Five Great Movies to Watch for Thanksgiving

Christmas isn’t the only holiday that gets love from Hollywood. Though there are a lot of movies set at or around Christmastime, what many people may not realize is that there are just as many great movies set around Thanksgiving as well. Beyond sitting down with the family for a nice turkey dinner this year, consider popping in one of the following classics to really let you enjoy the holiday with a little extra help from people like Steve Martin, John Candy and acclaimed directors Terrence Malick and Woody Allen.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” stars Steve Martin and John Candy as two very different guys trying desperately to make it home for Thanksgiving. This comedy classic is a staple of cable television around November and December, and with good reason. Between Steve Martin’s deadpan comedic timing and John Candy’s broad sensibility, this is one holiday classic that you need to have in your collection.

The New World

“The New World” is director Terrence Malick’s take on the founding of Jamestown, Virginia and the historical legends of John Smith and Pocahontas. If you want to bring a little history into your home with your Thanksgiving dinner, “The New World” is one of the best ways to do just that. The film stars Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale and Q’orianka Kilcher.

Hannah and Her Sisters

“Hannah and Her Sisters” is Woody Allen’s third greatest film that happens to be set at Thanksgiving. It tells the story of very different people over an entire year and is as heartwarming and dramatic as it is downright hilarious. Highlights include Woody Allen as a hypochondriac who learns that his greatest fears may have come true, and a bravado performance by Michael Caine in what is still one of his finest roles.

Funny People

“Funny People” tells the story of comedy legend George Simmons as he mentors up and coming standup comedian Ira through the trials and tribulations of his own career. George learns that he has a very serious form of cancer and starts to take another look at the decisions he’s made in his life. Perhaps the most poignant scene in the film takes place at Thanksgiving dinner where George recounts experiences from his youth and tells everyone that “these are the times you’ll always remember.”

Dutch

Before he was Al Bundy, Ed O’Neill was the titular character in the Thanksgiving comedy “Dutch.” Dutch is tasked with getting a young boy from his private school to his home for Thanksgiving, which requires long hours in a car with two people who couldn’t be more different and absolutely can’t stand each other. In the pantheon of road trip comedies, “Dutch” is definitely near the top.

Comic Books That Even People Who Aren't Fans Can Enjoy

The comic book medium has had to fight the perception that it is “just for kids” for much of its existence. Since the 1930s, people have commonly associated comic books with colorful superheroes and fun stories that don’t really mean anything. This perception couldn’t be farther from the truth. Even if you’re the type of person who can’t stand superheroes and doesn’t like some of the more science fiction related elements present in many comics, there are still a number of stories that you can enjoy.

Maus

“Maus” is a retelling of the Holocaust in comic book format. It was written and illustrated by Art Spiegelman and is based on interviews conducted with his own father who was a Holocaust survivor. In the book, Jewish citizens are depicted as mice. Germans are portrayed as cats and the Polish are portrayed as pigs. It was the first comic book to ever with the Pulitzer Prize. It was released in 1991 and was an immediate critical success.

Road to Perdition

Many people know the story of “Road to Perdition” from the successful 2002 film that starred Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. People might not realize that the film was based on a very popular and critically acclaimed comic book. “Road to Perdition” is the story of a man who is trying to escape from his mobster lifestyle after the death of his wife and son, and of the surviving son that is traveling with him.

Grant Morrison’s Animal Man

“Animal Man” was a character published by DC Comics who had the ability to communicate with animals, which he used to fight crime. In the late 1980s writer Grant Morrison revamped the book into a deconstruction of comic books and superheroes in general. Throughout the course of Morrison’s 20+ issue run, Animal Man slowly begins to realize that he’s a comic book character and eventually even travels to Scotland to meet Morrison himself.

