pariba_tourmaline Blog

I'm female and I liked the Gobots growing up...just to put things into perspective.

My expectations were set way, way low for this movie.  In fact, I almost didn't go see it, but one of my friends had an extra ticket so I grabbed my refillable popcorn bucket and met him there.

My only expectation was, "lots of blowing up stuff."  What I got was a pretty good movie with lots of blowing up stuff.  I found myself being able to tolerate the cheese and cliche jokes thanks to enjoyable performances by Shia LaBeouf and Josh Duhamel (a minor character who I really enjoyed...especially the scene where he says "I'll count to three.")  

My only complaint with this movie is that like many of Michael Bay's other projects, there were about three different types of movies all mashed together to make one big movie.  The first part of the movie was a "teen movie" through and through complete with hot-jock.  The middle half of the movie was hacker explorer movie ala National Treasure...complete with Jon Voight, with the whole thing bookeneded by a futuristic war movie with lots of blowing up of stuff.

I'll have to go back and check this, but one plot flaw I found was once the Autobots have the coordinates of the All Spark (cube) and Megatron we discover that they've been moved since those coordinates were revealed.  So HOW the Autobots were able to meet up with Sam (Shia's character) is anyone's guess.

All the flaws aside, I thought there was the right mix of humor and action but probably could have had a little more robot throw-down.  I didn't quite understand the way in which the All Spark finally was dealt with...but hey I watched the Gobots.

All in all, I liked it a lot better than this year's Spider-Man and maybe just a skosh more than Pirates at World's End.  It was excellent escape-ism big budget blockbuster blowout fun.  One thing I will say, if you're going to see it, I recommend doing so on the big screen.  Don't wait for DVD unless you have your own theatre.  This one was made for the big screen.

I haven’t talked to my comic book, nerdy friends yet and I’m interested to hear what they thought, but for now, I’ll just talk about what I thought.  This third installment of the Spider-Man movies has been highly anticipated in my circle of friends.  So, let me start with what I liked about the movie: 

What I liked about Spider-Man 3

-I really enjoyed the special effects.  Not so much the Sandman, because most of that was CGI, but the Harry/Peter fight in the beginning was quality and the final fight scene was exceptional.  Venom’s special effects were also excellent.

-For the ladies: Tobey, James and Topher, each in their own special way, provided great eye-candy throughout the movie. 

-For the Men: Kirsten and Bryce weren’t short of eye candy either.

-Symbiotes apparently turn you Emo

-Characters were played rather well, but a few transitions between character shifts were somewhat, not totally, but somewhat forced.  Topher was probably the most believable in his character development, the scene with Eddy in the church was powerfully played.  Another nod goes to everyone in the Jazz club scene; very well played I was emotionally connected to the characters right then.

-Cinematography was really good.  As was costume and set design. 

 
Now for the things I didn’t like. 

-For me, this one felt very Matrix 2 and 3.   In that, “let’s blow the special effects out of the water and not spend any time on the script.”  Don’t get me wrong, I love special effects, but I believe they need to be balanced with not just a good story, but a well crafted one.

-There were too many subplots.  No plot holes, but too many subplots.  It wasn’t hard to follow but there were enough stories that could have been developed to make a whole other movie.  In effect, they set themselves up for this in the first Spider-Man by jumping right to MaryJane.  In the comics, Peter Parker meets Gwen first and MaryJane doesn’t enter the picture until after Peter fails to save Gwen.  But with having so many subplots it was really, really hard to connect emotionally to the characters – there were times yes – but these times were far fewer than the first and second Spider-Man films.

-Not enough screen time with Venom.  Period.  I realize the Topher spent a lot of time in the makeup chair for this part, but there needed to be a lot more Venom. 

-I hated the ending.  The events of what happened didn’t entirely bother me – one of them really surprised me – but didn’t bother me.  What I hated was that I felt like the ending was SO rushed.  I’m really tired of Hollywood movie makers looking at their watches in the cutting room and going, “Hey, shit!  We’ve got to end this!”  I equally dislike endings that are wrapped up so tightly that everyone walks away with a smile; especially because THE BUTLER plays the role of the deus ex machina.  I absolutely hate scriptwriting that defaults to this cliché.  We’ve come a long, long way from Greek comedies and there are better conventions to explore. 

-While I hear the Studio is in talks for three more movies, I’m not hopeful for a forth.  Even if they make a forth, I’m not hopeful.

Maybe my comic book, nerdy friends will be able to sell me on this movie another time, but for now, Spider-Man three fell flat in comparison to the bar and expectations set. 

For now, I give it 4 stars.  People will like it, I enjoyed it.  But, there were flaws. 

