200 Movies, 1 Woman, 1 Blog

Chimpanzee, 2012, Tanzania/USA

The trend of warm and fuzzy documentaries continues in my life.  My mom and I decided to go see Chimpanzee this past weekend because Disney is donating money to the Jane Goodall Institute for every ticket sold during opening week. If you plan on going to see it, go this week!

I’ve never seen a Disneynature documentary, but this one sounds similar to the other films in the series.  All seem to feature wild animals that are anthropomorphized somewhat and given names.  This allows the audience to grow attached to the “characters” in the film.  This film “stars” Oscar, a young chimpanzee who lives with his mother and the other members of his group.  When his mother disappears following an attack by other chimps, Oscar is alone, but he is adopted by a male chimp.  This is the first time such an act has been recorded on film.  It was quite touching.

One thing I did wonder about: what would the filmmakers have done if Oscar hadn’t been adopted?  What if he’d died?  Disney is a very family oriented company, of course, and going in, I knew that it would be a fairly upbeat film, because I can’t possibly imagine a Disney film where the main character dies – even if it is a documentary.  Nature can be cruel, and sometimes babies do die, but it’d be hard to craft a film around an adorable baby chimp dying in the elements.  I imagine the filmmakers would have had to approach the story from a different angle if that had happened.

The film was extraordinarily beautiful.  They used time lapse photography numerous times throughout the film and it looked amazing.  The foliage in the forest was gorgeous and the filmmakers took full advantage of their surroundings.  There were some plants that glowed at night, and I was honestly reminded of the movie Avatar.  I’m convinced that James Cameron must have based the Pandoran foliage on foliage found in the African jungle.  I can’t emphasize enough just how beautiful the film looked.

It also helped that the star of the movie was super cute!  In many instances, the audience was “aww’ing” or laughing at little Oscar’s shenanigans.  I wished I could reach into the movie to give him a big hug.

The one big weakness of the film was actually the anthropomorphization of the chimps.  It allowed the filmmakers to tell a story, but it limited what the audience could learn from the movie.  I wanted to know more details about the behavior of chimpanzees.  What happens to the chimps on the losing side of a territorial battle?  How common is adoption in chimpanzee society?  What other tools do chimps use?  But, I recognize that this film is aimed at a family audience, and the brutality of nature is not what they were going for.  I’ll probably end up doing some research on chimps myself to find out the answers to my questions.  I love gaining knowledge!  I’m sure the film will inspire others to do the same, and, hopefully it will inspire young people to love and protect animals.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, 2011, USA

This documentary looks at the life of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo, the most popular character on Sesame Street.  It was lovely, generally positive, and a beautiful look at a dream come true.  It is told primarily through interviews with Clash, archive footage and contemporary footage.

Growing up in Baltimore, Clash loved puppets and Sesame Street.  From a young age, he built puppets, and dreamed of working with Jim Henson.  His parents heavily encouraged his dream, and many believe that the love and encouragement he received from his parents influenced the creation of Elmo.  His parents were interviewed and they were great, positive people.  They did a wonderful job raising their son.

I loved the interviews with Clash.  He’s a very shy, soft-spoken man, and I could tell that he was most comfortable as Elmo.  But he’s insightful, and his story was lovely and inspiring.  I loved seeing the archive footage, especially the footage of Clash with Muppet designer Kermit Love.  Love took him under his wing, and taught him puppeteer techniques, and how he built the Muppets.  It was clear that Clash got a lot out of Love’s mentorship and it was touching to see Clash become a mentor to young people, himself.

There is one weakness in the documentary.  The documentary does briefly mention that Clash was married and his daughter appears on screen, but this aspect of his life is glazed over.  But the audience gets the sense that Clash has sacrificed his family life for success on Sesame Street in many respects.  It’s very bittersweet.  I wanted to find out more about why he made the choices he did, and what his relationship with his daughter and ex-wife are like today.  Does he regret any of the success he’s had as Elmo?  Does he wish he’d worked less when his daughter was growing up?  I think the documentary missed out on a very significant aspect of Clash’s life.

