Spring Breakers (2012) / a chance to see something different

"I'm tired of seeing the same thing. This is our chance to see something different."

I'd been to movies fifteen times this year. After seeing The Great Gatsby last week I counted my 2013 cinema visits so far. So, fifteen. Then I counted the times that had actually managed to blow my mind a little, or shake my core, or whatever. One. That was the first movie I saw in cinema this year, The Impossible, and the core-shaking related to that experience had to do with the unnatural amount of crying, obviously. But one core-shaker in fifteen movies; I don't really like those numbers. Sure, there had been some minor shakes. Sure, I wasn't always looking for an experience that would blow up my brain. Sure, sometimes I just wanted to be entertained.

But come on. One in fifteen. I was getting really tired of seeing okay movies. Fine movies. Pretty good movies. Movies that weren't bad but they just lacked that something. I saw the Spring Breakers trailer some time ago and was a bit confused by Disney stars in bikinis and all that booty-shaking and James Franco looking extremely shady. Then I saw some reviews. So I thought I'd go see it. Might as well make it one in sixteen, right? Well, turns out Spring Breakers was just the core-shaker that I was longing for. I honestly can't tell you how happy I felt half-way through the film, as I felt my mind sneakily blowing somewhere in the back of my head. I wasn't sure what I was seeing. I had never seen anything quite like it before. It was something different, and I liked it.

Spring Breakers features four college girls, stuck in a small town with the same old faces, same old lecture halls, and the same old lectures about racial segregation, which I thought sounded so interesting I would've loved to keep listening. Hah. Nerd, I know... Everyone is heading down to Florida for spring break, for some epic partying, drinking and promiscuous activity, but the girls are out of money. They decide they need to go to Florida, whatever it takes. They need to get out and experience something different.

At some point during the film something quite random and very nerdy popped into my head. The girls' behavior reminded me very much of the Salem witch trials. Being somewhat of a semi-expert (ahem) on what went on in 1692 in the small Salem Village in New England, I thought about the girls in Salem who were bored and frustrated by the lack of meaningful activities and the few opportunities the Puritan society had to offer for them, and thus in accusing people of witchcraft they found a way to acquire power, get attention and feel worth-while. Not that different from the bored college girls who went to look for their end of the rainbow from the mixed madness of booze, drugs, sex, money and guns. Isn't that what power is? What the ultimate meaning of everything is?

The silent but powerful critique towards modern society is what made the film blow my mind away, way away. I don't really know how to talk about it. The girls set off to look for meaning, thinking they know where to find it, but returning empty-handed. Empty-headed. Empty. Their lives just as empty as before, if not emptier. The world is thoroughly messing us up, and we know it, but this won't stop it. In Spring Breakers, the endless and repetitive shots of naked or half-naked bodies, in close-up and slow-motion, should disturb you or at least affect you in some way. But you see the booties shaking right in front of your face, again and again, and you see the people screaming in the ecstasy of being wasted, young and good-looking, and you just see how embarrassing and almost grotesque the whole thing is. We see so much booty-shaking it becomes absolutely ridiculous. Isn't that the meaning of life, as it's constantly pushed down our throats? Bikinis and big booties, y'all, that's what life is about.

Many people have said the genre of the film is very difficult to determine, and I agree. But I don't ever agree when they call it a comedy. For me, it wasn't a comedy at all. I also watched a few interviews with the cast and my mind blew once again, this time because of the idiotic way the interviewers approached the film and thus the actors. I guess the beauty of the film is that there are a million different ways to see it and understand it. But I'd call the movie a tragedy rather than a comedy... A satire, yes, but not in a funny way. A cheery, sexy movie about how awesome spring breaks are? Not. At. All. That's what you'd expect, but not. At. All.

A few technical details that, in addition to the social commentary, reinforced the process of my mind being blown: James Franco and how he'd somehow managed to transform himself into insane, disgusting, yet somehow appealing maniac, who lives and breaths his twisted idea of the American dream ("Look at my shit!"). The visual look of the film combined to the hectic style of editing, making me feel almost hypnotized. Then the Everytime scene, and thinking about all the things that Britney Spears represents... It seemed both fitting and twisted in this context. There's something else too, but it's been a few days since the core-shaking now that I'm finishing up this post, and I've forgotten the feeling I had right after.

