The Great Cinematography Debate of 2012

Being married to a filmmaker can often make watching movies a more fatiguing experience than I would like. Here I am, a 27-year-old woman who grew up loving the entertainment industry, and personally, my only desire when watching a movie is to be entertained. However, my husband who holds a degree in Cinematography finds joy in analyzing the different aspects of a film. Typically after watching something at home or in the theater (which we visit quite frequently), he and I will enter into a discussion about how good or bad the film was. It seems as if we always end in a stale mate simply because our views on the elements that make a film well executed are very different.

My husband bases his decision heavily on the way a film was made, looking at the technical components of lighting, story, sound and editing. Although I do agree that when done correctly these elements can highlight a film’s greatness, for me, the entertainment factor is the biggest one to consider. If for two hours or so I could sit fully engaged in a story, not worrying about the time or wanting to be somewhere else, then I give that film a big seal of approval. These debates, these elements of subjectivity are exactly what make film viewing an amazing adventure to be a part of.

Films are 100% subjective and the experience will differ with each person. What one person thinks is an incredible film, another might find boring and uninteresting. The point here is that film is not all about technical pizzazz, or how amazing the script may be.  These are all parts of the machine.  However film, much like all art, is about finding an audience that will have an emotional connection with its message. Being transported into a life that isn’t our own, if only for a few hours, is one of the central goals of filmmaking.

These two ways of viewing a film, the technical versus the emotional, are not exclusive to my husband and I.  Take for example the Academy Awards. In doing some research, I found that out of the top 20 highest grossing films of all time, only two were awarded the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Well, my take on it is that the Academy sides with my husband when making their final decisions. They tend to look at the technical aspects of a film to determine if it is in fact worthy of an Oscar. The most recent film to win best picture, The Artist, has only made roughly about $37 million in revenue since its limited release. Think back on past Best Picture winners and try to recall the last time a Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre film won. Believe it or not, the last time a film in that genre won was nearly 10 years ago with The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. This film, which ranks number five on the list of highest grossing films is part of one of the most popular film trilogies of all time, but only once has it’s brilliance been recognized by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. This contrasting example goes to show that in the eyes of the Academy, the amount of revenue a film makes (which I believe can be translated into how many people actually went to see a film) has no affect on the determination of an Oscar award winner.

There’s no wrong way to view a film, much like there’s no wrong way to look at a piece of art or watch a flower grow. Each person has a different perspective and it all depends on the connection they make with the film they are experiencing. For some viewers, the technical ways in which a movie shines brings out a feeling of happiness, while for others; emotionally connecting with a story does the trick. No matter which side you’re on, the brief suspension from reality that comes from watching a film encompasses the true meaning behind entertainment, and it’s an experience I hope to have for years to come.

My Review of Tangled 3D

For the last 50 years, Disney has been creating wonderful animated stories filled with magic and meaningful messages that adults and children alike can enjoy. Unfortunately, for the last 12 years, the pickins have been slim in terms of "good" animated Disney flicks. Instead, Disney has decided to venture into corporate pandering with their big block buster flicks including "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Alice in Wonderland," and the "Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia." Now let me first clarify that I liked each one of these movies and I have no problem with the big wigs at Disney wanting to take a big venture like the aforementioned, make some money and run with them as far as they will go. But after experiencing what I did last night at the theater on my 26th birthday, I really have to wonder what has Disney become?

Let me explain.

Last night after enjoying a wonderful birthday dinner with my husband, we decided to try and catch a flick at the theater. We had both heard great things about the new Disney movie "Tangled" and thought we'd give it a try as a happy go lucky movie is what we were both yearning to find. And for the first time in 12 years, that is exactly what we found.

Tangled is your basic fairy tale film, about a girl with magical hair who has the power to keep the old youthful, and heal the wounded or sick, being held hostage by an evil woman who wants to keep the magic power all to herself. Originally called "Rapunzel" this fairy tale stars Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, Zachary Levi as the daring and troublesome hero Flynn Rider (Eugene Fitz Herbert) and Donna Murphy as the Mother Gothel. Before I get to the performances, I'd like to commend Disney on making what I consider to be one of their best films in the past 10 years. What made this film so magical comes down to something so basic as a formula. Since 1937 it has been Disney's joy to create the formula of the fairy tale in which someone in distress (generally a female) is saved by a hero (generally a man), and they live happily ever after. It has been the success of this simple formula that has allowed Disney to experience all of the accomplishment that they have with their animated films. There is no flash, no explosions, no trickery of any kind. Instead, there is just a film with the most basic of stories yet it brings a complexity and magic to the screen that very few others have ever been able to tackle.

So why is Disney so successful in executing this formula you ask? Well, if I knew that I wouldn't be sitting here writing this blog for myself now would I?