When one thinks of documentaries, they usually think of fairly heavy subject matter.  Being Elmo is different.  It’s inspiring, positive and a great film for the entire family.  Elmo has become the face of Sesame Street, heck, he’s the face of puppetry for many children, so I really appreciated this look into the man behind the character.  Elmo was my favourite character on Sesame Street growing up, so I was especially interested in the documentary.

I have a weakness for spoilers. Generally, if I’m really excited about a film, I try to avoid major spoilers, like who dies, or surprise plot points, but I also like to read articles about the film in question.

However, if I come across a spoiler warning while reading an article about a movie, I HAVE to read the spoiler. Earlier this week, I read a relatively minor spoiler about a movie I’m extremely excited about. I’m not going to name the movie, because I don’t want to send people off searching for the spoiler I read, but it is a movie that’s due to be released fairly soon. I, honestly, really regret reading it, because now as I watch the film, I’ll be waiting for the spoiler to happen.

I really admire people who are able to read spoiler warnings and walk away. I’ve never been able to do that. I’m not the “delayed gratification” sort of person. Often, when I read a book I’m super excited about, I’ll get so into it that I’ll flip to the end and read some of the ending. I always regret doing this, because it lessens the emotional impact when I get to the ending, but I can’t stop doing this. One of the reasons I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in one shot is because I knew if I didn’t, I’d flip to the end, like I did with every other Harry Potter book. I read the book in about eight hours, and, while it was a beautiful experience, it also meant that I couldn’t savour the final book in my favourite book series.

I know many people who are remarkable at avoiding spoilers for TV shows, books and movies. They don’t seek them out, and, when they come across them, they click away before reading them. I lack that sort of self-control, which, I think is why I often see movies so early in their theatrical run. I’m heavily pondering seeing The Cabin in the Woods in theatres because I don’t trust myself to avoid the spoilers until it is released onto Apple TV. This is very odd for me, because I am a wimp and usually hate seeing horror movies in the theatres. I may go see it this weekend or next week.

Society as a whole seems to be into “instant gratification”, which is why spoilers seem to be so prolific. We like to know what’s happening before it happens. Unfortunately, that can damage the experience of watching a TV show or movie, or reading a book and discovering its secrets. At this point, I’m so used to watching scripted TV shows having read at least a few spoilers beforehand that it’s difficult to remember when I had zero knowledge of a twist or major surprise on a show.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix whenever I’ve had some downtime. Admittedly, the first season was nothing to write home about, but, having just finished the second season, I can say that it does get a lot better. Over the last two days, I found myself devouring episode after episode (easy to do, since most are just 24 minutes long) until I finished the season.

The show takes place in a world where there are “benders” of the four elements: fire, earth, air and water. Bending is similar to the different forms of martial arts. There is one person, known as the Avatar (voiced by Zach Tyler) who can bend all four elements. The Avatar is responsible for keeping peace in the world. Having been gone for 100 years, the Avatar, named Aang, has reentered a world where the fire nation has been waging war on the other nations. He must figure out how to bring about peace in the world, with the help of his friends Katara (Mae Whitman) and Sokka (Jack De Sena).

The first season was weak because much of it consisted of traveling from place to place solving local problems. It wasn’t until later in the season where a sort of “goal” was determined and the mission had more of a purpose. I must say that the second season is truly captivating television. I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I will most likely fly through the final season.

A new series, taking place in the Avatar world is now airing, but I don’t believe it airs here in Canada. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get my hands on the first season legally using iTunes or Netflix. I imagine iTunes will be my best bet, since the show is new!

One thing I must decide is whether I wish to endure the live action film adaptation, which was notoriously panned by critics and fans alike. It may be amusing to see how it has been butchered by M. Night Shyamalan, but it also may end up being a painful waste of my time. Is it worth seeing for laughs?

The TV is generally fairly light, which I enjoy because it provides a good break from studying. After a busy night of writing papers or studying for exams, the last thing I wanted was something depressing, so I always appreciated the laughs the show provided. It’s awesome!

Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron, 2012, USA

I’ve spent much of the weekend watching a variety of different Titanic documentaries.  I also recorded A Night to Remember, which I will watch one of these days. I swear, I’ll make my next post non-Titanic related!

