Scott Pilgrim vs. A Killer Metaphor

So if you've been reading this invisible blog, you may have read my review of Inception. In it I said something to the effect that Inception was one of the best movies, if not the best movie, I have ever seen. Well... Scott Pilgrim vs. The World fits exactly into that same description.

I actually needed to see this movie twice before writing anything about it. There is so much in the film that it honestly feels like genuine comic book (or graphic novel for those who feel that comic book is degrading to the genre); every time you read it (or watch it), aspects of it feel new and undiscovered. It warrants a second viewing.

Scott Pilgrim is a seemingly average kid living in Toronto, Canada with his gay roommate Wallace and plays with his band, The Sex Bob-Omb (a play on words, bob-omb being a reference to items in The Super Mario Brothers games which resembles little black bombs with eyes and feet). The movie begins with Scott, age: 22, rating: awesome, dating a high school girl, Knives Chau. But not too long after the wonderful 8-bit Universal opening (which you can hear, but unfortunately not see, at the bottom of this post), Scott notices another girl, Ramona Flowers. After a quick break up with Knives, Scott attempts to woo Ramona. But Scott's in for a bit of a surprise. He must, in order to date Ramona, defeat her seven deadly exs. Comedy, action, and video game references ensue.

This film feels like the perfect trans-genetic mutation between an 8 or 16 bit video game and

a wicked awesome comic book. From the cartoons added in to animate Ramona's past boyfriends, to the retro (I loath using that word) video game tracks, to the "batman-style" sound text (you know, Bam!, Kapow!, Shazam!), this movie is dripping with pure fan-boy amazement. The visual is really the closest you could get to a comic without separating each shot into individual frames of a comic strip.

The visual, though, is only half of the picture. The dialog is so fresh and witty I was absolutely engaged the entire movie. And it all felt very natural. Nothing was too contrived or forced. If there was an awkward line the movie did a wonderful job at explaining the thought process behind it. Example: After Scott dumps Knives, she dyes her hair similar to Ramona's hair and

starts seeing Scott's friend, Young Neil, in an attempt to make Scott notice her. After they play at the club, Ramona sees knives across the bar and and asks who she is. Scott, panicking, tries to decided whether to say "I have to go pee" or "Who, her?" In Scott's mind we see a roulette wheel spinning landing right on the line between the two options. So what comes out is "I need to pee on her." The best thing is that he doesn't even realize what he said was out of the normal, but the audience can understand what's going on in his head. There are actually quite a few of these moments which make the movie very relatable since we've all had moments where we tried to say something but something else comes out.

The characters are another strong point of the film. Each person is fully committed to their character and they are all so fully developed. While I

have not yet read the books (though I plan on doing so very soon!), I have a clue that we can thank them for such wonderful and developed characters. Two particularly standout characters in the movie were Knives Chau and Ramona Flowers. Both of these were wonderfully portrayed by their respective actresses, Ellen Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. But the character that stole quite a few scenes, I feel was Alison Pill, who portrayed Kim, the drummer of Sex B0b-Omb and an old girlfriend of Scott. I really have no idea how to describe her role. You really just have to see the movie.

Michael Cera is also pretty freaking good in this movie. One of the best roles I think I've ever seen him in. Why do I think that? I think it's because of the role. I feel that he's been stuck in the same role for five years now. This one allows him to be a bit more free with his character.... a bit more animated and emotional. I know a lot of people are getting tired of him, but this movie really is a nice change of pace for him.

The music compliments the visual so perfectly that I was actually compelled to buy some of the songs after seeing it a second time. So catchy are the tracks, I find myself humming them all the time. The final aspect of this film that brings everything together are the battle scenes. Yes, they are over the top. Yes, they are more than slightly unrealistic. But, it brings together everything this movie has.

The whole movie is one big metaphor.... well kinda. The whole fighting the seven evil exs are something every guy, and girl (though I enjoy that the movie focuses on the guy point of view) has to metaphorically deal with when dating someone new and special. You always feel the need to be the best person they've dated to date (pun). This movie really does a superb job at jumping into the mind of a twenty something guy entering a new relationship. Bravo. I cannot wait to read the books.

This is the 8-bit Universal opening at the beginning of the film. Unfortunately there is no version just yet that features the visual component to the clip. Sorry folks.

The Dream is Real

Inception.

