Fuck you: The Spazcam and Peter Berg

There is no bigger pet peeve of mine in movies than the spaz cam shaky effect. Ya know, when the result you get when the director has decided to tether the camera to a dog who suffers from chronic epilepsy. I don't mind it so much when it's integral to the story (Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project) but I abso-fucking-lutely go on a rampage when it's used just cause the director thinks it's edgy and meant to translate the intensity of the moment. I don't even know why they do that. Steadicam that shit up!

Peter Berg, I'm talking to you.

You're one of the biggest offenders here. Whatever appeal Hancock had was destroyed when I couldn't look at Jason Bateman without the camera spazzing out every two seconds. Twitchy McGee wants you to quit that bull pronto. Now I'm trying to watch the pilot of Friday Night Lights and what do I see? Spazzy cam action. And whose name do I see credited as director? Oh my fucking god. The only reason I caught it even though the camera was whizzing this way round was cause of the print.

Get thee to a tripod, stat!

Review: The Dark Knight

In what was perhaps one of my bigger asshole moments, I wrote snidely on a friend's Facebook wall that when it came to The Dark Knight, "-spoiler alert- Batman will win in the end". I wrote that remark approximately a week ago from when TDK premiered on the 16th of July. At that point I was completely and absolutely tired with everything Batman related.;the jokerized everything on ONTD, the never ending viral marketing, the discussion regarding Heath Ledger's unfortunate death and how that may or may not be affected by his portrayal of the Joker, the obnoxious fan parade - like I mentioned before, all that insane hype and build up was ironically detracting from the movie's appeal. At that point I just wanted to get it over and done with so the madness would stop.

Perhaps a little backstory is necessary. I have never been a fan of Batman. This is rather ironic given that of all the Marvel/DC superheroes, I am most familiar with the history of Batman, ie his various incarnations in popular culture and how it's shifted over mediums and time. But really, to me, Batman is effectively a rich guy with too much money to spend and an overwhelming sense of self-importance. Blah blah blah, "but Karen he's so honorable cause he's like avenging the death of his parents!", I can hear the fanboys cry out. Well, there is honour in being a lawyer too is all I have to say. But then I suppose the story of a super lawyer would be better fitted to a John Grisham novel than a comic book. Anyway to reiterate, me no likey Batman. Not very much at all.

Alright, so we fast forward to Monday, 14th July 2008 and suddenly I'm realizing that my feelings about Batman isn't integral to my movie-watching experience. The fact that the entire cast reads like a modern wish list of the greatest cinema geek was more than enough reason to get my arse to the cinemas and watch The Dark Knight. Besides, it was Christopher Nolan's film. There could be nothing short of epicness when that name is attached to a project. So on Thursday morning of the 17th of July, my movie watching bud and I took the day off work and went down to our local cinema to catch the 10.30 am screening. Seems a bit over the top, but mind you, that cinema hall was half-packed.

So what is my opinion of the film now that I've watched it? Well for starters, it is very, very good. It is also very dark and violent as NY Mag is so quick to point out. But it is a necessary darkness that Nolan delves into for within it then only can I finally understand the appeal behind Batman and why the Dark Knight has endured the superficial misgivings I have been so quick to label him with. The Dark Knight is essentially a philosophical study in where the lines are drawn in morality, corruptibility and ethics. Batman as we know, represents the paragon of goodness that the Joker doesn't. Heath Ledger plays the Joker without any of the camp aesthetic Jack Nicholson brought to the role, thus making his villain a very scary one - anarchistic and evil, yet very clever. It lends credence to Batman, gives his villain-fighting a greater sense and purpose that goes far beyond the excuse of avenging his parents.

But I'm getting a head of myself. We were talking about morality, corruptibility and ethics. There is no better character study of said issues than in the character of Harvey Dent (played by the woefully overlooked Aaron Eckhart in the wake of the Ledger posthumous-praise). Dent starts out as one of the few good guys in Gotham city, working hard as District Attorney to clean up the streets of Gotham City. He and Batman are essentially the same person but on two sides of a coin. Dent is a city hero, catching the crooks, showing himself to be incorruptible when dealing with criminals, wanting the affections of Rachel Dawes. The people love and adore him giving him the title of 'the White Knight of Gotham'. Batman on the other hand, shares many similarities but is on the flip side. Labeled a vigilante, an outcast, he is the Dark Knight - as the title indicates. In an alternate universe, Wayne probably would have ended up the same route as Dent, fighting injustice through reasonable means - being a lawyer. Watching the turn both men takes as the movie progresses is absolutely riveting. It certainly teaches us that chance and choice begets very different results.

