Friday, June 23, 2006

Movie Quote Quiz Results

The first official ‘Down In Front’ Movie Quote Quiz is now over! Well done to all those who gave it a try. And congratulations to my wife, Shauna! She got all 10 quotes right, as well as the bonus question. I’m so proud. Of course, I would expect nothing less from the wife of an obsessed movie geek.

However, in the spirit of fairness, Shauna has chosen to decline any of the prizes so that others may reap the rewards. And so we go to second place, where there is a tie between my good friend Anthony and my own Mother! That’s right folks, my MOM did better than most of you! Don’t feel bad though, she’s a pretty smart mom.

As promised, there are prizes available to both Anthony and Mom. You can each choose one of the following DVDs:

Cast Away
Fight Club
The Karate Kid
Spaceballs
The Usual Suspects
Walk the Line
Cinderella Man


And for those who did not win, stay tuned to Down In Front. There will a new quiz next week for you to try…with prizes!

Finally, here are the answers to this week’s Movie Quote Quiz:

Title (Bonus)Fight Club
#112 Monkeys
#2Apollo 13
#3The Breakfast Club
#4Dances With Wolves
#5The Full Monty
#6The Fellowship of the Ring
#7Men in Black
#8My Cousin Vinny
#9Saving Private Ryan
#10Three Amigos!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Stay tuned!

So far I’ve received several responses to the Movie Quote quiz I posted earlier this week. Good job to all of you have given it a try and for those who haven’t yet, you better hurry! There is definitely a prize to be given away to the winner.

Answers will be posted on Friday (tomorrow) and the winner will be announced at that time.

Good luck!

"I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them."

I’ve been a fan of Ron Howard’s films (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Apollo 13, Ransom) pretty much since 1988 when he directed an amusing fantasy film called Willow. I’m also a big fan of Russell Crowe (L.A. Confidential, The Insider), especially considering he starred in two of my all-time favourite films, Gladiator and Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. Howard and Crowe came together for the first time in 2001 to create another brilliant true-life film called A Beautiful Mind. And when I heard that they were teaming up once again to portray the life of boxer Jim Braddock I expected great things.

I love it when my expectations are realized. Especially when they’re in the form of a $7.99 previously-viewed DVD from Blockbuster.

Cinderella Man depicts not only the life of a supposedly washed-out boxer named Jim Braddock, but also the lives of most people trying to survive the Great Depression of the 1930s. At the height of his career Braddock had never been knocked out and was a contender for the championship. But the stock market crash and resulting depression took nearly everything Jim had. Cinderella Man shows the struggles and triumphs of Braddock and his family as they do everything they can to simply survive. Which just happens to include a return to the boxing ring.

There are a number of factors at work that make Cinderella Man such a terrific film. First and foremost has to be the story itself. There are many inspiring real-life stories out there but I can’t imagine a time when America would have needed one more than during the Great Depression. Ron Howard pulls no punches (pardon the pun) in depicting the quality of life for those affected, specifically Braddock (Crowe), his wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) and their three young children. Watching this family struggle through thick and thin is all the more incredible when you realize that it’s a true story. While Braddock’s rise to fame in the boxing ring is terrifically stirring, it’s Braddock’s character and integrity as a husband and father that are truly inspiring.

Added to a wonderful story is wonderful acting. Russell Crowe does a fine job as the under-estimated boxer Braddock. Not only is it obvious that he prepared physically for the role, but he convincingly displays the traits one would expect from a caring family man who must do just about anything to ensure his family stays together and survives. Renee Zellweger plays the character of Braddock’s wife with enthusiasm and realism. I’m not a huge fan of the Zellweger herself, something about her just irritates me, but I can’t deny that she’s a talented actor (e.g. Chicago, Jerry Maguire) and this is probably the best work I’ve seen her do. Paul Giamatti (Sideways) portrays Braddock’s relentless trainer and promoter, Joe Gould. I’ve always liked Giamatti and I think he’s one of Hollywood’s under-appreciated actors, though he did receive an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in Cinderella Man. Gould’s own struggles during the depression are brought to life with an incredible performance by Giamatti.
Bringing the story and the acting together in perfect unison is Ron Howard’s superb direction. There seems to be a lot going on in this film but the pacing is such that you never feel overwhelmed or confused by any of it. Everything from the sets and costumes to the lighting and cinematography are near perfect in every scene. You really get a good feel for the lives of both the rich and poor during the early 1930s while becoming wrapped up in the incredible life of Jim Braddock and his family. It might be hard not to think of Rocky when you’re watching a boxing movie, but Howard makes it easy to realize that Cinderella Man is much more than just a boxing movie. He makes you believe that Braddock really did bring a nation to its feet at a time when it needed it most.

