P and The NYC Marathon

This past week, my client P ran in her first NYC Half-Marathon.  She completed it in two hours forty minutes, averaging a twelve minute mile pace.  When we first started training for this event she would get winded walking two miles straight.  Over the course of 12 weeks, she steadily increased her mileage, improving her endurance and pace.  There were times during the 12 weeks that she doubted herself, a natural response.  So I would then have to remind her where she started and how far she has come. 

I am extremely proud of how far she has come.  She conquered what, at first, seemed like an impossible task.  Now when I look at her I can't help but feel lucky to have been there every step of the way as she transformed into an athlete.  Her story is better than anything on TV, I'll tell you that much.

Youth In Revolt Review

If you’re looking for a revolution, look somewhere else.  Youth In Revolt is, like most revolts in history, just a passing phase.  Director Michael Arteta, best known for The Good Girl, tackles this adaptation of the book by the same name.  The film stars Michael Cera as our protagonist Nick Twisp, Portia Doubleday as Sheeni, the object of his affection.  An ensemble of great comedic actors round out the cast.

Nick Twisp is your typical movie teenage virgin, idealistic, naïve and desperate.  The movie opens with Nick getting to know himself intimately.  His room is full of Frank Sinatra records and he confesses he could listen to a Frank Sinatra love song at least once every hour of the day.  His mother and her boyfriend (Zach Galifianakis) talk about him as if he is not in the room. You get the impression that Nick is a much more pathetic version of Michael Cera’s character from Super Bad.   He eventually finds himself in a trailer park outside of Oakland where he meets Sheeni.  After spending some time together, Sheeni informs Nick that it is best to end the relationship because he is the opposite of her ideal man.  As a result he conjures up an alternate personality, Francois.  He is the guy with the John Waters mustache you see in the trailer. Without revealing too much of the plot, Nick then goes on a journey to win Sheeni over completely.

Michael Cera really plays himself as Nick Twisp, and even as Francois, he never leaves himself behind. Going into the movie, I expected a much larger difference between the two personalities.  Francois comes across as simply a more selfish version of Nick, rather than the dream guy Nick believes Sheeni wants to be with.  It is the supporting ensemble that really stands out in this film.  I found myself enjoying the scenes where any of the supporting characters had screen time more than any of the scenes with Nick alone, a result of Nick being a passive character.   Though he is our protagonist, Francois and the supporting cast are the most active characters.

There are a large number of supporting characters in this movie and they are more crucial to the plot than Nick.  Almost every supporting character is given a short introduction early in the film only to reappear, coincidentally, later in the film to help Nick achieve his goal. But for the most part, they are devices only--meant to act on behalf on Nick, who can not act for himself.  For example, Nick's best friend in the film does little to propel the story or tell us anything new about Nick.  I’m sure in the novel this character as well as the others play a larger role in the story and are better fleshed out. In the film, the actors, not the writing, make these characters at least enjoyable to watch.

The editing was a little staccato and some choices came off as playing for a laugh rather than propelling the story or characterization.  Specifically, there are multiple animation sequences which not only don’t support the film, but rather hurt it.  They pull the audience out the movie and in particular the first of these sequences reduces the film to being about sex, although it plays a large part in the movie it is about more than that. 

Youth In Revolt, like a teenager, struggles to find its identity.  It straddles the line of drama and teenage romantic comedy.  Neither of the two is particularly well done.  Yes, I did laugh and laughed hard in some places and reflected in some moments but all of these moments fade when the theater lights come up.  Super Bad is far superior in both regards but if you need your Michael Cera fix go ahead and check out Youth In Revolt.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Everybody!!!

Well, It's a new year and as I reflect on 2009, I realize it's been a pretty eventful one.  I had been focusing on the negative until I read this: "I can't have the same disdain for this decade I hear others expressing.  It was the decade a miracle happened and I got to do what I love for a living."  - Cyrus from Spill.com. This made me look at the past year in a positive light and here are some of the highlights of this past year. I've traveled to L.A for The Quarrel. Performed in everything from Shakespeare and Chekhov to Jose Rivera and other contemporary playwrights.  Proposed to my lovely girlfriend of four years.  Watched my nephew grow to be the cutest thing in a diaper and the best drummer I know.  All of these moments give me hope that every day in 2010 could be another highlight in my life or maybe even...a miracle.  


May your 2010 be full of highlights and a miracle or two.

