Where were you before?: How 'I'm Still Here' is creating confusing hype

The most interesting top to me this week in popular culture as been the reaction to the documentary 'I'm Still Here' directed by Casey Affleck about the actor Joaquin Phoenix. The film follows Phoenix during his, lets say, "peculiar period" beginning with his unusual stint on Letterman, following him through the beginnings of his 'Rap career' and basically just chronicling his destruction and deterioration going from from the status of Oscar nominated actor to 'hey that hobo looks like Joaquin Phoenix.'
What I find more interesting than the details of the film are the reviews themselves. Nobody seems to know what to make of this film. The Chicago Tribune gave it no stars. None. Out of five. Dana Stevens from Slate said "The worst thing about 'I'm Still Here' is that it exists." Manohla Dhargis of the New York Times had a somewhat favorable review as did, film critic guru Roger Ebert. He gave the film 3 stars but cited as a disclaimer, "It could be one, it could be four. What do stars have to do with it?"
The main question, however, that seemed to be what directed the basis of the reviews was: Is this a hoax?

To me the critics looked at the film in one of two ways:
Joaquin Phoenix is self destructing fool in a film that has no meaning other than to show the actor's demise through his pointless antics. It's nothing but for show and watching Phoenix destroy himself is nothing but depressing.

or

Though it is unknown if this film is truly a document of Joaquin's personal life, or whether the film is a hoax, it comments on the condition of being a celebrity and the destruction of the entertainment history. Joaquin Phoenix gives the performance of a life time in a film misunderstood.

I think it's very interesting to see how divided people are on this film before having seen it myself. I feel like these reviews are reflective of "is this art for art sake or does it have a purpose" type of idea. Are Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck sitting in a room somewhere laughing and reeling in the fact that people are actually taking this seriously, or is it supposed to really be the insight into a collapsing mind? Maybe this is what they wanted all along? Maybe we will never find out. Whatever the case, this film is generating an incredible amout of hype, even if it is for being a terrible film.
I'm probably going to see this movie soon, then I'll update with my review. Real or not real, if there is one thing this film has conveyed to me even before I see it, it's that people will never cease to be entertained by the demise of a celebrity, even a crazy one.

I already live in 3D, thank you very much

There has been a lot of movies to come out in 3D lately. When my friends tell me that they saw this film or that film in 3D I have to admit that I kind of cringe a little. I'm not a fan. I have never seen a movie in 3D, nor do I really want to see a movie in 3D. But you are saying "hey there buddy, you can't say you don't like something if you've never tried it!" This is true I must admit. Except with 3D films.

To understand my reasoning you have to understand that I am somewhat of a film purist, meaning that I am an advocate for film being presented the way that it always has been, the way it should be, in 2D. Many people who advocate the 3D method say that its a greater way to experience the film, to be able to almost grasp the image and become more immersed within the world of the story. This reasoning is irrelevant to me because, even at the 2D level, if the story is captivating enough, and the production quality is good, I am already immersed within the story, to the point where I shut out the rest of the room. I find that with almost all of the films I see in theatres. Its not about the image coming out at you that makes the viewer able to become immersed in the story, its the film itself. For over a hundred years this has happened. Do you not feel the same twinge of pain as I feel when a character breaks the 4th wall by looking into the camera? I am immersed in their world, I don't want them in mine.And to think all of this has been done with a 2D image. I think this is what 3D would do to me, make the characters come into my space, instead of me escaping to theirs. It would almost ruin the magic of the film for me. All you want to do is escape your life, and you have a person throwing a sword in your face? No thank you sir.

Not only does 3D break the escapism of film, but it also diminishes the quality. The article "Annoying Trends that Make Every Film Look The Same" from the website cracked.com (I know guys, bear with me on this though) states that the reason why 3D movies look so bad (Clash of the Titans; The Last Airbender) is because of the conversion process. Most films are not shot for 3D but go through a process that allows for the film to be converted to 3D. This process makes the film image darker and muddier. In addition to this dimming, the glasses worn by the audience also dim the image making it 2X as dark as it would be if it were presented in the regular format. Now, I don't know about you, but if I were a cinematographer, and I worked my ass of to try to get the right exposure and the right tone for the full length of the film, all to have it be ruined for spectacle sake, then I would be royally pissed. That like tampering with someone's art. "Oh hey Jackson Pollack, I know you worked really hard on this piece but I think, in order to make more money, we are going to paint two coats of grey over it. No big deal it will work out fine." Dumb.

I am glad to see though, that filmmakers are now rejecting 3D as a means of presenting their films. JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon have both spoken out against it. Christopher Nolan opted not to make 'Inception' 3D which was SUCH a great choice. That is an example of a film that brought me right into that world and kept my attention. I would highly suggest reading the article "Resistance Forms Against Hollywood’s 3-D Push" By Michael Cieply in the NY Times if you get a chance. It is a really interesting article that talks about the 3D back lash and considerations of 3D for such highly anticipated films as 'The Hobbit' and 'The Avengers.'

If you can't tell by now, I don't plan on seeing any 3D films anytime soon. I agree that for some films, 3D methods can be used effectively (sort of). Avatar and most animated films can do well and have done well in 3D. Live action however should never be subjected to it. This method of presentation is just a way for studios to make 2X as much money on films they know will do well. It serves no artistic purpose and will probably give me a headache in the process.

Most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetational...