Y: The Last Man

“Y: The Last Man” is the story of the aftermath of a plague that wiped out every living male on the planet, both man and animal. The sole exception was a young magician named Yorick and his pet monkey, also male, named Ampersand. Yorick travels the post-apocalyptic countryside trying to find his long lost love. He must fight his way through the aftermath of a society that just lost half of the population and can no longer reproduce.

Preacher

“Preacher” is a popular long running comic book published by DC Comics’ “Vertigo” imprint. The book, designed for adults, tells the story of a preacher named Jesse Custer. After being granted the power of God, Jesse goes through a crisis of faith and decides that he’d like to sit down and have a little chat with his maker. He is accompanied by his ex-girlfriend Tulip and a drunken Irish vampire named Cassidy.

Random Thoughts Regarding "The Dark Knight Rises"

 Instead of a traditional review, I've decided to just post random thoughts that I had while watching "The Dark Knight Rises" this weekend. Note that there are some mild spoilers, so if you're one of the three people who haven't seen it yet you might want to avoid what follows.

• Why did Bruce Wayne need to be broke? Just so he could give Talia the "please don't use this bomb as a bomb" bomb? Wayne Enterprises is a publicly traded company that was already tanking. Couldn't they have just... done that? Without Bane doing that?

• I was disappointed when Bane wasn't disguised as a janitor like he was in that comic for kids. The fact that he was disguised as a biker in the world's largest biker jacket helped, though. Still not as good.

• I don't understand why they didn't just have Blake's real name be Dick Grayson. I thought that's what they were doing, until they made one of the most bizarre left turns in history (hyperbole!)

• I had secretly hoped that John Blake was going to turn out to be this kid, and was mildly disappointed when he wasn't:

• Bale's befuddled Batman stare will never not make me laugh. SO MANY TIMES there will be a shot of someone talking, and then they cut to the reverse of Batman and he's just standing there like a dope.

• It's weird to see Batman walk so many places. He just walks casually a shocking amount in that movie.

• Cillian Murphy showing up was the best. It's the one thing about Batman that Nolan seems to truly understand: The Scarecrow is at his best when he's someone else's bitch and is enjoying himself despite that. "Death... by EXILE!" made me laugh out loud.

• They definitely re-dubbed Bane in the prologue, but it's almost like they did it begrudgingly. It's SO LOUD in places, and Tom Hardy totally doesn't sound into it. Most of the rest of the movie just sounds like he did in the prologue, so it feels like they just went "Ugh. Fine. Here."

• This movie had a shocking amount of silly comic book movie conceits. When Bane breaks everyone out of prison, he does so by blowing up a conveniently placed giant door. In order to hurt Bane, Batman has to punch the little tube things on his face. Which Talia immediately replaces and he's fine again. I don't understand why he couldn't just do that himself. Only like two of them were broken. Grow a pair, Tom Hardy.

• For the most part, Tom Hardy's eye acting was awesome. Except that one scene where he's giving that long speech and his eyes are going INSANE. I wonder what the original dialog was there, because that intensity really doesn't match the delivery of the voice over.

• I don't know why they had to have the movie take place over the course of a year when they were just going to time jump everything anyway.

• Nolan has this incredible ability to make a three hour long movie where every scene is integral to the plot and it's still mostly boring. I don't understand it. You can't argue that it isn't impressive.

• I don't understand why Jim Gordon thought it was a good idea to open a speech with "You guys wanna know the truth about Batman and Harvey Dent? Ehh... nevermind. On that same subject, Harvey Dent was definitely pretty sweet..." I think it would have raised some questions.

• Is the implication that Joseph Gordon Levit-Batman is going to hand pick his new Robin from the boy's home upstairs? He can have ALL THE ROBINS!

• Christopher Nolan just made his THE GODFATHER PART III.

Television Review: Aaron Sorkin's "The Newsroom"

Aaron Sorkin is the award-winning creator of such television shows as “The West Wing” and “Sports Night,” and the Academy Award-winning writer of films like “The Social Network” and “Malice.” He returns to television on HBO’s new show “The Newsroom,” which features a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at a major cable television news network. The question on a lot of people’s minds is no doubt whether or not the show is actually good. Luckily, that question has an easy answer.