No but seriously, that question may be up for debate, but in my opinion they are successful because they get right down to the core of what almost everyone desires to find; a happily ever after. Aside from this, Disney plain and simple knows how to tell a story. Which leads me back to Tangled. I thoroughly enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I was going to. The story although simple was fantastic because it forced the audience to actually care about what was happening with the characters. The best stories are the ones that encourage us to love the heroines and hate the villains, and Tangled accomplished this flawlessly. As I mentioned earlier, Mandy Moore plays Rapunzel, who is kidnapped as a baby because of her magical healing hair, and then trapped in a high tower by the evil Mother Gothel who uses Rapunzel's power to keep herself young. After meeting Flynn, Rapunzel recruits him to take her to witness her dream of watching the floating lights that are released everyday on her birthday and this leads the two of them on an adventure that they will never forget. As far as acting goes, I thought Mandy Moore did an excellent job as the story's hero. She was funny, likable, her timing delivering her lines was nearly perfect and although I may be a bit biased as I've always been a fan, her voice for the musical numbers was absolutely beautiful. Through her journey she meets the rogue and exciting Flynn Rider, a thief, who eventually falls in love with our beautiful leading lady after a number of dangerous escapades that threaten both of their lives. Flynn is played by Zachary Levi, who is not only incredibly likable, but he also brings a comedic factor to the character and story that I absolutely loved. I personally found myself drawn to his character the most, particularly because he had the most to learn, and I just genuinely enjoyed watching his growth as the film progressed. The villain in this story is Mother Gothel, who is played by Donna Murphy and in my opinion she nailed the part. She was likable in the sense that we as an audience were on the edges of our seats waiting for that moment to see if she would get exactly what she deserves. With the help of a few other non-speaking characters, including the brave and hilarious horse sidekick Maximus, and the brazen and tough little chameleon, Tangled overall was a fun and whimsical ride that taught us that overcoming all obstacles is worth it to obtain your dreams.

Disney has generally been right on when it comes to the musical scores that accompany their animated films, and Alan Menken absolutely hit the nail on the head with Tangled. The score was beautiful, and I loved that Disney finally went back to the days of old with a musical style animated feature. The music was enjoyable, catchy, and masterfully performed by all involved. I would like to highlight Donna Murphy performance specifically as I thought she truly brought life to all the songs that she sang. One of my favorites throughout the film was a song titled "Mother Knows Best" in which Murphy just puts her heart and soul into being the best villainess she could be and she succeeded admirably. Although there wasn't much of his singing, I actually greatly enjoyed Zachary Levi's voice and thought he really did a fantastic job despite not being a singer by profession. Mandy Moore also did a beautiful job encompassing the vocals of a princess and made us feel like we were hearing someone sing for the first time.

So there you have it. In a nutshell, I thought Tangled was one of the year's best that I've seen, and probably one of the best Disney films to come along since the late 90s. As far as a grade, I would give tangled a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars and I would highly recommend going to see this film whether you are a child or an adult. Either way, it will bring you back to the splendor that each one of felt as we watched those animated Disney classics and give you hope that life really can have a happily ever after.

This is Ashley reminding you that the schnozberries taste like schnozberries, so go ahead and lick the wall to your hearts content.

Just shootin' the breeze...

"Motivation such an aggravation,
Accusations don't know how to take them.
Inspiration's getting hard to fake it.
Concentration never hard to break it.
Situation never what you want it to be."

This whole paragraph pretty much sums up my life right now, and that really sucks. Not to be mistaken with wrong intentions, I should clarify that I absolutely love my life. I have a wonderful husband who adores me, a job that allows me to wear sweatpants to work, family members who would do anything for me, a roof over my head, and two of the most lovable dogs that have ever walked the Earth.

So why with all of these wonderful blessings, do I feel miserable?

Well, it all comes own to motivation. Sum 41 really hit the nail on the head in saying that it is an aggravation. Because it is! So I guess the question on the table is how does someone with so much creative talent, get motivated to do what they were meant to do? I'm not necessarily referring to myself, but in some respects I am. I try to be a humble person when it comes to things that I do, but when someone tells me that something I made, or wrote, or whatever is good, I can't help but think, "hell yeah, I'm awesome!" Actually, if I'm being honest, I don't think that at all. Instead, all I can think of if how I could have done better, or how I should have improved what I created. And you know where that thought process is going to get you? Sitting on your couch, watching movie, after tv show, after game, wasting your life away, and I really don't want to be this person that I've become. I know in my heart, that I am better than the person sitting here typing this.

