comic books have apparently become very adult since the days of Archie! I was exceptionally delighted by its positive portrayal of gay characters…this was an unexpected bonus.

Last night I watched the free screener the producer’s of Crash sent to all members of the Screen Actor’s Guild. I finally got to see if it was better than Brokeback Mountain which was its main competition for the Academy Award as Best Picture. Well I think the voters of the academy made a mistake. Crash for me was a 1 layer movie. Every character gets a chance to show his or her prejudice. It was so obvious; I found it laughable at times. I think some of the performances were great, but I felt like I was watching some sort of instructional film on the dangers of prejudice. I felt the writers were banging me in the head with their constant drone. Every character is so obvious in their distaste for some other race; it just didn’t ring true to me. I think many bigots and racists are a lot more subtle, and it would have been nice to see a few more realistic characters.  I also didn’t like all the many interrelated little storylines. It was done before in the movie Grand Canyon and much better I might add.  Crash is plainly and simply a message movie, while Brokeback Mountain is an original and compelling drama that is not spoon fed to the moviegoer. Even Capote, another nominee, was far more intelligent. If you want pabulum…  see Crash, but if you want brain stimulation… see Brokeback Mountain. 

P.S. It probably didn’t hurt that the producers of Crash had the finances to send copies of the film to everyone!   

I have really tried to like this new show on ABC. I like a lot of the cast. The show is just too much about the central character whining. Fred Gross, as Cameron Walker, is just not all that appealing either. I also don’t like all the improvising that is going on. Very few actor’s can pull it off without it looking like they are improvising. Those very few actors…are not in this show. Screenwriting is an art and so is acting. Very few people are good at both. The show also seems like a rip- off of Arrested Development…shaky camera shots, big quirky family, etc. I am also curious as to how many episodes they filmed with the same basic plot! For two weeks we have had stories where there is a family secret that has to work its way through the family members…and all hell, and I suppose hilarity, ensue. I am still waiting for the hilarity.