The DVD itself is presented in an Anamorphic 2.35:1 video format and the picture is just fine. The colors are washed out slightly in order to portray a more drabby image of the depression era. However the sharpness and contrast of the film does not suffer one bit and the picture looked near high definition. A Dolby Digital 5.1 track is included and I can’t really find anything to complain about it other than the fact that it’s not DTS (for shame!). To be perfectly honest I didn’t realize pay too much attention to the picture or the sound. The story and the film are just so well done that it probably wouldn’t have mattered. In the end though, the video and audio simply add to an already enjoyable movie experience.

I realized after the fact that a 2-disc Collector’s Edition exists for Cinderella Man. You’d think I know by now there’s always another edition. As it is, the bonus features included on the single-disc version aren’t bad. Several deleted scenes are included, all of which are terrific moments that, in my opinion, could have easily been left in the theatrical cut. I guess I’m in a minority of people who actually enjoy 3 hour films. Also included are no less that 3 full-length feature commentaries and a number of featurettes that I haven’t the chance to watch yet. With all this it’s hard to imagine what else would be included on the 2-disc set. For $7.99 though, you really can’t go wrong with the single-disc version. Beware though! A dreaded ‘Full Screen’ edition also exists. I don’t need to tell you to avoid it like the plague. Right?

Cinderella Man has only increased my appreciation for both Ron Howard and Russell Crowe. They’ve managed to create another fantastic film that entertains and inspires. If you liked A Beautiful Mind I can’t imagine you not loving Cinderella Man. So leave a comment and let me know when you’re coming over to watch it. I’ll have the popcorn ready.

Cinderella Man gets 9 right-jabs (out of 10).

Duck, weave and throw a left-hook here for ‘Cinderella Man’ trivia.

Monday, June 19, 2006

"The first rule of __________ is, you do not talk about _________."

Here’s something fun for all my readers to do while you anxiously await my next blog entry. I’ve been known to create the occasional movie-quote quiz and I thought I would use my blog as an excuse to create one more. So here are 10 movie quotes for you to ponder. The catch is that the title of the movie itself is contained within the quote, which has been removed and replaced with blanks. Fill in the blank and you have your movie title!

Some should be fairly easy, while others might give you a bit of a hard time. Your only hint is that all the answers come from my own personal DVD collection, which can be viewed by using one of the links found on this site. It may come in handy to solve the 10 quotes below and the bonus quote found in the title of today's blog.

You can email your answers to this address. If I get enough responses there might even be a prize in it for you!

Try not to cheat, and good luck!

Quote #1

“Then, they took everything about me and put it into a computer where they created this model of my mind. Yes! Using that model they managed to generate every thought I could possibly have in the next, say, 10 years. Which they then filtered through a probability matrix of some kind to - to determine everything I was gonna do in that period. So you see, she knew I was gonna lead the Army of the ____________ into the pages of history before it ever even occurred to me. She knows everything I'm ever gonna do before I know it myself. How's that?”

Quote #2

"Al Shepard's ear infection has flared up. And we've all been bumped up to the prime crew of ____________. Straight to the head of the line and the Fra Mauro highlands.”

Quote #3

“Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, ____________.”

Quote #4

“You are the only white man I have ever known. I have thought about you a lot. More than you think. And I understand your concern. But I think you are wrong. The white man the soldiers are looking for no longer exists. Now there is only a Sioux named ____________."

Quote #5

“No way, no, and never. In that order, kid.”
“Excuse me? No one said anything to me about ____________."
“But you heard ‘em. We got to give ‘em something your average stripper don’t.”

Quote #6

“Nine companions. So be it. You shall be ____________."
“Great! Where are we going?”

Quote #7

“You'll conform to the identity we give you, eat where we tell you, live where we tell you. From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You're a rumour, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist; you were never even born. Anonymity is your name. Silence your native tongue. You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're ‘them.’ We're ‘they.’ We are the ____________."

Quote #8

“We have an attorney in the family!”
“Great. Who?”
"____________!"

Quote #9

“I don't know. Part of me thinks the kid's right. He asks what he's done to deserve this. He wants to stay here, fine. Let's leave him and go home. But then another part of me thinks, what if by some miracle we stay, then actually make it out of here. Someday we might look back on this and decide that ____________ was the one decent thing we were able to pull out of this whole god-awful mess. Like you said, Captain, maybe we do that, we all earn the right to go home.”

