Experiential Paper - Delphine

            For the premiere of “The Paperboy,” I was definitely the hottest looking guy begging for a ticket. That was probably the reason why this Parisian lady came up to me, and motioned to follow her. She pulled out the golden tickets and I was in heaven. “Yes!” I say to myself, “I struck gold!” Little did I know that this gold was balcony tickets, but tickets nonetheless to the premiere.

            We pass through the first part of security, and that is when we actually start to talk. She tells me her name is Delphine. Oh what a name. Delphine… I am still in awe with her red sequenced dress and her high heels that resembled Dorothy’s shoes. Delphine proceeded to tell me she is an aspiring director and has submitted a film to the festival in years past. I nod my head and smile, still happy that I am going as someone’s date.

            Like any conversation when you first meet someone, the follow up question from the responding person is “and you?” So I told her that I am a producer with Grady College Productions. Delphine took great interest in this, and asked for specifics. I pulled out the B.S. machine and acted like a pro. It couldn’t have gone smoother.

            We eventually arrived at the red carpet. Now this 24-year-old French woman turns into a preteen MySpace girl by taking an insane amount of photos. We took pictures of ourselves from every angle possible, at every location on the carpet. Zac Efron couldn’t compete that night with the amount of pictures we took. 

            Now we walked into the Lumiere, and had to find our seats. It was Delphine, her friend, and I. Once we sat down, the girls pretty much kept to them and talked. I am pretty sure it was about me. She then took a break from her long chat and asked for my email and cell phone number. This is not an uncommon occurrence for me to give my number out, seeing as I have received many phone calls in class. Delphine says that she will send me some of those pictures we took to my email. Now the lights went down, and the movie started.

            The movie experience was very normal. We didn’t make out, or take off our clothes. We just had our eyes glued to the screen. However, I did every now and then look over to see if she was laughing at any comedic moment.

            The movie ended, and I asked how she felt. She didn’t like it at all. I thought so since her face was that of a stone-figure through the duration of the film. I walked with her back to the lobby, and we waited for her friends. She said goodbye to them, and now it was just she and I. Yes, this was my time to act! Nope, it was time to part ways. It’s okay; I don’t put out on the first date either. She tells me that she has tickets to “Mud” on Saturday night and would love to take me again. I immediately accept. Then awkward pats on the shoulder from both parties occur, and we smile, then depart.

            The next morning, I wake up to texts and phone calls. Who is calling me this early? Oh, who would’ve guessed; it was Delphine! She wanted to see a few movies today with me. I was flattered. Unfortunately, our class had to meet with Paul Cox and I wanted to see another movie at the time she wanted to go, so I told her that a fellow friend would meet up with her in front of the Palais to watch. The selected student was Austin.

            At this point in time, I had no doubt that Austin would deliver and be a good date toward my Delphine. However, when Saturday rolled around, and I waited for Delphine to call me so I could be her date to the premiere, I knew this wasn’t the case. I talked to Austin the day of the premiere and wanted to know how his date went. From what I gathered, he did a few things wrong. He:

-       Admitted that he was a student; giving reason that I could be too, and not a producer

-       Decided to sit with her guy friend rather than her. This could be interpreted in several ways. Either she thought he was rude for not sitting with her (even though she invited him) or that Austin is gay.

-       Didn’t speak French very well. Considering Delphine didn’t have the best English, some miscommunication could have been present.

I’ll let this one occurrence slide, considering I’ve had to stick with Austin for the extra week after the festival, and that I’ll see him in Athens often. All I know is, if I don’t ever receive the email from Delphine that contains our love, or pictures, then Austin was the kryptonite for this relationship.

Another - Film Review

            One of my favorite film genres is the classic Japanese horror flick. I can easily have my mind escape into this foreign world. This is exactly what I was prepared for when I took a chair in Palais C for the market screening of Takeshi Furusawa’s “Another.”

            Set in the 1990s, our protagonist Koichi (Kento Yamazaki) recently moved into a new town and transferred to a new school. Koichi’s assigned classroom is number 3-3. There is a reputation about classroom 3-3, though. A beloved classmate died more than 30 years ago, and to remember her, the class came up with the idea to have a porcelain doll sit in her seat. Logical, right? The students would pretend that the doll was alive and would continue to talk to it. The teacher even encouraged everyone to say goodbye to the doll before going home after school.

            After awhile, students began to not notice the doll anymore. This triggers a series of actions, very similar to “Final Destination”, where no matter where you are, you are going to die. Accidental deaths became very common in this Japanese town. So common, that people do not take notice anymore for any one particular person.

            Fortunately, one man did: the librarian. He discovered that if the class of 3-3 unanimously votes to ignore one student for an entire year, the curse would be lifted and no deaths would happen. Ignore means that they can’t look at, talk to, or even mention the chosen pupil.

