Art: Digital Painting of Ale

I recently was inspired by my friend Ale's awesome photoshoot to create a digital painting of her from one her self portraits (found on her blog http://leblogdeale.blogspot.com/ ).

I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Review: Inception

This review will be fairly short because I think Inception is something people should see for themselves with little to no prior knowledge. To spoil any of the story or try to sum it up in a few paragraphs would be doing the film a disservice. While I have been excited to see this film since I first heard about it a few years ago, I did my best to avoid any mentions of the story or plot since then, and haven't seen any footage of the film other than the original trailer. I went in with blind faith (something I usually don't do) that Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) and Leonardo DiCaprio would create a compelling piece of work. Not only did Inception not disappoint, it far surpassed any hopes I had for it.

A lot of people are comparing Inception to The Matrix (my all-time favorite film), in terms of it being a thought provoking, cerebral movie with blockbuster action sequences. Though this comparison does bare merit, Inception itself is a fresh, original take on a relatively unexplored concept. The thing that both films do well is keeping the viewer completely enthralled through the entirety of its duration, while engaging the mind though out. Unlike many summer blockbusters which are often labeled as having "mindless action", the action sequences serve a purpose and never feel over the top or unnecessary towards the overall plot. Another area where Inception sets itself apart is with its strong overall performances from the ensemble cast that holds up to the weighty script, which is an impressive feat. It would have been easy for the story to overshadow the actors, but they do a great job of establishing the characters in this complexly imagined world. While DiCaprio will (deservedly) receive a lot of praise for his work in this film, the rest of the cast ably matches him, with strong performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, and Tom Hardy in particular.

The biggest praise I can give Inception is that it's the first film in a long time that left my thinking, analyzing, and discussing it with other people long after it was over. Not only that, but I feel like I need to see it again, and soon, in order to better understand and grasp the story - not because it's confusing, but because it's so intricate and well thought out that I feel it deserves a second viewing. And I would recommend for anyone interested to go and check out for themselves, as my praise alone can't do it justice.

Review: The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender is based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon of the same name. Having never watched the show, I was able to go into it with a clean slate. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this is his first feature film he hasn't written himself, and also his first attempt at directing a big-budget action adventure movie. Having seen all the director's previous works, I was intrigued to see how The Last Airbender would turn out.

Shymalan is well known for his penchant of very slow, deliberate pacing in his films, that usually build up to some sort of twist in the end. This movie would be a total departure from those, so I was interested to see if he could pull it off. The quality of his work though has been steadily declining with each release, so I remained skeptical, and after seeing The Last Airbender, I was rightly so.

The story centers around a young boy named Aang, who's the last of a mythical tribe of people known as "air benders". The Air Benders were one of four nations of people in a fictional world of people with special abilities, which include the Air, Water, Earth, and Fire Nations. The 'benders' of each of these nations have the ability to control and manipulate their respective elements as they see fit, though in order to maintain a balance in the world and co-exist peacefully, the benders previously only used their powers for good. This all changes when the leader of the Fire Nation attacks and wipes out the entire Air Nation in an attempt to take over all of the nations.

Previous to these events, Aang is discovered by his tribe to be the mythical "Avatar", a reincarnation of a long line of benders who are able to bend all four elements. The Avatars are highly revered and regarded as protectors of all the Nations, and are required to train and dedicate their lives into maintaining the balance between them. Upon learning of this sacrifice, Aang decides to run away from his tribe, but is caught in a heavy storm and knocked into the ocean, where his Water bending power protectively freezes him inside an iceberg. One hundred years later, Aang is discovered by two Water Nation siblings, Katara (Nicola Peltz) and Sokka (Jackson Rathbone of Twilight fame), and the film picks up from there.

The problem that plagues The Last Airbender is the same one that has brought down similar films such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Golden Compass, and countless others -- which is namely bad acting from child actors in the lead roles. For me personally, the success of a film of this type that features a kid in a leading role hinges on the believability of their performance. While it may be a harsh standard to judge by, it's difficult to become emotionally invested in a film when the main character isn't believable. And that's the fatal flaw of The Last Airbender -there isn't one moment in the film when I actually believe that Aang is that all-mighty Avatar character that they claim him to be. Most of his lines are recited like they're being read from cue cards, which totally undermines the impact of his character. Though the actor who plays Aang (Noah Ringer) does have all the requisite martial arts skills to make you believe he actually could be a talented fighter, once his character engages in dialogue, the guise begins to fall apart.

