Finishing Move (a guest post by Hugh Langley of Reel)

Hugh Langley is the author of Reel, another blog about movies, and you can also find him on twitter.

It has recently come to my attention that I perhaps put too much emphasis on a film’s ending, the very end, and I know it’s something I really shouldn’t do. I acknowledge that the ending isn’t necessarily the tipping point of a film, but it’s those last few moments I always take away with me. That’s not to say that everything that preceded it is forgotten of course. On the contrary, a film is, after all, the sum of its parts. But the tail end of a movie can often speak the loudest. Does it wrap the package up and deliver a happy reconciled conclusion, or leave it open for a bit of viewer discretion and guess-work? Does it even have an “ending” in the conventional sense at all? Or, more importantly, does it give the audience what they want? 

It’s pretty difficult to please everyone, so here’s five of my favourite all time movie endings that I think come the closest. Needless to say: contains spoilers.

More after the jump>>>

Blah Blah Blah Movies and Stuff

Picture Credit

I've been watching tons of movies as usual, just not blogging about them. 140 characters on Twitter is enough to describe most movies I see (sadly). I found Patriotic Danger, so my next review for the Independent Films Series will be not too far away.

Last night my sister and I had a mini-movie-marathon.

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Independent Films 2010: ...Around

Over the last year or so, thanks to twitter (can I sing its praises enough?), I've gotten to know some really special people. A good chunk of them are independent film makers. Several of them have approached me to review their films. I'm more than happy to oblige. I try to purchase them when finances allow but am overjoyed and honoured when provided with a review copy. Truly, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd buy every Independent Film on DVD and give money to the worthy film makers. If only. 

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Christmas, death, cookies and my favourite movies of 2009

It's that time of year. Christmas...ho ho hum. I'm in the middle of baking cookies. We've just lost a family member to a battle with cancer and I really don't know what else to do with myself!

Blogging and baking...seemed like a good idea at the time...a good distraction at the very least.

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Australia & The Dictator

I have lived in Australia for 13 years now, after having moved from the only home I'd ever known in Texas. I constantly tell people how amazing it is here. How great it is to have low-cost higher education and free healthcare (which works). I love how we have a friendly, creative and multicultural society. I love how people can speak freely here to criticise the government or to speak politically without inciting riots. I am usually quite happy with what the Prime Minister is doing, until today when I read this.

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Jack Nicholson is Ugly

Now, before you get all high and mighty on me, just listen. Last night I was watching the Witches of Eastwick as I hadn't seen it in a very long time. I have been enjoying the new television series which is based on the film so decided it was time to see it again. The movie, surprisingly, holds up well and I was sufficiently creeped out by the end. However, mid-film I tweeted this: Jack Nicholson has to be the sexiest ugly guy ever...

Why did I feel compelled to tweet in the middle of such an engaging film? Well, because I was shocked. There he was, overweight and balding, sauntering around making dirty old man remarks and for some reason I couldn't help thinking "Damn Jack, you sexy". So sexy, I went ghetto.

That got me thinking, who else do I find overwhelmingly sexy and brimming with that elusive x-factor? What other actors get me going, even though if they were Fred Smith who works at the Stop-N-Go I wouldn't even look twice? Here's my list.

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New York Lately and Gary King

I don't often cry during trailers for low budget films, but watching one for Gary King's New York Lately, I'm a little choked up. I've been following Gary on twitter for ages, but never really had a look at his work. Silly me. Please visit his website and take a look at what he's done. A talented guy who is set to make a big name for himself. Follow Gary on twitter @grking.

And then I found this.

Image: Drew Struzan

Really, the internet is awesome. I found this amazing artist who draws and paints artwork from films but it's what he chooses to cover which fascinates me. Adventures in Babysitting for example. Fantastic.

www.drewstruzan.com

Bruce Campbell is Awesome

Well, Duh.

Just because I haven't done this in a while...

Film education and ghosts in letters

Dear Readers,

Just recently I've been following a blog called Letters of Note. The blog contains letters of correspondence which have some historical value or interest. Some are moving, some are funny and some are quite revealing of the people who write them. I discovered a few film-related letters which interest me greatly. The first is from author Phillip K Dick to the makers of Blade Runner, a film based on one of his books. You can read it here. The most moving thing about this letter is that it was written shortly before the author died. Read it and you'll see what I mean. It also lends more truth to what I always say about films and that is heart is the most important ingredient.

More after the jump>>>

Podcasting, Cooking, 100 Films OH MY!

Image Credit

Tonight I went to see Julie & Julia. It's the story of Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and Julie (Amy Adams), a lost blogger from Queens. It was an interesting concept for a film and I'll discuss it more next week during the radio show I'm doing a fill-in for, my old show Film Central. You can listen to that show at the All Star Cast upload site here. I'll let you know when it's available.

