Rabbit Hole & The Choices We Make

The interesting thing about Rabbit Hole is not that it's about a couple struggling with the death of a child, it's the philosophy behind the movie. It's the way that the people mirror our own society and they may or may not make the same choices that we do in similar situations.

An interesting aspect of the human condition is our ability to lie to ourselves. Another interesting aspect is our ability to rationalize our circumstances. One scene that particularly stands out in Rabbit Hole is a scene where Nicole Kidman's character is attending a support group for parents who have lost a child. Nicole listens to one parent rationalize her daughter's death by saying that God needed another angel so he took their daughter. I assume this couple were telling themselves this were Christians, as Kidman's character seems to agree, and that this belief has no justification, biblical or otherwise. It's just a lie to tell themselves to deal with the pain and suffering of losing a child. Really, there might not be any good answers for such a loss, but do we need to lie to ourselves?

This scene is contrasted to another scene later on when Kidman's character makes the same mistake on a different matter. Having rejected the conventional ways to deal with grief like God and therapy, her character turns to another belief just as illogical and requires just as much faith to believe. In a conversation with the boy who accidentally killed her child, she is turned on to the idea of alternate universes and alternate realities where she exists in one of these universes and she's happy. Instead of grieving with the person responsible for the death of her child, she imagines herself making pancakes. Kidman's character makes the same mistake the christian couple makes.

But, isn't this what we do in our own lives? Do we justify certain things? Do we ignore potential contradictions? Do we rationalize?

Here's another potential rationalization in Rabbit Hole. With marriage between Kidman and Eckhart unraveling during the movie, Each partner turns to another person to meet certain needs. Kidman turns the young man responsible for the death for communication and understanding where she gets her emotional needs met. And Eckhart turns to Sandra Oh's character for a potential affair. Although Eckhart stops short of physically cheating, he has already emotionally cheated, even lying to his wife about the pot and the group meetings. Kidman's character is just a guilty of cheating displaying all the signs, waiting till her husband leaves to go and see the person she's emotionally cheating with. She sneaks around meeting in secluded public places (park benches) and fails to tell her husband about any of this.

I have to give these characters their due recognition for not following through with their deceptions. When they come to terms with how they are deceiving themselves, they realize their marriage is worth saving.

With the ending, can I make a case that they are continuing to lie to themselves by how they deal with the future? Well, I'm not going to make that case, because theres a difference between lying to yourself and just plan not knowing the truth.

The Bourne Romance

I watched all three Jason Bourne movies yesterday back-to-back and wanted to focus specifically on the Jason Bourne/Nicky Parson's relationship and how it flows through all three. In all actuality, it doesn't. More than likely, an intimate relationship between the two of them was probably dreamed up during Ultimatum. The director's commentary on the DVD reveals this subtle but very interesting development.

Upon seeing Bourne Ultimatum, the thing that I was most intrigued with coming out of the movie theater was the mysterious relationship between Nicky and Jason. I was left wanting more. Maybe it was because of Julia Stiles and wanting to see her more involve in the storyline.

With director Paul Greengrass pulling out of the next Bourne film and no word whether Matt Damon is even attached to it, the possibility of fulfilling my craving for resolution more than likely won't happen any time soon.

In this blog I will revisit all three movies and comment specifically on this mysterious relationship. This will have to do for the time being.

In The Bourne Identity, little is revealed about Nicky Parsons other than she's a CIA agent undercover as a student in Paris. And the one seen the two characters share in the movie almost betrays any sense of history they may share. Just before Jason reveals himself to Conklin, Nicky says to him something to the effect, "It's Bourne, isn't it?"

Now if they had shared some history together, don't you think Nicky would have addressed him as Jason, not Bourne. Any kind of intimacy probably would have produced more familiarity.

When Jason does reveal himself, Nicky gets a look of horror on her face. Of course, Jason takes one look at her and doesn't know show she is. This carries over into The Bourne Supremacy, in which the one sequence of events where Jason gets Nicky alone to question her and induces nothing but fear into Nicky. Again, Nicky doesn't show any sign of intimacy, only fear.

With The Bourne Ultimatum, the Jason Bourne/Nicky Parsons relationship is hinted at. Again, probably having been just imagined for the first time. But since it's being drawn up for the first time and fails to follow through, this is why the dilemma is so interesting and another movie is necessary to satisfy people like me.

