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Thursday, June 17, 2010
500 Days of Summer might be one of the most unique romantic films since When Harry Met Sally. Instead of being a story about boy meets girl and they live happily ever after, you find out moments into the film that this is the story of boy meets girl, but boy lost girl. As main character Tom wallows in his break-up from Summer the film jumps around the days in their relationship, exploring the good and the bad working its way until Tom makes peace with the relationship he had and lost.
As someone that’s used a time device to tell a story let me say first that making a non-linear film is hard. Trying to find a device that the audience will understand and stil be able to create a flow and development for the characters is tough – Marc Webb does an excellent job of jumping through time with 500 Days of Summer and never losing Tom and the core of who he is. Of course, as much as this is a compliment to the screenplay and direction, kudos must also be given to Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays Tom.
Gordon-Levitt is a new entry onto the list of actors I adore and want to work with. He’s always been hovering around that list, but I’ve rewatched a few of his films lately and they have firmly planted him on my list. Gordon-Levitt has a way about his craft that throws him in with the greats; he melts into his characters so that you can’t distinguish the acting from the actor – he becomes the character in a way that makes you as a viewer expect that’s who he is in real life, no matter if he’s playing a former whiz kid with a memory issues (The Lookout) or lovelorn Tom (500 Days of Sumemr). The bottom line is that this guy can act and luckily for those of us that have been watching him since Third Rock from the Sun we’ve gotten to be a part of his journey into being a new Hollywood player.
What sells 500 Days of Summer as a quirky romance-drama-comedy is the fact that together the cast and Marc Webb are able to take on every tonal shift throughout the film without missing a beat, making each of them feel as real and genuine as the what comes before and after them. While I feel this film firmly has it’s tonal feet planted in reality, I would have to say that my favorite scene is the one that follows the first time Tom spends the night with Summer. If you haven’t seen the film the scene involves a blissful Tom walking through the city, getting cheered on by the reflection of Han Solo, cartoon birds landing on his shoulder and a full on musical/dance sequence in the park. This doesn’t seem possible when I’ve described the film as being planted in reality does it? You’re going to have to trust me on this one, as Gordon-Levitt & Webb have found the core of Tom’s character the scene works because it’s a world that Tom has created around him, and it’s the reason he falls so hard.
My Netflix queue is filling up as we speak with more of Gordon-Levitt’s films, so be prepared for what’s to come. I am fascinated with Gordon-Levitt and if the last few films of his are any indication of his body of work, there are going to be more positive reviews in the future of this blog – and he’s going to climb higher on my casting dream list.
Director: Marc Webb
Writers: Scott Neustadter & Michael Weber
Tom Hansen: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Summer Finn: Zooey Deschanel
McKenzie: Geoffrey Arend
Rachel Hansen: Chloe Moretz
Paul: Matthew Gray Gubler
Vance: Clark Gregg
Tom: What happens when you fall in love?
Summer: You believe in that?
Tom: It's love, it's not Santa Claus.
As someone that’s used a time device to tell a story let me say first that making a non-linear film is hard. Trying to find a device that the audience will understand and stil be able to create a flow and development for the characters is tough – Marc Webb does an excellent job of jumping through time with 500 Days of Summer and never losing Tom and the core of who he is. Of course, as much as this is a compliment to the screenplay and direction, kudos must also be given to Joseph Gordon-Levitt who plays Tom.
Gordon-Levitt is a new entry onto the list of actors I adore and want to work with. He’s always been hovering around that list, but I’ve rewatched a few of his films lately and they have firmly planted him on my list. Gordon-Levitt has a way about his craft that throws him in with the greats; he melts into his characters so that you can’t distinguish the acting from the actor – he becomes the character in a way that makes you as a viewer expect that’s who he is in real life, no matter if he’s playing a former whiz kid with a memory issues (The Lookout) or lovelorn Tom (500 Days of Sumemr). The bottom line is that this guy can act and luckily for those of us that have been watching him since Third Rock from the Sun we’ve gotten to be a part of his journey into being a new Hollywood player.
What sells 500 Days of Summer as a quirky romance-drama-comedy is the fact that together the cast and Marc Webb are able to take on every tonal shift throughout the film without missing a beat, making each of them feel as real and genuine as the what comes before and after them. While I feel this film firmly has it’s tonal feet planted in reality, I would have to say that my favorite scene is the one that follows the first time Tom spends the night with Summer. If you haven’t seen the film the scene involves a blissful Tom walking through the city, getting cheered on by the reflection of Han Solo, cartoon birds landing on his shoulder and a full on musical/dance sequence in the park. This doesn’t seem possible when I’ve described the film as being planted in reality does it? You’re going to have to trust me on this one, as Gordon-Levitt & Webb have found the core of Tom’s character the scene works because it’s a world that Tom has created around him, and it’s the reason he falls so hard.
My Netflix queue is filling up as we speak with more of Gordon-Levitt’s films, so be prepared for what’s to come. I am fascinated with Gordon-Levitt and if the last few films of his are any indication of his body of work, there are going to be more positive reviews in the future of this blog – and he’s going to climb higher on my casting dream list.
