I'm not a huge movie watcher. I like them occasionally, but despite my love for TV, I prefer the good old book to a movie. Movies are often far too squished, the story too rushed. Think about it - they tell a whole story in roughly the time of a two-hour pilot. It's sad.
However, I do have some favourite movies...
Princess Mononoke: An animated masterpiece from Japan, it tells a beautiful story of the clash between nature and technology while working as a fantasy in its own right. The characters are well-drawn, especially the 'villain', Lady Iboshi, who is very believable as a woman looking out for her people and hardy an evil person. Also, gorgeous.
Juno: Brilliantly written, performed and directed, this is a masterpiece. Ellen Page as teenage mother Juno is better than most actresses twice, three times her age, and I cannot wait to see what comes next from her. The cast altogether is brilliant: Michael Cera as her child's awkward father, J.K. Simmons and Alison Janney as her strict-but-loving father and stepmother, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the hopeful adoptive parents and even Olivia Thirlby as her best friend, cheerleader Leah. Diabo Cody wrote a great script here, as well, and they nailed every relationship with the perfect amount of chemistry - even the supposed-to-be-creepy chemistry that develops between Juno and Mark (Jason Bateman's character).
Pan's Labyrinth: A dark, heartbreaking Spanish fairytale about a young girl in the turbulent period after the Spanish civil War, being tempted with stories by a mysterious creature who tells her she is really a fairy princess and must complete three tasks to regain her princesship. This is set against stories of her step-father viciously hunting down rebels. Just an amazing movie all-round, with the ambiguity of the fairy-tale never wavering, and an ending you will never forget. Ivana Baquero as Ofelia and Meribel Verdu as Mercedes especially shine.
Little Miss Sunshine: The movie where I truly fell for little Abigail Breslin, who was the cutest thing since puppies here. It's a quirky family-oriented tale that offers the moral to follow your heart and be yourself, and does it so well that I refuse to be annoyed at this common message. The entire cast is brilliant, with Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear as her parents, stressed Cheryl and self-help-book writer Richard, Alan Arkin as her heroin- and sex-addicted grandfather Edwin, Paul Dano as her silent brother Dwayne, and Steve Carell as her suicidal uncle Frank.
There's plenty more where that came from. :) Later, though.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Who is this Alden guy, and why's he dead?
The first thing you need to know is that Alden isn't quite as dead as he says he is.
The second thing is that I'm Alden, and I sometimes have a sad tendency to write/speak in the third person. Moving on from that, however, why should you read my blog? Why should I write it? Why bother? Well, that's a question I'm hoping to uncover while working on this blog, posting as it comes to me, but here's what I'm thinking...
1) Virtual series. If you've come here, you undoubtedly know what they are, but for any newbies who somehow stumble in here, I'll sum it up: A virtual series is a series of written 'episodes' posted on the internet, emulating the style of a television show only without the cameras and actors and whatnot. Many are written in the style of professional TV scripts, the style I myself prescribe to. I spend most of my time at this rocking VS site, MZP-TV, and its respective forum (aka my homeworld). I've been writing for VS coming on three years now, mostly in preparation for the big leagues (actual TV) someday. Which leads to...
2) Actual TV-related stuff, like my journey toward that destined showrunner gig either in Toronto or in down in Hell-A, California. Presumably, this will be a good outlet for my random progresses in this field, just as my music blog, The Bringer of Song, is an outlet for my musical ramblings.
3) Random other thoughts. Movies, TV shows, less-formal album reviews, other stuff. I'm not too 'personal' on the net, but I do like to share my opinion, even with an audience of 0.
So, there it is. Alden's dead, but at least he's still around.
The second thing is that I'm Alden, and I sometimes have a sad tendency to write/speak in the third person. Moving on from that, however, why should you read my blog? Why should I write it? Why bother? Well, that's a question I'm hoping to uncover while working on this blog, posting as it comes to me, but here's what I'm thinking...
1) Virtual series. If you've come here, you undoubtedly know what they are, but for any newbies who somehow stumble in here, I'll sum it up: A virtual series is a series of written 'episodes' posted on the internet, emulating the style of a television show only without the cameras and actors and whatnot. Many are written in the style of professional TV scripts, the style I myself prescribe to. I spend most of my time at this rocking VS site, MZP-TV, and its respective forum (aka my homeworld). I've been writing for VS coming on three years now, mostly in preparation for the big leagues (actual TV) someday. Which leads to...
2) Actual TV-related stuff, like my journey toward that destined showrunner gig either in Toronto or in down in Hell-A, California. Presumably, this will be a good outlet for my random progresses in this field, just as my music blog, The Bringer of Song, is an outlet for my musical ramblings.
3) Random other thoughts. Movies, TV shows, less-formal album reviews, other stuff. I'm not too 'personal' on the net, but I do like to share my opinion, even with an audience of 0.
So, there it is. Alden's dead, but at least he's still around.
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