Avatar Review

James Cameron, the new king of CGI, wrote and directed the Science Fiction Fantasy epic, Avatar.  There are no doubts now that, Avatar has at the very least set the bar for future CGI movies if not the Science Fiction Fantasy genre.  It has been out in theaters one weekend and has already grossed $232 million, catapulted movie making to a new level, won the hearts of fan boys everywhere and possibly replaced George Lucas for the throne of Geekdom.  The last part came from George Lucas’ best friend, Steven Spielberg.

The movie is about Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic ex-marine that can’t afford new legs.  His twin brother, now dead, was part of a group of scientists lead by Grace (Sigourney Weaver), who is reprising her role from Gorillas In The Mist.  The scientists are part of the Avatar program, where humans virtually inhabit the bodies of  Na’vi clones, to study their way of life.  Like most scientific studies, they are funded by a corporate entity that isn’t interested in the scientific benefits but the economic ones.  Jake’s brother was the crucial element in this program, the carefully groomed scientist to perfectly infiltrate their culture.  The only problem is the avatars are matched to the person for whom they were created after; Jake is the only one that can inhabit his brother’s avatar.  So the Corporation finds Jake and recruits him rather than spend more money training another qualified scientist.  Do you see where this is going? I hope so because I’m getting frustrated trying to figure out how to describe the movie succinctly.

The greatest strength of this movie is not the CGI but the world created by James Cameron.  In an interview with slashfilm.com, Cameron mentioned wanting to create a world much like J.R.R. Tolkien did with The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and he succeeded.  It is obvious that Cameron took ten years to create this film.  It is not just a culture that he created but a whole ecosystem full of different species of animals, insects, flora and fauna. [Largely inspired by his research for Titanic and The Abyss.]  Every detail is taken into account right down to the gravitational pull of Pandora’s nearest orbiting planet.

Second is the CGI and 3D motion capture, Cameron really has changed the way movies will be made from now on.  The level of detail is remarkable.  There are close ups of the Avatars where I swore they could be actors in make up.  I screamed with glee, in my head, when I saw a close up of Jake’s Avatar wiggling his feet.  It looked just like a real foot!  Or  a close up of Jake’s avatar and I could see his pores.  On top of this the 3D motion capture not only captured the physicality of the actors it captured their facial expressions. The 3D motion capture brought the actor’s nuanced facial expressions to the avatars, something that hasn’t been seen before in a CG film.

Pandora is seen through the eyes of Jake Sully, a broken uneducated soldier.  It is the restrictions of his physical condition which serve as the crux of his motivation throughout the whole movie and gives the audience the opportunity to experience Pandora the same as Jake. Because he is disabled and can’t afford medical care to replace his legs he is a shell of his former self.  There are many moments where we see Jake hoists himself up into the pod where he controls his avatar and in that moment we see his brittle atrophied legs.  Jake is of no use in his condition as a soldier.  In one of the earlier scenes, he is on a transport ship with a platoon of able bodied soldiers.  Once they land; the bay doors open and the soldiers easily exit while Jake has to wait for them to exit so he can pull out his wheel chair and roll himself out.  He is called “Special K” by an officer hurrying him off the transport ship.  He is seen alone.  He says, ‘once a marine always a marine,’ but there isn’t any sense of camaraderie between him and any of the soldiers.  Without family and rejected by his chosen career he is lost in life.    Most people have at one time or another have felt like life has thrown us a couple of lemons or like we don’t quite fit in. This helps us to empathize with Jake.

Also, because Jake was called on this mission at a moment’s notice he has no idea what he is getting into, only that he will get new legs if he accomplishes his task.   Jake experiences the world of Pandora much like we would, with awe and curiosity.  There were several moments where Jake acts on behalf of the audience running, jumping and touching everything insight once he is let loose in the jungles of Pandora.

Despite its detailed setting, CGI and fleshed out protagonist, Avatar does have weaknesses. The biggest weakness of Avatar is in the plot, unfortunately. It’s derivative.  I have heard it compared to other movies such as: Dances With Wolves, Dune, Fern Gully, The Last Samurai, etc. About a half hour into the movie you know what will happen. But a derivative plot isn’t a deal breaker, though.  Every movie is derivative if it is broken down to one sentence. Family Guy is derivative of The Simpsons which is derivative of The Honeymooners. Fringe is derivative of The X-files and Lost.  Should we stop making movies because the basic plots are similar?  Is it even possible to create a story that is completely original from top to bottom?