Quote #10

“Well, you dirt-eating piece of slime, you scum-sucking pig, you son of a motherless goat.”
“Who are you?”
“Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we’ll be there. Tell us we will die like dogs.”
“What?”
“Tell us we will die like dogs.”
“You WILL die like dogs.”
“No, we will not die like dogs! We will fight like lions! Because we are…”
“The ____________!"

Friday, June 16, 2006

Roll Credits II

It’s time for another look at the incredible people who work so hard to make the films we love (or hate). A while back I decided to use a portion of my blog to explain some of the titles we often see during the final credits of a movie. In an effort to shed some light on who all those people are and what they do, I bring you Part II of Roll Credits.

Line Producer – This individual is in charge of the movie’s budget. They manage all the expenses right from the actor’s salaries to the everyday costs of keeping the cameras rolling. When you see this credit scroll by on the next big, epic movie you see you can silently thank that person for ensuring that the film’s budget was so exorbitant that you had to shell out an extra $4.50 for a squirt of butter on your $12.75 small popcorn.

Film Loader – Pretty much what it sounds like, this person is responsible for loading and unloading the film magazines onto the cameras, as well as ensuring that the loading room stays clear and clean. This person is also commonly referred to as the ‘Clapper Loader’, because they are also responsible for operating the clapperboard (slate) at the beginning of each take. The loader is a very important job since it’s not only important to ensure the camera has film, but to be certain it is the right kind of film for the shot.

Camera Operator – Again, pretty easy to figure out what this person does. They’re responsible for not only operating the camera, but to ensure that the scene the director wants captured is perfectly framed. And if you’ve ever watched a behind-the-scenes special feature and heard a director yell “Check the gate!” you now know that it’s the camera operator’s job to visually inspect the film gate on the camera after each scene. He’s checking to make sure nothing has jammed in the gate, usually a human hair, which could ruin the entire shot. If there’s nothing in the gate then “It’s a wrap!”

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Finding the Bourne Intelligence

A few weeks ago my church had their annual Parish Retreat up near Sylvan Lake. I’ve attended these retreats for three years in a row and they are always a fun, relaxing and spiritually engaging time. I was especially excited this year as the theme of the weekend was ‘Movies!’. In the words of Monty Python, “Say…no…more!”

The idea of the weekend was to see how God can speak to us through mainstream Hollywood movies, even though the movies themselves may not (and usually don’t) intend to have any kind of specific Christian message. There are times when our Pastor likes to use movie clips to help emphasize a point in his sermon and I’ve often heard a specific movie quote or watched a specific scene and thought ‘That would be a good clip to use in a sermon’. But on the whole, I rarely examine an entire movie closely to see if there are any specific themes that could relate to Christianity. It was a fun and interesting exercise to spend the weekend watching films, trying to identify scenes that God could use to illustrate a point or communicate a message.

Our first film was Finding Nemo. One of my wife’s favorites (which was too bad since she was not able to attend). I’ve seen the film a number of times but had never really looked for specific Christian themes. As it turns out, when you go looking for such themes they are all over the place. The father and son relationship, the determination and dedication of the father searching for his child, lost sheep, letting go, trust, love, faith, hope; they’re all there. At the end of the film we got into groups and wrote down the numerous moments we recognized as having a Christian theme or message. I wish I had a copy of that sheet because there were far more than I would have expected. I’m sure that if you go looking for any kind of theme in a film you’re likely to find it, but it was a unique and eye-opening way to watch a movie. Not to mention the fact that Finding Nemo is just a terrific movie on its own. I highly recommend watching it and letting yourself see those moments that maybe you didn’t recognize before. God can speak to us in so many ways.

The next day we watched The Bourne Identity. One of my favourite films. I was really excited about this one simply because Jason Bourne has got to be my single most favourite spy character around. And once again I was amazed at the number of thematic elements that could easily be interpreted with a Christian message. Searching for one’s self, examining past actions/sins and seeing how they form who we are today and who we want to be tomorrow. Forgiveness, redemption, truth, sacrifice, good, evil. I found this exercise of looking for such themes to be a very satisfying addition to an already enjoyable film. Our group started to dig a little deeper in our analysis of The Bourne Identity and started asking ourselves ‘What defines me?’, ‘Who am I?’ One of my favourite films had become one the most engaging and thought provoking.
I found out what the last film of the weekend was going to be a few hours before we actually saw it. And I have to admit that when I was told it was going to be A.I. Artificial Intelligence I was very disappointed. A.I. was one of the worst movies I had ever seen. I had high expectations for it (Steven Spielberg directing, how can you go wrong with that?) and that probably made my disgust even more acute after wasting a good 3 hours of my life on it. I was not at all happy to learn that I would be wasting another 3 hours watching it again.

