Alphabet

The first assignment of film 400 was to create a video poem; a short project with an emphasis on strong visuals and personal reflection. With it being the start of another school year (septemeber 2006) i began to think about how important and defining education had become to me over the years (and still is). I found it strange that for something that has come to stand for so much, i really couldn't remember how it all started or what my first day of school was really like. This became the basis of my video poem. So many things that end up becoming important start out with seemingly little significance. I'm aware these kind of (artsy) films don't appeal to everyone, and the visuals aren't as crisp on youtube, but in any case i think i achieved my goal with the assignment.

I posted this after the video so it didn't seem like i was spoon feeding, but for those of you who don't digest art films well i'll clarify. The leaves are used as symbols for various memories. Chewed up, dying, growing, etc. This makes the trees a symbol for the mind. I mention this because my favorite line in Alphabet is 'There's a lot no one says because it's been said before. A lot of shared experience in a world full of ideas that people keep to themselves. A world full of ideas, moments, histories . . . just lost' which is said while the sun glares into the lens and on the left side of the frame a single leaf falls (the line starts at 1:30 in the film). Ya, artsy, i know, haha. There's a lot of visual subtly, and i could write paragraphs about why i edited it this way, but in any case, now you know that there is purpose behind why i did what i did (it's not just luck that things match up!). As though there was any doubt . . . :)

Desert Island Flicks #3

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Damn Harry Potter

It wasn't really all that long ago that this craze got started, but still I can't say that I understand the madness behind it. Last night I gave in and saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Had my friend not wanted to see it I probably would've waited until it came out on DVD, but like what has happened with the previous Harry Potter movies there is always someone who wants to see it near opening.

I don't mind the Potter movies, they're entertaining enough, but I haven't read any of the books and it usually takes me the first 30min of each movie to remember who everyones name is again. Apparently, I was in the minority last night.

We headed to the Galaxy to see two movies because it was cheapie Tuesday and two movies for $10 is better than one on any other day. We bought both our tickets when we got there at 6:30, saw License to Wed (an enjoyable enough comedy) at 7:15 and got out with 20 minutes until Potter at 9:30. And I'm sure you're reading this because you were wondering what time the movies played last night . . .

We both expected it to be busy, but I was naive about the whole thing. Coming out of the first movie we see a huge line up around the doors specifically for Harry Potter ticket holders. I thought, well screw that, we already bought our tickets way earlier and we're already in so let's just go stand by the theatre until they open it. That was wishful thinking.

We stood there until the theatre opened about 10 minutes later before the guy standing there said, sorry we give first preference to the people in the line. I looked back at the line and knew I wasn't going to go to the back, so we went to the second checkpoint . . . and got the same response. Sure, fair is fair, but we did buy our tickets at 6:30 waiting in line at the theatre and we were already passed the lobby so it's not like we were really scamming the system. Not wanting to put up with the nonsense anymore, we both just ripped our own tickets and pretended we were part of the meandering line and got decent seats in the back row.

I've never been a fan of opening weekends (or weeks) because of the crowds and the resulting full theatre which makes it tough to lounge comfortably. It's an experience though, and it had been a while since I'd been to a sold out show. I ended up sitting next to a nut-job though who was there alone but talked to the screen throughout the movie. He commented continously on how cool it looked to himself, but he also struck me as the kind of guy who probably thought he was watching a documentary about wizards.

Wizard-boy also brought a stupid little laser pointer which he insisted on playing with throughout the previews and acting like it wasn't him doing it. Thankfully he didn't do it through the movie, but the general awkwardness suggested that he probably didn't get out much.

The movie itself was probably the best out of the 5 so far. The effects and action have improved, and it didn't feel like it dragged on as much as the others. Pretty much if you liked the series so far, you're bound to like this one too.

All this brings me back to what's the big deal though? What am I not picking up on? Maybe I should read one of the books, or maybe people are just hard up for fantasy films these days. I don't know, I probably just didn't jump on this bandwagon soon enough to get swept up.