Aang is the most noticeable flaw of The Last Airbender, but he isn't the only one. The actors who play the supporting characters of Sokka and Katara aren't much better. They both come off as stiff and are as unconvincing reciting their lines as Aang. There's just no real emotional connection between them and Aang, and because so much of the plot depends on the relationships between these characters, it's easy to understand why this film fails.

The movie isn't all bad though, as the special effects are actually pretty impressive, though credit there is due more to artists at Industrial Light & Magic than Shymalan himself. The different 'bending' effects do a good job of bringing to the story to life in a way the main actors couldn't. Also strong were the performances by Dev Patal as Prince Zuko and Shaun Toub as his uncle Iroh. Their characters and side plot give the story some real balance and depth. If only the other actors had matched their performances, the film could've turned out much better.

The uneven performances weren't the only thing that hurt The Last Airbender; it also suffered from pacing problems and too many plot holes. The film speeds along at a quick pace, which never gives the viewer time to digest all that's happening on screen. It also makes you wonder how much of the details of the cartoon were skipped over in order to make story fit in the film. There's a part in the movie in which were supposed to believe that two characters establish a meaningful relationship which blossoms and takes place over several weeks and greatly impacts the story. Only we don't see this play out on screen, and the characters are only seen on screen together for about a total of 5 minutes, which renders this plot line useless.

By the time we reach the end of the Last Airbender, there's so much information that's been skipped over and unexplained that it's hard to care about the story or the characters, and instead you're just waiting for the next big action sequence so you can see more of the 'bending' effects. And naturally for a film of this sort, the story ends with an obvious cliffhanger that sets up for a hopeful sequel, but leaves the viewer left dissatisfied.

Overall, The Last Airbender is a disappointing attempt at an epic fantasy-adventure movie. While the source material is popular and highly regarded for having a deep and diverse universe, the film never captures it or brings it to life. Plagued by bad performances and a hollow script, The Last Airbender because another in a long line of films that 'could've been'. Fans of the show will be disappointed by the representation that it receives on the big screen, while newcomers may be discouraged to check the show out afterwards.

Review: Crazy Heart

I usually try to not to go into a film with any expectations, because it makes it harder for the film to live up to them. I have to admit though that I really wanted to see Crazy Heart, not just due to the Oscar hype, but because I really like Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal and usually enjoy their work. I'm also a fan of music-based dramas, so I was interested to see if this movie could live up to those as well.

In Crazy Heart, Bridges plays an aging, struggling country music star named "Bad" Blake, who's fallen on hard times and is reduced to playing shows in small venues like bars and bowling alleys. Down on his luck, fighting alcoholism and struggling to stay relevant, Blake also has to deal with the fact that his former protegé has surpassed him to become a huge country music star (played by Colin Farrell, in a surprising role). Finding himself at a crossroad in life, Blake meets a reporter and single mother (Gyllenhaal) whom he connects with and her son. The question ultimately becomes can Blake fight his inner demons enough to turn his life around, or will he continue to waste his life and talent away?

Bridges does a pretty convincing job portraying a country singer. His singing in the film wouldn't be considered amazing, but it's more than capable and he's believable in the role, as he definitely looks the part. Bridges also does a good job of making "Bad" Blake a sympathetic character. This speaks to the talent of Bridges, who can give almost any character real heart and charm. No matter how bad things are going for him or how much he's screwed up his own life, you still root for Bad to turn his life around in the end. Considering that he did all of his own singing and vocals for the film, it's an even more impressive performance.

Gyllenhaal plays a familiar role as the strong and supportive-yet-independent girlfreind, but gives the character depth and keeps her from turning into a cliché. Colin Farrell also does a surprisingly adequate job as Bad's former protegé, Tommy Sweet. Unlike most characters we see in films like this, Sweet isn't a villain or totally heartless, and still has respect and compassion for his former mentor, which is nice to see.

While the actors give really strong performances, the problem with the movie is that the story is so clichéd that you can pretty much predict what will happen throughout the film. The performances are still worth watching, but anyone expecting an amazing story or intriguing plot will be disappointed. While the music in the film is decent and believable, it doesn't hold up to films like Walk The Line or Ray, which of course were based on real musicians. But if you're a Jeff Bridges fan like myself then you'll probably enjoy the film anyway, but it not's not very memorable afterwards.