As mentioned before, the cast is phenomenal. Each individual by themselves are terrific performers, but together they band together to create a story so moving, so absorbing, that for 2 and a half hours, there is no other reality than what you observe on screen. A lot has been said and written about Ledger's Joker and I don't feel the need to add to that. Heath Ledger's death was very tragic, and the fact that his last role was so disturbing will probably fan the fire of conspiracy theorists for a long time. All I have to say is, of course he was fantastic. Has Brokeback Mountain taught you nothing?! Let's not forget the rest of the cast though. Christian Bale is brilliant at switching between the gravitas needed for the role of the Caped Crusader and the frivolous playboy alter ego Bruce Wayne. Aaron Eckhart's descent into madness and into Two-Face was approached with great subtlety and nuance. But I clap the hardest for Gary Oldman's Lt./Commissioner James 'Jim' Gordon. It's a hard task playing the straightest of straight guys, but Oldman imbues his character with the commitment and strong will that is needed to believe that he believes in good and will never be persuaded by the dark side. The final act in particular and Jim Gordon's speech enforces my new appreciation of Batman.

So yeah, I was a massive wanker for taking such a condescending tone with Batman in that early Facebook wall post I left. And I have since apologize to said friend for being an asshole. Because the truth is, Batman's 'win', if you want to call it that wasn't as cut and dry as I made it out to be. This is no Spiderman 2. Under Christopher Nolan's direction, every success came with a heavy loss. It adds unparalleled depth to the case for Batman and in this light do I finally accept his 'superhero' status. It is only in The Dark Knight that Bruce Wayne's life choices has finally earned him the title of superhero in my books.

Loving these links: Lists and heinous evil people.

We're halfway into 2008 and film sites and blogs have started listing out the best films of the year so far. Via ONTD, Movie City News makes me feel bad for bludging and missing out on catching Paranoid Park when it was screening. At least we're on the same side of the fence when it comes to Indy #4: Let's See How Much Fanboys Will Eat This Up.

And on the Film Experience Blog, Nathaniel R has attempted some subjectivity when weighing in on the film version of Sex and the City and how it rates against the other films that have come out thus far. With news of a big-screen version of Friends in the works, you have to wonder where movie producers will draw the line when using abusing nostalgia to springboard film ideas. Oh wait, they're making motherfucking Thor, who as a non-active comic book reader, rates about a negative 700 on the interesting scale level. In Internet speak, "OIC", just about correctly sums up my feelings.

---

And just when you think that co-worker or neighbour of yours is the most evil person since Josef Fritzel (how's that for an updated analogy), read about how some fuckwit has stolen the gravestone of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division here. All he or she needs to do now is to put it up for sale on eBay to deservedly receive the title of 'Bastard of the Year'.

And proving that Joe Simpson, father to the two Simpson girls, is the biggest skeeze in overbearing celebrity parents, even more so than Dina Lohan who's currently hawking out her youngest daughter on a television program or even Jelena Dokic and her angry, angry father, here's what he had to say when news reached him that Jessica had topped the poll of 'Best Breasts in Hollywood':

"She's got double-Ds! You can't cover those suckers up."

There's supportive and then there's prime-example-of-why-people-shouldn't-have-kids! Guess which side of the line Joe Simpson falls on?

These people prove that in choosing to put my faith in humanity, I have shot myself in the foot, the ass, the brain and oh god, why couldn't I have been religious instead?? In other words, I have absolutely fucked myself over.

---

Finally, Entertainment Weekly has released their list of Top 25 Funniest People in America. For the most part, I think most of the people on that list deserves to be there, perhaps not in the order EW has cast them in, but then again comedy is such a subjective topic. While broad gags brings the funny for some, others might prefer the awkward, situational kind.

With regards to their commentary on number one, 'Can you even remember what movie comedy looked like before [I'll leave you unspoiled] came along last summer?', my answer is, "Yes, I can. They were called the Frat Pack. And before that, they went by the name Farrelly Brothers but if you want to be super old school, comedy went (and still goes) by the name Mel Brooks." Suffice to say that I'm not entirely happy with who EW has picked for number one. But it's pointless to debate it. I'll make my own damn list, thank you very much.