Need I give more of an introduction? If you have not seen this movie yet, you should. I would advise against seeing it, though, if you hate good thrillers, mind puzzles, incredible acting, original plots, brilliant dialog and/or leaving the movie theater feeling completely immersed in the world the director and writer made for you.

Honestly Inception is one of the best, if not the best, movies I've ever had the pleasure of watching. The world they create is so... immense. Each level they go into in the dream is a completely new world full of different imaginative twists and turns. Each level is so wonderfully flushed out and retains incredible depth. Never before has a movie made me so nervous throughout the entire film. Nervous not because I was scared but rather I was so jacked up on adrenaline that I could not physically keep myself calm. As soon as I stepped out of the movie theater I couldn't stop smiling. I also did not feel connected with reality for quite some time after. It probably sank in that I was out of the movie while I was eating dinner with Jennifer in between shows (we also saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice, but that's my last post. If you didn't read it all, conclusion: great fantasy movie offering something for all ages).

The movie revolves around Leo DiCaprio's character, Dom Cobb, and his unconventional profession; dream extraction. In short, he became an reconnaissance agent that goes into people's dreams and steals ideas, secrets or other personal information from his victims. His unorthodox career has stripped him of everything he loves in his life. His home, his wife, his children. But suddenly an employer offers to set everything in his life back to normal for one last job. Inception. It's never been done (supposedly). Instead of extracting an idea from a victim's mind, the employer wants Cobb to plant an idea. He needs to assemble the best team in the business to do the impossible. But there is a complication even more dangerous than the task itself. Something is hiding in Cobb's subconscious that could sabotage the entire mission. Something that has been hidden for a while. Something he must confront to get out of this alive.

Wow... just rereading this makes me think I should get a job writing the synopsis paragraphs on the back of DVD cases. Maybe I just have a huge ego. Whatevs....

The cast is absolutely superb. This movie oozes with terrific acting and amazing subtleties that will make the movie new each time you watch it. The plot is nothing short of elaborate. This means that my dad will probably turn it off half way through because he has no idea what is going on. But that's just him. I honestly think that if you can follow the Star Wars movies, you'll be able to keep along with this one. While elaborate, the plot is perfectly twisted. Nothing is out of place in this movie. Every rule Christopher Nolan (writer, director and one of the producers) creates for his movie is followed to a tee. The cinematography is also fantastic, creating intense shots of action, touching shots of emotion between Cobb and his wife, Mal, and, quite frankly, dreamlike shots of Joseph Gordon-Levitt floating weightlessly in hotel elevator shafts and such.

It's logical, brilliant, and every so tasty. I tried to think of adjectives to describe this movie, after seeing it. My instant thought was that it was juicy. I wanted to say that the movie was like candy, something you could just eat up. The thing is, candy has the connotation that it is simply surface, one-level satisfaction. And Inception is anything but that. Thinking for a while, I realized that this movie was like a thick juicy steak. Everyone can enjoy it but connoisseurs will savor the taste a little more. And just like a steak has many dimensions of flavor, taste, and succulence, so does this movie. Thus the movie is a wonderfully prepared juicy steak for audiences.

This is just a little interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page. No particular purpose other than I love these two in the movie and I think they're pretty great behind the scenes as well.

That's about it for now. I said it once, I'll say it again. This movie is amazing. Literally one of the best movies I have ever seen. Please go see it.

Apple Pie a la Mode

So as I sit here waiting for the championship of the world cup to commence, I feel relaxed after a wonderful weekend so far. Jennifer invited me to Gettysburg to look for apartments with her father, and we were able to set aside some time to watch a few movies. I'll tell you what, there is nothing better than apple pie a la mode with a cup of coffee in a dinner in the middle of Gettysburg. Well nothing more American that is. The only thing that ruined it a bit was that there was a huge biker rally that day. Nothing against bikers honestly. It's just very noisy. Some very cool bikes though.

Anyways. We got to rent a few movies. The Book of Eli, The Wolfman, and Unleashed.

The Book of Eli was surprisingly good. Going into it i had only seen a few trailers and they didn't really explain anything about the movie besides the fact that Denzel Washington has a book and Gary Oldman wants it. Most of the first 20-30 minutes of the movie is very sparse with dialog, yet you got to know Washington's character, Eli, very well. The movie did a wonderful job taking very little and turning it into so much. Shrouded in semi-mystery, most of the movie I had no idea what was going on. Everything comes together in the last 10-20 minutes turning all the building confusion into pure awe. I won't say to much more in fear of spoiling the movie for anyone who reads this (which probably may only be myself) who hasn't seen it.