Growing up, I LOVED the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).  Every morning before school my younger brother and I would lay on the kitchen counter (yes, that's right lay) and watch the classic 80s cartoon.  I specifically remember trying to win tickets to the Coming Out of Their Shells concert tour.  I was 6, maybe 7 at the time.  

I will never forget in 1990, when I was 9 years old, going to see the very first TMNT live-action move with my brother and my 18 year old cousin.  My eyes were wide and my jaw dropped on that first wide angle shot of  NYC. 

Jim Henson's creature shop was at the forefront of puppet-tronics as they built the green suits actors and stunt men like Ernie Rays Jr. (Donatello) would wear to bring the turtles to life.  And classic voices like Robbie Rist, Brian Tochi (Revenge of the Nerds), and Corey Feldman (Goonies) - there was so much to love.  In short, my nostalgia runs very deep.

The new TMNT is nothing like that.  I have very mixed feelings about it.  Don't get me wrong, I'll buy it - and the soundtrack too...but mixed feelings nonetheless. 

I saw the Midnight showing with my brother.  Naturally.  As many other reviews have been keen to point out - the graphics and animation detail were on par with Pixar or Dreamworks.  Hong Kong Based IMAGI did an amazing job of backlighting a grim nighttime NYC.  It was visually stunning and much darker - closer to the Turtle's roots. 

 Everything was what I expected, except for one thing:  the plot.

Don't expect to see Shredder; something I am thankful for.  Shredder is long gone and without the arch enemy, the movie lends it self to many other plot lines including the ever strong brother rivalry between Raphael and Leonardo.  I was really glad to see Raph and Leo FIGHT (and I mean fight) like the Ninja they're trained to be.  Would I be admitting I'm really a nerd if I said I might have gotten a little choked up when the climax of the fight is over and Leo's Katanas are shattered?  (I'm still wondering if Raph really over powered Leo, or if Leo let him...)

Everything else in the plot, however, falls short.  The opening scene was HORRIBLE plot-wise.  Laurence Fishburn does the v-o and I kept thinking Morpheous.  I half expected to hear Keanu Reeves next.  In a script writing class, I learned that if there is another way to do expository information than by doing a voice over - you should avoid the voice over like the plague.   I would have rather the movie started off with some action scene - like starting with the scene of Leonardo in South America or something not yet written would have been far better.  Kevin Munroe should have spent less time trying to explain his villains and more time getting to the point.  You don't need a lot of back story with superhero movies.  Maybe by doing what Spiderman 2 (and probably number 3) did and have the re-cap of the previous illustrated within the credits LIKE a comic would apply here too... but really I could have come up with something more effective.

 Will kids love it.  Yes.  Will 20 something Turtles fans enjoy it?  More than likely.  But could the plot have been stronger and could the screen play I wrote in 1995 and 1996 for a 4th Ninja Turtles film been more what fans might have been expecting - yes.

***SPOILER***

There will be a sequel.  Kevin no doubt left room for that.  So is it time for me to start dusting off that script and beating down the door at Mirage Studio to try and sell my screenplay?  I think it is.   ;)

I'll go on record right now and just admit it, I'm an undercover nerd.  When I was little, I collected comic books, I still watch Saturday morning cartoons, and the most over used channel on my remote is Cartoon Network.  So you can imagine that I might have a soft spot for Superhero films. 

I recently came in contact with the Spiderman 3 trailer; the movie is due out summer 2007.  I watched it through speechless twice, then went back and did the pause/play dance on every third cut.  You know, to see what places they might have come in the story line—don’t laugh, I know you do it too.

If you read Julie’s Spoutblog about Vampires, and you agree, then you might fall into the category of women who find men in spandex strangely sexy as well.  The black spider suit that Toby Maguire dons is very enticing, but so is the action!

I’m eagerly awaiting this special effects bonanza, I won’t lie.  I know, it’s blockbuster and I’m loosing my street cred with the indie crowd by this confession, but COME ON – it’s Spider Man!  Throw me some slack. 

Last week I went to the Compass Arts Film Lecture Series (http://compassacademy.org/lecture_series.htm) and Spout seems as good a place as any to discuss my reactions.  (Also, if any of you happened to attend, give me a shout!)

The series reinforced my belief that in order for anyone to reach success (not withstanding luck) a person must be ready and plan for their success.  Rik Swatzwelder illustrated how true this was in his lecture that talked about film festivals.

He asked, “Lets say you not only get a short film accepted but someone looking for a full length project to fund comes up to you and says, ‘hey great short, what else you got?’ you’d better have something to tell him/her or it is a waste of an opportunity—if you can have a screen play ready, that’s even better.”

How many people actually look at the whole progression of things and plan that far out in advance?  I’d gather not too many, or it wouldn’t need to be said.  This is a realization that shocks me, because I have this skill imbedded at the core of me.  I’m always planning for the what-ifs.  That’s why I pack 7 pair of underwear for a three day trip.  You never know when you might fall into a lake and need to change into dry clothes. 