Nicky mysteriously shows up at Neal Daniels' office for reasons that are unclear to me. apparently she had been reassigned to Daniels, in a twist of fate that befuddles even me. But nonetheless, the two of them are together and for the first time, Nicky doesn't show absolute fear, but loyalty and benevolence.

She doesn't look at him fearing her life anymore. Now she looks at him as a long lost friend. In the diner seen, she questions him, "You really don't remember a thing?"

Here's where the contrast between the Jason/Nicky pseudo relationship compares to the Jason/Marie storyline. In bother Jason is confused, cold and calculating. With Marie, she was able to break through the barrier Jason's personality has resurrected. Marie was open and engaging; just what jason needed in order for their relationship to develop.

By contrast, Nicky was almost as cold and confused as Jason was. They were too much of the same person to be an effective couple. Jason, having lost Marie, couldn't dye Nicky's hair like he did Marie's. Nicky had to do it herself. And when Jason and Nicky share eye contact, he couldn't help but noticed the similarities between Nicky and Marie. But Nicky can't express herself like Marie could, thus she can only let Jason go.

It makes you wonder, what kind of relationship Nicky and Jason had, if they ever had one at all. Was it doom to fail because they were too similar in personality?

After reviewing Nine, I did some research into narcissism and came up with some good ideas of my own for the character in a screenplay I'd like to write. This is the research and development part and I think this is what Philosophy of Screenwriting should be all about. The ideas and concepts that are presented in philosophy, psychology and the sciences should be utilized to make our screenplays more realistic. We shouldn't just fly off the cuff in our own understanding thinking that will be enough. All of us should be philosophy majors. In fact, two the best screenwriting books I've read, Story by Robert McKee and Psychology For Screenwriters, are great technical books; college-level reading for the screenwriter.

This may seem obvious, but I'm using this blog as a free flow outlet for my ideas that are universal. In conveying information, I most importantly am informing myself.

I started the new year off with a viewing Nine. Having seen 8 1/2 I was already aware of the basic storyline. I figured the retelling as a musical would remind me of Chicago, but this is Oscar season (my favorite time of year) and this is an Oscar contender. I must see this at any cost.

Daniel Day-Lewis gives another terrific performance and each female performance holds their own against this perennial heavy weight; including a surprising appearance of Stacey Ferguson.

The music...eh...take it or leave it.

Philosophically, the narcissism of the main character is what this movie is all about. Every musical seen centers around his relationship with a woman. I'm not sure what the song titles are but you could name them off as Song About Guido #1, Song About Guido #2, etc.

The director in the movie is unable to produce the screenplay for his next film, partly because of his growing distaste for what I'll call the Hollywood system, though the setting is Italy in the 60's. He has come to believe that camera's image and the beautiful actress being filmed is all that people want or notice. The director spends the entire movie running away into the arms of the women in his life; which is his other problem. He has drained the women around him. his narcissism is that of an emotional vampire. Even his producer has had it with him.

One seen in the movie sums up the struggle between sex and the film industry on one hand, and the Roman Catholic ideal of prudence. The director has a conversation with a Cardinal of the church and the Cardinal praises his early films but questions the amount of sex that is portrayed in his movies. The Director wants to enquire about God, but instead gets a lesson in morality. The director once again becomes overwhelmed with the criticism of his films, and heads off into his musical dream world that ends with him being whipped by a priest and his mother displeased with him. Again its the women in his life, this time his mother, that is the directors problem. You get the sense that if he could just have one decent relationship he will be fine. But as narcissistic as he is, he cannot.

It is only when he has lost it all, that he can direct the movie he is mean to direct; the story he's been telling us all along, the story of himself and the women in his life.

Top 5 Films of 2009

1. Inglorious Basterds

2. Boondock Saints 2

3. Taken

4. Avatar

5. Zombieland

New Years resolution: To write more often here.

The Problem With Nick And Norah

As I see it, I probably am out of touch with today's youth, but the problem with Nick and Norah is the love story failed to be more everlasting.  The great thing about love stories is that they eventually become about two people who were meant for each other and will spend their lives together...er...uh...happily ever after.  However absurd, that's usually what we expect.  

