Salvage 2010: 10 Movies to Watch Through December

Let’s face it: aside from gems like Inception and Toy Story 3, we haven’t had much to be happy about in the cinematic world this year. I wrote a note earlier this year containing 10 films to watch in 2010. Suffice to say, four of those films were disappointments and one has been pushed back to 2011. That list was written lacking something crucial: perspective. All but one of the movies on this list have trailers released, and trailers are very useful tools for providing perspective.

Now that we’re in August, I think it’s time to look ahead to the rest of the year. Oscar season is upon us, and there are some amazing-looking movies to get excited for. I’m being honest when I tell you I’ve never been more excited for an Awards season.

Here they are, in alphabetical order (like they should be)…

127 Hours
Watch the first few seconds of the trailer for 127 Hours, and you’ll immediately know who directed it. Danny Boyle, winner of 2008’s Best Director Oscar for his work on the wonderful Slumdog Millionaire, is back, this time telling the story of mountain climber Aron Ralston, played by James Franco.

127 Hours recounts Ralston’s harrowing 2003 ordeal in which he famously amputated his own arm after becoming trapped under a boulder near Moab, Utah. Slumdog screenwriter Simon Beaufoy and composer A.R. Rahman are rejoining Boyle this time around, and Franco is reportedly amazing as Ralston. I hear there’s an entire hour that’s just Franco by himself, completely devoid of dialogue. A risky move, to be sure, but the fact that people are still raving about this one makes me very, very excited to see it.

Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky (Requiem For a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler) makes weird films. It just so happens, they’re also consistently good, gut-wrenching and powerful.

In Black Swan, Aronofsky’s next film foray, Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina chosen by her mentor (Vincent Cassel) for the lead role in Swan Lake. The role apparently requires a versatile lead who can portray both the White Swan and Black Swan. When another dancer (Mila Kunis) proves herself a better fit for the Black Swan, the two develop a rivalry that (as evidenced in the trailer) begins to drive Nina insane.

The trailer for Black Swan grabbed me by the collar and hooked me right away. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t when I watched it, but I’m guessing that’s the point. Black Swan looks simultaneously horrifying and beautiful, and it’s a journey I can’t wait to take.

Buried
Taking 127 Hours’ one-man show theme a step further, Buried stars Ryan Reynolds as Paul Conroy, a U.S. contractor working in Iraq who wakes up inside a coffin with just a lighter, a cell phone and 90 minutes of oxygen.

This movie interests me on a mostly conceptual basis. There’s a certain challenge that comes with making a film that’s set mostly within a small coffin. I’m excited to see how director Rodrigo Cortés pulls it off. Reynolds reportedly declined the opportunity to rehearse inside the coffin, and opted to jump in and start filming to enhance his performance. I like Reynolds’ past work, and I’m curious to see if he can continue to break out of his rom-com roots.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
This movie needs no introduction. I do find it a bit hokey that the filmmakers opted to do a two-parter for the Harry Potter finale, as they’re obviously trying to maximize the incoming cash flow (see: Breaking Dawn). But, if both parts are good, I won’t argue.

I was one of the few Harry Potter fans who disliked the sixth movie, so I’m definitely hoping director David Yates can pull off a better film this time around. Deathly Hallows is an amazing book, so bad source material is no excuse.

Let Me In
I had to convince myself to give this movie a chance. I’m no friend of remakes, and the Swedish film Let The Right One In is one of the best vampire movies of all time. Cloverfield director Matt Reeves gets to try his hand at the American version of this child vampire tale, and I was understandably skeptical at that announcement. Cloverfield is good, sure, but it’s no Let The Right One In.

The trailer, however, has me optimistic. Chloe Grace Moretz, whose roles in (500) Days of Summer and Kick-Ass have earned her some cred, seems like the right choice to play Eli (named Abby in the American version). Kodi Smith-McPhee gave a good performance in The Road, enough to earn him a shot at playing Oskar (Owen this time around). Richard Jenkins is always good, so I have no worries there. John Ajvide-Lindqvist, who wrote the book and penned the Swedish screenplay, is back to write the script this time around, too.