The weekend would not be complete without hearing from James Cameron. Cameron essentially made the film because he wanted an excuse to explore the wreckage of the ship. He’s spent more time with the ship than the passengers ever did. In this National Geographic documentary, he works with a team of experts to determine how the ship sank, including why it took the damage it did as it fell to the ocean floor.

Admittedly, I’m far more interested in the lives of the passengers on the ship than the details of how it sank. Don’t get me wrong: I’m interested in all things Titanic, but the actions of the passengers, before, during and after the sinking are of greater interest to me. But, this documentary was pretty interesting.

Cameron and the other experts made sure to use animations, models and demonstrations (including the use of a banana!) to explain what they’re talking about. I really appreciated this, because I would have struggled with some of the science had they not had the visuals. The experts all had great things to say, and I could tell that they all had the utmost respect for Cameron. When one of the experts disagreed with Cameron’s interpretation of how the wreckage sustained some of its damage, he was very quick to say that he just “professionally disagreed”.  Their ensuing “disagreement” was interesting, friendly, and delightful.

I must say, for someone who has a reputation for being a ruthless dictator on set, Cameron seems like a nice dude. His real passion in life seems to be exploration, as opposed to film making. Film making gave him the money he needed to finance his many exploratory trips and, selfishly, I’m glad he’s still occasionally making movies. But, I’m always eager to see his exploratory efforts on film, as well. He recently completed a dive down Mariana’s Trench, and the resulting documentary is sure to be fascinating. Although, I must say, a solo dive down the trench sounds terrifying! I’m no explorer and never will be, because I could not take being in such a cramped space or doing something so potentially dangerous. If I’m going to do something like that, anyway, I would want someone with me to bail me out in case I screw something up.

This weekend, I also watched documentaries on the people who built the Titanic, the Guarantee Group, and whether the tragedy could have been prevented had the ship slowed down. The majority of them were on National Geographic, a channel I was unaware I had before Friday evening. I’m not sure if I just have a weekend trial of it, or if I have it permanently. Regardless, I’m glad I had it this weekend, because their Titanic programming was outstanding.

Last week, I recorded an episode of Doc Zone off CBC that looked at the Canadian connections to the sinking of the Titanic.  There were a surprising number of Canadians and people headed to Canada on the ship.  The stories of Paul Chevré, Mark Fortune and his family, and Charles Melville Hayes were examined, among many others.

The story of Mark Fortune wasn’t examined particularly deeply, but he had a Winnipeg connection!  Apparently in 1912, Winnipeg was churning out more millionaires than any other city in North America.  It makes sense, since Winnipeg was a massive shipping hub at that time.  Fortune lived at 393 Wellington Crescent, which has since been converted into three luxury condos.  I can’t help but think how neat it would be to live there.  I love older buildings, and it’d be amazing to live in a place with some history, especially one with a connection to a major world event like the sinking of the Titanic.

The east coast of Canada, especially Halifax was heavily impacted by the sinking.  The White Star Line sent the Mackey-Bennett out from Halifax to search for bodies in the ocean.  A telegraph operator also received the distress signals from the Titanic the night it sank.  Now that the Internet and social media is so prevalent in our society, news spreads lightning fast, and generally with great accuracy.  As a result, it’s hard for me to imagine what it was like for the man receiving the distress signals.  What would it be like to know that you’re one of the very few people to know that the biggest, grandest ship on the planet was sinking?   I can’t imagine how overwhelming it would be.  It would weigh heavily on you, I’m sure.

Once it became clear that “something” happened to the Titanic, the media rushed to put out a story.  These stories were initially based on very little information; some claimed the ship was being towed to New York, another claimed everyone had survived, and another incorrectly said that 896 survived.  Whenever the journalists got some more information, a new edition was quickly published, because people were buying every bit of information they could get.  It’s sort of like the contemporary habit of updating online news articles whenever more information is discovered.  It’s interesting to think that all of these news sources published grossly inaccurate information in an attempt to be the first to get the “scoop”.  I was taught that it is essential to report information accurately (as well as quickly!), and the early reports certainly failed in the accuracy department.