The problem with Nick and Norah is that I never came to believe they would end up together.  Both are lovable enough to engage in a interesting conversation with, But neither seem to look outside themselves.  Although Nick seems a bit attached to something other than himself, Norah seems to just be looking for that elusive orgasm.  Both seemed to be looking for that certain someone for their next lay and not a life partner.  Granted, their teenagers, but certain subjects like love should not end up being trivialized.  Even teenagers should long for something real and not be such materialists.

I did like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, as it hits on the same hipness as Juno does.  Whereas Juno had to deal with a much serious matter, Adoption, Nick and Norah never seem to get beyond their own shallowness.  If I were to write a sequel to the movie, it would be Nick pining over his breakup with Norah, while Norah beds the wrong guy again.  Neither character developed enough to not repeat their past problems.  But, whatever.  Their teenagers, right?

Adventureland

Has this ever happened to you?

About an hour into watching this flick, the fire alarms go off and the movie stops.  I head out into the lobby to see what's going on.  The usher tells me this has been going on all week.   I hang out for a couple minutes to see if the alarms will stop so the movie can restart.  As I was standing there waiting to see what will happen, I started to reflect on the movie and realize I didn't really care to go back in and finish the movie.  The movie didn't work on any of the levels I was hoping. 

first of all, I remember the summer of 1987 and this didn't look anything like it.  Other than the great Falco song, a guilty pleasure of mine, which was used for a couple of laughs, I didn't listen to any the other music from the movie.  This was not my my 1987.  In fact, the Falco song is not even 1987.  So the movie failed to be nostalgic.  

Granted, I was not in college in 1987, but I was in junior high.  I didn't think the hipster attitude of liking old bands and wearing obscure band t-shirt came until the 90's.  I was not listening to Lou Reed and Husker Du in 1987.  It was Bon Jovi and U2.  So, the movie fails in it's level of nostalgia.

I couldn't get into the love story either.  Although Kristen Stewart was good, facial expressions and all, she was given a drab character to play.  I can't give a final judgement because I haven't finished the movie but I really don't know if I even want to finish it.

It's been over three months since I last posted.  Let's just I had some personal things to work out and deleted this blog.  But I'm back.  I resurrected the blog and plan on posting again.  I have a general area I want to focus on, but I will reveal more of that later.

I haven't been keeping track of the movies I've been watching, so that's gone.

I met goal of watching the rest of the Oscar nominated movies this weekend. Here there are:

#14 Vicky Christina Barcelona
#15 Happy-Go-Lucky
#16 Revolutionary Road
#17 Wall*E
#18 The Wrestler
#19 Rachel Getting Married
#20 Frost/Nixon
#21 The Visitor

Soon, I'll post my predictions.

The Oscars Are Upon Us

#13 Klute - I saw this one as part of my Neo-Noir craze. I haven't really seen much of Jane Fonda's early work (I mean the 60's stuff). This movie is '71 so it's the youngest Jane Fonda film I've seen to date. Having never really seen Barbarella, I never did equate Jane Fonda with sexy until this movie. I guess I'm going to have to see Barbarella after all.

This is Oscar weekend for me. In honor of the nominations being announced, I plan on watching no less than eight Oscar nominated movies this weekend. It will be the first time I have seen all the movies in the eight major categories. This weekend I plan on watching the remainder.

It's a bit of a game for me when it comes Oscar time. And I've been quiet successful at it. Two years ago I went 5-for-7 (for some reason I didn't bother predicting adapted screenplay) and last year I went 6-for-8. And I've successfully predicted the best picture three years in a row.

After seeing the nominations, I can't help but feel it has been a weak year for movies. Of the five up for best picture, none them I feel strongly enough toward to get behind. Which makes my bid to get best picture correct even tougher. Three years ago, Crash blew me away. Two years ago, Departed was an awesome movie. Last year, No Country For Old Men, although the ending threw me for a loop, I knew it was a brilliant movie. This year, none of the nominees really moved me. Not even Slumdog.

Next time I write, I should have a crop of movies to discuss. I'm already feeling a bit burnt out on my new years resolution to writing more here. I figured I'd stick with it through the month of January and then break the resolution in February, like most resolutions.

#10 The Third Man - Film Noir is one of my favorite genres (if you believe that it is even a genre) and The Third Man is one of the best in that genre. Why I haven't bought it yet, I don't know. I watched it as part of the Existentialism class. I'm beginning to see much more clearly the problem of ethics and how it relates to different characters. And how different people can be on different levels ethically and not be judged as so. The female's devotion to the criminal of the movie proves she is operating on a higher ethical level than the hero who must turn in his best friend, because it's the right thing to do. Watch the movie or go study existentialism.