Pretty =/= Talent: The Keanu Reeves/Steve Buscemi Scale

In a new feature here at Pop Culture Geekery, we will be applying simple mathematics and analyzing the unfortunate event where a pretty actor/actress does not deliver on the performance front. Simply put, prettiness does not equal talent.

Using my bitchass MS Paint skills, I have drawn up a graph that is both easy to read and will tell you everything you need to know about this theory;



Comprende?

This segment will rate and chronicle other actors/actresses who walk the thin line between pretty and talent.

Links Almighty!: Pixar, Grindhouse, Kanye and other shenanigans

Kanye West, he of the talent and the whine, goes crazy on the capslock action to show that he is MAD AS HALE. Something about coming on stage two hours late at the Bonnarroo music festival and being met by an angry crowd is what's gotten his goat this time around.

But this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I've ever had in my life. This is the most offended I've ever been... this is the maddest I ever will be. I'm typing so fucking hard I might break my fucking Mac book Air!!!!!!!!

I believe the Internet called and the netizens of the world has this to say, "Call the WAHHHHHHHHHmbulance, son." Nice product placement there, by the way. Nobody likes a delayed performance, but sometimes a simple explanation and a 'sorry' will suffice. That being mocked, it's hard to hate on Kanye when he so obviously has so much passion for his work and craft.

Call me any name you want.... arrogant, conceited, narcissistic, racist, metro, fag whatever you can think of.... BUT NEVER SAY I DIDN'T GIVE MY ALL! NEVER SAY I DIDN'T GIVE MY ALL!

Even if his passion does sometimes translates to excessive whine and the abuse of the caps lock button. Read the whole ranty whine/explanation here. Beware, your eyes might bleed halfway through it.
---

The Film Experience blog carries on the Vanity Fair retrospective with a look at the annual VF Hollywood cover of 2000 and 2001.


This is 2000. From left to right: Penelope Cruz, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Marley Shelton, Chris Klein, Selma Blair, Paul Walker (looking mighty out of place with that grin), Jordana Brewster and Sarah Wynter (way to jump the gun there, VF). Read the retrospective here.



And in 2001, from left to right: Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Vanessa Redgrave, Chloe Sevigny, Sophia Loren, and Penelope Cruz. Read about it here.

---
Via ONTD, read about Coldplay in the latest issue of Spin magazine. Make of their music what you will, but Chris Martin's stint as a self-obsessed rock star on the BBC Extras, and such quotes like this,

"Politicians must be so happy about how crazily over-the-top celebrity society is at the moment, because it means that they can get away with murder. Literally, murder. Because everyone's following around a 26-year-old girl and obsessing about her life instead of what's really going on in the world."

leads me to think him a very likable man. Here be the article, click it and read.

---

With the upcoming release of Wall-E, which by the way, has scored an insanely high 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes thus far, the A.V. Club has written out a really illuminating article on the history of Pixar -from it's creation to explore the use of computers to produce moving graphics to becoming the industry behemoth movie-going audiences have come to associate with good quality animated films. (We do not speak of Cars) A.V. Club has also chronicled all the little shorts Pixar have included pre-movies and added the YouTube video for your viewing pleasure. Even if animated movies aren't your cup of tea, it's hard to deny the talent and appeal behind the Pixar works.

---

And Melbourners/-nites(?)/people of Melbourne(??), take note. If you've heard about the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse, you'd probably also know that owing to it being a flop in the States, the entire movie got cut and dissected into two separate features, Planet Terror and Death Proof everywhere else in the world. As gimmicky as Grindhouse might have sounded, it was an unfortunate incident that it had to be destroyed like so. The presentation of it - the hackneyed film roll and the fake movie trailers especially created to fill the gaps between the movies were part of the initial charm.

Thankfully, The Astor Theatre at St Kilda will be screening Grindhouse, as originally concocted, all next week (from 29 June to 5 July). It'll be screening every night at 7.30 pm with additional matinée screenings at 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Directions to the theatre cab be found here. So now, you have absolutely no excuse to miss it. Bring on the shlocky gore and sex appeal, I say!

The Summer of My Discontent: Music Edition

With the dismal state of movie affairs, I was afraid the disappointment would carry over to the music scene so I had been putting off purchasing Weezer's and Coldplay's latest album. After getting over my paranoia I got my ass to JB Hi-Fi and made the purchases. The verdict?

I am happy to report that I am fully contented on the music front!

