Review: “Bart Got A Room”

Quirky indie comedies seem to be a dime-a-dozen these days, and with many dealing with teen pregnancy, disintegration of  relationships, and other ‘adult’ themes, it’s a bit refreshing when one goes back to the tried-and-true plot of “Who am I taking to the prom?”  Bart Got A Room attempts to make its mark in the indie comedy scene with this tactic.

The movie’s simple plot, however, is the weakest point.  It’s a little too simple.  In fact, there’s no mystery to it at all; you’ll be able to guess who Danny (Steven Kaplan) will take to the prom within the first few minutes.  What the movie does have going for it is a very likable, and my case, relatable protagonist.  Throughout the movie, Danny weighs his options of dates to the most important night in his high school career.  However, each one turns out to be wrong for him for different reasons (one doesn’t want to go with him, another has too many rules, yet another “doesn’t do prom”, etc.), and he ends up realizing who this perfect date is in the end.

There’s also this subplot of his parents going through a divorce, and each of them experience relationship problems of their own.  But this sidestory just seems to inflate a movie that was missing a lot of ‘meat’.  Bart Got A Room runs at around 80 minutes, and that’s about 40 minutes too long.  Writer/director Brian Hecker could’ve cut the parents’ storylines and streamlined the movie, which would’ve made for a pretty funny short film, but instead he tries to make a feature that doesn’t reach far enough.

And the ending, aside from being predictable, also seemed kind of lazy, complete with a voice-over narration by Danny where he tells the audience exactly what he’s learned from this experience.  It’s like something from Full House, where Danny Tanner sits down with his girls and lays out exactly what they did wrong and the positive things they can take away from this experience.

Still, Bart Got A Room does have its charm.  The cast is solid throughout, except for some minor characters that play Danny’s friends, in where I don’t think they’re given enough to do.  Danny’s dad, Ernie (William H. Macy) sports a curly hairdo that’s both hilarious and embarrassing at the same time.  I couldn’t help but think this was probably a good stay-at-home date movie: good for one viewing, but it won’t shake up the indie scene unlike something like Juno or this summer’s (500) Days of Summer.

6.5/10

(images from Yahoo!)

Review: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Please note that this isn’t a comparison of the movie to the book (I’m sure there are plenty of HP fanboys/girls that would be glad to provide that kind of critique).  As with any piece of ‘art’, a movie, regardless of its source material, should be evaluated on its own, so my opinions of The Half-Blood Prince are strictly about the movie.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince picks up several weeks after the events of the previous movie, Order of the Phoenix, and continues the story arc begun in movie 4, Goblet of Fire.  16-year-old Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is awaiting the start of a new school year at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, all the while dark forces gather around him.  His nemesis, Lord Voldemort, has made his presence known to the general wizarding public, and has begun to gather his allies to him.  Standing in Voldemort’s way are Harry’s closest friends and allies, among them wise Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), headmaster of Hogwart’s, and Harry’s best friends Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint).  Dumbledore, too, is recruiting allies such as old friend Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), in an effort to deny any advantage to Voldemort.

However, one advantage is clearly in The Dark Lord’s court: immortality.  By reviewing memories (by way of the magical pensieve) left behind by a young Voldemort, a.k.a. Tom Riddle, Dumbledore realizes their foe has split his soul into seven pieces, hidden in seven obscure items, thus making him unkillable.  The solution: destroy these items, known individually as a horcrux, so Voldemort can become mortal, then hopefully draw him out into battle and defeat him once and for all.  Voldemort was smart, unfortunately, and left behind a series of traps to protect the horcruxes.  Thus sets up the beginning of the end for the Harry Potter story, one that will be wrapped up in the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows beginning next year.

The Half-Blood Prince is at once darker in atmosphere and lighter in tone than the previous movies, and director David Yates does a decent job balancing the two.  Gone are the ‘gee-whiz-ooohs-and-aahhhs’ moments of the first three movies, and the coming-of-age ‘who-is-asking-who-to-the-Yule-Ball’ awkwardness of parts 4 and 5; this movie sets things up nicely with a Death Eater attack on Britain’s Millennium Bridge, resulting in Muggle (human) casualties and a bombing of a store in the magical Diagon Alley.  Offsetting this still some of that teenage hormonal angst that people love to laugh at, but still finds some way to provide some comic relief to an otherwise tense and dreary atmosphere.  Harry apparently is over his first crush, Cho Chang (Katie Leung), who had been forced to betray Harry and his friends in the previous movie.  He now seems to be interested in his best friend’s little sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright).  Ron seems to be getting a bit of attention from classmate Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave), much to the disgust of Hermione, who is now coming to terms with her own feelings for Ron.

This presents a bit of a problem for the movie, as the focus for almost half of it seems to be these relationships don’t necessarily affect the main plot of the story.  We don’t really see how Voldemrt’s attacks have interrupted school life, aside from some security checks set up around the school grounds.  I would’ve liked to have seen or heard a few lines where the students are expressing their concern for what is going on in the outside world.  Maybe, the school’s Great Hall could’ve been a little emptier this year, as parents nervously refuse to allow their children to go back to school during these dark days.