After the film I saw a commercial on TV, attempting to make men buy suits by portraying a woman seductively lifting the hem of her tiny skirt. I saw Selena Gomez parading around in a music video where every moment, every shot, every body movement and look was over-sexualized, and I thought, "Oh, girl, didn't you learn anything from your movie?". Surely everyone realizes how ridiculous they look? Everything seemed absurd, like everything was a parody of itself. I guess that's what happens when something blows your mind.

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) / afternoon in the land of Oz

"How hard can it be to kill a Wicked Witch?"

I was one of the seven people at the 3:45 pm showing of Oz the Great and Powerful last Friday. I hoped I'd be all by myself; in the last couple of months I have, a couple of times, come very close to attending a private screening, but unfortunately that luxury is still waiting to happen. I bet the cinema staff knows me as the poor lonely girl who goes to unpopular matinees all by herself. Haha.

I had no great (or powerful) expectations towards the movie, but I like the stories about Oz and I like Kansas and there's Mila Kunis, so I decided I'd go see it. And, yes, all the Wizard of Oz references were awesome, I loved how much good old Kansas sucked, and Mila Kunis and her character were pretty much the best thing about the whole thing. On the other hand, it was pretty Disney (in both good and bad ways, mostly bad), and it relied far too much on CGI and bright colors and fancy, made-up creatures. And even though I love all that, from bright colors to Disney (even bad Disney), you need more than that for a movie to be great. They won't be still watching and making origin story prequels to this one in seventy years...

The thing about prequels is that it's pretty much impossible to live up to the original. There is no true suspense because we know how things will turn out in the end, more or less. The climax is not truly satisfying, because it's not a happy end, it's a happy middle, and we know that in a few decades all hell will break loose again, and that's when the real hero arrives and saves the day for real. This Oscar person has got nothing on Dorothy: she killed two Wicked Witches, while he kind of just created one. Granted, he does own some nice machines that make pretty illusions.

The acting was somehow really awkward, or at least a bit strange, but then again, maybe it was supposed to be. I definitely got a very strong Wizard of Oz vibe every now and then, so maybe the acting wasn't bad, maybe it was just somewhat weird to see all these famous, modern (and great!) actors like James Franco and Michelle Williams go all 1930s. I don't know.

What I did love about the movie was the feeling of good old nostalgia. It's not that I am completely entitled to feel huge amounts of nostalgia about a film I have seen only twice in my life, both times within a few years, but you know me. I have nostalgia for dinner. The transition from black and white to rich, bright colors was expected, but still very cool. I was hoping they had included a change from 2D to 3D to the transition as well, because that would've added greatly to the effect, but I guess the Kansas part was too lengthy, and if it had been all 2D, they couldn't have charged the whole 3D extra for the tickets. Hah.

I also liked that the China girl was from Chinatown. I liked the Munchkin song. I liked the Yellow Brick Road and the poppy field and the lion, and the flying monkeys that were so scary I felt sorry the kids, and myself. I liked that a villain got a backstory, proving that everything is evil for a reason. I love when they do that. I liked the fireworks and Oz's final trick gave me goosebumps. I wanted to see some ruby slippers, and was a bit disappointed when I didn't.

Oz the Great and Powerful is essentially a Disney adventure, and we have to take all the good and bad things that come with that. At least the lion is far less annoying in this one, compared to the original.

"Kansas is full of good men. I don't want to be a good man. I want to be a great one."

(Nah. You just go stand behind your curtain, while we go back to 1939 to see someone save Oz for real.)

Some post-Oscar sentiments 2011

Voilá, a more or less brief summary of the thoughts than ran through my mind in the Oscar Night.

(It turned out to be 'less brief'. So, if you're still dying to get inside my head, proceed by clicking below.)

