A Statement About the Day 1

Road Trip Journal

Day 1, 21:13

Distance Covered (Today): 510.8 mi

Distance Covered (Total): 510.8 mi

First day of the trip was also a day of many general firsts: First time in Trumbull, first time on the Merrit Parkway, first time at a Cracker Barrell Restaurant.

The Burgh is lovely, though the 'burb of the Burgh is even lovelier (and the name much more exotic). Indeed, Zelienople is the place for all the cool kids to be on this... er... cool September evening.

Have *officially* looked to determine that the Sundance Film Festival runs 21-31 January 2010. So only 136 days left to go (thank you, Google homepage countdown).

Not much to report about scenery as PA is generally (and widely) acknowledged to be the longest, tree-iest state in the union.

More tomorrow from the Windy City (with potential Obama pilgrimage), following a brief stop in South Bend (it sounds like dancing!) for the Dads.

A Statement About the New Gig

... and then I moved to Utah.

Things just keep happening, folks, and it looks like the next few months are going to be more than a little bit hectic and challenging. It turns out that I'm working for the Sundance Film Festival, and it turns out that the format of the blog is going to change a bit.

For the next week (when I can and where possible), TheMovieGirl will chronical my trip across the country to Utah with The Lady Liberty. Then we'll start talking about the Festival, what I'm doing, my new digs, etc.

And in between I'll still talk about movies and TV sometimes. Plan? Plan!

A Statement About Burn Notice

Credit where credit is due: TheMovieDad got me hooked on a show.
Like, hook-line-and-sinkered.

One not-yet-terribly-hot-Saturday when I had shockingly little to do, there was a Burn Notice marathon on USA. While waiting for an afternoon barbecue to start, the Dad and I sat down to watch, and I am unashamed to admit that I didn't get up for the rest of the afternoon. (Indeed, I did peel myself off the couch to attend the party for an hour, before using an errant beagle as an excuse to run home again)

So this show Burn Notice. I had tried watching it on the recommendation of a certain nameless Pittsburgh Conservative, who loved it on sight. When I tried it before I knew exactly why he loved it: the wry, witty narration and bone-dry delivery of just about every line emerging from Jeffrey Donovan's incredibly handsome mouth have a certain Pittsburgh-Conservative appeal (well, not the handsome mouth part... you know that I mean).

But I wasn't grabbed. I think I was in a rush, on my way to London, and way too distracted to jump into another series.

Not so on this fateful Saturday.

Jeffrey Donovan's aforementioned handsomeness should in no way deflect from how perfect he is in the role of Michael Westen, a "burned" CIA operative who has been dumped in Miami, out of money, out of contacts, out of the loop. He sets about trying to make a living the best way he knows how, stealing secrets, running ops, intimidating local scam artists who have been fleecing his mother's friends.

Joining him are his former IRA girlfriend Fiona (whose accent changed remarkably between 1.01 and 1.02) and Sam, a former SEAL who is... er... washed up, but still infinitely helpful when not tipping off the FBI to Michael's actions.

Quite frankly, it's not exactly heavy viewing-- it's all the fun that Alias was having without being bogged down by the mythology. There is an ongoing back-story (who burned Michael, what happened, how he's going to get back in the game), but the show falls squarely between procedurals (every week there is a "client" who requires Michael's services, he assembles the team, complications ensue, etc.) and more intensive serials.

I am not even close to caught up (I think I managed to see most of season 3 that day, and have since gone back to season 1 on iTunes), but I am seriously looking forward to more of Michael and the gang. And I already can't wait for more next summer.

A Statement About the Harry Potter

Now there are two ways to review this movie: one is in comparison to the book, the other is on its own as a film, independent of anything except the films that have come before it.

Two guesses as to where Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince fails miserably as a movie. Go on, guess. I'll wait.

OK, maybe I won't. So here's the deal. As a film, HPATHBP (hell, even the abbreviation is long) is... fine. Just fine. It certainly has its moments of humor and action and suspense (although if you've read the books, not really) but it's long and the acting isn't always stellar (Hi Daniel Radcliffe. You're really cute, and you're trying. I get it. Try harder, k?), the special effects are great, the story is long and complicated.