All that adds up to a pretty good movie, right? It’s still a remake, so I’ll still be skeptical, but I feel like the filmmakers have played their cards right thus far. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Monsters
Fun fact: Up until recently, I was trying my hand at screenwriting, and had an idea involving a couple battling their way across a quarantined “Infected Zone.” The announcement of Gareth Edwards’ Monsters and my subsequent viewing of The Crazies put the kabash on that idea, but I’m still extremely excited to see what comes of this movie.

Monsters takes place six years after a NASA probe carrying alien life forms crash-lands over Central America. A journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist across the Infected Zone in Mexico to the U.S. border.

Again, this movie gets points for a very innovative concept. The trailer for Monsters has some strong elements of District 9 present in it. That’s a good thing, in case you didn’t see District 9.

Never Let Me Go
I didn’t know this movie existed until Chelsea showed me the trailer a little while ago. I have no idea what it’s about, but I still want to be first in line to see it. That’s the mark of a good trailer (Inception anyone?). TIME Magazine called the source literature the “best novel of the decade,” so that’s a bit of high praise. It stars Oscar sweetheart Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and soon-to-be Spider-Man Andrew Garfield, so we can expect some great performances out of the leads. Check out the trailer for more.

The Social Network
I really like David Fincher’s films. Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac; all good. It’s the nature of those films that makes The Social Network an odd choice for the director.

Based on the book by Ben Mezrich, author of the book on which 21 was based, The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. It’s a controversial story full of deceit and broken friendship, and the book isn’t exactly popular with a lot of people (see: Zuckerberg’s thoughts and Amazon.com reader reviews).

Whether what transpires on film is 100 percent true or not, this movie looks like an immensely entertaining story of a soon-to-be-billionaire, and reports from those who’ve seen the film seem to uphold this notion. I’m particularly excited to see Justin Timberlake’s turn as Napster co-founder Sean Parker.

The Town
As he proved with Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck is a damn good director. His next undertaking is The Town, which looks to be a hearty mix of Heat and Point Break. The big draw here for me is Mad Men’s Jon Hamm in the Al Pacino role of the FBI agents looking for the gang of Boston thieves led by Doug MacRay, played by Affleck.

It’s the cast that has me pumped for The Town. Look for The Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner, Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively, The Prestige’s Rebecca Hall, and the wonderful Chris Cooper in addition to Affleck and Hamm.

Affleck has said that his movie provides a good balance of action, story and character development. Sounds like the recipe for a great heist movie to me.

True Grit
This is the only movie on my list without a trailer to back it up. I put it on here because it’s also perhaps the closest thing to a safe bet. It’s directed by the Coen Brothers, for one, who re-team with The Big Lebowski’s Jeff Bridges and No Country for Old Men’s Josh Brolin. Matt Damon also stars. So the cast is pretty good.

It’s also based on the classic Western novel of the same name. Notable true Westerns are scarce these days, but when they do pop onto the radar, they’re usually damn good (see: 3:10 to Yuma, The Proposition). A Western from the Coens is tough to deny. Hopefully we’ll see a trailer soon.

Album Review: 'Chelsea Dasso'

After listening to singer-songwriter Chelsea Dasso's self-titled debut album, I found it funny that iTunes placed it in my library under the "Easy Listening" genre. Truth be told, Dasso has an utterly beautiful voice, one I wouldn't mind playing all day long. But when I think of Easy Listening, I think of artists like Jack Johnson or Norah Jones; I think of musicians whose music, while it may be great, fades into the background with relative ease.

Dasso's lyrics don't let her songs fade like this; along with that beautiful voice, the words are powerful and, most of all, relatable. Sure, the production here is very simple, but to call it bare-bones would be a fallacy; there's too much vocal and lyrical prowess to be found.

"There's a reason and a season for it all." That's the lyric I'd choose to sum up much of the album's theme. Fittingly, those words come along in the album's leadoff track, "Crazy". Featuring simply an acoustic guitar and Dasso's voice, she reflects on a crazy year no doubt filled with heartbreak and complication.