#11 Last Chance Harvey - Not too many movies that I see I can actually say I'm disappointed in, but I was disappointed in this one. It's supposed to be a strong performance by Dustin Hoffman, but based on previous work, this movie really doesn't come close. They glossed over the love affair between Hoffman and Thompson, as if we the audience will buy that these two are meant for each other with only a montage sequence. I would have much preferred if we had been able to see the attraction in real time. And I also didn't buy that Hoffman was as bad off as he thinks. It was Thompson who became the real hero of this film overcoming a far more believable loneliness.

#12 Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains - If I wasn't a wanna-be philosopher and amateur screenwriter, the thing I would most want to be is playing bass in a punk rock band. With that said, I have a soft side for punk rock movies. I'm even willing to sit through poorly made films like this one. Only watch this film if you're interested in watching Dianne Lane, Laura Dern or Ray Winstone's early work.

#8 Revolver - One of my top 5 favorite movies that I saw last year. A friend came over and I watched it with him again. I was wondering if it would be as good as the first time I watched it or would it have subsided a little bit. Upon second viewing, it still holds up as one mind blowing movie. But I won't hype this movie too much. I'm just going to sit back and wait for the rest of the world to catch up with what I already know. This is a great movie.

#9 Notorious - Biopic about the infamous rapper Notorious B.I.G. Biggie Smalls. Big Poppa. Christopher Wallace. I can't thing of any other names. Although it's a touching story, I couldn't help but feel the production value doesn't quite match up to the grandness of Hip-Hop. It's got much more of a indie feel than a blockbuster performance, which is what I would expect from this type of music. Maybe I just don't get rap music and the grandness of it all just escapes me. But I do enjoy watching real people come to life on the screen, particularly the performances by the actresses playing Faith Evan and Lil' Kim. But this movie just doesn't live up to other music biopics like Ray or Walk The Line.

One interesting aspect of the movie for me is the lip service that rappers like B.I.G. pay to God, yet live such criminal lives. I would expect a man of God would live his life by a higher ethical standard. But maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe, in the end, we all are redeemed by an acknowledgment to a higher power rather than the life we have lived.

#6 The Gospel Of John - A faithful retelling of the gospel according to the Apostle John. What sets John apart from other gospels, John's is a about a much more personal relationship Jesus had with his disciples and with other people. I always was intrigued by Jesus' first miracle where he turned water into to wine. His words were to his mother, "It is not my time." But he does it anyways. Watching this story unfold has a different perspective than if we were simply told the story. His mother doesn't have to be told no. The look on her face and on Jesus' tells us that Jesus would do anything for his mother, because she simply asked. I might be a bit theologically off, but there's much that a movie can portray that a story can not.

#7 Hiroshima Mon Amour - As part of a podcast I'm listening about existentialism, this movie is one of the required materials for the course. Although the connection didn't appear as naturally as I would assume, it was a good movie standing alone by itself. I love these types of love stories and I often thought about writing my own based on the premise of a one-night-stand that becomes the best thing that could have happened to someone. This movie is just such a movie. Suspending the ethical implications of a one-night-stand (which is where the existentialism comes in), the lead character receives healing from a past lover whom she identifies with her current fling. It's French New Wave cinema, one genre a film I'd like to dig into deeper having seen such classics as A Band A Parte and Breathless.

Theology and Screenwriting

I must confess, I've recently made personal commitment. A personal commitment to something that has always been in the back of mind, no matter how hard I've tried to ignore it. Growing up in the church may or may not be a good thing, depending on your world view. It can either give you a ground work on the dealings of faith and a zest for all things theologica, or if you prefer, it brain washes you into a belief system you that adds a permanent scar on your psyche. I've held both points of view at one time or another.

But I can't help shake thoughts of God or an after life, or subscribing some sort of meaning to the events in my life. And I can't ignore that fact that things that give thought to some sort of supreme power or purpose are just way more interesting than not believing.

I've been reading a lot of those philosophy and _____ books. i.e. Philosophy and The Matrix, Philosophy and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Philosophy and Quentin Tarantino. Those have been some of my favorite reads so far. And I feel they can be very helpful to a screenwriter, but that's another topic all together.

