About as different...
For the past two weeks I've been averaging a movie a night. Either finishing or starting a movie - but every night there's another movie to view and then talk about the next day on this pointless blog.
Two movies last night (woo hoo). About as different...
From Netflix I got "Walk The Line." I finished "The Front Page" which - as I wrote yesterday was funny but also quite innovative.
"Walk the Line" (which I've watched half of so far) is very good. But it's a film that breaks a number of screenwriting rules - but confirms that if you have a GOOD STORY you can break those rules. First, it starts with a flashback. People have said: "Flashbacks are gimmicky." But this one works.
Second, it "tells character" - in other words people come up and introduce themselves: "Hi, I'm Sam Phillips!" "This is Jerry Lee Lewis." Obviously Johnny Cash would know that it's Sam Phillips studio or Sam would just say: "I'm Sam." A more SUBTLE way of introducing character was the Elvis Pressley character who (though the actor didn't look much like Elvis to me) offered Cash some "chili fries." Unless Elvis is suppossed to be Carl Perkins - but I could be wrong.
Third, it's a period piece.
Fourth, it's a MUSICAL for gosh sakes.
All in all, an hour and 15 minutes in, though - it's dang good - to hell with conventional screenplay wisdom.
The second film I watched (and watched all the way through) was "Bugsy Malone" - more on that soon...
Two movies last night (woo hoo). About as different...
From Netflix I got "Walk The Line." I finished "The Front Page" which - as I wrote yesterday was funny but also quite innovative.
"Walk the Line" (which I've watched half of so far) is very good. But it's a film that breaks a number of screenwriting rules - but confirms that if you have a GOOD STORY you can break those rules. First, it starts with a flashback. People have said: "Flashbacks are gimmicky." But this one works.
Second, it "tells character" - in other words people come up and introduce themselves: "Hi, I'm Sam Phillips!" "This is Jerry Lee Lewis." Obviously Johnny Cash would know that it's Sam Phillips studio or Sam would just say: "I'm Sam." A more SUBTLE way of introducing character was the Elvis Pressley character who (though the actor didn't look much like Elvis to me) offered Cash some "chili fries." Unless Elvis is suppossed to be Carl Perkins - but I could be wrong.
Third, it's a period piece.
Fourth, it's a MUSICAL for gosh sakes.
All in all, an hour and 15 minutes in, though - it's dang good - to hell with conventional screenplay wisdom.
The second film I watched (and watched all the way through) was "Bugsy Malone" - more on that soon...
posted by WipeYourFeetOnTheMatt at 9:58 AM
1 Comments:
I loved Bugsy Malone when I saw it at the Lake City Theater! I'm sure it's not quite as good as I thought it was when I was 12. (or however old I was...)
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