"Greek girls do not lose their pants!"

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

2008; USA; 117 min.

Director: Sanaa Hamri

Screenplay: Elizabeth Chandler, Ann Brashares

Music: various artists

Cast:

Tibby Tomko-Rollins - Amber Tamblyn

Lena Kaligaris - Alexis Bledel

Carmen Lowell - America Ferrera

Bridget Vreeland - Blake Lively

Julia - Rachel Nichols

Ian - Tom Wisdom

Carmen's Mom - Rachel Ticotin

Brian McBrian - Leonardo Nam

Kostas - Michael Rady

I rarely come across sequels of great movies that are equally amazing. "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" was definitely one of these films. I loved the first movie so much, and this movie is definitely another favorite of mine. I could be the fifth sister. For this post, I'd like to take a look at the New York Times review of this movie:

In his review, Stephen Holden talks about this film being an unrealistic, overly sweet film. He claims that the situations that the girls are in do not happen to the everyday teenager (the perfect boyfriends, the ivy league schools, the extreme wisdom). While I do think that the plot is very idealistic, there are some (well, few...) elements of the plot that are "real." For example, in this film, Tibby (Alexis Bledel) and Brian (Leonardo Nam) break up and deal with a pregnancy scare. Bridget (Blake Lively) has to deal with the aftermath of her mother's suicide and the discovery of secret letters from her grandmother. Holden does brings up the issue of the actresses being in high school for part of the film and then in college, when they look older. Holden does make a valid point about the idealism in the film, but I think he just can't see the magic in the "Pants."

It's clear that I love this film. The scenery in the film was breathtaking and accurate. I was actually extremely surprised to see a match cut in the film. It occurred when the film was transitioning from the story of one girl to another. The match cut actually really made sense here. Throughout the film, the director tries to portray an interconnectedness between the girls. I couldn't believe that even the cinematography works to emphasize this bond! I didn't expect to be seeing classic film elements in my fun film. I would highly recommend this film! I know that I will be watching it over and over again - vive le pants!

iRate: 5/5 pants

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9wU-SfV-SQ

The Results Are In...

Here are the long awaited results of my first blog poll...

Question: What has been your favorite full length film of the course so far?
Answers:

• Do The Right Thing (50%)
• V For Vendetta (25%)
• Elephant (25%)
• North By Northwest
• Spirited Away
• High Noon
• Rushmore

Thanks for voting! Make sure to vote in my next poll - coming soon!

A Reinterpretation of "M" With The Cinema Connoisseur

What happens when two friends get together to record an impromptu interpretation of "M" (1931)? Check out the video above to find out! Special thanks to Linnea and Sara L. for their ideas and camera help!!!

*Sorry for all of the video embedding code stuff - I'm still figuring this video thing out!!!

"Does it hurt?"

The Big Empty

2005; USA; 20 min.

Director: Lisa Chang, Newton Thomas Sigel

Screenplay: Lisa Chang, Newton Thomas Sigel, Alison Smith

Music: Carlton DeWoody

Cast:

Alice - Selma Blair

The Specialist - Elias Koteas

Talk Show Host - Richard Kind

The Thoughtful Man - Gabriel Mann

Arctic Explorer - Simon Cole

Gynecologist - Richmond Arquette

Cartographer - Ezra Buzzington

I don't know what to say (that's a first!). Why exactly did we watch this, Mr. D?

__________________

*UPDATE (12/07/08):

At the time of the first post on this film, I really didn't know what to talk about with this film. It was just extremely peculiar and very different, to say the least. After reading some of my peers' blogs about "The Big Empty," I gained a little bit of insight into the film. The movie is definitely on an abstract level. Other than its less than conventional topic, I'm not exactly sure why we watched the film. Was it for cinematic reasons? Anyhow, I wasn't overly impressed with it and I'm ready to leave this film in the past and move ahead. If you're in the mood to think, I would recommend watching it. It's defnitely a short film that you could ponder for days.

iRate: 2/5 tundras

Trailer: n/a

"Hello sweetheart..."

Lilo and Me

2003; USA; ?

Director: Kip Fulbeck

Screenplay: Kip Fulbeck

Music: n/a

Cast:

n/a

"Lilo and Me" is a sort of short documentary film about Kip Fulbeck and his life desire to fit in with a racial group. Fulbeck brings the audience into his family by playing various recordings of phone calls with his mother and his father. Fulbeck then goes on, explaining how growing up with an Asian mother and Caucasian father had left him with a sense of uncertainty as a child. Fulbeck humorously talks about the Disney characters that allegedly look like him. Pocahontas, Aladdin, Mowgli, and obviously Lilo are some of the "ethnically ambiguous" Disney characters with whom Fulbeck identifies. I would recommend this film - it's quite clever and very funny.

iRate: 4/5 ethnically ambiguous Disney characters

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTS0xu-Bwqk

(*NOTE: The trailer not only includes a clip from "Lilo and Me," but all of the videos on the short film collection, "Slant.")

"Boys like Peter are not afraid of wolves..."

Peter & the Wolf

2006; UK; 29 min.

Director: Suzie Templeton

Screenplay: Sergei Prokofiev, Suzie Templeton, Marianela Maldonado

Music: Mark Stephenson

Cast:

n/a

This short film is the most current adaptation of the famous tale of "Peter and the Wolf." At this year's Oscars, "Peter and the Wolf" won the award for the best animated short film. This film has won many other awards in other countries as well. I had never heard this famous story before, although I have heard of it. The story was semi-interesting. The animation was pretty good. (I guess I just didn't get that into this, so I'm not exactly overly enthusiastic in my post now.) I liked the scene where the animals were ice skating. The lesson about forgiveness at the end of the story was interesting. I don't really think that the lesson was so easily extracted from the film. After watching, I knew that there was some moral lesson, but couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was because I wasn't paying thorough attention, maybe it was the film's fault... I'm not sure. Either way, I'm not exactly a fan of "Peter and the Wolf."

iRate: 1.75/5 keys

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1484783897/

"Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?"

Good Will Hunting
1997; USA; 126 min.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenplay: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
Music: various artists

Cast:
Sean Maguire - Robin Williams
Will Hunting - Matt Damon
Chuckie Sullivan - Ben Affleck
Professor Gerald Lambeau - Stellan Skarsgard
Skylar - Minnie Driver

I was pleasantly surprised with our second student choice film, "Good Will Hunting." The plot was really smart and the screenplay itself was quite interesting. The plot begins as the viewer meets Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a janitor at MIT who hangs around drinking and smoking with a group of his buddies, including Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck). One night, they meet Skylar (Minnie Driver) at a bar. At the bar, which happens to be populated with MIT students, another guy (an MIT student) is trying to pick up Skylar. Chuckie is also trying to do so, but the MIT student is showing off with his intellect. Will comes along and completely calls the MIT student out on his fake knowledge (he has simply regurgitated a textbook), impressing Skylar. Will catches the interest of Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) when he solves an impossible math problem on the board. Will's journey continues as he works with the Professor, as he is taught by Maguire (Robin Williams), a psychologist, and as he falls in love with Skylar.

One interesting thing about the film is that the ending is not exactly 100% clear. As blogger Film Lover (http://tributetofilm.blogspot.com/) commented (in an amazing throwback to AP English 11-3), there were many "dramatic possibilites" to the ending of the film. A big shout-out is in order for blogger 7thpeerwatcher (http://7thpeerwatcher.blogspot.com/) for nominating the film. I would definitely recommend this film, and I'll probably end up watching it again!

iRate: 4.5/5 apples
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02M3NRtkAA