Best Moviegoing Experiences

Movies are made to be seen at the theater. They can be watched and appreciated on anything from a flat screen to an iPod, but you will rarely find a venue with as tangible (the sound, the size) and intangible (the collective laughter in a comedy) assets as a movie theater. As such, there are certain movies that MUST be seen at a movie theater for its full potential to be realized. 

Some may scoff at the fact that Rocky beat out Network and Taxi Driver for Best Picture in 1977. (Hell, I prefer the latter two.) But hearing my parents say how the entire audience chanted, "Rocky!" during the film's climactic fight makes me really feel it was an experience of a lifetime. I kick myself to this day for missing out on Saving Private Ryan (I compensated by seeing Enemy at the Gates opening night...). Something About Mary? American Beauty? Missed 'em. There are plenty that I chose to "...wait until it came out on [video/DVD]", only to have similar regrets.

Strangely, when scanning my facebook page,  among my favorite movies, I only consider one as a top moviegoing experience. Here are my top five:

(NOTE: this only includes movies in their original theatrical runs, not retrospective screenings - i.e. It's a Wonderful Life at IFC.)

5. The Matrix. I saw this movie pre-buzz. There was a solid audience, but it was far from full. The lights went down and, wow...

If anything could beat the originality of the premise, it was the original action POVs. It was completely revolutionary, enhancing an already mind-blowing story. The action built and built until the climax totally dwarfed the beginning. (And the best part: no one in the audience knew it would be ruined with a second and a third!)

I went with my dad and my friend. We sat in our seats a few minutes of credits, a rarity. My dad looked over at us and asked, "Are you real?" Totally awesome.

4. The Dark Knight. I preferred Slumdog Millionaire. The story, I feel, is more original, the storytelling is clean, it's beautifully shot, it's got heart ... it's my favorite movie of 2008.

But that gets to the heart of what makes a moviegoing experience. The Dark Knight action scenes were incredible, and Heath Ledger's Joker scenes provided icing on the cake. The score mirrors the strength of the characters. The camera always seems to be moving, as if in a state of panic. It's special for a two and a half hour movie to begin with a bang and end with an even bigger bang. 

Afterwards, I could deconstruct some of the movie's logistics, and certain criticisms from blogs and film buffs rang true. But that didn't keep me from going back and experiencing it again.

3. Home Alone. For a six-year-old, watching an eight-year-old command his world was the coolest thing. First of all, he's home alone, meaning he has access to parents awesome TV, he 

can eat as much ice cream as he wants, he can order his own pizza, and he can watch violent movies. Secondly, this kid is cool. He can outsmart the check-out lady with witty remarks, scare away an inept pizza clerk, and talk to grown-ups on their own level. And when two accomplished burglars attempt to step on his turf, he outsmarts them and kicks their ass (yes, he even gets to say "ass"!).

Children are at the mercy of their parents. But for me and my friends, Home Alone allowed us to vicariously spread our wings.

2. Kingpin. What parent would let a ten-year-old watch this movie? An awesome one. This was 

quite possibly the funniest movie I've ever seen in theaters. What's not to love? There's a constant stream of jokes both subtle ("We present 'The Jeffersons on Ice!'") and over-the-top ("Roy, can you get sick from drinking piss? ... Even if it's your own?"); an ex-bowler protagonist with a hook for a hand who steals a baby's breast milk to supplant coffee creamer; a 40-year-old amish Randy Quaid introduced to the decadency of America; and a creepy/hysterical performance by Bill Murray. The great thing about seeing a comedy at the theater is that you're watching it with many senses of humor. And as a result, everything was funny.

I still watch this once a year. It has something most comedies lack: a heart. It's a story about redemption, and the ability to rebuild one's self-esteem. It's not only one of my favorite movie-going experiences, but one of my all time favorite movies.

1. Jurassic Park. The magic of seeing real live dinosaurs was simply captivating. I revisited the theater three times to watch this movie, got into countless debates with other eight-year-olds

about whether such a theme park could actually be built (one was not only convinced that it could be done but that it had been done, and his rich parents took him there!), and spent countless hours watching dinosaur TV specials and reading dinosaur books. Sadly, I was not one of the cool kids as I lacked the Jurassic Park lunchbox...

I was less enthused when I got the video for my tenth birthday; I was bored when I watched it when I was twenty-one. But there's no denying or forgetting that initial excitement. That was sixteen years ago. No doubt, it was my favorite movie-going experience.

What are your top 5?