One issue that is brought up in the documentary is the issue of displaying artifacts from the wreckage.  Is gathering artifacts from the wreck akin to grave robbing, or is it preserving an important piece of history?  I saw a Titanic exhibition last year, and it was a memorable experience.  I do think it’s important to preserve these pieces, especially since it was one of the most important events of the 20th century.  But, all of the dives to the ship has a price: the wreckage is disintegrating quickly.  Apparently it could be gone within 15 or 20 years, which is very sad.

Blind Date

Last night, I went with my dad to see Blind Date at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Warehouse.  It’s a very bizarre play that centres around Mimi (Rebecca Northan) being stood up by her blind date.  As a result, she picks someone from the audience to be her date, and an entire play is crafted around their interactions.

It was very interesting, to say the least.  As you can understand, it is extremely important to pick someone who will be a willing and entertaining participant for the play.  To get a sense of who would be best suited for the job, Northan and several helpers speak to the audience members in the lobby prior to the show.  From what I understand, they also pick someone from the audience who is there with their girlfriend or wife, so I imagine getting a sense of just how “understanding” the partner would be is key, as well.

I must say, they did an excellent job picking the “blind date” at last night’s show.  He was a photographer who was there with his longtime girlfriend, and had an excellent sense of humour.  I’d argue that the things he said were funnier than what she said (although he had a lot of help from her, as she set up the conversations!).

Because the play is improv, the things being said will be different at every show.  There is clearly a “plot line” that is followed, with some room for slight deviation, but the conversation is shaped by the natural interaction between Northan and her “date”.  It’s really quite ingenious.  I’d love to go see it again to see how the play works with another person from the audience.

One issue is that the person being pulled up won’t likely be trained in theatre, so there may be difficulty hearing them at times.  The “date” at the show last night had a very powerful voice, and I believe his girlfriend said something about not seeing him on stage in a “long time”, which implies that he may have had some experience in theatre.  He did sometimes talk while the audience talked, which seems to be an ongoing issue, according to the review in the Winnipeg Free Press.

It’s easy for a show like this to fall flat.  The conversation can go overly long, or they could pick someone completely unable to open up and participate fully in the show.  I must give props to Northan and the other actors for carefully picking someone from the audience who is able to do such a good job.  I could tell who they picked before the show started, because two of the actors were chatting with the man, and one pulled his girlfriend aside and danced with her.  I figured they were likely giving him directions and preparing him for what he was about to go through.

Blind Date is playing until April 21 at the The Tom Hendry Theatre Warehouse here in Winnipeg. Check it out!

I’m pretty curious about Prometheus. The trailer looks intense, and the cast is very strong. I’m eager to see it!

But, I have a confession. I haven’t seen a single movie in the Alien franchise. I will need to see Alien and Aliens at the very least before seeing Prometheus. I’m a little ashamed that I haven’t seen either Alien or Aliens, since I know they’re both science fiction classics, and I’m very fond of science fiction films.

Titanic, 1997, USA

Note: this review contains some spoilers (but you’ve all seen the movie, right?!).

I had to see it in theatres again. Titanic has been re-released in 3D to honour the 100th anniversary of the sinking. This film was probably the most important film of my childhood. When it was released, I was quickly hit by “Titanic fever” (although I did spend a week or two thinking the movie and story sounded silly before becoming overwhelmed with fascination). I was always more interested with the actual story of the Titanic – I am fascinated by historical human tragedies, and the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic example of how hubris can doom people. As a child, I read every book I could find about the sinking. After the movie was in theatres for a few months, I finally saw it with my mom and it immediately became my favourite movie.

15 years later, I’m still fascinated by the sinking. I’ve been recording EVERY Titanic special I can come across, and I ordered three books on the sinking and the ships passengers off of Amazon. I’m also a bit of a nerd for maritime disasters. My fascination with the Titanic has been more enduring than my childhood fascination with dinosaurs – which makes sense, as, for years, I’ve been more inclined to study history than science.