The film was slightly disappointing, but it gave me a corker of an idea. I'm not sure if anyone's done this yet, and I'm sure they have but I'm afraid to google it. I've decided to watch every single film on the AFI top 100 Films list. Each film I'll report on and my deadline is not too ambitious, just 365 days from the date of this blog. Plenty of time to fit in 100 films. This should be a fun exercise, particularly since I've been seeking out films to further educate myself for a while now.

Fear not, I'm still going to see everything new as well. I'd hate to ignore new films just for the sake of learning about the past. I'm always going to have a soft spot for popcorn flicks.

I do also apologise for not blogging as much. I've gone through a big self analysing phase asking questions like, "Who am I to write about movies" and "Why do I think I'm better at this than anyone else?" The truth is I'm just a gal who loves film and I definitely do not think I'm better than anyone at anything.

I hope you enjoy reading my posts because I love writing them and that's what really matters.

Update 6 OCT 09

Life is full. This past week I've been painting the kitchen and finally making the house I purchased months ago feel like a home. My partner is an enthusiastic man who works hard and has been driving all the renovations. Without him I would probably be in bed all day watching movies or on twitter doing not much of anything. I'm grateful to have a house and this gorgeous new-look kitchen.

I also had a visitor stay for 4 days. He's a fellow martial artist from interstate and he was here just to get away and thankfully, volunteer his help with some extra training. He's one of those people that I just get along with as though we shared the same blood. I love having him around and he's got a great sense of humour. I think for four days all we did was recite all of the Lonely Island comedy songs...like a boss.

I've been catching up on TV shows, doing lots of radio and trying to find time to write about the movies I love. The fact is, the good reviews, the in depth studied film-snobbery type reviews, are what you should be reading. I'm just going to post crap here (albeit fun crap).

Listen to my podcast if you like. New ep up today: http://www.cpod.org.au/page.php?id=86 so please check it out.

Oh and remember, every film doesn't have to be award-winning for you to enjoy it. Don't feel guilty or dumber just because you enjoyed something less-than. Don't listen to naysayers...they are usually the same people who refuse to listen to popular music just because it's popular. Watch what you like. :)

Did I ever tell you about this thing called Twitter?

Sorry for not posting lots lately. I tend to tweet about things and think that's good enough, which isn't really true.

Have a look at my flutters of activity if you like.

I'm enjoying brief encounters with celebrities, hilarious links and lots of good vibes. Forgive my posting tourettes...I get excited sometimes. Hope to see you on twitter!

The St Kilda Film Festival 2009

The St Kilda short film festival is now touring around Australia. I was lucky enough to be invited to one of their stops.

This year the tour kicked off with a haunting story entitled Cicada. Thrusting his melancholy and worn face into the camera, the narrator tells the story of how as a child he witnessed a horrific murder in a pub where his mother worked. It’s evident the story shaped his life from there and the impact of this short telling was palpable. No one dared even shuffle in their seats as the credits ran.

Some highlights for me included Tin Can Heart, a ridiculously beautiful animation in a similar style to Wall.E, The Ground Beneath, a story of a young boy’s struggle to take control of his own life, and One Shoe Short, set in a small indigenous community about two boys who light heartedly stumble around their day, you guessed it, one shoe short.

The St Kilda Film Festival never disappoints and the tour films this year were stellar. However, I couldn’t ignore the fact that in the films chosen to tour there were a lot of big names including Miranda Otto …and bigger budgets. Though there were a couple of quite obvious amateur jobs, I was disappointed that the festival seems to have developed into a showcase for already known talents rather than a platform for emerging names.

Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Many years ago I readily denounced small films at the flick of my hand but now I realize they are seeds that help the industry grow.

Get along and see this tour if you can, check the website for more details. www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au/. The St Kilda Film Fest is touring Australia until September 20.

RIP John Hughes

The 2009 curse strikes again. Here's to a man who made some really great pop culture flicks. Talk about defining a generation!

Enjoy this trailer for Weird Science. It's purely sexual!

For more check out IMDB for a cool tribute.

Life after MJ and other things

The other day at work, a colleague expressed his disdain at all the outpouring of love and support for Michael Jackson. "How can you care that much about someone you didn't know"? Well it's a good question. I guess if you've never felt that way before about someone, you wouldn't understand but the whole thing is really difficult to put in words. I suppose in the case of Michael Jackson, this is someone who's been in my life since I can remember. Michael's music permeated almost every great memory I have like the story I recounted in the previous post about buying Bad with the first spending money I ever earned. The best way for me to explain to you how I feel is by using the words of another.

"Why don't we mourn "more important" deaths like we are mourning this one?