"You...shall not...PASS! Wait, wrong movie..."

Also, the whole mystery of who this ‘half-blood prince’ is was merely glossed over during the movie and conveniently explained in a single line toward the end.  This also messes with the pacing of the story, as it seemed slow for the duration of it.  The only moments of excitement we get are the Quidditch scenes (making their return since The Prisoner of Azkaban), and near the end during Dumbledore and Harry’s hunt for one of the horcruxes.

Now, I know this might seem like breaking my own rule, as I hate to compare a movie to the book it’s based on, but I might have to in order to make a point.

In the novel, there’s a skirmish that occurs between Voldemort’s followers and members of Hogwart’s and the Order of the Phoenix, who are stationed at the school to protect it.  This happens at the very end and is completely missing from the movie.  I’m not one to cry foul just because it’s something that is in the book which happens to not be in the movie.  The only reason I feel it should’ve been included is because the movie seemed to move sooo sloowww for about 2 hours.  The Death Eaters infiltrate Hogwarts, do what they set out to do, and leave.  In the book, there’s quite a bit more going on and I think the movie needed it.  Maybe there was a practical reason for it being shelved (budget being my first thought), but all I needed was maybe a minute or two and I would’ve been satisfied.

Regardless of the movie’s pacing, all the actors seem to be doing very fine jobs at making the time go by.  All the usual suspects have settled comfortably in their roles, while still providing nice performances.  Broadbent is perfect casting in the role of Slughorn, a potions expert who enjoys networking with students that may be able to provide services to him in the future.  Michael Gambon seems to channel J.R.R. Tolkien’s Gandalf (the prototype for virtually any fantasy story’s wise old wizard) and everyone’s affectionate grandfather in his portrayal of Albus Dumbledore.  He’s an intelligent man, a beloved teacher, and respected wizard who can duel with the best of them.  Not given enough to do, however, is everyone’s favorite sourpuss Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) and Remus Lupin (the underappreciated David Thewlis), their roles likely cut for time.  Ginny Weasley’s effort in an expanded part is admirable, but nothing spectacular.  Out of all the young actresses in the series, Emma Watson is still most likely to become a major star in the years to come.

And special mention should go to Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, actor Ralph Fiennes’ (who plays Voldemort) nephew who is downright creepy as 11-year-old Tom Riddle as well as Tom Felton for turning in a better-than-expected performance as the emotionally tortured Draco Malfoy.

The visuals seem to shine, even though there’s no real setpiece to show them off (unlike Goblet of Fire’s dragon match or Order of the Phoenix’s Dumbledore vs. Voldemort smackdown).  This may actually be a smart decision, as it treats the audience as a member of this world, and not a newcomer.  The score I was a little disappointed in.  I really enjoyed what Nicholas Hooper had done with Order of the Phoenix, but this score seemed bland, and he even re-uses some motifs from the previous movie.  The sound design, however, is good, but it’s relegated to serving the score and for background noise.  Just like with the visuals, there’s no real moment that will give the speakers a workout.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince leaves on a cliff-hanger, which should surprise no one (least of all the fans) as the final entry is already being lensed.  In spite of this story’s uneventful story structure and any lack of closure, it does set up what is sure to be a highly-anticipated finale.  Many claim this entry to be the best, but I’d have to disagree.  It could’ve been, since nearly all the elements are there: great cinematography, strong acting, relatable characters, and a continuing story arc that will leave fans clamoring for the next installment.  But this individual entry seems to be confused as to what it needed to be.  Was it a coming-of-age dramedy?  Or a detective story that could’ve been creative in its use of memories as evidence instead of objects?  Still, most fans will enjoy this, as there are plenty of ‘fan moments’ like favorite characters kissing other favorites characters, and the like.  In other words, this feels like a nice red carpet to the premiere of the real show-stopper.

8/10

Annoying Things About Podcasts

I’ve been an avid listener to podcasts for several years now, ever since buying my first iPod in 2005 (it was a 4th generation 20gb iPod Photo, which had provided me with many hours of audio entertainment, until it began to die this past December; it has since been replaced by a comparatively newer model 30gb 5th gen iPod video).  Every day, I update my list of podcasts in my iTunes, hoping that something new will be available for download so it can accompany me on my excursions to San Francisco.  What attracted me to podcast was the magic word: FREE.  They’re free to download, free to listen to, free to share, and if deleted, free to re-download (as long as the file is still on a server).

Then something wonderful happened: some of the audio podcasts I listened to actually hooked me.  They were quite good, with hosts that were fun to listen to and information that was, well, informative and entertaining.  As anyone who’s ever searched for a podcast to subscribe to will know, there’s a podcast for quite possibly any subject out there.  From video games, to movies, to creative writing, to cooking, to sex, to politics, to religion, to history, to stamp collecting . . . and the list goes on and on.  If you’ve got a hobby, it’s almost a sure bet there’s a podcast on it.