            When Koichi arrived at the school, his classmates fail to inform him that there is a student that he needs to ignore. He missed the first couple weeks of classes because of a lung infection, thus missing the “ignoring” ceremony. It goes against the rules for the students to tell Koichi that there was in fact someone he should not be talking to.

            This is when Koichi starts seeing visions of a girl. Specifically, a girl with an eye-patch. Koichi continuously gets his students’ attention, and points at the girl, but no one notices. One day, he was able to reach the girl, and ask for her name. She is Mei (Ai Hashimoto).

            Koichi begins to ask all these questions, and she tries to answer them. Mei informs him that he shouldn’t be talking to her. This prompts the series of unfortunate events. A student notices the two talking and runs toward Koichi. The students then slips on some inconveniently placed water and then into an as equally inconveniently placed umbrella handle that slides right into her head. The student’s remaining words to Koichi were “why?”

            The students of 3-3 all hear the commotion and run to the scene. They notice Koichi with Mei: a horrible sign. The students then hold another ignoring ceremony, only this time voting on Koichi.

            Koichi arrives the next day in class, and sits in his usual seat. That is when he noticed that no one was interacting with him. He sees Mei in the hallway, and leaves with her. Koichi begins to ask Mei more questions, like why she has an eye-patch. The eye-patch, which the audience thinks is the source of all evil in the film, actually is just Mei’s insecurity over an eye-color birth defect.

            They stroll around town for a little bit, providing insight into the cursed doll that lives in the school, as well as the librarian who has put together most of the mystery as to why the doll kills. The librarian says that there is someone in the school currently who has a “spirit” that leaches its power from everyone.

            The next day at school, the principal decides that there needs to be a class field trip to have the students’ minds forget about all the deaths that have occurred. How fitting for the class of 3-3 to go into the middle of the woods and take lodge in an abandoned building. The deaths start to intensify as the most absurd occurrences happen.

            One student died from a tree impaling him in the head. Another student bled to death from his hand being cut off from a knife in the kitchen. Even some students died from just leaning too far over the railings in the stairways. Now the class is going insane and the rumor gets out that one of them has the “spirit” that has been haunting them.

            Now rather than accidental deaths, students start killing each other to rid the spirit once and for all. Now it turns out that Mei has a gift with the birth defect after all. She can see the “spirit” in people’s souls. Koichi and Mei begin to run around, looking at everyone. Mei sees that a teacher is in fact the bearer of the “spirit”; and the bearer happens to be Koichi’s aunt.

            As the aunt begins to explain why she shouldn't be killed, the librarian comes out from the corner and throws her into the fire that was started earlier by homicidal students. The curse has been broken!

            But not so fast! Just like any horror flick, there needs to be a build up to a potential sequel. So when everyone returns (and when I say everyone, I mean the remaining 10 students who didn’t die) to class, the doll is sitting in her seat. The students, including Koichi and Mei, look at each other, and then cut to the credits!

            While I would have wished for more killings from a more “alien object”, “Another” had a mediocre cast that was actually lifted by Kento Yamazaki’s performance. Though this movie won’t be as good as “The Ring” and “The Grudge” predecessors, it will definitely be campy enough for people to enjoy a night of horror.

Written by Sachiko Tanaka, Yukito Ayatsuji, Takeshi Furusawa; directed by Takeshi Kurusawa; produced by Takeshi Kurusawa; WITH: Kento Yamazaki and Ai Hashimoto

Running time: 90 minutes

            

Antiviral - Review

I hope you enjoy needles, because Brandon Cronenberg’s “Antiviral” will surely make your toes curl. Set in the not-so-distant future, citizens can purchase meat, cells, and even diseases of their favorite celebrities from companies for their own personal use. This industry is so large that there is an independent black market where sellers distribute the products by contaminating themselves. But when the biggest celebrity on Earth dies from an unknown sickness, a race to find the cure begins for a scientist who injects himself with the same virus that killed the celebrity. Will he survive in this fantastic cringing thriller? Or have the same fate as his favorite star?

Written by Brandon Cronenberg; directed by Brandon Cronenberg; produced by Niv Fichman, Mark Slone, Victor Loewy; WITH: Caleb Jones, Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith, Joe Pingue, Malcolm McDowell; Running time: 112 minutes

Holy Motors - Film Review

“Holy Motors?” Try “Holy Smokes!” At the time of me writing this review, I would say that Leos Carax’s film should win the Festival de Cannes’ most beloved prize; le Grand Prix. With a star cast, such as Denis Lavant, Eva Mendes, and Kyle Minogue, created a seemingly perfect ensemble for a story that was completely contraire.

            The film opens with Monsieur Oscar (Lavant) leaving his huge home, heading to work with a limousine ready to pick him up. The driver, Celine, informs Oscar that he has a busy day with numerous appointments. This leads me to believe that Oscar is a gangster, considering he is in the back of a limo. However, the next scene doesn’t show Oscar getting out of the car near the side of the road. Instead, it is an old woman. The woman walks for quite some time before arriving at a pavilion and dances and entertains the local community. After the fun, this old woman returns to the limo, only to then take off the wig, makeup, and clothes to reveal Monsieur Oscar. This baffles me in an unfortunate way, because I proceeded to fall asleep.

