Movie Journal: The Phantom Of The Opera

How many movies have you seen in your lifetime that have actually moved you? Sure in Live Free Or Die Hard everyone in the theater gasps as our hero John McClane struggles not fall down an elevator shaft. We've all experienced that: the wave of emotion. Millions of people on the edge of their theater seats, all experiencing the exact same thing. Where else does that happen but in entertainment? Some emotions are more powerful than others, and go deeper. Some emotions can rock you to the core. And that is what the classic tale The Phantom Of The Opera does for those willing to let it.

The sensation that it delivers is one of what I like to call "epic romance". I'm not talking about those "romantic comedies" that guys so often prefer to epic romance, "because they are funny." So often are romantic comedies merely chick flicks. They belittle love in a way, because they communicate that love is humorous, and whimsical. Epic romance differs. Epic romance conveys that love is a very serious matter. Love is something that lasts for all eternity, and beyond.

Movies are about emotion. True epic romance does not fall back onto exotic and erotic sex scenes in order to gain our interest, because that would be very near redundant; though so many Hollywood filmmakers think otherwise. Sex is not emotion. Sex is sensation. Pure, unadulterated emotion is what true epic romance delivers, and does not hold back. It's so powerful because it reminds us that it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all, because love is not a means to the end of happiness. Love is a means to the end of love, and all it stands for. It's something every individual pursues, and is never satisfied without, because they know their essence, their being, yearns for it, and will die without it.

So epic romance voices endlessly, and so the film The Phantom Of The Opera has taught me. It is one of the only movies that has ever actually moved me to the core, and despite some of it's few flaws it will continue to be a great story for generations to come, because it is the epitome of epic romance. Not only is it perfectly cast and breathtakingly well played, it's concoction of vibrantly empathetic characters and the impacting emotion of opera are a lethal combination that you will not be prepared for. I wasn't.

9 out of 10

Quantum Of Solace Review

May contain slight spoilers concerning the movie Casino Royale.

I love James Bond. I love the characters(especially the villains), I love the action, I love the plot twists and turns, and I love how the franchise just never gets old from generation to generation. But by the time the credits roll, it's rather hard to love Quantum Of Solace.

It's a shame really, because Quantum Of Solace got so many things right. It blew you away with breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat action. It grabbed your attention with intoxicating and genuinely interesting female characters who you actually cared about. It knew how to build suspense. The pacing was masterful at times. Where it really messed up was the part about a meaningful plot, which is something it appeared to work so hard for.

Casino Royale changed James Bond forever, because the films always ended with our hero, Bond, holding a lady in his arms and enjoying the payoff of all his work. Casino Royale did end end with James Bond holding a lady in his arms. However, James Bond was sobbing and the woman was dead. It was a powerful ending that lent so much new depth to the character we know to be James Bond.

Quantum Of Solace had a heck of a lot to live up to. It should have brought something new forward, more great and powerful and impacting than what Casino Royale did, or at least just as much so but in a different manner. Is that not what we expect from a sequel? Instead, Quantum monopolizes on Casino Royale's storyline by integrating a sappy subplot that, while easy to relate to if you've seen Casino Royale, doesn't go anywhere we haven't been to before a dozen times over. For the majority of the movie we watch Bond mourn the woman's death from Casino Royale, the culmination of this subplot being an all-around terrible ending that not only(to once again make use of the word) monopolizes on Casino Royale's success but also at the same time invalidates it's meaning as a movie. And seeing as the whole point of a movie so often happens to be it's meaning and the successful expression of it, it's a crime I find very hard to forgive.

7 out of 10

Appleseed: Ex Machina Revisited

Some of you may recall my review of Appleseed Ex Machina a many months ago. In it, I stated that it was a very solid, character-driven story, and gave it an 8 out of 10. But, having seen it again, I can tell you that that was a bad call. The slick visual style and action sequences greatly affected my judgment, but the plot's issues remain.

The truth is, there weren't any real bad guys for Deunan and Briareos to fight. Sure, there were antagonists, and other conflicts. But these were mostly emotional conflicts and inner struggles. These drove them emotionally. What the movie really needed was for the main characters to be driven physically, by a physical and personal enemy. It needed that third element. This is essential in an action film, and was not present in Ex Machina until the very end of the very last fight. It was because of this that the movie lacked the depth it so much needed.

Before, I had rated Appleseed: Ex Machina an 8 out of 10. Now, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. See it if you are a fan of the manga or of John Woo's action choreography, but the truth is it really could have been so much greater.

Original Draft Of Dragonball Movie Script?

Yeah, I think it is.

This file was recently leaked over the internet. I'm almost positive that it is the first draft of the live-action Dragonball movie script. How can I tell this is the first phase? Partly because the dialogue is so open and to the point, it's like the writer is just getting his bearings on the different characters and how they function in the story line's scenes, which is what the first draft is really for.

Having said that I'm very confident it's not the shooting draft, I'm actually looking forward to the film. This version of the script implemented some pretty cool ideas, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Body of Lies Trailer

The trailer for the upcoming thriller, Body Of Lies(starring Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio) is now online! Check it out.

Taken Trailer

I'm not sure what to think about this film quite yet. I guess I'm wondering how the structure will hold as a Thriller, instead of eventually turning into a series of mindless action sequences. I guess we'll see. In any case, the trailer's cool.

Can Heath Ledger Be Replaced As The Joker?

I thought I'd like to share what I found to be a very interesting article I found at The Movie Blog, concerning the possibility of Heath Ledger being replaced as The Joker.

The writer made a few very interesting points, one being that there are better actors out there than Heath Ledger, and another that the nature of reality is that achievements that people say are unbeatable are always eventually surpassed. We may say that no one can play The Joker as well as Heath Ledger, but how can we know until another great actor gives it a shot?

I'd elaborate, but I couldn't do the article justice, so check it out here.