Movie News
Treat Yourself with a Movie -- It's cheaper than therapy! Laurie tells you how...
Classy Classics
Screened by: Laurie HelgoeCity Lights (1931)
Written, directed, composed and produced by Charlie Chaplin.
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers.
Synopsis: In the era of bowler hats and flapper dresses, a tramp meets a blind girl selling flowers. The love between them requires a different kind of sight.
Movie Expectation: As a top 20 film of all time, I approached the viewing as something I "should" do out of respect for the medium. But, as with any "should," I resisted. Would this feel like a historical documentary, or would this silent, black and white, very old movie actually entertain me?
Movie Experience: YES! Talk IS cheap. This movie is laugh out loud funny -- the fight scene is hilarius -- but also incredibly moving. And this does not feel at all like an old movie. You view the city and the fashions from the perspective of the modern and inventive art deco attitude of the roaring 20's. Chaplin's brilliant physical humor is matched by his emotional sensitivity. I felt as if I was being served a fine, multi-course meal: privileged to indulge.
As the credits roll, I am left feeling: Moved. delighted. quiet.
Memorable Quote:
The Tramp:
Be careful how you're driving.
Eccentric (and drunk) Millionaire:
Am I driving?
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You’ve got your popcorn and your soft drink. The theatre darkens, and you put your drink in the holder next to you, sink back into the cushion of your seat and prepare to lose yourself in that larger world projected onto the big screen. What a sweet indulgence...
- What if you could view your own life with that kind of anticipation and pleasure?
- What if you could see yourself as the star on a fascinating and meaningful quest?
- And what if you could enjoy not knowing how
it’s all going to turn out, give it all you’ve got, and
trust that the ending is going to be really good?
Meet Film Connoisseur
Cecilia Pérez Homar
Cecilia is a native of Puerto Rico, born in 1988 to a family of writers and artists. From the age of fourteen, she has been making her own short films, and now does freelance video for highschool graduations and small weddings. She is completing her Bachelor's degree in Comparative Literature at the University of Puerto Rico, and then plans to head to New York City to pursue a carreer in film direction. In her spare time, Cecilia loves to watch lots and lots of Golden Girls re-runs.
Cecilia will provide movie therapy prescriptions alongside Laurie's picks.
Ceci's Pick*:Wall-E (2008) Written by: Jim Capobianco & Andrew Stanton Starring: Two very adorable robots, voiced by Ben Burtt & Elissa Knight. Featuring Fred Willard, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver, & John Ratzenberger. Synopsis: Movie Mood: As the credits roll, I am left feeling: Memorable Quotes: [when asking what his job entails] |
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Laurie's Pick*:Kung Fu Panda (2008) Directed by: Mark Osborne & John Stevenson Starring: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross and Randall Duk Kim. Movie Mood: A magical mix of visual delight and comic release. I loved watching this movie: the lighting was amazing, creating a kind of intimacy within scenes of moonlit evenings and dew-filled mornings, vividness in the eyes of Tigress, and shadows that made me feel I was there. Reminded me of walking through a Japanese tea garden, feeling that every detail was thought out, and placed there just for me. Enter the clumsy, overly enthusiastic, joke-cracking Po, stir it up with kickin’ kung fu acrobatics, and the movie is truly animated. Black (as Po) is brilliant doing what he does best, delighting in life’s “awesomeness.” As the credits roll, I am left feeling: Enlivened, as if I’ve traveled to another country. And I get extra with the credits! They initially roll horizontally, along with stylized images of the characters and scenery from the film. I am grateful as I see the formidable lists of artists and technicians who applied their expertise to take me to this foreign and magical place. Memorable Quote: Tai Lung: You... you're just a big... fat... panda! External Links: www.kungfupanda.com |
Your Life: The Movie
Tips for Viewing Your Life Cinematically
- Know Your Desired Ending(s)! Storyboard it, See it, Let it be BIG. Every good character has a motivation. ALWAYS feel free to edit. Be open to twists, turns and surprises. Practice being the director and the audience.
- Describe the main character. Do a love confession, and list all your favorite quirks (i.e., Harry met Sally)
- Use “bad times”—hangover, when you are “beating yourself up”, boring times, times of loss--as good material. Step out of your head, observe yourself and your surroundings, and describe what’s going on.
- When a crisis comes up, when you are thwarted in some way, remind yourself that this is “plot thickener.”
- Notice the artistic quality of your day, i.e., putting on makeup, arranging the dinner table, the path you walk every day.
- Set your life to music. What music are you drawn to? Where does the music take you? (New York, New York? A hot date?)
- Try critiquing your life as a movie. Does it have heart? Is it boring? Where is it going? If your life
was a movie and you were an actor, what kinds of risks would you take?