(Note, here's a movie that nearly made my list: Titanic. In retrospect, the story is pretty lame, the lines are beyond cheesy, Billy Zane is a cartoonish villain, and you kind of want to punch DiCaprio in the face. It's hard to take it seriously nowadays. But I didn't know what to expect when I first saw it. I was really involved with an unexpected love story, and the ending was effective on a superficial and emotional level. And I know I'm not the only one.)

Remembering Heath Ledger

I was very happy when Heath Ledger won the Oscar for The Dark Knight. Yeah, it was a shoe-in since the film’s premiere, but it was still a great to hear his name announced. His untimely death made the already-high expectations of his Joker difficult to live up to…and he exceeded them. The quirky mannerisms, the voice, the petrifying stare: he created one of the great villains in movie history (bettering Hollywood icon Jack Nicholson in the process) and was properly recognized for his achievement.

But The Dark Knight will not be his Rebel Without a Cause, the film that defined James Dean and engrained his effeminate male “cool” into America’s psyche. That distinction goes to his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.

I have to admit, I really had no interest in seeing Brokeback when it first came out. The trailer made it look campy: a rocky love triangle involving Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams that involved slaps to the face and melodramatic lines with the inspirational theme from Shawshank in the background. It seemed like kitsch.

I was dragged to see it in theatres; afterwards, I decided Heath Ledger was my favorite actor of my generation.

It’s an injustice to simplify the movie as a gay love story. It’s really not a love story, as it’s about a man who lacks the ability to love. The story shows how this inflicts collateral damage upon his daughters, his ex-wife, and the love of his life, Jack.

But he is also pained, even though the story provides little dialogue or action to substantiate such. It’s all Heath Ledger. He rarely smiles. When he talks, he barely opens his mouth. When he parts from Jack, though Jack looks in his rear-view mirror and cries, Ledger only slumps his shoulders and walks away. He doesn’t even engage people with his eyes. He’s an enigma, and not even Jack can open him up.

The performance personifies Heath Ledger, the actor. William Goldman wrote that the problem with modern Hollywood is that there is no mystery behind our movie stars. Ledger was never a YouTube sensation, was never involved in a stupid arrest, was never one to grace the cover of US Weekly. He was a handsome movie star who remained shy and quiet. He was Hollywood’s next pretty-boy in Ten Things I Hate About You and A Knight’s Tale, who turned down the big paychecks for movies he wanted to do.

It gave me hope when he landed the role of the Joker. It was the most coveted role in Hollywood, sought after by ever young male in the game. But it went to the guy who would not conform; the guy who became a star by following his heart.

He won the Oscar for playing a destructive psychopath. I wish he had won for Brokeback as well. It would have been fitting for Ledger and would have been another example of his affect on Hollywood: a soft-soft spoken role wins over a charismatic character with an accent.

Dark Knight in Lego

With CakeMan no doubt taking off work to pick up The Dark Knight on DVD today, I'll take the opportunity to post this video in case anyone missed it the first time. It's just way, way, way too well done.



Thanks to Film School Rejects for bringing it to my attention again.

Thy cup of free Academy consideration screenplays runneth over - Dark Knight, Doubt, Duchess, Changeling, Happy-Go-Lucky, Wall-E, Vicky Cristina

Studios are offering up a bunch of their films' screenplays for consideration of an Academy Award nomination. Read 'em! They're good! They're free! Here's a roundup of what's currently available with links to the script downloads:

CHANGELING - undated, unspecified draft script by J. Michael Straczynski

THE DARK KNIGHT - undated, unspecified draft script by Jonathan & Christopher Nolan

DEFIANCE - September 9, 2007 revised tan draft script by Clayton Frohman & Edward Zwick (based on the book by Nechama Tec)

DOUBT - undated, unspecified draft script by John Patrick Shanley (based in his stage play)

THE DUCHESS - November 20, 2007 shooting draft script by Jeffery Hatcher and Anders Thomas Jensen and Saul Dibb (based on the book "Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire" by Amanda Foreman)

FROST/NIXON - August 27, 2007 revised yellow draft script by Peter Morgan

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY - undated, unspecified draft script by Mike Leigh

WALL-E - undated, unspecified draft script by Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon (original story by Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter)

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA - undated, unspecified draft script by Woody Allen

Thank you to SimplyScripts for the heads-up.

Warner Bros. offers Dark Knight screenplay for download

Warner Bros. has offered up their script for their record-breaking Dark Knight for download on their website, ahead of this year's award season.

You can download the script here. (Thanks, Slashfilm.)

For the sake of fairness and at the risk of starting another comment war, here's an early script for Predator, courtesy of Movie-Page.