"Crazy" is an important track because it's simultaneously sad and introspective, but it comes off as non-mopey. Again, the tone is set for the album. There's some extremely sad stuff to be found throughout the 11 tracks, but I finished the album with a "light at the end of the tunnel" mentality. I think that was intentional.

If I wrote more album reviews, you'd know I'm a sucker for the piano. Both “This Goodbye” and "Rescue" feature it heavily, and that's one of the reasons I appreciate them. Dasso shows some shades of Amy Lee here, which I appreciate (the fact that Lee is featured with Seether on one of my favorite songs of all time notwithstanding).

I love "Line in the Sand". The lyric "I'm afraid we're meant to be together, but not forever," is one that requires an extra moment of thought to truly understand. It has gravity, and the song tells a story. I like that.

"Every Song" is one of the sadder pieces on the album; it gives an outright reason for why we write sad songs, and explores how maybe, just maybe, the people we write these songs about don't deserve the time. It also delves into how songs we don't write ourselves can still hit home. Yet another great summary of my feelings on this album: I didn't write these songs, but I've definitely felt these feelings.

"Generation" was probably my least favorite song on the album. It has a lot of production value, adding in drums as well as a choir effect towards the end, but I think I appreciate the simplicity of the rest of the album a bit more. However, the repeated line about not wanting to "go it alone" gives a much-needed personal touch to a song exploring the struggles of an entire generation.

"Front Seat" is another story song. We get a short picture of a seemingly good situation, fast-forwarded into an excruciating future. This song demonstrates how drastically and tragically things can change over time. It’s also a stark reminder of how difficult it can be to see where exactly things went wrong. Comparing two contrasting situations is a sad course to take, but the contrast is a wonderful mechanism to illustrate the sadness. It's easy to wonder if we're even hearing about the same people, which is a strange, somber thought.

"Reflection" is hauntingly epic, and another favorite of mine. It's a confrontational song, one of those pieces that sounds as though it was written during a venting session. I'm convinced that some of the best songs ever written were hashed out during a time of difficult, passionate emotion. The listener can feel this, and it gives the song a great deal of power. The eerie, surreal piano that’s present here only adds to that. Wait for the 2:30 mark in the song, you’ll see what I mean.

“Undreaming Love” is an intimate portrait that compares love to dreaming. It took me a few listens to acquire the meaning. To me, the song basically asks how we can know we’re dreaming when true love is good enough to be a dream in itself? I truly enjoyed the song, probably partially due to my interest in dreams. The lyrics here tell us that dreamlike love is indeed possible. Uplifting, no?

“Worth You” is a slower song, but that doesn’t detract from its fiery message. It’s one of the songs on the album that doesn’t seem to look for the positive in lost love. It’s a portrait of a lover who is going through a phase in which she can only see the negative. It’s a reminder of the dark place we must all sometimes go to when dealing with heartbreak.

“One More Kiss” acts as the album’s closer, and it reinforces the “light at the end of the tunnel” mentality I mentioned earlier. It’s a simple, piano-driven love note from one person to another. It’s the perfect end to an album that runs the gamut of emotions. At the end of the day, all craziness aside, there’s love to be found, and that’s what counts, no matter how much we must search for it.

"I'm waiting for the sun to rise on something new, something beautiful.” It’s my hope that this album is just the beginning for Chelsea Dasso. These songs couldn’t fade into the background when I played them. They feel as though they’ve been ripped from the heart of somebody trying their best to see the big picture in some very hard times. Music has always helped me do that, and my iPod is now graced with 11 more songs to serve that purpose.

I can’t wait to hear more.

Late Review: 'Inception' (Spoiler-free)

Note: I posted this on Facebook awhile back, but just got around to blogging it today. Love this movie!

“A contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind."

That was how Christopher Nolan described his new film Inception at the time of its announcement on February 11, 2009. For a long time, that line was the only tidbit of information we had on the movie. Interestingly, that's pretty much the way it stayed up until the movie's release this past Friday.