Sorkin’s trademark and instantly recognizable dialog is on full display in “The Newsroom” from the very start. As with most of his pilots, we are introduced to lead character Will McAvoy in the middle of a tirade that ends up landing him in hot water with both his network and his audience. McAvoy is a typical Sorkin character who is brilliant but opinionated and likeable but off putting. When most of his staff resigns as the result of his tirade at a public speaking event, his ex-girlfriend MacKenzie comes in and takes over the show. If you’re a fan of Aaron Sorkin, there’s a lot to like in “The Newsroom” from the very beginning.

“The Newsroom” assembles perhaps the best cast for an Aaron Sorkin television show to date, and that’s saying something. Jeff Daniels stars as McAvoy and plays him expertly. Emily Mortimer stars as MacKenzie and plays her with a stunning confidence. Though, as the character calls for, it is always clear that insecurities and neurosis rests right below the surface. Rounding out the cast of the first episode of “The Newsroom” are veteran actors like Alison Pill and Sam Waterston who bring the fictional news network to life. If there’s a problem with “The Newsroom,” it isn’t the cast.

The story of the pilot itself is a little more uneven than it probably should be. The first half deals almost exclusively with the fallout from Will’s disastrous public speaking fiasco. While the characters and the interactions are ultimately compelling, this whole section drags on for just a little too long. The second half, however, deals with the crew of the fictional news network as they learn more and more about a breaking news event. This section of the pilot is always riveting and compelling and ultimately shows exactly where the strengths of this show really are. If you can make it to the second half, it will likely be difficult to impossible to turn the show off before it ends.

If the rest of the series is anything like the second half of the pilot, “The Newsroom” shows an incredible amount of potential. As the characters are all fascinating and expertly played, the show seems like it can get a lot out of their relationships and interactions. Watching the staff of the fictional news network deal with real life breaking news events (the pilot deals with the BP Oil Spill from 2010) is also terrific entertainment. The only hurdle to overcome will be the preachy nature inherent in the first half of the pilot. If Aaron Sorkin can get off his political soapbox long enough to tell a good story, “The Newsroom” is going to be on the air for a very long time.

The Five Best Documentaries About Filmmaking

With the advent of the DVD home video format, more and more releases of popular films came packaged with documentaries detailing their production. Some of these documentaries were “fluff” pieces of little to no artistic merit. Everyone has seen one at some point – a five minute piece where the director and lead star only talk about how much fun they had and how good they think the movie is. Other documentaries are made by people with a real love of the craft and of the people and films that they are covering. Certain documentaries are better than the movies they actually cover. If you’re an aspiring filmmaker or just have an interest in how hard people work to bring entertainment into your home, there are a few documentaries that you’re not going to want to miss.

Dangerous Days: Making 'Blade Runner'

Produced expertly by Charles de Lauzirika, “Dangerous Days” chronicles the making of Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction epic. The documentary clocks in at over three hours, which is longer than the actual film itself. Every aspect of production is covered in amazing detail, from the original conception to pre-production all the way through the film’s initial lukewarm release and eventual rise to cult status. Nearly every key member of the crew is interviewed at some point, and many are very candid in their responses. This documentary is available on all versions of “Blade Runner” released on DVD or Blu-ray from 2007 onward.

BUY: Blade Runner (Five-Disc Complete Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

Requiem for Krypton: Making 'Superman Returns'

If you want to know what it’s like to make one of the most expensive genre movies of all time, “Requiem for Krypton” is the documentary for you. Produced by Robert Meyer Burnett, this documentary actually begins before director Bryan Singer ever signed on to direct the movie in the first place. The casting process and all the way through the end of production are covered in great detail. What makes “Requiem for Krypton” special is that much of it is told from the point of view of Brandon Routh, the unknown actor plucked from obscurity to become the next Man of Steel for a new generation. This documentary is available on the two-disc “Superman Returns” DVD, the one-disc Blu-ray release and in the “Anthology” collection DVD and Blu-ray sets with the other three Superman theatrical films.