            The next time I open my eyes, I would have sworn I am in a different theatre, watching an entirely different movie. I see Tron battling in front of me. Computer generated voices boom through the speakers. I am confused, lost, and speechless. I go back to sleep.

            I return from my second slumber, only this time there was no way I would fall asleep, even if I wanted to. Monsieur Oscar appeared to have transformed himself again, this time into a man resembling a leprechaun, with a glass eye. This character wasn’t the barrier holding me back from dreamland, but instead Eva Mendes was now on the screen. She is posing for photos in a graveyard when Oscar confronts the photographer. Oscar’s features and markings on his body amaze the photographer. He forces his assistant to talk Oscar into joining the shoot. As the assistant talks to Oscar, Oscar bites and rips her fingers off, leaving the crowd fleeing away from the scene and the photographer wanting more! Mendes continues to stand in her posed position, until Oscar picks her up, throws her over his back, and hurries away into one of the graveyard’s caves.

            This is where the film left me with several questions running around in my head. Why is this wealthy man having a limo driver dropping him off in random places while disguising himself? I can’t possibly sleep anymore if I want to find out the truth.

            Now Oscar wanted to get a little sexually with Mendes’ character in the cave by wrapping her up in the outfit she was wearing so you couldn’t see her face. A little odd considering Mendes is gorgeous. Then, Oscar turns completely naked, while keeping up with this leprechaun persona. One would assume that Oscar is now in his normal mentality since he didn’t blink twice after gnawing off the assistant’s fingers. Once Oscar is naked, he prances around Mendes, and then lays his head down on her lap and sleeps.

            Lavant’s acting enthralls me, making it appear so real. Especially when he goes to his next appointment. This time, the folders that are placed in the back of the limo that hold information for his next assignment, instructs Oscar to use a knife to kill a man that resembles Oscar. Not leprechaun Oscar, but a man who has the same face as him. He appeared to be some no-good thug. But to sum up this scene quickly, Oscar stabs his mission in the neck, begins to shave off the victim’s hair and disguises the body to look exactly as Oscar’s disguise. Then suddenly, after the audience thinks the victim is dead, he stabs Oscar in the neck too! From this point, I am confused as to how Oscar lived, and was completely 100% fine after returning to the limo. Not a scratch on him. My conclusion, using plain logic from the film’s name, is that the car has something to do with this mystery.

            There are a few more appointments that Oscar goes on, which all cover the same thing; Oscar is living either multiple lives, or he earns his money by filling roles in other people’s lives. There could possibly be a third option that I haven’t thought off, but it depends on how you interpret it.

            The beautiful part of the movie was when you left the theatre with open-ended questions. Why did he shoot the banker? Why did his love interest commit suicide? Why does he have a family of chimpanzees? Being able to talk about a film after it’s two-hour duration is thrilling. All these perceptions forming different conclusions create discussion. Solid endings have the story finished. “Holy Motors” may not even have an ending at all. It is worth the trouble of watching it again to make it possibly clearer.

Written by Leos Carax; directed by Leos Carax; produced by Martine Marignac; WITH: Denis Larant, Kylie Minogue, and Eva Mendes

Running time: 115 minutes

On the Road - Review

I hope you enjoy needles, because Brandon Cronenberg’s “Antiviral” will surely make your toes curl. Set in the not-so-distant future, citizens can purchase meat, cells, and even diseases of their favorite celebrities from companies. This industry is so large that there is an independent black market where sellers distribute the products by contaminating themselves. But when the biggest celebrity on Earth dies from an unknown sickness, a race to find the cure begins for a scientist who injects himself with the same virus that killed the celebrity.

Written by Brandon Cronenberg; directed by Brandon Cronenberg; produced by Niv Fichman, Mark Slone, Victor Loewy; WITH: Caleb Jones, Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith, Joe Pingue, Malcolm McDowell; Running time: 112 minutes

Dollhouse - Review

I love to party. But when Irish-punk teens trespass into someone’s home only to cause mayhem and torture one another, then count me out! Kirsten Sheridan’s “Dollhouse” strives to flatter the audience with the kids’ crude humor and disastrous habits that lead to the house being torn apart. Sheridan sprinkles bits of the lead actress’ past throughout the film, but fails to provide us with any real sustenance as the actress, along with the rest of the cast, binge drink and smoke. A mild attempt at any form of a twist toward the end of the movie finishes with the lead giving birth in the middle of the living room. The hour and a half I wasted watching this poor execution of “cinema” will never be restored.

Written by Kirsten Sheridan; directed by Kirsten Sheridan; produced by Kirsten Sheridan; WITH: Seana Kerslake, Johnny Ward, and Kate Stanley Brennan

Running time: 93 minutes