Winter's Bone

I watched Winter's Bone over the weekend. I was a little disappointed. I don't think my feeling of ennui has anything to do with anything, except that it was a bit over-hyped. It was a very dark look at a group of very dark people. What a way to live. I guess I know that there are the rural poor out there and that many of them turn to things like cooking meth to survive, but wow, that was depressing. It made me wish someone would call child protective services. Those kids needed a meal, a bath, and a real bed. They also needed to not have their relatives beat up their older sister. Even the "good guys" were more than mildly unpleasant.

I was happy to notice 3 character actors from the HBO series Deadwood pop up as various unwashed characters. I guess someone watched Deadwood and thought "gee, those people look like dirty meth heads." Whoever thought that was a bit of a casting genius.

I promised myself that I wouldn't get into another Hunger Games movie post, but it is relevant because this was Jennifer Lawrence's defining role and the one that her supporters point to when trying to persuade us doubting Thomases that she can be Katniss. I certainly won't deny that she did a good job in this movie. There was quite a bit of talking through her gritted teeth, some hunting for survival, and a good amount of beat-down taking. All of that is necessary for a Katniss, certainly. It is as if they were just looking for taciturnity and the ability to look beat-up in a movie and said "There! We can cast her!" I mean, she has basically played the part already, just on a much smaller scale. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Seeing the movie has left me no more or less comforted about what is to come from our Katniss.

My greatest takeaway from this is that I am so glad I have my family and not that one!

Another Hunger Games Post

I know I haven't written in a while and that is mostly because I haven't had anything to say. A number of my latest posts have been about the upcoming Hunger Games movie and my thoughts on casting. I don't think I'm alone when I say that I am more than a little disappointed in the choices for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale.

I am definitely not one of those people who think that an actor has to look exactly like his or her character in real life. I do think that they have to be believable once we see them on screen. Who knows, maybe makeup and lighting will be such that I can totally forget Jennifer Lawrence is in her 20s and the exact opposite of petite, olive skinned, and dark haired. I accepted her casting and figured the choice had been made based on her outstanding audition, previous work and the fact that casting older allows for a better shooting schedule. It also made the casting of my personal favorite, Hunter Parrish, as Peeta a greater likelihood since he is also in his 20s. Unfortunately, they did not go that route. Instead, they cast Josh Hutcherson (the exact opposite of Peeta in stature and coloring) another good actor, but one who is and looks significantly younger than Jennifer. I would have been okay with Josh if they had likewise gone with a younger and smaller Katniss.

I honestly cannot think of any good reason for the filmmakers to do this. Everything I have read of the reactions of fans has skewed negative. I guess we will wait and see, but so far you can color me unimpressed.

Marigold

In flipping though the channels today I happened upon an exquisite little film called Marigold. It stars the incomparable Ali Larter (of the whipped cream bikini) as an American actress who finds herself acting in a Bollywood musical. Against all odds, this is not a comedy. It seems to take itself very seriously despite including scenes like this:

Tan Man , Marigold - Hindi Song - Ali Larter @ Yahoo! Video

As luck would have it, I was going to an Indian restaurant today with a friend. What I didn't realize was that the name of the restaurant was Marigold. I can say that my experience was much more satisfactory at the restaurant than it was watching the movie. I can only hope, however, that the name of the restaurant was chosen because the owners are huge fans of Ali Larter.

Uptown Downstairs Abbey

If you are like me and adored the first season of Downton Abby, this will just kill you.

So very funny.

If you haven't seen Downton Abby, you really must watch it. It is funny and juicy, and you feel smarter for having seen it (but really it is just a soap opera). A good thing to offset the hours you spend watching America's Next Top Model or Jersey Shore.

Let the Games Begin!

So I guess 5'7", fair haired, fair skinned, and almost 21 is the new small, dark, skinny and 16!

Meet Jennifer Lawrence, your new Katniss Everdeen!

I haven't seen her Oscar nominated performance in Winter's Bone, but I hear she was good. My concern is less with her acting ability and more with vague feeling of being let down by this casting decision. At this point it is purely cosmetics for me. I guess I would have liked to see the announcement of a younger girl with an appearance more closely resembling that of (my image of) her Katniss.

That is silly, really. Let's be honest, if they had cast on looks, this girl wouldn't have ever been a contender. My only hope is that she did something amazing with the part and totally sold the director and producers. You know she's going to have to sell it to the fans!

Even though I was in favor of casting a younger actress, I can admit that Katniss and the other tributes probably would look older than their actual age. It stands to reason, since all of them have lead rough lives, they may not look like a normal teenager. Casting older also allows the filmmakers to work more quickly without having to worry about the number of hours a Haylee Steinfeld can work. (Another bonus: if they keep this up, I won't feel like a dirty old lady for being firmly "Team Peeta"!)

Also, Jennifer is from Kentucky (which is probably part of District 12). She was passed up years ago for the part of Bella Swan. That may mean we all dodged a bullet in that we don't have to watch Kristen Stewart play with her hair and fidget as she fights to stay alive as Katniss!

I guess that is it for my silver linings. And I'm sending up a prayer that this apparent disregard for the natural coloring of Katniss doesn't extend to casting a lily-white Rue!

Captain EO

Back in 1987 my family took a trip to Walt Disney World. There was an epic new movie experience to be had in the World of Imagination. It was called Captain EO.

Starring Michael Jackson, Anjelica Houston, and a robot with a mustache, it was cutting-edge 3-D movie making. You know that's true because it was produced by George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

24 years later (a week ago) we went back and lo and behold: Captain EO was back! They could have brought it back earlier when Jackson passed away, or they could have waited for the quarter century anniversary, but no, the return of EO corresponded directly to my family's return the WDW. Coincidence? Probably.

Below is part one of the movie. Of course you can't watch it in 3-D, but you will get an idea of just how awesome it was and still is. My favorite thing about it is how unabashedly unselfconscious they all were. By the end, this film looks like a gay pride parade and I don't believe anyone involved in the production is really aware of this.

Soften All The Bones In Your Face

I feel just sick about this: Rich (from fourfour) will no longer be recapping America's Next Top Model.

Let's have a moment of silence.

I have always enjoyed the camp and absurdity of ANTM, but what has really kept me watching was Rich's hilarious, spot-on commentary every week. He actually changed the way I watched the show. I would seen an episode and think "what will Rich say about that?" This cycle is no exception.

The first "runway show" had so many elements. The runway was narrow (12 inches wide), surrounded by water, the girls had to walk inside bubbles and the bubbles were full of red petals that further obscured their vision.

I'm not really sure why they even bothered with the Alexander Wang clothes. The girls might as well have been wearing sacks (some of them looked like they were).

Two girls fell off the runway and floated around in the water nobody helped them out, they just had to crawl around like hamsters until they could move close enough to the edge to roll themselves out. It was beyond ridiculous.

Only one girl didn't look like a total mess and she's from a small town in PA! I'll be rooting for Britanni (and pretending that she doesn't spell her name in such a dumb way).