Trying really hard to separate from the book for a moment, I have to say that I would be very, very dissatisfied with these films as a casual observer. In fact, I'm pretty sure I would find them pointless and superficial. There are too many things going on that I wouldn't understand, too many peripheral characters who show up for no discernable reason, and too many main characters suffering as a result of trying to stuff 700-odd pages into a very, very long (but not quite long enough) movie.

So it's just fine. No jumping up and down, no LOTR comparisons, no waxing poetic about how this is changing the face of cinema.

And now on to the rant (See? You thought the rant already occurred. Not so.) Before I start, I want to say that I get it. As readers, we all have different interpretations of what the Potterverse is supposed to look like, and there is just so much of it. Honestly, how could they possibly do it justice, nevermind live up to expectations?

But even letting go of that, there are some creative choices that continue to befuddle me even three days after screening the film. Dumbledore discovers Harry at Surbiton station in the film. Really? Does he really? Because there's a pretty frakking important point to be made about Harry's safety and the reason he has to go home to Privet Drive every summer. The whole point is that he can't just go wandering around. And you know what? When the Dursleys kick him out at the beginning of THBP (much better) book, Dumbledore shows up to lay the smackdown for putting Harry's life at risk.

Which, by the way, also sets up the electric opening sequence in The Deathly Hallows in which Harry has to be removed from the house at midnight on his 18th birthday and Hedwig... Nevermind. I can't even get in to it.

Another thing that is sticking out (significantly) is the placement of Harry during the tower scene. Not going to get all spoilery, but if you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking out. Great pains are taken (and time is wasted!) at the beginning of the film to show how effective it is to disable Harry by paralyzing him with Petrificus Totalus and then covering him with the invisibility cloak. No one can see him! He can't move! How effective!

To then send Harry below in the tower sequence and give him complete free will as to whether or not to interfere kind of makes him a coward. Not to mention the complete lack of proper view of the proceedings, and the interference of Snape? Uh... how ambiguous?

No funeral. No Weasley is our king. No time to see Harry and Ginny be happy for a little while. Because we all know it doesn't last long. No reason for Fenrir Greyback to show up at all (Except, apparently, to burn down The Burrow. What. The. Frak.)

A word about the next film: They've gone and split it in two, which is vaguely comforting (more time to delve more deeply into things! Hooray!) but the question still lingers as to whether or not it's a great idea. Show me the natural pause point in TDH, and I'll write a favorable review of New Moon. Deal?

(I could get into a discussion about how Twilight-ers will use this as evidence that Twilight is "better," while they completely dismiss the fact that the reason those books translate so well into films is that there's nothing to them, but I don't want to bore you)

OK, I'm done now. Happy?

A Statement About I Could Never Be Your Woman

Once upon a time Amy Heckerling, genius director of Fast Times At Ridgemont High and Clueless, wrote and directed a movie called I Could Never Be Your Woman. Something terrible happened. And then the movie went straight to DVD. And then no one watched it, ever.

Well, except me this weekend.

It stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd (as well as a host of Clueless-related cameos) as an aging TV producer and the new star she's discovered on the set of her smash teen show. Hilarity and antics ensue as she battles the insecurities that come with aging and aging in Hollywood. Inside H-wood jokes abound (her daughter gets in a fight in school because someone made fun of her mother's show's ratings; her ex-husband is "scripting" a reality show...?). The plot is slightly less than coherent (the romance doesn't take hold enough to be the central plot, but if it's not, I don't know what is) and some of it is slightly askew (on what planet are we to believe that Jon Lovitz and Michelle Pfeiffer were ever married?), but the overall charm is undeniable.

While taking place in Beverly Hills, it is very obvious that the shooting took place in the UK, as several minor British stars pop up in the strangest places (hello, Graham Norton! And yes, that is Mackenzie Crook perfecting his Amerrrrrican accent). This adds to the overall feeling of disconnect I had throughout the film. I was enjoying it, but I wasn't involved and it felt very flat.

Absolute hands-down, hats off, etc., to Pfeiffer herself and Saoirse Ronan who plays her daughter (another random Brit in the mix). Their chemistry is palpable, and Ronan adds almost every laugh-out-loud moment in the film-- most especially her teen-pop parodies, including Britney's Not That Talented.