BUY: Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology, 1978-2006 [Blu-ray]

Wreckage and Rage: The Making of 'Alien 3'

“Wreckage and Rage” chronicles the troubled production of the third film in the “Alien” franchise. The movie seemed doomed from the start, as promotional material was being made even before a script was finished. First time director David Fincher (who would later go on to direct “Se7en” and the American “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” remake) must navigate troubled waters and deal with studio interference, a lack of support and more. If you want to find out what can go wrong for first time directors, this documentary is for you. It is available on the “Alien Quadrilogy” and “Alien Anthology” home video releases, as well as in the two disc “Alien 3” DVD release.

BUY: Alien Anthology [Blu-ray]

Full Tilt Boogie

“Full Tilt Boogie” chronicles the making of “From Dusk Till Dawn,” a movie written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez. What makes this documentary special is that the “story” of the film’s production is told almost exclusively from the point of view of the crew. People who you would never get to see normally, like the first assistant director or assistants, are put front and center. This documentary is available on the two disc DVD release of “From Dusk Till Dawn,” as well as its own standalone DVD release.

BUY: Full-Tilt Boogie

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

“Hearts of Darkness” chronicles the immensely troubled production of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” the film that almost cost him his career in the late 70s. Filmed by Coppola’s wife, this intimate portrait shows what happens when a man confronts the worst possible scenario at every corner. Coppola had to contend with one alcoholic star, a crew that was ready to mutiny at any moment and even a nearby war. This is available on the three disc Blu-ray release of “Apocalypse Now” and as its own standalone DVD.

BUY: Apocalypse Now (Apocalypse Now / Apocalypse Now Redux / Hearts of Darkness) (Three-Disc Full Disclosure Edition)  [Blu-ray]

Why Do We Suddenly Hate Auteurs?

“au·teur

noun

a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.”

----------

Aaron Sorkin’s new show “The Newsroom” premiered on HBO last week to big ratings and a massively polarizing reception. Many of the negative reviews focus on his distinct writing style in particular and cite both characters and plots that are similar to his previous shows like “The West Wing” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”

My question is, why is this a bad thing? I thought that writers everywhere aspired to have a unique and instantly recognizable voice in their work. Say what you will about Aaron Sorkin, but if anything he’s ever written comes on television that fact becomes immediately obvious after only a few minutes of watching. This is most certainly not easy to do, and it used to actually mean something.

A similar backlash (albeit a significantly smaller one) happened earlier in the summer with Joss Whedon’s “The Avengers.” While the film broke box office records and got stellar reviews, a certain vocal minority criticized the film for Joss Whedon’s trademark style. Whedon is another writer with an instantly recognizable style. The way his characters speak, particularly to one another, is a style unlike that of any other writer out there. And yet people see this as a negative for some reason.

These are two of my favorite writers for that exact reason. They’re both masters of their craft, and there’s something particularly comforting to know that I’m about to sit down and watch someone who is absolutely wonderful at their job. There are few people out there who are more consistently entertaining than these two.

Other examples of writers with unique voices are people like Joel and Ethan Coen, Kevin Smith, Diablo Cody and William Goldman. It’s perfectly acceptable to say that you didn’t like their particular style, but to say that they’re “bad writers” simply because they have a style is preposterous. They’re supposed to have a style. They’re supposed to have a voice. They’re writers. That’s what writers do.

I’ve heard certain people in the past criticize both Whedon and Sorkin for not writing “the way people talk.” While I certainly can understand this point of view, I absolutely don’t agree that it’s a negative. People in real life may not talk like they were written by Joss Whedon or Aaron Sorkin, but I for one wish they did. People would be a lot smarter, and would certainly be a whole lot more fun to argue with.