When reading these books, they main topic that keeps popping up is ethics and how it relates to the subject. In the book about Tarantino, there is a good read on the ethics of criminals and the idea of Mexican standoffs. But I can't help but take it one step further and see the connection between Theology and things of pop culture. And I find it's not too hard to see them if you're willing to look.

I say all this because two movies I saw this week relate to theology:

#4 Luther -Thespian Joseph Fiennes plays the great theologian and father of the Protestant faith Martin Luther. A great little film on the history of the church and the great schism with the Catholic church. Luther is a very important and very interesting person. Fiennes does a great job presenting the struggles with faith and tradition that Luther encountered. The church, however noble we make it out to be, has a rich history of mistakes and evil thats not easy to come to terms with. But Luther stands strong on his convictions and provides a model of faith that ought to be emulated.

5# Gran Torino - On the other hand, Gran Torino presents a more worldly view point of faith. The world is full of awful and misguided people. Some have evolved to the point of recognizing the conflict of their own convictions and how they mesh with how they've acted through the years. It's a point well represented by a character like Clint Eastwood. And I call him a character because it's Eastwood playing the person we've all come to associate him as. And along with that character comes a sense that the world isn't operating on the same codes or ethics that we've come to believe as important or right. It is tale of life and death and redemption from the past. (spoiler) It's one man dying for another. It's one man's final attempt to put things right. It's very catholic in the sense that the deeds we do here define our existence and it's never too late to put things right. Leave this world a better place than the way you found it and you can be certain of justification.

I Pledge Allegiance To 2009

My intention for 2009 is to be more active in my writing this year. I have been putting off the inevitable with the lame excuse that I'm still learning. I have much to learn and so why write crap? But I have learned that theory and knowledge can only get you so far. You must let go of the analytical side of you and just write. This is when the muse takes over and you write for the sake of writing. This is also when musicians play music for the love of music. When dancers dance just to dance. You can't critique yourself the very moment you are being creative for you will lose art for the sake of art. How eastern of me to say that.

Therefore I will list every movie I see this year and try to add some kind of thought. I may not be as philosophical as I would like to be, because sometimes just rambling can be of use.

Movie #1 - The Reader. Oscar season is my favorite time of the year. Maybe it has something to do with my desire to some day win an Oscar. Or it could be the level of excellence goes up a couple of notches. The Reader is the first Oscar contending movie of 2009 that I got to see and I was excited. The lovely Kate Winslet is by far my most favorite actress out there right now. Although I haven't seen everything she's done, I've probably seen a good three quarters of her work. And she never ceases to amaze me.

Movies about Nazis and the Holocaust tend to be a little didactic and at this point, overdone. If Kate Winslet hadn't been in this one, I might have avoided it, like I tend to avoid all war movies that critique current events like the plague. But throwing in an erotic love story between and young man and an older not-so-innocent woman provided enough of a distraction to keep me unaware that I soon will be bombarded with the horrific nature of the Holocaust. When it did come, I found an interesting diversion from the "let's blame the bad people" premise to more emphasis on the Germans themself; on how could the have let a such a thing happen. And then to appease themselves, they go on a witchhunt. Every crime needs someone to blame. In order for justice to be restored, someone has to pay a price. It's unfortunate that a guilty society fails to acknowledge their own blame. That they claim to have acted without proper knowledge and therefore, aren't as guilty as they would appear.

Well, anyway, not much is resolved, other than the display of the two people's lives who are affected slowly begin to deteriorate and then heal. The healing for the most part, is just a hollywood ending. Sometimes, no amount of compensation will ever put things right.

#2 - Valkyre. Much like the same joke about Titanic, I won't tell you how it ends because I wouldn't want to ruin it. It did provide me with enough suspense and interest to hope that the hero succeeds. It was an interesting device at the beginning to morph from German language to English to eliviate the fact that it's Germans speaking in english. My only quabble was it was perfect english, and I would much rather have perferred a german accent. But these are the things you give up when you enter the land of movie world.