Conclusion? I Could Never Be Your Woman went straight to DVD due to studio and money issues, not because of quality per se. However, it probably would not have done well in the theaters, and the direct-to DVD buyers' slightly lowered expectations can only do this film good. Rent it from the library. Go on. I know a really cool one that has it in their catalog.

A Statement About the Desert Island Movies

In the previous post, I mentioned the Office watching I was doing with my grandmother, which very reasonably leads to today's post.

The other night we were watching the Fire episode, in which Ryan inadvertently causes the evacuation of the office when he burns his cheese pita. In his continuing display of Better Leadership Than Michael, Jim leads his coworkers in a rousing series of "Who Would You Do," "Desert Island," and a third game I'm not sure they actually get around to playing.

So last night at the dinner table, my grandmother initiated Desert Island Movies, which later turned into Desert Island TV series. Here are the movies:

NANKIPOO'S PICKS-
The Wizard of Oz
Gone with the Wind
African Queen
Roman Holiday
To Catch a Thief

BITSY'S PICKS-
The Incredibles
His Girl Friday
Pirates of the Caribbean at World's End
Gosford Park
Meet Me in St. Louis

It should also be known that should the Island gods allow a sixth "bonus" film, NP would pick Love, Actually.

A word about my choices (well, one choice specifically). Pirates of the Caribbean is a risky pick, not a particularly good movie, and in fact is fairly exhausting to watch. I knew there needed to be a place on my list for an epically long film (as is on NP's, see: GWTW), and the plain truth is that I could watch Pirates at World's End anytime, anywhere. I'm not proud of it, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

And now for the TV:

NANKIPOO'S PICKS-
MASH
MacGyver
Carol Burnett
Lost
The Best of Johnny Carson

BITSY'S PICKS-
Felicity
Alias
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Arrested Development
The Office (American)

Here there is a more obvious disparity between the generations, although Lost is certainly something I would have considered myself (it would be my "bonus sixth" probably, if only because it can be watched over and over without inducing boredom).

Now it's your turn! Come up with your five of each and post them (or not). It never hurts to be prepared for the Desert Island. In the immortal words of Sam Lewis, "you never know."

A Statement About Jim and Pam

In the spirit of being completely "behind" in my reviewing, writing, commenting, etc., I am now going to talk a little bit about The Office season finale. But first, a digression! Try not to act surprised.

The joy of living with one's (super cool) grandparents is that you can introduce them (or one of them) to super cool shows that they haven't seen yet, and in return you get to revisit old favorites. I highly recommend this course of action.

So we watched 30 Rock and have just moved on to Season 1 of The Office. Which brings me full circle to The Office season finale.

It is so painfully cute to watch Jim and Pam in these opening seasons, especially knowing where they end up-- and makes it that much holy-fraktasm-jump-up-and-down-able when they find out that they are pregnant at the end of Season 5. Eeek!

I think it can be argued that these two compose the most healthy, functional, and normal relationship on network television. They are madly in love, have real-life problems, and are not perfect people by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it's been horrifyingly indicated that Jim Halpert may be turning into Michael Scott, and if he doesn't jump out of his slacker haze, Dunder Mifflin Paper will actually become his career. Not just his job.

Not that Pam wants to change him. Quite the contrary, she wants him to be happy, just as he did when he sent her off to her art program in New York at the beginning of this season. These two are not strictly driven by any specific ambition except to be together. They want to be happy, healthy, and together. Not much more you can ask for than that.

As a couple they go through everything that normal couples go through-- unwanted separation, home purchasing (one of the scariest, sweetest moments ever is when Jim buys his parents' house-- without talking to Pam first), vague threats from outside parties (hello Karen, and dude from New York!). It's not the nature of The Office to show us anything about their domestic or sex lives, yet somehow we know that they are perfectly, er, satisfied on both counts, and we don't mind only seeing their relatively circumspect office interaction.

Personally I can't wait to see what comes next for them, and wouldn't be surprised to learn that we return from the real-time summer vacation to find that they eloped during the break. In the meantime, though, I'm going to seriously enjoy starting again from the beginning, and seeing just how far these two crazy kids have come.