A video appeared online recently called “Sorkinisms – A Supercut.” It collects together clips from Aaron Sorkin’s various television shows including “Sports Night,” “The West Wing,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and a few of his movies. The collection is designed to show off reused dialog and thematic elements across his body of work. Though the author of the video claims that it was done out of respect, a lot of people online have jumped on it as if they now suddenly have “proof” that Sorkin is a hack.


My response is a bit different. Every single clip is instantly identifiable as having been written by Sorkin. It’s all in his voice and style, and it’s all immediately recognizable. There’s that “auteur theory” again. And secondly, the man wrote hundreds of hours of television (allegedly) by himself. He was writing the first season of “The West Wing” and the second season of “Sports Night” at the same time. If you want to hate on the man, you’re going to have to try a little harder than just to pull together seven minutes of clips that span hundreds of hours of work.

So what is the problem, exactly? Why, now of all times, do people suddenly hate work that stands out from everything else? Why do we suddenly want more movies and TV shows that blend in with all other movies and TV shows ever made? Does nobody like that feeling they get when they’re watching something wholly unique? Because I do.

And why didn’t anyone bother to tell me? It could have saved me a lot of time.

Ten Things I Learned From the Movie "300"

A little movie came out a few years ago called 300. I really wasn’t a fan when it came out, but I decided to give it another shot when it aired recently on cable.

If you haven't heard of it, it's (sorta) the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, which is where a small army of 300 Spartans (and, y'know, some other folks - but "shhhh") were able to hold their own against the massive Persian Empire. If the battle been lost, Western civilization as we know it would not exist.

It was, as they say, kind of a big deal.

I've read about the Battle of Thermopylae in history books, and it's pretty fascinating. I've learned a lot. However, after watching 300 I realized that I really knew very little about what went on in central Greece over two thousand years ago.

So with that, I present to you Ten Things I Learned While Watching 300:

1. The Persian Empire (and though not explicitly said, it's implied that by association modern-day Iran) was filled with horrific, gay, evil, gay monsters.

2. The 300 Spartans were able to hold off an army of 150,000 to 250,000 Persians using only their prettiness combined with the awesome might of their sexuality. (HETEROsexuality)

3. Sparta was absolutely a free, democratic society. Nope, no slaves in Sparta. What. So. Ever. Holy crap, what a crazy idea that is. Slaves in Sparta? Stop taking crazy pills, ya hippie!

4. Spartans will charge into battle barely dressed, with no armor whatsoever, use the phalanx formation that they're prided for exactly once, and they'll STILL kick the crap out of your giant army. In slow motion. That's how sweet they are.

5. Leonidas, King of Sparta, had a very blatant, almost Sean Connery-esque Scottish accent.

6. A Spartan, apparently, COULD NOT CONTROL THE VOLUME OF HIS VOICE.

7. Ancient Sparta, on the whole, looked a lot like a mid-90s alt-rock music video that you would see on MTV at 3:00 in the morning.

8. Spartans, at least in 480 BC, had as of yet not mastered the art of “Not getting your helmet knocked off every three seconds during battle.” Still didn’t need it, though. For more information, see “Number 4.”

9. The Battle of Thermopylae would have lasted about forty five minutes, except everyone made the curious decision to fight in slow motion for much of the time.

10. In Hollywood, it is possible (and evidently quite easy) to fail upwards, as after this director Zack Snyder would go on to make “Watchmen”, that movie with the owls that wear helmets, and the upcoming Superman reboot “Man of Steel.”

I hate 300.

Ranking the Movies of 2011

What follows is a quick list ranking all of the films I was able to see theatrically in 2011. The criteria for this list is simply that a particular movie came out either in the United States or in its native country during that year, and that I was able to see it during its original run. The list is ordered from “First” to “Worst,” starting with the best and moving on down to the… not so best.