The point is, before we venture out and begin to sell the world on the art we create, we need to know why we’re creating it—and keep our ultimate goals in mind. 

Bill McKendry, discussed marketing a film, and essentially how the Hollywood model is greatly flawed, illustrating that getting your art out there isn’t always rocket science, it’s about being smart, thinking and planning ahead—tying everything together—and keeping your end goal in mind.  It isn’t about hitting people over the head with your art and hoping they love it rather than sue you for the gash in their forehead.

The one thing that was exciting to me is Bill brought up myspace and youtube…and suggested that something along those lines might be just the answer that Hollywood needs.  I think we can all agree, though still Beta—it already exists—and its name is Spout. 

(after some small edits)

My experiences with the Spout.com event at UICA deeply effected my reaction to the film—allow me to put the event in context.

I am not one who enjoys going to movies alone.  I enjoy watching movies on my couch alone, but the act of driving in my car and venturing out to go see a movie is an experience I would rather share with someone.  That being said, this particular night my ‘entourage’ all seemed to be tied up doing other less than movie viewing things.  So, not wanting to waste a perfectly good opportunity to meet new people and see just how much ‘chops’ this Spout.com has I decided to brave it alone.

You can find that somewhere else online.  I do feel the need to express how greatly I enjoyed this film—because like the film I’ve been through the deeply emotional undertaking of losing a loved one.  Not only that, but I too am on a quest (of sorts) to find the answers to what makes relationships successful.

What I found in this movie, as an audience member, is my deep curiosity in knowing more about the inter workings of the deceased’s mind.  Perhaps this is a type of voyeurism, but given my generations fascination with writing (and reading) blogs (oh the irony!) my desire to pry (along with Doug) into the thousands of pages of diary material seemed rather natural.  I wonder if it made some of the older members of the audience uncomfortable—but I doubt very much anyone under the age of thirty took issue with this.

 
I also took joy in the ‘character’s’ ability to be real on camera.  I found Doug’s father’s constant desire to give away things not only humorous but one of his qualities that, for me,  made him human.  All of my grandparents did this especially my maternal grandparents.  I tend to believe that when a person reaches an age over seventy he or she finds usefulness in giving away things for which they longer have use.  My maternal grandfather was always giving away fuel injection cleaner and my maternal grandmother was always giving away clothing I didn’t really want or need.  Unlike Doug, I never said no to either because I didn’t have the heart.

 
When my grandmother died, I asked a hundred thousand questions about her life.  She was never one to talk about her childhood to us grandkids.  She was very practical and her past was over and done with and there was no sense in talking about it—very much like Doug’s father. 

 
Only after she died did I learn about many family secrets—secrets about relationships, secrets about growing up in The Depression, secrets that put an entirely different spin on how I viewed relationships and life in general.—and now, going forward, give new light and perspective to my life and how I should live it.

What 51 Birch street reaffirmed for me is that these types of things happen in every family—just because they’re seemingly bad secrets doesn’t mean that knowing them is somehow in poor taste—having the opportunity to discuss them allows for relationships among the still living to further build and allows for peace and closure with those who are gone.

For me, I understand my own family unit a little clearer.  I understand a great deal more of why I argue with my mom and why I get along so much better with my dad.  I understand why some of my past relationships failed, and going forward, what I need to think about when entering into a new one.

I found the experience of living through a similar experience as 51 Birch Street and then watching similarities to my own life unfold on screen strangely empowering.  I highly recommend this movie to anyone who has ever dealt with family (that’s everyone.)

On a purely technical note—the numerous projector mishaps and film interruptions did not bother met in the slightest—if anything they served to reaffirm that my audience cohorts were feeling the same deep connection as I was—and they too were unwilling to leave until the finale was reviled.      

# Re: 51 Birch Street @ Tuesday, October 03, 2006 11:33 AM

Personally, I think any family secret worth keeping is probably one that has effected me my whole life, like an unidentified chronic illness. To me 51 Birch Street dismantles the notion that keeping something secret is somehow protecting the people you love. It was, in fact, after Doug learned the ugly truth, he found a more intimate connection with his parents. Doug's advice to start recording your family before they're gone has really stuck with me. However, when I consider how prickly my family is with their secrets, I'll admit I'm intimidated. [Remove this Comment]

paul

# Re: 51 Birch Street @ Wednesday, October 04, 2006 12:00 AM

Thanks for sharing your reactions to my film, Pariba (is that your name?).  Your post, and Paul's comment, has made me realize that the "family secrets" aspect of the film is maybe even more powerful than I thought. [Remove this Comment]

DougBlock