About a week ago my sister got married. Many of her family and friends came in for the occasion and it was wonderful to see them. One person in particular, my cousin Jamie, flew in from Chicago. Now, I love Jamie for the person she is. She's not afraid to say what someone else won't, and she doesn't sugar coat things. That may be hard for some people to take, (and in this case I'm one of those people) but that is exactly why I adore her. So this past weekend, we were all sitting around our campfire after the wedding just shootin' the breeze, when somehow my creative prowess had come up. I don't understand how or why, but at that very moment I was put on the ringer to be stretched, pulled, and tortured in every way possible. One of things that Jamie said to me, which to this moment rings home with me is that I am afraid to do things, afraid to go after the desires that I want because I'm scared. But not scared in the thriller movie type of sense. She pointed out that I'm scared to do things because if I am not perfect at what I do, I will be disappointed in the result. Well my hats off to you cousin, because you were right.

I am scared. Scared, (insert word here.) But thanks to Jamie I'm also very thankful because through her, and some other very loving yet blunt family members, I think I was able to see the light. It's okay to strive for greatness in the things that you do, but when you strive for perfection, all you'll end up with is a lackluster life of aggravation.

So where do I go from here? Well to start I'm writing this blog and we'll see where I end up. Hopefully I'll keep writing, whether it be here on the schnozberries, or sitting at my piano. But no matter what happens, all I really want from this point on is the motivation to stay motivated. Because once that hurdle is surpassed, it's all downhill from there.

This is Ashley reminding you that a taste of schnozberries is where I write, and that's where I plan to stay.

I'm loving 2010, and here's why..

Welcome back folks. It's a new year and that calls for some new enchanting rants from yours truly. I know it's been a while, but with the holidays, traveling and work, well I just didn't have the time...

Yeah, that is just complete and utter bull.

I just felt like being lazy and didn't feel like writing. Ya know, I do what I do, when I do what I do. So yeah, my bad.

But for the first day back I do have what I believe is some fantastically compelling material. Here is your first hint: I saw it in IMAX. Nothing yet?

Well here's your second hint: It was some of the best 3D that I have ever been exposed to. Still nothing? Wow, you people are dense.

Nah, I'm just joshin'. But there is no laughing matter when it comes to James Cameron's latest block buster hit. That's right folks, I'm talking about the movie with the gigantic blue feline-Esq people, aka, AVATAR. Now, there aren't many movies that deserve an all caps title but this one without a doubt has earned that right. This was by far one of the absolute best movies that I have seen in a very, very long time. And I definitely was not expecting to feel that way. As a matter of fact, I honestly only went to see this particular movie because my husband had the desire to experience it. Of course, being the wonderful wife that I am, I agreed. Hesitantly of course, as Avatar has been billed as a sci-fi which I will make it known to the world of readers right now, that I despise. I'm thinking I should start trusting my husband in the movie department a bit more, but let's face it; women are stubborn. And woman I am.

Anyways, back to the movie. Having heard mixed reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect except to know that this was going to be a visually stunning movie. Well, no letdown there. I'm not even sure if there are words to describe how beautiful this movie really is. So we'll just skip right to the next point. I had read from a ton of critics that this movie lacked a solid story and even more importantly a strong script. Here are my opinions on those two matters:

1. To me, the story wasn't lacking at all. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. It played to a wide audience, including romantics such as myself, with the underlying love story; bad-ass action lovers, with it's huge and explosive battle scenes; and sci-fi geeks, with it's overall out of this world (literally) plot.

2. As far as the script is concerned, no, there wasn't anything complex to it at all. In fact my husband described how he felt and I most definitely agree with him. He said that the story of Avatar has been done a million times over, and there was nothing new in essence to the story. But James Cameron used his imagination, and the wonderful use of 3D technology to enhance one of the most simple stories and make it something that seems "fresher that spring water."

And I concur. Avatar was extremely fresh, and I for one am thoroughly impressed with the movie as a whole. I also loved how Mr. Cameron drew his audience right into the world of the Na'vi and made us feel like we were right there experiencing it for ourselves. Kudos James. Kudos.

I have to give a shout out to my husband for making me see it because it was one of the most fun times I've had at the theater in a really long time. Thanks hunny!

Willy Wonka took us into a world of imagination and constantly reminds us that the schnozberries taste like schnozberries and I promise if you go and see Avatar, you will experience a new world of imagination all over again.

This is Ashley wishing you a great start to what I feel is going to be a fantastic year. Goodnight.

Where are our priorities?

As 2009 comes to a close, it's time to look back at everything that has happened throughout the year. If I were to ask you what news stories are most prominent in your mind, what would you say? The death of Michael Jackson? Jon and Kate Gosselin losing their show on TLC due to a divorce? Maybe you're an idol fan and remember Adam Lambert's embarrassing showing during the American Music Awards. Celebrities are a big part of our lives and more times than not, their shenanigans, (I mean news stories..ahem) are what we remember most. And according to Barbara Walter's these celebrities, and a few others including Lady Gaga, Tyler Perry, Brett Favre, Sarah Palin, Jenny Sanford, and Glenn Beck make up her list of most fascinating people of 2009.

Wait, what?