Coldplay has reinvented their sound and whether the change can be attributed to Brian Eno's involvement, personal growth, or the need to silence the comparisons between them and Snow Patrol, Viva La Vida is different from their usual fare. I've always said that Coldplay has progressively been growing style-wise, especially if you compare the dreamy sounds of Parachute with the rousing stadium rock of X&Y.

But I can't crow to much about Viva La Vida. I have to admit that thus far, I've only heard the entire CD once. Not because it's unimpressive, because it is, but my attention has been diverted elsewhere. Namely, The Red Album.

This is without a doubt, Weezer's comeback album. The Red Album is, in a word, glorious. I am aware that I might actually just be overcompensating and overprojecting enthusiasm here after the utter disappointment that was the-album-we-do-not-speak-of, but Red sounds great. I believe Austin Powers would describe the band as, "getting [their] mojo back".


Weezer over the years.
Weezer got off the drugs they sang about in Make Belive and are back to form. Yes, I went there. If there's anything good about that abomination, is 'Perfect Situation', 'The Other Way' and making lame jokes about the rest. Weezer, you are pardoned. What can I say? Lame albums breeds lameness. That's just how it works. For another example of that rule in action, observe the utter lameness that is Scott Stapp and his band, Creed. Not the same but I'm sure you get my point.

---
A.V. Club recently featured the best tracks thus far of 2008. Read the article here. Going through it made me realize how out of loop I am with the current music scene. Out of the 27 tracks, I have only heard 3. And two of the songs don't count because I only heard them after buying the albums mentioned above.

Somehow without listening to the radio and little access to new music, I caught onto the MGMT bandwagon. While 'Time to Pretend' is good, 'Indie Rockers' and 'Boogie Down' have been on constant repeat on my iTunes. If my iTunes could speak, it'd probably scream, "KAREN, GET NEW MATERIAL ALREADY. AND STOP PLAYING MARIAH CAREY TOO."

All this talk of new music got me wondering. How do people go about picking up new tunes? Is it from the radio, forums, the Internet or if you want to be super old school, magazines and newspaper reviews? I usually get new releases from bands I already like or suggestions from my brother, who has the most agreeable and varied taste in music. I used to have a Last FM but that didn't work out so well. How do you get new music?

The Summer of My Discontent: What Would MacGyver Do?

(It's actually winter in Australia now. But let's not argue semantics now.)

Summer movies as a whole aren't lauded for their Oscar-worthy material. To reflect the warmer weather and longer days, Hollywood churns out easy-going crowd-pleasing fare that requires very little thought-processing after you've figured out how much change you should get for your ticket.

Nonetheless though, I'm finding that in 2008, Hollywood is really scrapping the bottom of the entertainment barrel here. Thus far the majority of the films I've seen and those that are coming out soon inspire very little but apathy and "Seriously?!"s.

These are the movies I've watched recently that I couldn't even bothered be typing up a review for because all my thoughts point to one word: FAIL.

What Happens In Vegas
Indiana Jones and the Epic SkullFuckery (or something like that)
The Chronicles of Narnia 2: Where The Theme of The Day is Killing and Plundering is A-Okay even if you're not 17.

And these are the movies that are screening (soon) that I can only work up a "Meh" at.

The Happening
You Don't Mess With the Zohan
The Love Guru
Sex and the City
Speed Racer
Get Smart
Mamma Mia!
Meet Dave
Star Wars: The Clone Wars aka Morefanboy wank material from George Lucas
The Mummy 3

In fact, apart from Iron Man, everything else has just sort of been really disappointing. That includes The Incredible Hulk. Although that is mainly because I am one of the few who liked Ang Lee's movie and didn't see the need for a remake, even if it included Edward Norton and his impressive body. Although to be fair, I did like the, "You won't like me when I'm... hungry?" subtitled joke.

It has gotten to the point where in a very dreary movie, I remedy my boredom and disappointment by thinking to myself, "What would MacGyver do?"

It's a little childish and lame, but thinking up how MacGyver, the titular man's man, would react to the scenarios on screen brings the hilarity that the film fails to project. Honestly, it's rather pathetic having to think up entertainment when I'm paying to be entertained.

I'll keep going to see the moving pictures because I must. But I can't help but wonder if anyone else is noticing the massive suckage that are the summer movies of 2008. Hell, even the viral marketing for The Dark Knight is ironically taking away all my anticipation for the film. Turns out there is such a thing as overkill. I would have thought a lesson would have been learned from Snakes on A Plane. Apparently the movie execs think otherwise.