What if after your mother died people said that? "Everyone dies, geez, why are you crying?? What makes your mom so special? Why aren't you crying for all the children in Darfur? What about all the people dying in the inner cities. Our poor soldiers in Iraq die everyday. Who mourns them? Innocent children are murdered around the world"

I mean, they'd be right to an extent. One death is nothing compared to thousands, right? But you wouldn't care, because it's YOUR mother and you don't care about people that you don't come in contact with.

There's no comparison between someone's mother and someone they don't even know, you're right. But my level of sadness is commensurate to the impact he had on my life. He never changed my diapers or put food in my mouth, so he's not comparable to my mother and I'm not as inconsolable as I'd be if she died. But he did cause me to try to moonwalk. I sing his songs out loud. I begged for and subsequently received a Thriller jacket, glitter socks and 2 Michael Jackson dolls wearing the Grammy and American Music Awards outfits when I was a kid.

I've watched him and marveled at his talent for the entirety of my life. Is it ridiculous to mourn someone that gave you joy for over 30 years? I guarantee at some point in your life you'll be saddened by someone who "you've never met" and they won't be nearly as influential as MJ."

Taken from the blog "What Ricky Thinks" http://www.whatrickythinks.com/what-ricky-thinks/shutup-while-i-mourn-michael-jackson-before-i-smack-the-shit.htm
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Moving on (eventually), I wanted to mention the very exciting news that Harry Potter will be back in cinemas this coming Wednesday. I already have tickets purchased for that Saturday night as all the sessions until then had been sold out! Crazy. I suppose Potter-Mania shouldn't really surprise me these days. I think this was my favourite book of the series so I hope they do it justice! Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is in most major cinemas from July 15.




A lot of people are asking me if I've seen Bruno. The answer is NO, I don't want to see it, please don't make me. I barely made it through Borat without walking out. I can see that Sacha Baron Cohen is very clever, yes, but when you boil it down he's just really mean. I don't enjoy seeing people treated so poorly and I don't find his antics amusing. I don't know why, that's just me. I'm can admit I do see how some could find it funny, I just don't.


Last week I bought the Graduate on DVD for around $8. Meanwhile, some other kid in line was buying "Meet the Spartans" for $30. SUCKA! I'm looking forward to watching it. I'm the hugest Dustin Hoffman fan and I've only ever seen clips of this film.

If you love film you have to educate yourself with some of the classics.

Have a great weekend (what's left of it) and for goodness sakes...watch a movie!


*saw Potter, wasn't impressed. They cut out some of the most anticipated moments for me. Still, visually it was something else. The Graduate has to be now, one of my favourite films. So incredible. See it!!!

Tragedy in Life and Death

Do you remember that first time you had money of your own and actually earned it? I can't remember how I got my first cash, whether it was for doing extra chores or something like that but I do remember what I bought. It was a cassette tape: "Bad" by Michael Jackson.

I can't remember a day of my life without knowing that name. My Mom used to sing Jackson 5 tracks and my sister and I used to nearly break our ankles trying to Moonwalk. Like E.T. was the first film that made me realise I loved movies, Michael Jackson was the first artist to really make me pay attention to music. I can't begin to calculate the amount of joy his music has brought to my life since day 1.

I didn't want to let his death go by without noting it. Michael Jackson helped shape who I am today and that's not me being poetic, it's the honest truth. You might get annoyed about all the press that his death is getting, stopping so called real news from reaching the forefront, but how much of the sadness in our lives at one time or another was made better by listening to this man's music? I know in my life, countless times. If the world's reaction is any indication, I know that it's the same for millions globally. Why not stop for a week or so to listen to his music instead of concentrating on the world's ills? I know what I'd prefer to do.

As far as those allegations MJ faced over the years, I like to think that he wasn't capable of doing that to children as he was just as much of a child himself. I don't appreciate the jokes and jabs at his expense, especially considering his close friends and family and what they have to see and hear in the media. Let them grieve as I'm sure they need to, even his overbearing father Joe.

I really am struggling with saying goodbye to Michael Jackson, as I'm sure many of you are. I have the photo above as my phone's desktop and every PC I come in contact with is adorned with a similar image. I've been listening to his songs non-stop since hearing the news and nearly had a breakdown when I couldn't find THAT casette.

I love what you gave the world Mike and thanks for all you got me through over the years. Like artists who changed music and culture throughout history, I believe your legacy will live on. RIP Mike. In Pain No More.

The Wrestler 2...but not really!

It's Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2 as Whiplash! Geek out!

This is thanks to Empire Online. Click the link for full article.

Ps does anyone else think his face looks like the V for Vendetta mask? Just sayin'!

Mystery Movie

Mystery Team...from a writer of 30 Rock, Donald Glover. You've also seen him in a few eps. This movie actually looks funny, if a bit low fi. You can also visit Donald's website for more.