ATTACK THE BLOCK
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
RED STATE
SHAME
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
50/50
TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL
SUPER 8
PAUL
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
OUR IDIOT BROTHER
CONTAGION
THE MUPPETS
MONEYBALL
CONAN O'BRIEN CAN'T STOP
30 MINUTES OR LESS
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3
ARTHUR
THE GREEN HORNET
CEDAR RAPIDS
THOR
STRAW DOGS
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
GREEN LANTERN
THE HANGOVER PART II

How to Finally Start That Screenplay You're Always Talking About

A lot of creative people think about starting a screenplay at some point or another. It may begin with an idea for a story, or a description of a character, or even a funny situation or conversation. Eventually that seed of a concept grows into a full-fledged desire. However, it can be exceedingly difficult to actually put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and start on your opus. It doesn’t have to be, however, so long as you look at it the right way.

Start by separating everything that you’ve already thought of into a few different categories. If you’ve primarily had ideas for characters, for example, write the word “Characters” on the top of a sheet of paper. Follow that with names, back-stories, and personalities – anything that is already in your mind. Do the same with the general concept for your plot, locations and more.

Look back over your list of characters (if applicable) and examine their motivations. For each character you need to answer the questions of “Who is this person?”, “What does this person want from the story?” and “What role does this person play in the larger arc of my screenplay.” As you start to answer these questions, you will begin to get a better picture of the overall story of your screenplay. The situations that they need to get themselves into for the story to work, and how they will react to those situations, will become clear.

Continue by breaking down the overall story of your screenplay into a series of scenes. Feature length screenplays tend to have anywhere from 70 to 150 or more scenes, depending on the genre. Writing down all of your scene ideas will give you a good indication of just how far along your idea actually is.

Write down each scene onto a notecard, using one new notecard for each. You can do this any way you’d like: you can write a description of the scene on the front of the card and the location on the back, or write both pieces of information on the same side.

Arrange all of your notecards in chronological order, the way they would unfold if you were watching the finished film on television or in a theater. This will allow you to flip through the notecards from beginning to end, which will tell you where your story flows naturally and where there are holes that need to be filled.

Separate your notecards into three sections, or “acts.” Almost all major motion picture screenplays follow a standard three act structure. The first act introduces the characters and sets up the conflict. The second act takes the protagonist on their journey, and shows the difficulties they face along the way. The third act builds towards the climax of the story, as well as the resolution. Put the notecards you’ve written into one pile for each act.

Spread out all of your notecards on the floor, or pin them up to a cork board or bulletin board. This will give you a visual idea of how far along you are with your story. If all of your notecards are in the “Act 1” section and the “Act 3” section, for example, you know that your “Act 2” is going to need to be fleshed out. If you seem to have an equal amount of notecards in each section, you’re on the right track.

Do as much research as you can. This can encompass watching films that are similar to the one you’re trying to write, or reading published screenplays purchased in bookstores or downloaded from the Internet. Watch how professionals do their job, and learn from the best along the way.

Study the screenplay format. Writing a screenplay is not like writing prose – the formatting is very particular, and a poorly formatted script will be thrown into the garbage by studio executives, producers, actors and the like. Each scene has to have a scene heading, for example, which is formatted in a very particular way. The dialog goes in a specific place on the page, and can’t go anywhere else. You also can’t write anything in a script that can’t be seen or heard – this means you can’t arbitrarily write why a character is performing an action, or what they’re thinking while it’s going on.

Make time in your day to start writing and do so. One of the hardest parts of writing for many screenwriters is staring at the blank page before they actually begin. Write “FADE IN:” in the upper left corner of the page, and then keep going. Even if you can only write for twenty minutes a day, or can only commit to two pages a day, that’s still an excellent start. The more pages that you write, the more motivation you will have to continue to the end.