by Cory Woodroof | Jun 22, 2012 | Uncategorized
After Cars 2, I began to wonder if Pixar’s magic was on a brief hiatus. Sure, Cars 2 isn’t a horrible film. It has some decent qualities, but the entire film just lacks the usual Pixar flair. As a frequent movie-goer, I have to admit that missing that yearly feeling of Pixar awe and wonder really left a hole in my cinematic heart. There’s just something about Pixar films that give viewers a special feeling. Thinking back on Ratatouille, I remember the flashback sequence to food critic Anton Ego’s childhood – that moment of serene bliss when old Ego remembers the feeling of a home-cooked meal. It’s one of my favorite moments in any movie ever. It’s what I feel when I watch movies that I love – many of them opening with the Pixar logo. So after Cars 2 disappointed, I began to wonder if that feeling would ever come back. Brave, the 13th Pixar film, brought back a few shreds of Pixar’s warmth, but not the entire feeling. The original fairy tale helped me remember some of the magic from Pixar’s past, but at the end, I just didn’t get full closure. Brave is a very well done Disney movie, but is it a great Pixar movie? That’s the question at hand. Brave is both an experiment and a dance in the comfort zone for Pixar. While this is the studio’s first fairy tale, Brave features so many staple features of the studio’s lineage of hits that it almost feels as if Pixar is treading light water. While Brave could have used the fierce stamp of originality...
by Cory Woodroof | Jun 11, 2012 | Uncategorized
In the film world, Prometheus has been arguably one of the most anticipated projects in quite some time. Seeing director Sir Ridley Scott return to the genre that made him famous with Alien has been a fanboy’s genie wish for ages. Having Scott return to the Alien universe? Don’t even get some people started. Prometheus initially started out as a straight prequel to Alien. Eventual co-writer John Spaihts created a draft for the prequel, but when the film headed in a different direction, elements of Spaihts’ story remained intact. Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof then took the reins and largely crafted the movie seen today. Both received credit for their work. If I can say anything about Prometheus, I’ll say that this factor looms heavily over the final product. In a brilliantly maddening way, Prometheus lives up to the hype of its ideas but drops the ball when it comes to narrative coherence. A film that tries too hard to be something that it is and probably shouldn’t be (an Alien quasi-prequel), Prometheus suffers from not being able to be its own film, but then again, some of the key plot points would not have received their greatness without a connection to the Alien universe. See where I’m at? Let’s start with what works before I get all flustered. Story-wise, just know a crew of space explorers aboard the Prometheus (led by Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, funded by Peter Weyland – a dying industry titan) head to a new planet to discover answers about the beginning of mankind. Once arrived, the crew finds out certain, terrifying truths that might alter the...
by Cory Woodroof | Jun 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
Usually, I give a film the chance to redeem itself after a dreadful opening. Sure, over the many years I’ve ventured out to the theater, I’ve seen my share of flops. I’ve written scathing reviews about placid products that didn’t deserve a second of my time – it’s a part of the job. But, do I ever want a film to continue in the same mistakes of its opening minutes? Nope. Not since Zack Snyder’s musical train wreck Sucker Punch have I fought the urge to walk out of a film like I did while watching Snow White and the Huntsman. While the trailers sold this film as a revisionist’s delight – the sort of game changing fairy tale reimagining that could both win over critics and audiences alike under the banner of its stellar cast and brilliant first-time direction – the final product ended up being something different entirely. I knew this film was in trouble from the start. The film begins in a confusing narrated sequence where the audience learns of the wicked queen Ravenna’s (Charlize Theron) ascension to power. In a lazily scripted opener, the events unfold almost in spite of themselves, shoe-horning their way into creating a stage for the film. I know that you’ve got to get the ball rolling somehow, but I mean, seriously? The film’s manipulative beginning comes to light almost as effortlessly as Ravenna’s rise to the throne. After the dreadful opening, I kept hoping the film would improve, but my wishes were never made a reality. The languished film never realizes its vision, and as the audience, we are the true victims to...
by Emily Snell | May 25, 2012 | News Slider
Geena Davis says the media’s role in reshaping the image of women in society is simple: “If they see it, they can be it.” The problem is that the media is not doing its part in representing women and men equally, Davis says, and when women are portrayed in television and film they, often are sexually provocative or stereotyped characters. Davis, who has embarked on a mission to change that and offer more hope and empowerment for young women in popular culture, brought her message to a gathering at Lipscomb’s Andrews Institute. That institute partnered with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Thursday for “A League of Their Own,” an event starring the acclaimed actor and also featuring Deborah Taylor Tate and female local media leaders to discuss the role of women and girls on screen. Davis — who starred in movies like A League of Their Own, Beetlejuice, and Thelma & Louise — founded her institute in 2004 after watching children’s entertainment with her daughter and realizing the lack of female characters present in TV programming and family movies. Davis’ institute, which focuses on research, education and advocacy, conducted the largest body of research on gender prevalence in the media and discovered that only 17 percent of characters in family films are women. Davis noted those few female characters often are portrayed in stereotypical or hyper-sexualized ways. It’s not just popular media. Davis said women are not fairly represented in most areas of society, noting that the U.S. ranks 90th on the list of countries that have female representation in government. “It’s astounding,” she said. “The fact is that women...
by Cory Woodroof | Jan 23, 2012 | News Slider, Opinion
At the age of six, I was a Star Wars kid. During the dog days of my early youth, the epic story of Luke Skywalker’s quest to defeat the Empire captivated me more than any other silly children’s entertainment. I proudly owned the original films on VHS. I collected a large group of action figures from the Star Wars universe – even those random aliens that only appeared in a frame or two during the cantina scene of A New Hope. I even saw The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi during their theatrical re-releases. So, obviously, May 19th, 1999 meant more to me than my birthday, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, or any other organized holiday that warrants a sort of reward or present. On this fateful day, writer/director George Lucas unveiled the first new Star Wars film in sixteen years. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace changed my six year old world like nothing ever had. The spectacle, the action, the peril – everything collided to create a gigantic supernova of wonder and amazement. All those years of persistent enjoyment had paid off immensely. A few years passed, two more prequels made their way to the screen, and I couldn’t have been happier. Shift to this past week. George Lucas announced his retirement from the big budget film industry on the heels of his newest production, Red Tails. Lucas says he wishes to switch his focus onto smaller, more personal projects. “I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.” Lucas said in the statement. No one can argue that Lucas,...