OK, so I can probably get on board with about two of those selections but the rest? It begs for the question, where are our priorities? Now don't get me wrong, I understand that Michael Jackson was an icon and that his death personally affected a lot of people, but to label his kids as the most fascinating of this year is beyond my comprehension. Or saying that an androgynous misfit like Lady Gaga is important enough to grace the list, really saddens me. What saddens me even more is that a large number of people are going to take stock into watching this TV special and will most likely love the choices. So again I ask, where are our priorities? When did celebrities become the focus of our lives? And yes, I realize the irony of that question, as I am someone who writes blogs about the entertainment industry for a living, but I take pride in not letting my world revolve around it.

What makes those celebrities more fascinating than the people that risk their lives everyday to save our country? Have you ever heard of Chelsey Sullenberger? I highly doubt it. What if I told you that Chelsey was the pilot who miraculously saved 150 lives when his US airways plane crashed into the Hudson River. To me, that's a man who is fascinating, along with a number of other ordinary people who risk their lives to save others in need.

So do you have your priorities in order? I guess on December 9th when the special airs, we'll know. This is Ashley reminding you that the schnozberries taste like schnozberries. Ashley out.

You know what really grinds my gears...

You know what really grinds my gears? Actors and actresses who think that they look fantastic wearing clothes that are phenomenally hideous. Yes. I'm talking to you Lady Gaga. I'm sorry but nobody, absolutely NOBODY will ever want to wear a coat made from Kermit the Frog stuffed animals. You, are an idiot. And ok, I know she used to star on Baywatch many many many years ago but Pamela, it's generally known by everyone that wearing a towel in public is well, stupid. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised by that one though.

Let's not forget to discuss the wonderfully revolting hair styles that celebrities sport these days. I just witnessed Rhianna wearing a chainmail during her Saturday night live performance. I was just wondering, are you going to a joust afterwards? Will Chris Brown be there? I guess I should be thankful though because her zebra striped locks, and I mean this in the most respectful way, make your eyes bleed. And that my friends, it what really grinds my gears.

This is Ashley reminding you that the schnozberries taste like schnozberries. Stay classy.

My current drug of choice is...

Ok, don't freak out. I'm not hooked on heroin, or coke or anything like that although I will proudly admit that I am engaging in ecstasy. When it hits me it's like a wave of joy that takes me to a world of dreams. My muscles melt and the smile never leaves my face. Yup, I'm addicted all right...

I am addicted to the most wonderful thing in the world. I am addicted to the ecstasy that is GLEE!!! By its very definition, glee is about opening yourself up to joy. Yes I stole that from the show and it's extremely cheesy but I don't care because this is by far the greatest show ever to grace the wonders of television. I mean, what's not to like? When I first saw the pilot back in May I fell head over heels in love. But that love was short lived when I read an article the next day saying that the ratings were not where Fox had hoped they would be. My palms began to sweat, and I panicked as I thought my new favorite show was about to be flushed right down the john. Thankfully however, the big wigs at Fox saw the same spark that I did and picked up Glee for a full fall season.

So let's get down to it. What makes Glee such a fantastic show? Well aside from the fact that the very talented Ryan Murphy is the creator and director (who coincidentally also directs Nip/Tuck, another fave of mine) I honestly think the major appeal to this show is the uplifting feeling that viewers walk away with. I watch this show every week with a friend of mine and to have another person's opinion on the matter, I asked her why she finds the show so addicting. Her answer, "the show is a welcome distraction from all of the negativity that we are exposed to each and every day in our lives. It just makes me happy. Oh, and Mr. Shue is really hot." (Mr. Shue is played by the wonderful Matthew Morrison.) I think my friend has hit the nail right on the head. I mean, yes if we're being realistic here, the show is cheesy. We're talking a huge mountain of cheddar here, but to the million of viewers that tune in every Wednesday, this cheese is a perfect compliment to their crackers.

Now, what kind of blog writer would I be if I didn't bring light to the amazingly talented actors who were lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of this phenomenon? Well I would be a lousy one. Music is probably the largest aspect of Glee and I wish every day with every inch of my being to be able to sing as well as the actors do on this show. Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Dianna Agron, Amber Riley, Kevin Mchale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, and Matthew Morrison, I envy you and love you at the same time. You are all incredible and that is all I will say about that. For those of you who may not watch this show, I encourage you to tune in just once to hear the talent that each and every one of the cast members bring to the table. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. I also have to give props to Jane Lynch, whose comedic timing is brilliant, and the show wouldn't be the same without her. I know I've left some wonderful people out, but my hands are getting tired, so I will just say thank you to everyone for bringing this show to life.

After my very long rant, I think it is clear to see that I am truly addicted. And you know what? I couldn't be happier. This is Ashley reminding you that the schnozberries taste like schnozberries. Thanks for listening.