Another weakness is the characterization. For the most part, the characters are one dimensional, especially the human characters.  Gionvanni Ribisi’s and Stephen Lang’s characters are cut and dry bad guys. Ribisi plays the sleazy suit that only cares about the money.  Ribisi at times adds a little depth with a regretful look at the end but it doesn’t amount to a fully realized character. Lang is the hard ass, politically incorrect, kill’em all and let god sort’em out, straight out of Full Metal Jacket commander. Lang, unlike Ribisi, embraces his inner bad guy and runs with it.  They are both characters that you love to hate.  Thus we empathize with the Na’vi even more.  It doesn’t make for interesting writing but it serves the purpose of the story.

 Avatar is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but what it does, it does well.  So well that it makes its blemishes stand out like a pimple on an otherwise perfect face.  Look past the imperfections for what it is, a simple yet good story with stunning visuals.

Fantastic Mr. Fox Review

The opening credits roll and immediately I am transported to my childhood. Images of Gumby, Jack Skellington and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and other stop motion icons pop in my head. A smile appears on my face. With my phone on silent, my feet up on the rail and the soda I smuggled in in my hand, I was ready.  Bring it on Wes Anderson.

The movie opens with a wide shot of a young Mr. Fox (George Clooney) leaning up against a tree, foreshadowing the duality of our protagonist.  The beautiful browns, reds, and oranges fill the screen. He is met by his girlfriend, later to be Mrs. Fox. Together they go on one last wild adventure. Cut to: more than a decade later; Mr. Fox is married to Mrs. Fox; is father to Ash (Jason Schwartzman), and has left his wild adventurous days behind him. In the present he struggles with a mid-life crisis of sorts. He misses the wild adventures he and his wife used to have before he was bogged down with being a responsible husband and father. This is where the story lies.  Like a tree he is rooted in his present position in life but reaches for towards the heavens in hope of something bigger.  As a desperate attempt to find that wild animal inside him, he embarks on a master plan to rob the three biggest farmers in the area, he is a fox after all. 

The Fantastic Mr. Fox, while rated PG, is directed toward an adult audience. This isn't a departure from Wes Anderson's style. It deals with issues that are common in Wes Anderson movies such as: teenage angst (Rushmore) and dysfunctional families (The Royal Tenenbaums).  The plot is similar to the Ocean’s trilogy, also starring George Clooney in the titular role.  Like Danny Ocean, Mr. Fox embarks on one last job. The humor can be enjoyed by the whole family especially a cussing scene but some of the subtler humor will go over the heads of children. 

Although a smile was on my face the whole movie, I couldn't help but feel unsatisfied. The ending seemed unearned. 

SPOILER

Mr. Fox was never forced to deal with the consequences of his actions. He had obstacles, yes, his neighbors are one of them but he could always talk his way out of trouble with them and when seemingly backed up into a wall, you dig your way out. Perhaps if Ash was captured instead of his nephew then Mr. Fox might have to truly deal with his behavior.

Despite its shortcoming it is an enjoyable movie, just don’t walk into the theater expecting a movie worthy of being described as fantastic.  

Communion

Every actor loathes the idea of performing to an empty house and even worse a non-responsive house.  Often times during a performance you can feel the audience's attention.  Whether you are performing a drama or a comedy you can feel it.  In an intense dramatic scene, the audience's gaze can be felt on your neck and the air is sucked out of the room.  In a comedy, there is the audience's laugh.  But when the house is empty or an audience isn't responding it is like a bug repeatedly flying into a window.   You just want to pull your hair out.  Theatre is a communion, says Stanislavsky, originally it's a celebration in honor of Dionysus and in the modern era it is an exchange of humanity.  The ideas and emotions are presented to the audience and without an audience to present our gift to, there is no purpose.  The theater is hollow without an audience.  You are the final collaborator; your attention is all we desire. 

Opening Night

Last night, Light In The Dark: Chekhov Shorts (www.theatrehan.com) opened.  Opening night is always an interesting night.  As I get older, I like to step back and observe everyone else.  It's so interesting to see how differently people deal with nerves or lack there of.  Some people do extensive warming up, others listen to music, a few people sing; even fewer like to sit alone.  I like to take a cat nap, if I can.  What better way to relax?  If I time it right, I can take a 15-30 minute cat nap; then do a quick vocal and body warm up.  But no matter how relaxed I might be I have to go pee before I go on stage.  I think I have this unconscious fear of being on stage and having to go to the bathroom.  But hey, it's better than having to throw up before every performance.