Director: Marc Webb
Writers: Scott Neustadter & Michael Weber
Tom Hansen: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Summer Finn: Zooey Deschanel
McKenzie: Geoffrey Arend
Rachel Hansen: Chloe Moretz
Paul: Matthew Gray Gubler
Vance: Clark Gregg
Tom: What happens when you fall in love?
Summer: You believe in that?
Tom: It's love, it's not Santa Claus.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
I know True Blood is only two seasons along, but I have to say I am already interested to see where they might end. As faithful yet different to the books as season one was, season two ups the ante on adaptations and I have a feeling season three will do even more.
Season two of this HBO series deals with Sookie & Bill being called into Dallas to help Eric uncover what has happened to a vampire sheriff even older and stronger than he, and back in Bon Temps people are again being mysteriously murdered and the people of Bon Temps are caught up in the throes of hormones and their inhibitions have supernaturally disappeared. On the surface this is pretty similar to the book – at least the Dallas part of the scenario – but where the series manages to deviate, and improve upon the books is the series of events in Bon Temps.
First and foremost I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that Alan Ball chose to keep Lafayette around. In the books he’s the first victim in Living Dead in Dallas; Lafayette was an interesting character in Dead Until Dark (the only Sookie Stackhouse book he appeared in) but in True Blood Lafayette is downright fascinating. Alan Ball has a knack for taking characters that represent the outer fringes and making them downright essential. I can also tell you that Tara is a completely different character than she is in the book series and I couldn’t be happier for it. I’ve been reading the latest Sookie book (Dead in the Family) and I keep having to remind myself that this Tara is different than the Tara in True Blood - that’s a sign of good creative juices on Ball’s part no?
In regards to plot where season two of True Blood deviates the most is the storyline with Maryann Forester. While Maryann’s character is in the book, as is her need to create and feed off of debauchery I have to give one more point to Ball here. While the storyline in Living Dead in Dallas is entertaining the whole Bon Temps storyline kind of lost me – especially how Maryann eventually left Bon Temps.
For the series Maryann is a god-like creature who arrives in the happy town and decides to latch onto Tara, and instead of feeding off the debauchery already present in the town she creates it in order to facilitate the rituals she needs. Only Sookie and Sam sense something different and dangerous about Maryann and neither can do anything about her alone.
Perhaps the single coolest thing for me as an avid reader of the Sookie Stackhouse series is that for the first time in season two of True Blood we get to see Queen Sophie-Anne and Hadley. I won’t tell you how they become important in the series but just keep an eye out for them as you lucky people with HBO get to watch season three unfold before DVD.
Chow: How much blood do you think he's lost?
Pam: Oh, I still think he has something to offer.
Chow: I hate to let it all go to waste like this. Seems a shame we have to wait for Eric.
Pam: Well, maybe one day you'll be sheriff and you can make the rules.
Chow: I doubt that.
Pam: Me too.
Season two of this HBO series deals with Sookie & Bill being called into Dallas to help Eric uncover what has happened to a vampire sheriff even older and stronger than he, and back in Bon Temps people are again being mysteriously murdered and the people of Bon Temps are caught up in the throes of hormones and their inhibitions have supernaturally disappeared. On the surface this is pretty similar to the book – at least the Dallas part of the scenario – but where the series manages to deviate, and improve upon the books is the series of events in Bon Temps.
First and foremost I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that Alan Ball chose to keep Lafayette around. In the books he’s the first victim in Living Dead in Dallas; Lafayette was an interesting character in Dead Until Dark (the only Sookie Stackhouse book he appeared in) but in True Blood Lafayette is downright fascinating. Alan Ball has a knack for taking characters that represent the outer fringes and making them downright essential. I can also tell you that Tara is a completely different character than she is in the book series and I couldn’t be happier for it. I’ve been reading the latest Sookie book (Dead in the Family) and I keep having to remind myself that this Tara is different than the Tara in True Blood - that’s a sign of good creative juices on Ball’s part no?
In regards to plot where season two of True Blood deviates the most is the storyline with Maryann Forester. While Maryann’s character is in the book, as is her need to create and feed off of debauchery I have to give one more point to Ball here. While the storyline in Living Dead in Dallas is entertaining the whole Bon Temps storyline kind of lost me – especially how Maryann eventually left Bon Temps.
For the series Maryann is a god-like creature who arrives in the happy town and decides to latch onto Tara, and instead of feeding off the debauchery already present in the town she creates it in order to facilitate the rituals she needs. Only Sookie and Sam sense something different and dangerous about Maryann and neither can do anything about her alone.
Perhaps the single coolest thing for me as an avid reader of the Sookie Stackhouse series is that for the first time in season two of True Blood we get to see Queen Sophie-Anne and Hadley. I won’t tell you how they become important in the series but just keep an eye out for them as you lucky people with HBO get to watch season three unfold before DVD.
Chow: How much blood do you think he's lost?
Pam: Oh, I still think he has something to offer.
Chow: I hate to let it all go to waste like this. Seems a shame we have to wait for Eric.
Pam: Well, maybe one day you'll be sheriff and you can make the rules.
Chow: I doubt that.
Pam: Me too.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
gina carano
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