mystery #47

mystery photo #47. clue: clothing accessory.

lots of movies.

Aviator

beautifully shot movie. whenever i read a review and the first thing mentioned is the cinematography you wonder about the story. well, in the case of aviator, there was a story, albeit one with gaping holes.

when i was growing up, there were 2 words synonymous with howard hughes in news stories: recluse and eccentric. so, the screenwriter's of aviator had alot of latitude. it was interesting playing armchair psychologist. hughes definitely had a wild case of obsessive compulsive disorder, eh. i thought he was a paranoid schizophrenic as well. but, what's with these toilet paper all over the place, clothes burning, and peeing in milk bottles behaviours? i kind of got tired at the end trying to figure out what's wrong with this guy.

at the end of the day, leonardo di caprio protrayal of a driven, crazy guy was superior. an accurate portrayal? i dunno.

go to the bathroom beforehand. this movie must have been 3 hrs. long.

Red Eye

continuing on the aviation theme... red eye is movie i consider to be standard fare. a few thrilling moments. rachel mcadams was good. the creepy guy, who appeared in batman returns, who terrorized mcadams was extra creepy. i think it's his weird eyes. an abrupt plot twist, where the creepy guy reveals the true intent of his character, and the airline setting were amongst some pausibility issues. however, if you can handle these cracks (not difficult), this was an entertaining, standard, hollywood film.

i'm thinking of starting a rachel mcadam's film fest, however short it maybe...

(the) School of Rock

while i was deconstructing this film with my friend bob, when i realized school of rock was in fact a knock off of the classic 1965 film sound of music. consider these modifications: substitute rogers and hammerstein with led zeppelin and ACDC; jack black for julie andrews; maria being kicked out of the nunnery with jack being booted out of his band; andrews teaching the kids how to write a song with doh, rei, mi with jack teaching kids rock music with antisocial attitude; the nazis with parents/teachers; the final escape of the von trapps after the salzburg sing fest with the school of rock sneaking off on a ultra secret "field trip" to the battle of the bands concert, and you have movies that are mirror images of one another...

how's that for film analysis?

bottomline: this was one of the funniest movies i've seen in along time. jack black was hilarious. his corruption of this elementary class with rock and roll was hilarious. normally, i'm nauseated by movies with snotty-nosed precocious kids but the kids in school of rock rocked. very good casting.