August Rush was an amazing movie, despite some of the credibility issues. Because the movie was so deep, it was easy to look over some of those issues (such as Julliard taking a child without calling the police and reporting him as missing or as a runaway).
It was better than I expected and brought out emotions that just made me want to cry, jump for joy, and every emotion in between. Plus, the music was amazing. It's a movie I would like to own.
(Yes, I keep saying amazing, but that's truly what the movie was. How else can I describe it?)
Music is an amazing art, however I feel a lot of people try to drain out everything around them with music instead of letting it empower them. I went to the river one morning, and before long there were a whole slew of people with their radios turned up as if we all wanted to hear their tunes. As much as I love music, sometimes it drains me. I thought of the movie and the child, who walked around the world listening to the melody of the earth and letting it empower him and his calling.
The wind whipping through the trees, the birds and their chirping, the water as it flowed down the rocks and to the other side. People's voices and intonations. Once they turned on their radio at the river, I couldn't hear or appreciate any of those sounds.
I used to fuss at my husband because we'd take the boat (when we had one) out on the lake and he always wanted the music on. "My ears ring when there's silence," he would say. My argument was "of course your ears rings, because you're always trying to have noise around you." Why not enjoy the music that nature offers? Why not let nature empower you, instead of drowning it out every chance you get? Then, when you do hear a good song, you can enjoy it that much more.
There are days when I can't write with music. I need silence. But then there are time when I can't get going without music. If you look up music in the dictionary, it calls it an art form consisting of sound and silence. Pleasing and harmonious to the ears. I love how that kid in August Rush found the music in everything he did, and once he picked up a musical instrument he was just amazing, because it came from the inside of him.
So...let's do something fun. If you are listening to music, turn it off. Listen to the sounds around you. Does it conjure up any emotions, any memories, or make you feel a certain way? Use that in your writing (or you painting, or in whatever it is you do). And tell me what you hear.
I hear the whir of the air conditioning, the soft murmur of the television in the next room, and the tap tap tapping of my keys as I'm writing. Every now and again, the computer will prattle. But as I let those noises connect with me, they seem to communicate with each other, and it makes me feel peaceful.
Showing posts with label movie reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie reviews. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
No Country for Old Men
Okay, so my blogging hiatus has taken a hiatus and I'm skipping over my tentative blogging schedule (which I haven't stuck to) to do an early movie review.
After a hard weekend of working, my hubby and I cooked dinner and sat down to relax and watch NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. I didn't expect to like this movie, but I was quickly enthralled. Twenty or so minutes before the movie ended, that enthrallment turned to disgust, anger and disappointment.
If you haven't seen the movie but want to, please stop reading. This is a spoiler.
The writers got lazy or something. Here's a tip on what not to do when writing. Don't make almost the entire movie about one particular person and the events of his life. Everything is okay and then the sheriff comes on scene and the guy is dead. DEAD! We don't see his POV, we don't see what happened. Suddenly, he's dead. Later, the same thing happens to his wife. We're pretty sure it's going to happen and she's going go die. At least we see her POV for a brief moment. Then, the killer is walking out the door, which leads us to believe she is dead.
It cuts to the sheriff. Now I'm already zoning out at this time. I'm already pretty upset. How many authors pour blood sweat and tears into their manuscripts and do everything they should do, yet still get rejected? And this movie won Oscars!!!! They skipped the most important events and just made us piece it together ourselves. Unbelievable!
Some writers think that not tidying up their story at the end will make it special. It doesn't. It makes it disappointing!!!!!
They could have done so much more with this movie. It had such potential. Yes, it was about the sheriff and the villain, but it was also about the character who found the money...Llewelyn. It's like the writers, directors and producers (the highly acclaimed Coen brothers!) thought we--the viewers--weren't important enough that we would care what happened to Llewelyn. I expected him to die. Yes, I like happy endings and get upset when it's not a happy ending, but I don't expect happy endings in the movies I watch (especially now, because it seems like there are less happy endings in movies these days). This movie made me feel cheated because it skipped over the most important events. All of a sudden, the character we have grown close to is dead. We walk up upon him and he is dead. We have been involved in his life but weren't involved in this part. It's like the writers didn't know what to do. So hey, let's kill him, show the guys getting away in a pickup truck, and then the sheriff pulls up and finds him dead.
Sigh.