#3 - Fanny And Alexander - An old nugget. I only decided to watch this because some podcast put it as one of it's top 5 christmas movies. I should have known from their number one selection of Die Hard, that the movie really doesn't have anything to do with Christmas. And despite the foreign language (srike one) and the three hour time length (strike two), it did manage to get on base with a single. Any body who has issues with parents, and how mean they can be, will like this movie. The charm of the movie revolves the elegant aristocratic lifestyle the family lives in. In The beginning, Alexander explores his grandmas large mansion at Christmas time, and in the process, we the audience get to see the richness and beauty of a bygone era. And noticeably abscent is the critique on how overly pious and superior such people can be. I get the sense that these are genuine people, however flawed they might be.

The level of magic and coincidence might be lost in the translation and proved to be a hinderance in judging what the movie was really about. But at that point, I just wanted the movie to end.
Would I ever watch it again? No. But it was a good foot note on Ingmar Bergman's career.

Body Of Lies

My friend commented to me, when I asked him if he was going to see Body Of Lies, that he had no idea what the movie was about even after viewing the trailer. There's a reason for that.

After viewing the film I realize the trailer was a little vague because it's just like every other movie that has come out in the last couple of years. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody says, "Body Of Lies? Isn't that that movie starring Don Cheadle where he infiltrates the Jihad only to come to terms with what Loyalty and truth really mean? Wait a minute, that was Traitor. And yes, I am trying to say the movies have similar plot lines.

But the movie wasn't that bad. It's watchable. Maybe I'm just bored with the middle east as bad guys. But right now, they're the hot ticket in Hollywood. Just like the Nazis, the Russians and the Viet Cong were at one point. I usually skip these types of movies but good actors are always able to suck me in.

And speaking of good actors, for the first time, I realize that Dicaprio is becoming a caricature of himself. I hadn't figured it out up until this point. All good actors become caricatures and DiCaprio wasn't able to avoid it either. Pretty soon we will see SNL imitations of DiCaprio when everybody else catches on.

And Russell Crowe. I think he's trying to win an oscar by gaining 30 pounds, but it won't matter since DiCaprio steals every scene there in together. Is it just me or is Crowe trying to impersonate George W. Bush? I swear he stole some one-liners out of W's book.

I did have high hopes for Body Of Lies, though. I picked it as my big movie for my fantasy league (yes, I do one of those). After winning this summer, my fall line-up has stunk to high heaven and I'm currently wallowing in last place with no hope of climbing out of it. And with a less-than-stellar reception for Body Of Lies, I just might be mopping the floor with my pride this time around.

Are You Guys Blind?

I just got back from seeing Eagle Eye and was completely blown away. I would consider it one of my top five movies of the year. It had me at the end of my seat almost the entire time, except for a few moments when the action dies down for some character development. Being a student of screenwriting, you come realize these technical points and will pan or praise a movie on how well you bought into it.

Well, I completely bought into the whole danger sign being flashed to us one cat-and-mouse chase after another. Maybe it's just where I'm at as a human being or what conspiracies float my boat, but the fact that technology can progress to this point is scary.

I was amazed that when I got home and read the overall feeling for the movie is somewhat negative from the critics. All I can say is, "ARE YOU BLIND!"

The general consensus is the movie is stupid and mind boggling and how unrealistic the story line is. Isn't the whole point behind the cinema going experience a suspension of disbelief for the purpose of being entertained or challenged? How can you not see that this movie is a treatise on technology and government control of it. I guess people would rather be entertained with stupid slapstick then challenged by the truth.

I think it's because people are generally blind to what's going on around them. They don't want to be told the truth. In fact, they go so far as to deny the feasibility of the truth and the possibility that there lives are heading in the wrong direction.

I won't bore you with what I got out of the movie because I would just be evoking another conspiracy theory. But to deny any inkling of truth and panning a movie because you think the script was far fetched goes to show how blind we really are.

Stoic Philosophy in John Adams

I recently saw the HBO miniseries John Adams and was very impressed with it. I am a bit of a history buff or sorts and I also have my own idea of a mini-series dealing with Presidents, so I was eager to see what this movie had to offer.

I was reading on Stoicism and it brought to mind the scene where John Adams insults Quaker John Dickinson's religion and his refusal to support the Declaration Of Independence. The result in the movie version of this story was for John Dickinson to simply not show up that day in order for a unanimous decision. John Dickinson is not portrayed in a favorable light and some might feel that this action is a breakdown in the integrity of John Dickinson. If he really believed in not going to war with England then he should have stood his ground.