We know a lot more about Inception now than we did when we were given that description, but even after two viewings, I'm convinced that there's a lot more to uncover.

That's the beauty of Inception: even though it features a star-studded cast and one of the best action sequences ever put to film, it's the story we'll be analyzing for years to come.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an Extractor, a thief who specializes in using special technology to enter peoples' minds and stealing their secrets. Cobb and his team are hired by Saito (Ken Watanabe), a businessman who needs them to utilize their skills for an entirely different type of job: inception.

Cobb's team consists primarily of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Eames (Tom Hardy) and newcomer Ariadne (Ellen Page). Cillian Murphy plays the team's mark, and Marion Cotillard plays Mal, Cobb's wife.

That's about all the plot synopsis I want to give, because I didn't know much more than that when I walked into the theater on Friday night. Suffice to say, parts of Inception play out like a typical heist movie, be it Ocean's 11 or Heat, except instead of a casino or a bank, the target is a person’s mind, and the take is that person's secrets.

Inception might seem pretentious or heavy-handed, and some may perceive it that way, but I didn’t. The movie doesn’t think it’s better than you; it provides a great deal of explanation intended to fill the viewer in on the rules of Nolan’s dream world. These rules must be remembered in order to fully grasp the greatness of the movie. For this reason, a second viewing might be necessary so you have the rules in mind before the first frame. Then you can start theorizing.

I’ve been developing theories in my head since I walked out of the theater on Friday; I wouldn’t be coming up with them if I didn’t care about the world and the characters I saw on the screen. That’s why I love this movie.

Well, that’s just one reason I love Inception. If I had to choose a second, it just might be Gordon Levitt’s “merry chase.” As Arthur diverts security away from his team in a hotel, the gravity of the hallways and rooms begins to shift, like you may have seen in the trailers and television spots. I don’t want to give anything away, other than my opinion that this is one of the best fight scenes ever put to film. It’s pretty short, but it rivals the lobby shootout in The Matrix. And it’s all shot using practical effects. Genius.

Inception has its flaws, and they aren’t really all that difficult to point out, even for a person like me who adored the film. Many of the characters are given little to no backstory, and this makes them feel less like important parts of the story than they should. Ariadne is the prime example; she’s a college student who has the “skills” Cobb needs. That’s it.

This occasional lack of character development is a small price to pay; the focus here is on Cobb and his inner struggles, and DiCaprio does a marvelous job conveying them.

We’ll be talking about Inception for years, discussing its ins and outs, and its crazy ending. Whatever I conclude (or don’t conclude) about Inception won’t change the fact that it’s a phenomenal work of cinematic art. It’s been awhile since I actually felt like staying in my seat after a movie in order to watch the next showing, but I wouldn’t have hesitated for a second after Inpcetion. When it’s over, you’ll want to see it again, just to catch the stuff you missed. And you’ll be catching stuff for a long, long time.

Props, Mr. Nolan, mad props.

Review coming soon...

Read this book, if you like good books. It's a harsh reminder of a tragedy most of us probably don't understand. We won't ever fully understand, but this book is a great leap forward in that respect. Told from the perspective of a journalist who covered the events and researched them for years, Columbine provides something sources like the news media could never offer: perspective. Well-researched perspective, at that. Providing a complete picture of this massacre would be impossible, but my experience with Columbine thus far has demonstrated that this just might be the closest we'll get.

I'll review it next week.

For lack of anything better to do...

...I thought I'd post a blog.

Still jobsearching and jobapping, and hoping for an interview in Spokane.

Life has been crazy, but I think it's getting better. People say I even look different than I did two weeks ago.

Definitely enjoying hanging with people. This weekend will be great; seeing Melinda tomorrow and then staying in Leavenworth for the night. Then it's off to Spokane the next day. Should be fun.

Having a great time playing Star Fox 64. One of the best games ever, as far as I'm concerned. Makes me want to fly airplanes again.

Restarting my screenplay since watching The Crazies was like watching the movie I was writing. Let the ideas roll in, hopefully...