After a while, I began to whittle down the number I listen to, and for various reasons.  The primary reason being time; I only have a limited amount of time per week I can spend listening to shows.  The second reason is content.  If I listen to five different podcasts about movies and the latest reviews, chances are some information and content is going to start repeating itself.  I began to realize that the podcasts I’ve stuck with generally follow a criteria of what I would think any good podcaster would stick with.

1.  If you’re going to start your own podcast, you have to be able to speak comfortably to an audience.  Essentially, you have to be a good public speaker. The rules about public speaking generally apply here: no “ums” or “uhs” when you talk, plan out what you’re going to say or talk about, and if you’re going to improvise, don’t ramble too much or you’ll lose your audience.

2.  Consider why you want to do a podcast.  For example, if you want to talk about video games, good for you.  Go on iTunes and look up how many shows there are about that same subject (both audio podcasts and video podcasts) and think very hard about how you would plan to steal some of their audience.  Remember, downloading shows are free, making them is not.  You’ll most likely have to pay server fees to upload your files, equipment to actually record on, and probably have to do some post-production editing once you’ve recorded.  If you do a show, and you’re some nobody with a Geocities fansite that just regurgitates industry news, chances are you’ll get zero subscribers.

3.  Use some decent equipment, for cryin’ out loud. Most ‘professional’ podcasters generally have a room reserved for, or converted to a recording studio.  They use really nice microphones and have some kind of mixing board.  When listening, they sound like a professional radio show.  I’m not saying that everyone needs to spend hundreds of $$$, but if your show sounds like scrambled AM radio with a  really weak signal, then don’t even try.  At the very least, invest in a decent PC mic, which should cost around $20-$30.

4.  Consider the length of the show and how many times you want to do it. Most shows I listen to are weekly, updated once giving me a reasonable amount of time to listen to the show in its entirety.  However, I rarely get through all the shows I subscribe to within a week, usually because there are so many shows I listen to that are too damn long, I can’t get through all of them.  However, there is one show that I am a loyal listener of, and it’s actually updated almost every weekday.  But, that show’s length is generally around 30 minutes, whereas the weekly shows can go from 40 minutes to 3 hours.

Your train of thought might be as follows: “Hmm… I want my show to be weekly, and if my show is 2 1/2 hours long, that should be plenty of time for a listener to get through it all before the next show.” Don’t think like that.  Consider this: if a listener is subscribing to your show, chances are they’ve got a couple more they’re listening to.  They may not have time to listen to all 150 minutes of your show.  So, if they’re not going to listen, why make it that long?

What I suggest is this:  If you have an audio podcast that’s daily, keep it to 30 minutes or less.  If it’s weekly, no longer than 2 hours (preferably 90 minutes or less).  There is one show that I listen to that’s updated once a month (at best; sometimes once every two months), so in some cases you can have ridiculously long, epic shows because you’re probably not going to be doing one for a while.

I know there are dozens upon dozens of ‘Things To Keep In Mind’ when doing a show, but these are just a few things that I think are very important to anyone thinking of starting an audio podcast (a video podcast is a whole other matter).

If you want an example of how to do a podcast, listen to an episode of The Daily Breakfast, created and hosted by a priest (yes, a priest) from the Netherlands.  This is the daily show I mentioned earlier.  It seems to do everything right: it’s not too long, not too short, entertaining, and very well-produced.  Yes, he does talk about religion at times, but he does talk about movies, TV shows, video games, and he’s also not some uptight holier-than-thou kind of person (he plays Halo, loves sci-fi movies and shows, and appreciates all sorts of secular music).  What really impresses me is that production value: he has the best produced podcast I’ve ever heard.

On the flipside, there’s a Nintendo-themed podcast by some guy named Daniel Friedlaender.  Holy crap this podcast is boring.  Way too many ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’, pauses, and moments where he just rambles on.  He runs some pretty popular fansites (a Zelda site and a general Nintendo site), but his podcast is just not a great, or eve good, or even ‘decent’ example of how to do a show.  If you want a good Nintendo-themed fan-run show, check out Gonintendo.  That one works primarily because it’s a bunch of people doing the show, and so they can play off each other instead of just one dude sitting in front of a mic.  For a great general videogame podcast, there are plenty to choose from: Giant Bomb, ListenUP, VGO, RebelFM, etc.  Granted, most of those are run by industry insiders (except VGO), they’re still pretty good shows.

$20,000 for a cup of coffee?! I’m in

Saw this on the local news the other night. There’s a cafe in San Francisco (Blue Bottle Cafe) that purchased a $20,000 brewing machine. Each cup of coffee (no espressos, no cappuccinos, just coffee) runs about $9-$11. I know I’m a poor college student, but I have to try it at least once.

(image from sfist.com)

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