But understanding Stoic philosophy a little bit more, I have come to determine that John Dickinson did no such wrong. It is a stoic principle that all life happens in cycles and all we can do is just get out of the way and accept it. At this point, John Dickinson hoped to resolve conflict with England as peace is better than war, but all attempts to alleviate the threat of war broke down. All John Dickinson could do is sit by and let history run its course.

Besides, they was more at stake than peace. There was the pride of being a free man being trampled on by England. Courage and Justice are also principles of Stoicism and in maintaining them could be worth the price of war. Despite the bleak picture we get of John Dickinson in the movie, it should noted that he served as a general in the Pennsylvania Militia. Even passivism has a point of action.

What does this have to do with screenwriting? The one point of this blog. That an understanding of philosophical principles could help you determine your storyline and how your character should act. It worked for The Matrix.

Screenwriting Tip # 519

While watching the new Chronicles Of Narnia film, I saw a technique that was used by the screenwriter that I felt worked very well. There was a scene where the protagonists had to descend into a dark cavern. The easy thing to do would have been to have the guy pull out a flash light. But then you would have to explain why he was carrying a flashlight to begin with. But instead, the writer managed to work the flashlight into the movie. first, the writer managed to get a quick joke out of it, by having another protagonist rip his shirt and create a torch. An ingenious act of cleverness, even if he wasn't able to obtain a match. The first protagonist then pulls out the flashlight and asks will this work; Information that could have saved the first protagonist from ripping his shirt to shreds. Then the flashlight also came into play later in the movie providing necessary points of strategy and humor. It was a clever add instead of relying on the old Deus Ex Machina. In one sense, it was never explained why he was carrying a flashlight in the first place, but it works because it provided humorous plot points.

The Summer Season Is Upon Us

The summer blockbuster season is here and ready to take the millions of dollars from the consumers pockets. Being an indie guy myself, this time of year isn't exactly my favorite. That would be Oscar season, where the truly remarkable films get released in hopes of winning a golden statuette. And last year, all my favorite movies, and there were a lot of good movies last year, most of them came out before the summer season or in the fall. Movies like Smokin' Aces or No Country For Old Men.

I always go into the summer season with a grain of salt and a bucket of popcorn. I know I'm going to be watching the most spectacular and high-bugdeted films of the year. Last year, I understood that Spiderman was the movie everyone wanted to see. I knew that Pirates Of The Carribean would set records. These are a given. There spectacular movies and they are supposed to be spectacular movies. You get what you expect. Sometimes these movies don't live up to the hype. Well, hype always hurts a movie. If you go in expecting a great movie and it sucks, it probably was an okay movie but just didn't live up to the hype. and what if a great movie does live up to it's hype. Than it succeeded in meeting expectations, but failed to blow me away.

Movies like Smokin' Aces and No Country For Old Men came out of nowhere and blew me away. That's the mark of a truly good movie. That's why I love independent film so much. I go in knowing nothing and have the possibility of walking out totally blown away. The best movie I've seen this year so far, actually came out two years ago in England and is now getting released here. It was Revolver, the Guy Ritchie film. I rented it not knowing a thing, maybe a trailer, that was it. And it blew me away.

This summer will be the same. Iron Man actually looked like it was well written and it was. And I actually didn't mind Speed Racer. But for some reason you can't have a million dollar movie that's campy at the same time. Viewers need to lower there expectations or, better yet, go into to a movie not knowing a thing about it and just maybe they will be blown away.

But we live in a skeptical society and everybody is looking to bash the next film if they don't get what they want. We're a knowledgeable society unwilling to be surprised. We all want meaning in our movies. That's why war movies are so popular right now. I'm all for meaning in a movie, but not at the expense of entertainment. I've given up on war movies right now because of all the bullshit being shoved down our throats. I'll take a campy Speed Racer over Lions For Lambs any day.

This blog has turned into too much of a rant, so let me back off and say this summer actually looks promising. Or maybe I'm willing to be less skeptical and enjoy movies again. I'll go see the Hulk, even though I know the film will be CGI'd to death. And I just saw the trailer for the Star Wars animated movie. Even though it looks like Veggie Tales in space, I'm actually looking forward to indulging in my childhood fantasies again.

Let's not forget Indiana Jones and Narnia. But the movie I'm looking forward to being blown away by the most is Wanted, the Angelina Jolie action thriller. Instead of being too cynical this year, I'm going to keep an open mind and enjoy the popcorn.