This week I rented the first season of the Muppet Show and have been watching 2- 3 episodes during my free time. I have always loved the Muppets from as early as I can remember. I believe that I had a Fozzie Bear plush doll when I was younger, and on our trips to Disney World, we would always make it a point to see Muppets 3D, even though, the first time we went to it, I wouldn't go in because I saw a prop box that said "BOMBS" on it (I was afraid of large bangs and fire. That prop box is still there and I laughed when I saw it last year). Even though I knew a lot about the main characters, Jim Henson, "The Muppet Show" and such, I never had really watched much of the stuff that Jim Henson had produced in terms of the original Muppet material. I remember watching a lot of "Muppet Babies" on Nick, but I never watched a full episode of the original "Muppet Show". I had seen clips of "The Muppet Movie"," Muppet Treasure Island", but never the full movies. I realized that even though I knew the Muppets, I didn't really KNOW them. So it got me thinking...I need to catch up on all things Muppets.

I recently heard that the new Muppet Movie was being filmed in September and is being released around Christmas and, from what I had read, the script kind of goes back to the classic Muppet style. I figured that I didn't want to be behind, so here I am now- starting on the Muppet Show and continuing my way through to Muppet Treasure Island.

Now, when it comes to things like this, I'm a little OCD. If I start a series, I have to finish it. If its a saga, I have to see them all, good or bad. The summer is really when I go crazy because I have the time and the resources (the library) to do this. I also am the type of person, and if you know me, you know this all too well, that when I become hooked on something, I REALLY become hooked on it. Like, really hooked. The "hook" tends to change month (or so) to month.
So this is my hook of the month: The Muppets.

Since beginning the Muppet Show, I have become very interested in all things Muppets, trivia, beginnings, interviews, articles etc. I have increasingly become interested in their major impact within the culture of television and movies and their development over the years, from when Jim Henson first created Kermit through their golden years, Sesame Street to the Muppets being sold to Disney and where they are now. Its fascinating how this idea began as essentially puppeteering that appealed to adults and became such a phenomenon and became so influential in terms of teaching children and adults lessons on life, becoming a huge part of our culture. Can you think of your childhood without remotely being influenced by the Muppets in some way? I know that I can't.

I'm going to continue watching the Muppets within the next few weeks, but in addition, I think I'm going to do a little research as well. I'm really interested in reading academic papers and books about what people have said about the impact on popular culture and of the preceding generations because of the Muppets. I think I might want to write something about them, seriously a little later here.

So lets start the discussion shall we? Do you care about the Muppets? Any fond memories? What do they mean to you?

Songs that make me feel like myself

I was looking at the ITunes Celebrity Playlists and thinking about the songs I would choose if I were asked to do something like this. I came upon Jason Segel's playlist and he had "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison down because it was the song that 'Made me feel like myself' That phrase really struck a chord with me. I got me thinking about the songs that I loved and why I loved them, but it particularly got me thinking about the songs that were most personal to me and that, I guess I could call my own. Not songs that described me, but songs that made me "feel like myself." So here are a few of mine:

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel- Anyone who knows me knows I love this song. I think that I loved this song so deeply at a young age that its now almost engraved in my personality. With that, it also changes as I grow older. I don't love it less, but it is always different, which I think is the best attribute of a great song. I feel like that song is mine, it's me.

"Thunder Road" By Bruce Springsteen- This song was kind of a late bloomer for me. I heard this song recently for the first time and started to cry. I had never really listened to the lyrics before and after finally realizing what the big picture was, I was so emotional. It felt like someone had punched me. I felt like the girl he is singing about, dreaming of a "saviour to rise from these streets." A part of me will always be that girl who wants to just run away with that guy.

"Night Moves" by Bob Seiger- I used to drive at night and play this in my car. I still feel weird if this is playing in any other season than summer, but at the same time, its the song that brings me home. It makes me feel like myself because it reminds me of growing up. It reminds me of the person I used to be. Sometimes you need something to bring you back to who you were to help you discover the person you are becoming.

ok so these are a few of mine, but I want to know about some of yours. Which songs make you feel like yourself and why?

Lets begin

This blog is going to be random.

What I write here are basically the inner workings of a mind that is pretty much pop culture centric, but also allows for some questioning and ponderance (is this a word?) on greater subjects in life. So really, anything goes here.

Here's the deal: we all have opinions, have likes and dislikes, know what we enjoy and what makes us happy. I like to talk a lot about pop culture. Its what I am passionate about and what I most like to talk about with others, in a deeper way than "wow I really liked that movie." Lately I have been feeling like, there aren't to many people out there who think like I do, in that, I don't really have a whole lot of people to discuss my random thoughts with, who will take me seriously. Most days I feel like the 5 year old who comes up to you and starts explaining something they think is really super cool and want you to think is really super cool too, but really you just give them fake interest and walk off laughing a little. Have you ever felt that way? I feel like that 5 year old all the time. I feel like, I have interests in certain things that people think is ridiculous but what I think is important to me.

So here's this blog.

This is a place where I can share my random thoughts, and in turn, can perhaps share your thoughts as well. I feel alone, when I am the only person talking about something I really care about in an environment where people are pessimistic and cynical. Readers, I am telling you that you are not alone, and I care about what you think. So please comment and join in on the discussion- if people read this and don't participate, then this gets to be like, someone is reading my diary. Which is weird.

So lets begin shall we?....