If you want to know how best to make a viewer (or reader) feel cheated, watch NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
After a hard weekend of working, my hubby and I cooked dinner and sat down to relax and watch NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. I didn't expect to like this movie, but I was quickly enthralled. Twenty or so minutes before the movie ended, that enthrallment turned to disgust, anger and disappointment.
If you haven't seen the movie but want to, please stop reading. This is a spoiler.
The writers got lazy or something. Here's a tip on what not to do when writing. Don't make almost the entire movie about one particular person and the events of his life. Everything is okay and then the sheriff comes on scene and the guy is dead. DEAD! We don't see his POV, we don't see what happened. Suddenly, he's dead. Later, the same thing happens to his wife. We're pretty sure it's going to happen and she's going go die. At least we see her POV for a brief moment. Then, the killer is walking out the door, which leads us to believe she is dead.
It cuts to the sheriff. Now I'm already zoning out at this time. I'm already pretty upset. How many authors pour blood sweat and tears into their manuscripts and do everything they should do, yet still get rejected? And this movie won Oscars!!!! They skipped the most important events and just made us piece it together ourselves. Unbelievable!
Some writers think that not tidying up their story at the end will make it special. It doesn't. It makes it disappointing!!!!!
They could have done so much more with this movie. It had such potential. Yes, it was about the sheriff and the villain, but it was also about the character who found the money...Llewelyn. It's like the writers, directors and producers (the highly acclaimed Coen brothers!) thought we--the viewers--weren't important enough that we would care what happened to Llewelyn. I expected him to die. Yes, I like happy endings and get upset when it's not a happy ending, but I don't expect happy endings in the movies I watch (especially now, because it seems like there are less happy endings in movies these days). This movie made me feel cheated because it skipped over the most important events. All of a sudden, the character we have grown close to is dead. We walk up upon him and he is dead. We have been involved in his life but weren't involved in this part. It's like the writers didn't know what to do. So hey, let's kill him, show the guys getting away in a pickup truck, and then the sheriff pulls up and finds him dead.
Sigh.
If you want to know how best to make a viewer (or reader) feel cheated, watch NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Keep Moving Forward
I love movies, but rarely blog about them. I could blog movie reviews all day long and tell you what I liked and disliked about them, but the movie I watched last night deserves commenting on.
I had just come home from my aunt and uncle's, where I spent the weekend. Hubby and I decided to relax with a movie and a pizza, because it had been an eventful and tiring weekend. We watched Meet the Robinsons.
The movie had its good moments and it's "let's get this on with it" moments, but the overall theme of the movie is what touched me. Lately, I've been in a bad place mentally. Writing can be such a stressful and lonely occupation. Challenging. Frustrating. Demanding. Add in an exhausting full time job, and you have days when you just want to give up. It's easy to follow your negative stream of consciousness when self-doubt reins stronger than the joy of writing.
My aunt must have known the frustration I was feeling, because she said something I know, but something I needed to hear from someone who loves me for me (besides my husband...because sometimes, well, I think he's just trying to make me feel better). "Not many people get to realize their dreams," she said. "You have, and you should be proud of that." Other things were said about my job, but you get the point.
Back to the movie, Meet the Robinsons...about a kid who is ready to give up on his dreams until he sees the future he'll have if he "Keeps Moving Forward" (the mantra of the movie). Of course, he has the opportunity to fix the bad things that happen and everything ends up happily ever after.
We don't have the opportunity to see our future, but can you see how many opportunities we have to throw our future away? What if the next rejection kills my hopes and I never pick up a pen again? What if I let my job stress overwhelm me so much that I decide writing isn't a future I am able to pursue?
What if J.K. Rowling stopped at her third Harry Potter book?
If you give up your dreams, you give up a part of yourself. Sure, you'll have a different future, but think of the future Lewis would have had in Meet The Robinsons as opposed to the one he did have, because he KEPT MOVING FORWARD!
I believe that God sometimes uses people and things to tell us something, and while part of me wonders why He would support my dream of writing romantic suspense (I'm not out saving the world), the other part of me realizes the good that can come of it. I grew up reading romance, and each book I've read, each author, has touched me deeply, though I never knew and probably will never know them personally. My mom, who would have been the biggest support post of all, is no longer here to pursue her dreams, but I know she would offer wisdom if she could. So with that in mind, I'm ready to KEEP MOVING FORWARD!
On another note...I wanted to wish our veterans a HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY. I wish I could personally thank each and every one of them for what they've done for our country.
