New Blog

Hey folks--

As the AP class has ended, I felt like this blog was too cluttered up to continue. I wanted to have a fresh place to comment on movies I've watched and to post updates on my filmmaking, etc.

Please check it out at: http://mekameapertures.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Where Concertos Meet Celluloid

For some reason, I've seen more "music" movies in the last month than ever before in my life. By music movies I don't mean music videos, nor do I mean musicals. I mean instead that particular brand of drama that revolves around a certain musician or style of music. My meaning will become clearer when you see my examples. These types of movies are so much fun, because they're full of music--often really great music. And they tend to be deeply human stories. Human stories with great music; who could ask for a greater combination? Anyway, of the four music movies I've watched in this short space of time, two were amazingly good. One was ok overall, but flirting dangerously with a slippery slope. The other was amazingly bad. Since these movies had such similar bases, great moments, and downfalls, I thought the compare/contrast of them might prove entertaining. And one other thing: if you hate one of the movies I laud, or love one of the movies I bash--well, I apologise in advance.


So here they are, in order of when I watched them:









Mr. Holland's Opus

Unquestionably the most famous of the four movies in this post, this story of a music teacher's turbulent life has been warming hearts for fourteen years. And this movie is undoubtably and unashamedly trying to be a heart-warmer. At first this movie irritated me because I couldn't figure out what the central plot was. Is it--like so many others--the story of a man changing young lives as a music teacher? Or is it the story of a musician's struggle to connect with his deaf son? Or is it the story of slightly creepy developing love between a teacher and one of his students? Or the story of a busy guy trying to finish his one great composition? Once I figured out that the answer to all of these questions is "yes", that this story is more of an episodic life story than a single moment in that life, things fell into place. And it turned out not to be a bad movie. Though it sometimes crept to the border of the impossibly sentimental, it kept enough backbone to avoid the pitfall that has trapped so many of its predecessors and descendents. It also managed to find its special niche as a period piece, adding strength there as well. And finally, as with many of these movies, it had actors that were better than the story itself. So though it sometimes teetered on the border of sloppiness, and its ending was unabashedly the painfully happy Hollywood type, "it had some heart" as my dad would say. And this redeemed it, making it a movie certainly worth watching if you never have.

Walk the Line

I went into this with no expectations whatsoever. I had heard good things about it once, and it looked like it would be pretty slick as far as production values go. I got it from the library along with several others that I wanted to watch far more, so it took the back seat to the likes of Flightplan (big, big mistake...what a terrible movie that was). But I finally got around to it. And oh, boy. I was blown away. Even on a scratched library disc that forced me to skip several major chunks, this movie packed a wallop. It's basically I biographical piece about the singer Johnny Cash, his rocky battle with drug addiction and anger, and his love for fellow musician June Carter. Even if the music hadn't been awesome and the story hadn't been amazing and powerful (which was all the case), the acting in this movie would carry the day. Stunning, gritty beauty and depth of character make this a movie not to miss. The story is not always a pleasant one--this movie is probably not for everyone--but for me, everything about it was good. It has been added simultaniously to my favorite movie list and my birthday wish list...

August Rush

If you want to know what watching this movie is like, don't bother to actually watch it. Just chug a couple of gallons of sugar water and you'll get the idea. All sentimental, impossible slop without a hint of substance. I'm not even going to dwell on this movie except to say that I hated it. It's an insult not only to the art of film, but to the audience's intelligence. 90% of the plot isn't even remotely possibe, let alone plausible. The music itself had moments of loveliness, but it is completely lost in the wollowing absurdity of the plot. If one of my readers liked this movie, please take the time to comment on what you saw in it...

The Soloist

The irony of this movie is that I watched it just the day after August Rush. Both movies take place in a large city. Both of them involve a cello player. The Juilliard school of music and the Philharmonic Orchestra figure in both of them. But there the similarity ends. This was a beautiful movie for me. Amazing actors, a rich directing style, and a powerful story all worked together. It is a gritty true story of a schizophrenic homeless cello player and a disillusioned newspaper reporter who meet and, after many ups and downs, end up changing one another. It is well worth watching--many times.

These movies are divided by a myriad of plots and a divergence of quality, but they are all joined by one thread. Music. I can't get over how wonderful it is that the beauty of film and the beauty of music can join together to make something richer than either.