The Wolfman was .... really bad as far as a dramatic movies go. But that was the thing. It attempted to be both a dramatic movie but also an action/slasher movie. The two, with very few exceptions, are mutually exclusive genres in my mind. So, even as an action/slasher movie it really didn't do it for me. The story was so basic, the acting was barely passable and in conjunction with the unmotivated violence, the movie was nothing more but a good conversation piece. Hugo Weaving and Anthony Hopkins really made the movie watchable. Oh and why silver. I've never understood that. I just would love to hear why silver bullets kill warewolves in, in albeit fake, scientific terms. But that's just a personal concern.

Unleashed was actually very good. It was able to turn a martial arts action movie into a semi-dramatic movie. This is one of those exceptions I mentioned in my last paragraph. Jet Li mad the movie come to life with decent acting and terrific martial arts. Jet Li is just an amazing person.

Sigh.

This world cup game is not really going anywhere. I suppose I'm rooting for Spain but neither team is much of a draw for me.

All in all... it was a good weekend.

Apprenticeship Never Sounded So Good

Please take a look at this amazing clip!

After seeing this clip last night (courtesy of Jennifer), I am so pumped for this movie. Not only are the action scenes wonderfully imaginative (so far) but the special effects look wonderful! Last year I saw "Push," a wonderful movie about those among us who have the ability to manipulate objects and minds around them. The effects for that movie were subtle enough that they looked quasi-real, yet still fantastic enough that it retained its fantasy/sci-fi core. These effects emulate that same philosophy; make it look like it could happen but still make it badass.

Normally I'm not one for Nicolas Cage (save for "Moonstruck") but this looks absolutely amazing. I'm also fascinated by the use of "science" in the second clip (below). I myself love when sci-fi/fantasy authors use science to explain why things happen in their world. Of course most times the science is more of a pseudoscience at best, but it means so much to me that they try.

All in all this looks like it's going to be a fantastic film, and I cannot wait to see it. Hopefully it won't be as much as a flop as "Airbender" was. I shudder as I think about the epicness of that fail....

A Firebender's Paradise

It was 100 degrees yesterday.... 38 Celsius. So far its 94 today, and rising. It's simply too hot. There is rarely a breeze and coming out of the lab it literally feels like I'm walking into the oven where we heat our samples. I know I'm complaining about things that are out of my control and honestly aren't that bad.... but it's just too hot.

I recently saw the movie "The Last Airbender." I love the show but the movie was an atrocity. I know everyone is blaming Shyamalan for the disaster since he was a "triple fail" (writer, director, & producer). But I really only could blame him for the writing. His script was the worst piece of writing I have seen in a very long time. As far as directing.... sure there were a few minor things here and there, but I would argue that if the script had been written by ... say the original writers (which seems like the first obvious choice to write the script) then his direction would have been better, hopefully. Personally I think he's a fine producer and maybe should just stick to that from now on.

Anyways.... what pissed me off probably the most about this movie is that the firebenders are unable to "create" fire themselves. In the movie they must have an external source of fire around to bend. Ummm... what? The whole reason they are so powerful in the series is that they are not limited to the environment around them. Waterbenders must have water. Earthbenders must have stone or earth. Airbenders are kinda similar to firebenders in that they can basically bend no matter their surroundings, but that's just because there's air just about everywhere. But yeah this "twist" Shyamalan evidently thought of is just a slap in the face to the show. Fire is simply energy being released from chemical bonds in wood, gasoline or any other flammable substance. In a more philosophical approach, which I feel this show is centered on, fire can be thought of an extension of your own energy. Being able to generate internal energy from your breath an then expelling it as fire. To me, it just seems very logical why the creators of Avatar (not the freaking blue cat-people movie) made firebenders able to create their own fire. Uncle Iroh even says to Zuko,

"No! Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body.The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire."

It just frustrates me when things are changed in movie adaptations when there is no reason whatsoever to change them. Sigh....

Now that that rant is over, I probably should get back to the happenings of my lab. Trying to pole some commercial ferroelectric polymers deposited on FTO coated glass. Not working so far. I really hope it does cool down outside soon, though.