My $12 Gamble

When I talk with Cake Man about the hallowed experience of going to the movies, it’s fairly common to hear him say, “I’ll wait for it to come out on dvd.” The man is patient and treats his movie going experience as an investment. It is an investment, one of time and money, and these days you can’t be putting out too many dollars that are going to have regrets attached to them. It’s not a good time for gambling, but I just can’t help myself when it comes to my twelve dollar gambles.

Let’s face it, a movie shown on the big screen is going to be better than the same movie shown on the 26 inch tv in your living room. And it’s not just bigger picture and bigger sound. There’s just something about the ripped ticket, the big dim room, the popcorn under your feet that makes the movie going experience special. The experience gets better when you know you’re going to see something critics have called a good movie and it’s a movie you know you will enjoy. (Cake Man’s full body orgasm at Dark Knight) In my opinion, the experience is at its best when you go see a movie that you haven’t heard the critics talk about, you know it’s going to be right up your alley, and you end up being right. Unfortunately I was wrong when I took the gamble with Body of Lies and saw it on opening night.

The movie wasn’t bad, but I thought Ridley Scott was poised for something big. I kept hoping for Gladiator meets Black Hawk Down. How awesome would that be? There’s no way the Somalis would have shot down those choppers if Maximus was there. But anyway, we’re getting off topic. I don’t really want to review Body of Lies. I’ll just say that ultimately I was disappointed with the movie and surprised that just about all of the action in the movie was featured in the trailer. But I did enjoy both Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, and the juxtaposition of the CIA family man/shot caller and the in too deep government agent. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough. Cake Man got the last laugh on this one.

In a year, Cake Man is going to spend less at the movies and over all enjoy the movies he sees more than I will. But whereas he will be content with the dvds that turn out to be pretty decent movies, I think I will have tested the theatres enough to come away with a few more great movie going experiences that I wasn’t expecting to go along with the ones that I was expecting. It’s worth it, because once they pull that movie from the theatre, more often than not that experience is gone forever.

Could you imagine seeing some of the your favorite movies that were before your time in movie theatres? I remember an old boss was telling me about how he got into a fight while watching Predator in theatres. I don’t know if I was more blown away that he got to watch Predator in movie theatres or that he was crazy enough to be fighting while vintage Arnold was blowing people away on the big screen. That got me to thinking. What are some of the movies that you wish you could go back and catch on the big screen? Also, what are some of your most precious theatre going experiences? The first that comes to mind for me is The Last Samurai. I know a lot of people hate on Tom Cruise, but sometimes you just got to drop it and appreciate a solid flick. Cake Man and I are due for a swap soon. I’m giving him The Last Samurai and he’s giving me Requiem for a something or another. Some movie about drugs. If you haven’t gotten a sense of my values: Katanas = awesome. Drugs = Not awesome. Somebody wielding a katana in the war against drugs would just be off the charts. But I’m rambling now.

What movies do you wish you could go back in time to see in theatres?

What are some of your most precious theatre going experiences?

The Dark Knight Strikes Again

According to E! Online, in an article I read here, the Dark Knight is set to hit theaters again in January as a "reminder" for all Academy voters. As a huge fan of The Dark Knight (and all things Batman), I have this to say:

Awesome.

Yet, I have to wonder a bit about the decision. Dark Knight should be hitting DVDs well in time to cause a few mad dashes and tramplings around holiday season when stores open before the sun rises. Heath Ledger's performance, though by this point exposed to the world for almost two months, is still quite a hot topic of discussion among cinephiles and pop cult fans alike. I personally think that his Joker is by far one of the best screen villains I've ever seen. I challenge you to name 10 better.

At this point, though, a move like that - "returning" a film to theaters that is still ranking in the top 5 weekend earners in box office data is a bit odd. Sure, it will eventually have to leave theaters. But will it just return weeks later? It's an odd mix of factors at play, I think. Some people who were waiting for the DVD - why would anyone do that? - will probably like it so much they'll pay to see it on the big screen in January. Other people, myself not necessarily left out, might seek out the opportunity to go with friends who weren't around over the summer.

At the end of the day, though, if you asked me, I'd say the move was most about money. Dark Knight is about $78 million from matching Titanic*. (*Due to inflation, DK would have to hit about $900 million in ticket sales to sell the number of tickets Titanic did.) $78 million is a lot of money for most movies. Actually, it's a phenomenal amount of money for a majority of films to make it onto screens in this country. Yet for movies like Dark Knight, Titanic, and anything Star Wars, $78 is an opening day's pay (well, at least a Friday and Saturday). Can it be achieved with another month in theaters in early 2009? Is WB trying to just break Titanic's record? Do we really need a reminder about how good Heath Ledger was? Or does none of that matter?

