Cameron H.

Sorry, it took so long for me to post this. Is next Friday cool with everyone or do we need an extra week?

Quick question: if Depp was Pearce, how’d he know Jolie would choose him? In fact, wasn’t he her *second* choice? Is their love so pure and magical that they were destined to be together? Also, Alexander Pearce sounded like a real monster before he got his work done (i.e. balding with crooked cigarette-stained teeth). I’m not saying looks are everything, but it does seem surprising for someone who was the purportedly the love of Jolie’s life...

That’s insane!

Please share some highlights...

Thanks again, Tom!

Click the link guys to get back in

I was kicked out and I was saying something VERY funny!

Tom - (if Tom doesn’t fall asleep)

Well, I guess that wraps up C&Os for the week. I mean, no one’s going to beat this, right? Great catch, burrhaz!

Bumping as a reminder

I’m going to feedback the fuck out of it.

This is was my take. I think that there were based on real people, but their role in his life/story is more based on the fact that they were present during a significant moment in his life rather than any real significance in and of themselves. For example, Dan Dark can't even remember if they were present on the bus ride to or from his father's service station, but he still remembers them. They are the tiny details that stick out in your memory that really don't mean anything. Consequently, in his book, they are these kind of amorphous, poorly defined characters. He feels like they are important, when in fact, they really aren't. As for an answer provided in the movie, I'd say they are just there to be an enigma. A thing for us to question, but never get an answer. Or as Dark puts it, "All solutions and no clues, right? 'Cause that's what the dumbheads want. They want a serious novel, right? Plus descriptions of the goddamn sky. I want it the other way around. All clues, no solutions, 'cause that's the way things are."

Here's my (admittedly half-formed) take on the lip-syncing thing. A big part of the movie is that Dan doesn't realize that the characters are subconsciously based on people from his own life. As he comes to terms with this fact, he also starts to realize that he is, in fact, the hero of his own story. The way I viewed it was that TSD was Dan Dark's aspirational self. He was sexy and smooth and didn't take any shit from anybody. Conversely, Dan feels like a monster and that the whole world is shitting on him. Even though we see that RDJ is playing both parts, Dan Dark doesn't see it. He can't fathom that he might actually be The Singing Detective, and because of that, TSD doesn't have Dan Dark's voice. He has a different voice - a "better" voice. It's also important to note that RDJ - as Dan Dark - does sing in his own voice at one point. And, not only that, when he does sing, it's pretty good. As he comes to terms with who he could be, his recovery follows suit. This continues on until the very end of the movie where the "monstrous" Dan Dark is transformed (killed off) so that he can literally become TSD. (I'm not sure if any of that made any sense...LOL) Maybe I can illustrate my point a different way. It's been awhile since I've seen it, but there's this movie called Mumford which- as I recall - is (kind of) about a small town psychologist. In it, there's this character that comes to see him every so often who always describes these kind of noir-ish, sex fantasies. Now, the patient himself is this kind of overweight, middle-aged, balding dude, but in his fantasies, he's this completely ripped, young, and sexy hunk. At one point, the psychologist guy (I want to call him Mumford, but that might be the name of the town) says, "I want [this guy] to be able to see himself in his own fantasies." I feel like Dan Dark is kind of like that. He's so busy feeling sorry for himself that he can't even see himself for what he already is.

Yeah, there was definitely something there in that Third Act that helped the movie coalesce for me. I think, up to that point, I was resistant to everything that was going on. I hated Dan Dark and I really couldn't be bothered with him. However, kind of like Hustle & Flow, despite how much I didn't care for him, all of the I sudden started rooting for him. Ultimately, I'd say I admired the movie more than I enjoyed it.

...someone has a Drive-in fetish.

I want to feel joy again! What's it going to be?

Gigitastic, I’m sorry, but I honestly can’t remember if I’ve ever officially asked if you wanted to join the rotation. It’ll be awhile before you get a pick, but I’d be happy to pencil you in if you want

I never got the impression that you could just flip-flop alignments willy-nilly. You are whatever you choose to be at your claiming. Macon was still Dark, he just wasn’t acting on his Dark impulses - which is why he was allowed to be there. Welcome to the boards

When he meets with Amma at her Uncle's grave, she tells him things haven't felt right since he brought "that girl." He tells her that Sarafine has been shadowing Lena for a year and that Gatlin is "the only place left I have to protect her." So I think he's been traveling with her since at least a little while. ETA: Tom beat me to it.