Seeing the movie today with my mom was very nostalgic. There were many young girls in the theatre who would have been my age when I first saw it. I understand the movie far better now than I did as a child. Titanic is very cliche, and a little hokey, but the beauty of it is that James Cameron plays it straight. It’s very endearing and touching. Cameron is an astounding filmmaker when it comes to technological advancement. Titanic was a marvel for its time, and he did the same thing with Avatar. It’s not surprising that they’re the top grossing films ever, though, funnily enough, the general public was certain that both would be tremendous bombs. However, I’ll be the first to admit that Cameron is not the strongest screenwriter. Both Titanic and Avatar are rife with cliches and goofy dialogue, but, I feel that adds charm to both movies. I have a great deal of love and respect for the two movies.

I’ve probably seen Titanic at least 100 times over the years, and what blows me away is that every time, I hope the ship turns enough to miss the iceberg. And, of course, I’m saddened every time it hits. I also still bawl my eyes out whenever I watch the movie – although, it’s now for very different reasons than it was 15 years ago. 15 years ago, I cried because Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) died. Now, I cry because I recognize the beauty and enormity of his sacrifice. Jack died to save Rose (Kate Winslet). When the iceberg hit, I’m sure Jack knew he was going to die, but all of his actions were to protect Rose, and keep her away from Cal (Billy Zane) and her mother (Frances Fisher), who would suck the life out of the passionate woman he loved. I find his loyalty very touching, and Rose’s desire to honour Jack and live the life she wants very moving. I think, having lived and grown as a person, I understand the significance of Jack’s actions, so I connect with the movie on a deeper level than I did when I was a child.

So, what did I think of the 3D? I thought it was pretty damn good. It’s nothing special in the first half, of course, but there’s really not anything that needs to be in 3D until the iceberg hits. When the ship is sinking, the 3D was genius during certain shots. When one extra falls into the ocean, I felt the “falling” sensation one feels just as they’re falling asleep. It was frightening. During another scene, when water is splashing up at the camera, I braced myself, as if I were about to be splashed with water. This is the sign of successful 3D. It may have been a post-conversion, and it may not have been shot with 3D in mind, but Cameron hit it out of the park.

Wrath of the Titans, 2012, USA

I went to see this on a whim on Sunday night and, ultimately, I was glad I did so.  It was a lot of fun, just like the first one, even if I doubt it will be particularly memorable.

Perseus (Sam Worthington) is a single father to his son, Helios (John Bell).  When his father, Zeus (Liam Neeson) asks for his help, Perseus refuses to get involved, until Zeus is captured by Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and the traitorous Ares (Edgar Ramirez).  Determined to save his father and protect his son, Perseus teams up with Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) and Agenor (Toby Kebbell), the son of Poseidon in order to get to the Underworld to rescue Zeus.

Very much like the first one, action is the priority over character development.  We’re never really given any reasons to care about the characters, and that is the major failing of the movie.  I could tell that Worthington was trying really hard to be convincing and interesting on screen, but he was dull.  In the acting world, he’d be given the ribbon every kid gets in soccer tournaments for effort.  Apparently he needs to be blue in order to be even remotely interesting on screen.  Kebbell was decent as Agenor, but he wasn’t given enough screen time.  He was one of the highlights of the movie.  Pike played the stereotypical female warrior, and there really wasn’t anything interesting or memorable about her.

As someone who generally doesn’t care much for 3D, I must give props to the 3D in the movie.  It was pretty good.  The 3D was post-conversion 3D, which generally doesn’t look very good, but it worked for Wrath of the Titans.  There were several very solid 3D shots.  It’s probably the best post-conversion I’ve seen.

One minor beef I had with the film was that in one scene, Perseus was pushed head-first into rocks several times.  This, of course, broke the rocks (is that even possible?!).  Even though he’s a demi-God, I doubt even he could survive getting hit like that just once, let alone multiple times.  But, of course, he proceeds to get right back up.  Hollywood really isn’t very good at realistic fighting and the injuries fighting generates.  But – to expect realism in a movie featuring a flying horse, a descent into the Underworld and several Cyclops is very silly of me.

While it did look good on screen, it’s probably wiser to wait until the movie is available to rent.  I did have a ton of fun watching it, and I am a sucker for movies that take place in the past, but I also recognize that it is a very “guilty pleasure”.  It is, in my opinion, far better than any of the movies in the Transformers franchise.  I’ll take a demi-God with a sword and winged horse over alien robots any day.