Why Anne and James will most probably rock the Oscars

127 Hours (2010) - the longest five days and seven hours ever

directed by Danny Boyle / starring James Franco

I just had a sip a cool, fresh water, and man, did it taste good! My mouth was getting a bit dry in the cinema and I noticed that thirst becomes much more intense when you know there's no water near you. I'm sure Aron Ralston would agree with me here! Not that I'm comparing my experience to his. I doubt anyone would want to see a movie about me sitting in a cinema and dreaming about water.

In April 2003 Aron Ralston got his arm trapped under a huge rock while hicking alone in the Utah canyons. He was low on water and food, and, as it happens, he'd informed no one about where he was going. The phrase commonly used in situations like this is: oops.

I love when good movies are made of topics that sound deadly dull on paper. A king tries to overcome his stammer. A guy creates a webpage. A man is stuck in one place for five days. Actually, all of these films are based on real people, actual events, which once again proves that sometimes the best stories can't be made up - sometimes they come from real life. (We have the proverb for that in Finnish, but I'm not bothered enough to look for English equivalent. Pardon me. (I'm too engaged in finding split ends. Seriously, everytime I stop to think I begin to examine my hair and won't stop until I find a split end. And I always find one. Which means I should probably go cut off some of the poor thing. Anyway.))

I almost already ordered the book (Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston himself) from Play.com, but restained myself for now, as I've donated so much of my student grants for them lately. And I wouldn't have time to read it right away, anuway, as there's about half a million books already waiting in line. BUT, it is a must read book, and don't worry Play.com, I will continue keeping you alive soon enough.

(Oh, god, this split end obsession is far too distracting. I'll continue tomorrow... Now, the morning after! No worries, today my hair is up in a bun, far out of my reach, so none of that split end business today. Let's get on with the post. (...Had to hide my nail scissors, too, as I began to examine my nail beds in the lack of split ends. Now, seriously, get on with it, woman.))

Danny Boyle is one great director! Though I don't like Trainspotting quite as much I would like to (that baby gave me lifelong traumas) and Life Less Ordinary I found absolutely terrible (I've been trying to get rid of my DVD by putting in on sale in flea market, twice, but no one seems to want it). I guess I'm more mainstream kind of girl, as Slumdog Millionaire I really enjoyed, all the way to the supercheesy Bollywood-ish ending and the suberb dance during the credits. And that Dev Ratel is such a sweetheart! Anyway, I think it's safe to say 127 Hours hurtled right to the top of my (undeniebly shortish) list of favourite Boyle films.

James Franco just rocked (no pun intended, really). Previously I hadn't seen much proof of his extraordinary talents (liked him in Milk, though), but now I don't think anyone could've portrayed Aron Ralston quite like him, which usually indicates a nailed performance. He was just utterly awesome. I think I would turn my back on Colin Firth and start campaigning James Franco for the win, if Mr Firth wasn't the most darling man ever. We'll see whom I place my loyalties to in the end... There's still Mr Eisenberg as well to stir up my mind.

127 Hours was a great movie. The cinematography was appropriately shaky and imaginative, contributing to the atmosphere and whatever feeling Aron was going through at the moment. The music was excellent (A.R. Rahman did it again!). Before The King's Speech there was the trailer of 127 Hours. Before 127 Hours there was the trailer of True Grit. I take the hint... Let's hope history will repeat itself and my next cinema experience will be as awesome as the last.

"The minute I was born, every breath that I've taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the out surface."

Here are your hosts, Oscars 2011!

I didn't even realise they were already finding people to host the gala next year! Where has my head been? (Somewhere between a prose analysis and the latest episode of Glee, I guess...?) But yeah, the Oscars are approaching, fast! Yaay!

So, Anne Hathaway and James Franco will be hosting. I like Anne a lot, and her contribution to Hugh Jackman's opening number some years ago is quite memorable. And even though James Franco has never been in the top of any of my lists, I'm sure he can be pretty funny and he's easy on the eyes, alright.

I didn't too much enjoy Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin's double act last year (actually, I found them quite boring and stiff), but I dare to raise my hopes pretty high when it comes to James and Anne. If nothing too silly isn't written into their mouths, this might actually become quite a blast. Here's to hoping!