Recently, I did some research on the Vietnam War. I just completed a novella targeting the Vietnam era (patiently waiting to hear back from my publisher) and how it affected the relationship between a man and a woman, and I bought a couple of books from true Vietnam vets who spoke of their experiences. While all war is catastrophic and changes the lives of many, I learned how Vietnam was different. Those men went to a foreign country with little training and came back after a year with little to no support. They didn't have a fanfare waiting for them, and sometimes their families didn't even recognize them. They were supposed to get a job or go back to work with no debriefing when they returned home. It was hard to know who their enemy was, even after they returned home.
Many of them experienced outbursts of rage and still have nightmares to this day. They were trained to kill, dehumanize, and hate, then come back home and return to a normal life.
What is normal? To them, everything had changed and they'd miss out on what should have been the most important part of their life. Many of them right out of high school and most of them young, they saw more death and destruction than most people could possibly imagine, and many of them never came home. Most people gave up believing in the war and many didn't believe in or support the soldiers anymore.
No matter how you feel about war, if you know a Vet, or anyone who is in the military, give them a hug and shout out your appreciation. We all know what they do isn't easy, but I hope they know how much we love and appreciate them.
I had just come home from my aunt and uncle's, where I spent the weekend. Hubby and I decided to relax with a movie and a pizza, because it had been an eventful and tiring weekend. We watched Meet the Robinsons.
The movie had its good moments and it's "let's get this on with it" moments, but the overall theme of the movie is what touched me. Lately, I've been in a bad place mentally. Writing can be such a stressful and lonely occupation. Challenging. Frustrating. Demanding. Add in an exhausting full time job, and you have days when you just want to give up. It's easy to follow your negative stream of consciousness when self-doubt reins stronger than the joy of writing.
My aunt must have known the frustration I was feeling, because she said something I know, but something I needed to hear from someone who loves me for me (besides my husband...because sometimes, well, I think he's just trying to make me feel better). "Not many people get to realize their dreams," she said. "You have, and you should be proud of that." Other things were said about my job, but you get the point.
Back to the movie, Meet the Robinsons...about a kid who is ready to give up on his dreams until he sees the future he'll have if he "Keeps Moving Forward" (the mantra of the movie). Of course, he has the opportunity to fix the bad things that happen and everything ends up happily ever after.
We don't have the opportunity to see our future, but can you see how many opportunities we have to throw our future away? What if the next rejection kills my hopes and I never pick up a pen again? What if I let my job stress overwhelm me so much that I decide writing isn't a future I am able to pursue?
What if J.K. Rowling stopped at her third Harry Potter book?
If you give up your dreams, you give up a part of yourself. Sure, you'll have a different future, but think of the future Lewis would have had in Meet The Robinsons as opposed to the one he did have, because he KEPT MOVING FORWARD!
I believe that God sometimes uses people and things to tell us something, and while part of me wonders why He would support my dream of writing romantic suspense (I'm not out saving the world), the other part of me realizes the good that can come of it. I grew up reading romance, and each book I've read, each author, has touched me deeply, though I never knew and probably will never know them personally. My mom, who would have been the biggest support post of all, is no longer here to pursue her dreams, but I know she would offer wisdom if she could. So with that in mind, I'm ready to KEEP MOVING FORWARD!
On another note...I wanted to wish our veterans a HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY. I wish I could personally thank each and every one of them for what they've done for our country.
Recently, I did some research on the Vietnam War. I just completed a novella targeting the Vietnam era (patiently waiting to hear back from my publisher) and how it affected the relationship between a man and a woman, and I bought a couple of books from true Vietnam vets who spoke of their experiences. While all war is catastrophic and changes the lives of many, I learned how Vietnam was different. Those men went to a foreign country with little training and came back after a year with little to no support. They didn't have a fanfare waiting for them, and sometimes their families didn't even recognize them. They were supposed to get a job or go back to work with no debriefing when they returned home. It was hard to know who their enemy was, even after they returned home.
Many of them experienced outbursts of rage and still have nightmares to this day. They were trained to kill, dehumanize, and hate, then come back home and return to a normal life.
What is normal? To them, everything had changed and they'd miss out on what should have been the most important part of their life. Many of them right out of high school and most of them young, they saw more death and destruction than most people could possibly imagine, and many of them never came home. Most people gave up believing in the war and many didn't believe in or support the soldiers anymore.
No matter how you feel about war, if you know a Vet, or anyone who is in the military, give them a hug and shout out your appreciation. We all know what they do isn't easy, but I hope they know how much we love and appreciate them.
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