Friday, July 09, 2004
Movies and Toronto
I rented and watched a few movies last night. These are films that were praised by critics when they came out but no one went to see. Also, they might have only had a limited release. The chances of these ever arriving in El Salvador are slim to none, which is why I rented them.
Shattered Glass:
This one follows the real-life story of Stephen Glass, a writer for The New Republic magazine that partially or completely fabricated 27 of his 41 published articles and how he was discovered. Glass is played magnificently by Hayden Christensen, who proves, as he did in Life As A House, that when he's not in front of a blue screen he is an excellent actor. The acting is top-notch by everyone, and I was completely drawn into the story. Also, from what I saw of the documentary about the events (with interviews from the real Steve Glass), it stays very close to what actually happened.
The script is excellent. It deserves great praise because not only does it chronicle Glass's attempts to dupe his editors, but it actually duped me. He is more comfortable telling lies than he is telling the truth. I kept expecting to see Glass faking his articles...but that moment never arrives. You'll have to see what I mean to understand. It doesn't the follow the typical here's-a-guy-and-this-is-how-he-changed formula.
8/10. Great movie.
American Splendor:
Another true story, this one is about Harvey Pekar, who wrote about himself and every-day life in the comic book, American Splendor. This one has elements in common with Adaptation (though it's not quite that layered), with the real-life Harvey Pekar narrating for the actor playing Harvey Pekar ("Maybe this movie will bring me a chunk of change") who wrote about Harvey Pekar in a comic book. It follows his discovery of his comic-writing abilities, his marriage to his third wife, his rise to a sort of semi-celebrity status, and his battle with cancer. Real-life interviews with David Letterman are shown, along with frequent interruptions by the real Harvey Pekar, to add even more layers to the whole thing.
It paints quite a bleak picture of what typical, poor American-life is like today. All of the characters in this movie are divorced. Harvey is a slob, and has a problem with his temper. One scene indicates the perception of Christianity shared by many people today (I can't remember any quotes), when one character prays and considers himself "spiritual" without mentioning anything about Christ.
I didn't like it quite as much as Shattered Glass, but it's still excellent. I can see why critics felt Paul Giotti (or whatever his last name is) should have been nominated for an Oscar. 8/10.
In a few hours, I'm off to Toronto on the mission trip. This will be the last post for about 8 days. Bye.
Shattered Glass:
This one follows the real-life story of Stephen Glass, a writer for The New Republic magazine that partially or completely fabricated 27 of his 41 published articles and how he was discovered. Glass is played magnificently by Hayden Christensen, who proves, as he did in Life As A House, that when he's not in front of a blue screen he is an excellent actor. The acting is top-notch by everyone, and I was completely drawn into the story. Also, from what I saw of the documentary about the events (with interviews from the real Steve Glass), it stays very close to what actually happened.
The script is excellent. It deserves great praise because not only does it chronicle Glass's attempts to dupe his editors, but it actually duped me. He is more comfortable telling lies than he is telling the truth. I kept expecting to see Glass faking his articles...but that moment never arrives. You'll have to see what I mean to understand. It doesn't the follow the typical here's-a-guy-and-this-is-how-he-changed formula.
8/10. Great movie.
American Splendor:
Another true story, this one is about Harvey Pekar, who wrote about himself and every-day life in the comic book, American Splendor. This one has elements in common with Adaptation (though it's not quite that layered), with the real-life Harvey Pekar narrating for the actor playing Harvey Pekar ("Maybe this movie will bring me a chunk of change") who wrote about Harvey Pekar in a comic book. It follows his discovery of his comic-writing abilities, his marriage to his third wife, his rise to a sort of semi-celebrity status, and his battle with cancer. Real-life interviews with David Letterman are shown, along with frequent interruptions by the real Harvey Pekar, to add even more layers to the whole thing.
It paints quite a bleak picture of what typical, poor American-life is like today. All of the characters in this movie are divorced. Harvey is a slob, and has a problem with his temper. One scene indicates the perception of Christianity shared by many people today (I can't remember any quotes), when one character prays and considers himself "spiritual" without mentioning anything about Christ.
I didn't like it quite as much as Shattered Glass, but it's still excellent. I can see why critics felt Paul Giotti (or whatever his last name is) should have been nominated for an Oscar. 8/10.
In a few hours, I'm off to Toronto on the mission trip. This will be the last post for about 8 days. Bye.
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 7/09/2004 11:26:00 AM 