What I got out of that scene was that the Darkness inside of her broke the spell - which is why her eye glows like Ridley’s just before it happens. However, I don’t necessarily think her Dark side was being “Evil,” more like selfish. Her Light Side knows that Ethan should go, her Dark Side wants him to stay. It’s just showing that even though she’s claimed both the Dark and the Light for herself, it’s not really a true balance - it may never be. Inside of her, the two sides are still vying for control.

Are we considering SING STREET, ONCE, or THAT THING YOU DO Musicals or movies about music?

I should hope so. Each of his songs has a solid minute of intro before any singing begins. That's crazy. The song I'm embedding below is only two minutes long! How does it have a 1 minute intro? ETA: There are some very strage vocalizations at the 46 second mark though. (This is the same video I was linking to above. The forums don't allow you to embed more than two videos in a single post) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ysizd52-rE

They mentioned in the episode that Alice Englert wrote the song "Needle and Thread" for the movie. ...which sounds an awful like one of the songs Robert Pattinson wrote for the first Twilight movie! Do you think the filmmakers were like, "Alice, you've gotta write us a song! R-Patts did it in Twilight! All the YA movies are doing it. Just make sure it's full of lethargic acoustic guitar playing and the kind of vocal vibrato that sounds like someone is pulling your intestines out of your rectum."

Well, honestly, I think we're getting into a bit of personal preference territory here. If you're more interested in her magical world more than his - comparatively - boring life, that makes complete sense. Her life as a Caster is one of the main reasons for the story to exist, but it's not the only reason. He's there because this isn't just a paranormal movie - it's a paranormal romance and he's there as the romantic lead. Now, whether or not he works for you in that role, really comes down to a matter of taste. For me personally, he works. I find him charming and their relationship believable. What's important to me is what each of the characters needs to become whole. For Ethan, he's looking for an open mind in a small town. He's looking for affection and adventure. He's looking for someone who appreciates literature on his level and doesn't view it as something that will send him "straight to Hell." He wants something that will shake up his humdrum existence. Lena provides all these things for him. As for what Lena needs, and what he can give her, he offers her acceptance and a sense of normalcy, as well as unconditional support and empathy. When Macon bespells him to "spill his guts," he could easily have run away (most rational people probably would), but instead he comes back - which proves his loyalty and bravery. And finally, from strictly a storytelling perspective, Ethan gives her something to fight for and something to lose. So while I can't speak for anybody else, I think that's a pretty good balance and more than justifies his role in the movie - not only as the POV character, but as Lena's romantic equal. Especially so when you compare it to Twilight - which I only bring up as it is often held up as the gold standard and the catalyst for the entire YA paranormal romance movement. When you hold the two together, there's really no contest. In Twilight, Edward, unlike Lena, doesn't need anything. He walks onto the scene fully formed: eternally young, rich, beautiful, and intelligent. All of his needs are met. He's well-adjusted and isn't in any danger - immediate or otherwise. And Bella, unlike Ethan, offers less than nothing. Her presence in Edward's life is more of an obstacle than anything. She literally can't give him anything beyond fawning adoration. In fact, we're told that the only reason he's interested in her at all is because she smells so good he wants to murder her and her empty mind gives him respite from his telepathic powers. In Beautiful Creatures, the plot touches on themes of alienation, conformity, bullying, destiny, female empowerment, free will, family dysfunction, death, loss, and the concept of Original Sin. In Twilight, the central conflict is, "How can I, an emotionless void, get this surly God-Monster to be my boyfriend (and possibly turn me into a vampire at a later date)?" So, all that being said, I'd say that Beautiful Creatures offers better, more well-rounded characters (at least in terms of their leads) as well as a more emotionally satisfying story. Is it a good movie? Not really. I like it, but I'm not, like, in love with it or anything. I'm not crazy. But as representative of the genre, I think it's one of the better offerings. Also, while I'm on the topic of Twilight, I wonder if Paul or Jason ever went back and watched the first three movies? When they said Twilight was better than this, I wondered if they are comparing Beautiful Creatures with Breaking Dawn Part 2 - the climatic culmination of the four earlier films. If so, that hardly seems fair.