Will you see it in theaters next year?

Dark Knight - Aftermath

I recently read an imdb.com article that claimed that The Dark Knight “has become one of the most mistake-ridden films of the year so far” with movie-goers catching 16 mistakes in it. Granted, some of these film flubs are minor, such as hair being out of place from one shot to the next. Some, such as an extra S.W.A.T. truck appearing during a chase scene, are more major. All that said, the cold showers I took after seeing the movie are kicking in. I still love the movie, but I’m starting to view it in another light.

Essentially, after all is said and done, I still prefer TDK over Batman Begins. However, that is for one major reason – The Joker. Had The Joker not been so devilishly fun to watch, had Heath Ledger not been so completely immersed in the character, I am not sure I would have enjoyed the film as much as the one that preceded it. The biggest difference to me between the films is that, in Begins, I felt as though Christopher Nolan was really targeting a few key themes, which were explored in depth. In Dark Knight, there was so much going on that a lot of potentially interesting themes were lost or superficially explored at best. For example, when Bruce Wayne says that he’s “seen the man [he] would have to become” to defeat the Joker, I recall thinking that I’d not seen it. Had that line been absent, I’m not sure I would have come away with a feeling of Batman’s internal struggle. Sure, he was torn by what ramifications Batman’s existence has had on Gotham (criminals, copy cat vigilantes), but the darkness he felt growing inside him eluded me.

Another point that snagged me *SPOILER ALERT* was the Gordon “death”. There’s really little way that Gordon, the police, Batman, or The Joker could have planned that incident. More so than anything in Begins, this beat seemed something thrown in purely for the audience, something that did not further the plot in any particular (or plausible) way. *END SPOLIER*

What I’m getting at – and it’s odd, because Onyx, who can barley name a bat-gadget to save his life – was defending the film against me – the Dark Knight of Queens, NY – is that, overall, I think the movie had more poorly explained plot gimmicks and superficial thematic explorations than Batman Begins did. However, Joker reigned supreme in The Dark Knight, and, due in no small part to Heath Ledger’s performance, the movie was much more exhilarating and entertaining than Begins. Of course, I’ll still see it again in theatres and buy it as soon as it comes out (not to mention the poster and t-shirt I’ll probably pick out online this weekend). I’m just being a knit-picky fan (and former film student).

But *FINAL SPOLIER* how the hell was Eric Roberts standing in the hospital scene, when his character was dropped four stories just nights before?

Back from sunny San Diego...

My final costume count was 36 Jokers at Comic Con International - a whopping 27 based on the Heath Ledger Joker, and only nine of the classic look.

On the screenwriting front, Ken Levine has posted a great article on his blog about finding a perfect screenwriting partner.

Why So Serious?

I saw The Dark Knight on Friday. I'd have posted my review earlier, but I had to spend the past two days taking a cold shower to calm myself down. The movie competes - along with air, water, Mom's cooking, and love - for the title of "best anything ever."

Ok, before I go on, I should say that I'm perhaps a little bit biased. I probably have one of the largest Batman trade and graphic novel collections in New York City. (That's not a challenge, internet dwellers, simply background.) So, it's fair to say that I'll watch just about anything Batman (and I have). I thought Batman Begins was great. When I emerged from the theater after seeing that 3 years ago, I didn't know how a Batman movie could be better. Now I do.

Like so many other people, I went into the screening having heard that the film was incredible, that Heath Ledger was a great, a definitive Joker, and that the movie was one of the best of the year, if not the best. About half an hour in, I reminded myself of all these things, and thought, "I'm liking it, but I don't know if I'd say any of those things yet." Almost immediately after, the movie really hit its stride, and I was mesmerized. The film was incredible; it was thoroughly entertaining and much darker than I had imagined. Heath Ledger was the Joker; I wasn't watching him play the Joker, I was just watching Joker. And, there is no way, in my opinion that DC Comics can publish any other Joker from here on out. Joker will never again be able to poison Gotham's fish. He's no longer that character. He will forever be the Joker from The Dark Knight.

I cannot articulate concisely enough my appreciation for this movie. I loved it 100%. Aside from an annoying SWAT team member who must have been owed a favor and thus was given lines, I had very few problems at all with the film. It not only lived up to its hype, but it surpassed it. My only real issue with it is that, now, I don't know how I can watch Batman Begins again. It made that movie look like child's play. It wass so much darker, so much more chaotic, and Joker is by far the most riveting character to watch in the franchise.

Now off to see it again!