Fortunately the exercise of looking for thematic elements and quotes made it much more bearable. It’s still a terrible, terrible movie, but at least I got something out of it this time. Another soul searching film that explores who we are and what our purpose is. The relationships that the robot boy, David, forms can be linked to many of the relationships we form in our own lives. Ultimately, however, the film is about unconditional love and the quest to become that which we were created to be. David was made to love and he soon realizes that he must become something different in order to love as fully and as completely as he was created to. It was an interesting way to view a Christian theme that can often be overlooked or underestimated in our daily lives. Who were we created to be and how to we change in order to fulfill that destiny?

As I’ve said if you go looking for any kind of theme or message in a film you’re likely to find it or something very close to it. The point of the weekend wasn’t to prove Hollywood movies are filled with subliminal Christian messages. It was to show that God can speak to us through anything and that He will use anything and everything to remind us of His love for us. It was a very fulfilling exercise and I strongly encourage all my readers (all 6 million of you) to take the opportunity, the next time you watch a movie, and look for some themes or messages you didn’t know were there. You’ll simply be adding to an already wonderful experience.

Your search is over. ‘Finding Nemo’ trivia can be found here.
I could tell you that ‘The Bourne Identity’ trivia is here, but then I’d have to kill you.
Intelligent, but not artificial trivia for ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ can be found here.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

I've mostly been remiss in my blogging...mostly.

My sincere apologies to the hundreds of thousands of 'Down in Front' fans who have had nothing to read on my blog in the last month or so. I am ashamed! I admit that my movie watching has suffered somewhat over the last few weeks due to unforeseen circumstances. Ok, well maybe the circumstances weren't completely unforeseen, but honestly, how could I have known that I would get addicted to a new computer game? In the words of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, 'It's not my fault!'.

I have recently posted a brief review of Capote, which you'll find below this post. And in the coming days I promise to get caught up on reviewing a few other movies I've seen. You can find a list of what I've been watching in the sidebar to the right.

I'll also get cracking on the second installment of 'Roll Credits'. I'm sure you're just dying to know what a clapper-loader and a focus-puller are.

So stay tuned! Many great reviews are coming your way soon!

Unless I start getting close to level 30...

"It's the book I was always meant to write."

I’m not sure what’s wrong with me but I haven’t been watching nearly as many movies lately as I should be. I think I only watched eleven movies this month. 11! It’s just not right. I know I should be ashamed of myself. But I’m not. I’m too busy playing computer games. Pretty soon I’m going to have to quit my job so I can play games and watch movies full time. Shauna’s going to love that…

Despite my recent addiction to WoW, I did find time to watch Capote on DVD. This is a fascinating movie about Truman Capote and how he came to write ‘In Cold Blood’, one of the first “non-fiction novels” that relates the real life events of November 15, 1959 when two men entered a house in Kansas and brutally murdered a family of four. Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Magnolia, MI:3) portrays the eccentric Capote who sets out to learn more about the killers and why they did what they did.

Essentially, Capote is a biographical film, of which we’ve been seeing many lately. Though it is one of the only non-musical biographical films I can remember. Ray, Walk the Line, De-Lovely, Beyond the Sea and a host of other films have become quite popular in recent years. Capote is no exception and delivers a thought provoking look at another famous life. Truman Capote himself is intriguing and mesmerizing in his manipulation of others. The saying about genius and insanity being separated by a fine line is evident in the life of this man who is fascinated with a brutal family murder and sees it as his opportunity to produce the greatest book of his time.

“When I think about how good my book could be, I can hardly breathe.”

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the reason to see this film. I can completely understand why he won the Oscar for Best Actor. This character is unlike any you’ve seen before and Hoffman manages to get to the very core of who Capote was. His mannerisms and speech alone are impressive, but the subtle manipulations and chameleon-esque behaviour are without equal. Several times I was surprised and stunned by Capote’s decisions and motivations. I’ve seen Hoffman before in a number of roles but he completely disappears into this character, creating a totally believable Truman Capote.

The highest praise for this film is simply this; I would now like to read ‘In Cold Blood’ and possibly other Capote novels. At the very least I feel I got an important education on one of history’s more influential authors. It’s a wonderful look at an intriguing individual and I highly recommend it.

Click here for 'Capote' trivia.