...Everybody knows how excited I am over V for Vendetta, but another film I'm dying to see is Darren Aronofsky's next picture, The Fountain, which has had a long and difficult history.  Aronofsky is the young mind behind Pi and Requiem for a Dream, two edgy and technically genius films, and The Fountain looked like it was going to be a crown jewel for Warner Brothers.  They had Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett signed on, the budget was around $80 million, and the story was kept mostly under wraps, except that it was known the action would take place in three different time periods, circa 1500 AD, the present, and 2500.   However, Pitt dropped out to do Troy (not a bad idea, mind you!) and Blanchett got pregnant (rewrites didn't work, and she went on to do The Life Aquatic in the meantime, also not a bad idea).  So, The Fountain got shelved for a while until Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman replaced Brad Pitt and Rachel Weisz took over the female lead...

The film's central theme is the quest for eternal life.  Jackman and Weisz play characters in all three time periods, who may or may not be the same people, depending on your interpretation.  In 1500 they are Tomas, a conquistador, and Queen Isabella of Spain.  The queen tells her loyal servant to go to the New World and uncover the Tree of Life, hidden by God in a Mayan temple.  Should Tomas find it, he will save her from the Inquisition and they shall live happily ever after... quite literally.  A Franciscan monk (played by Aronofsky regular Mark Margolis) says that it is essentially the Fountain of Youth.  In the modern day, the characters are Tommy and Izzi Creo.  Tommy is a neurosurgeon trying to find a cure for a tumor that is going to claim her life.  He begins to work diligently to find a cure from a rare tree found in Guatemala after she suffers a seizure.  Meanwhile, in 2500, Tommy floats towards a dying star to save the Tree of Life inside of a nifty space bubble.  All the while he has visions of the two past time periods, wondering if it's real or if he's just been on his own for too long.  There's some more elements here and there, but you might already piece some of the puzzle together if I filled you in. 

So was it worth the wait?  For me, it was.  Although the film wasn't as grandiose as it might have been after the budget was slashed to around $30 million, it's still a complex and stunning film.  The main focus is the impressive visual style.  A lot has been made over the fact that Aronofsky made it a point to use as little CGI as possible to keep the movie from looking dated in the future.  Instead, good old fashioned techniques were used, such as Peter Parks' Petri dish photography which serves incredibly well in the space sequences.  The effects come off as well as -- and dare I say, better than -- the final act of 2001: A Space Odyssey, even considering the methods used.  The interweaving of the three storylines isn't done in such a way that's never been done before, but you are left wondering exactly what's happening for about fifteen to twenty minutes into the movie.  In sci-fi, that's usually a good thing, and being a fan of the genre himself, Aronofsky does it with restraint and understanding.  Some of his trademarks don't make their way into this film, but for good reason... for instance, the "hip-hop montage" of Pi and Requiem are nowhere to be found here, and neither is the Snorricam.  Using them wouldn't fit the mood of The Fountain.  But the characteristic style of Matthew Libatique's cinematography is still there and Clint Mansell's score cues up similar tones as in Aronofsky's previous films while still being its own animal. 

As for the performances, Jackman is an emotional powerhouse.  He's authentic in every way.  Weisz, meanwhile, is capable of elegence and resolve as Isabella, and cuteness and vulnerability as Izzi.  They compliment one another very well and are also very attractive people.  This makes it a good date movie for people who like to think when they're at the movies.

I recently chatted with an old high school friend who's now living out in California and got to see an advanced screening of the film.  He didn't care for it all too much, and he seemed to dwell on the "what could have beens" concerning what Aronofsky's been up to since starting work on The Fountain after Requiem.  From the supposed Batman: Year One project (which the director says got blown out of proportion) to Pitt's walkout, my friend and many others have been more concerned with the film's history than its actual execution.  After all, it's been six years since Aronofsky's last movie, why shouldn't we be interested in how it's going?

Truth is, none of that matters.  This is a much different movie from what could have occurred with Pitt and Blanchett and although I love their work, it's hard to see them as anything less than who they are.  Brad Pitt may have been able to create Tyler Durden in Fight Club and become Achilles in Troy, but let's face it, he's still Brad Pitt.  He's in Africa right now adopting kids with Angelina.  Cate Blanchett is an amazing character actor, but she's a name.  Even more, she's Oscar winner Cate Blanchett now.  Sure, the names can attract people to the theater, but their notoriety can be distracting.  When you get that big, you have to turn in some great performances to get people to forget who they are and buy into the picture. 

What's more is the effect on the actors who took over the roles.  For one, Jackman has already had a huge year with X-Men 3, The Prestige, and those last two computer-animated movies about talking animals.  Adding The Fountain in gives him quite an impressive resume for 2006, and will probably nab him even more great roles to do in the coming years.  And of course, Weisz and Aronofsky have now had a baby boy and are engaged.  So maybe losing the big names turned out to be for the best in more ways than one.

But forget all of that stuff about what could have happened.  The Fountain is a very good movie on its own merits.  However, I don't think it'll be the best film of the year.  I'm not even sure where I rank it among Aronofsky's others (they're all so much different from one another that it's hard to decide).  But it's certainly worth seeing, and it's too bad that it's coming out during a rush of other films that will be more accessible to audiences, and in turn, more profitable.  If you don't get to see it while it's out, check it out when it hits DVD.  I have a feeling it'll gain a much larger following in that market, and this labor of love certainly deserves that much.

Jagshemash!

Along the way, no one is safe.  Jews, Christians, Muslims, gays, Uzbeks, driving instructors, blacks, US senators, news reporters, car dealers, feminists, the landed gentry, and more meet up with Borat and get a bit of culture shock in the doing.  One of my favorite moments finds Borat pulling over his used ice cream truck in a park.  Kids come running from the playground and are greeted by Borat's black bear hanging out of the window. 

Borat isn't for everybody, though.  Since just about anyone can be offended by something in the film's short running time, you should check any sensitivities at the door.  But even then, you're probably not going to be ready for a scene in which Borat and Azamat fight each other in a hotel -- in the nude.  I still don't know how this movie passed through the MPAA after that scene.  As my man Bouve said, "They didn't just cross the line.  They stomped on it, threw dirt on it, kicked it around, you name it."  But hey, it's still worth checking out.  Go see it while people are still packing the theaters, you'll have a good time.

Fran left for school a little while ago, but she'll be back in three weeks for winter break.  Hooray!  It was great having her around for a few days, I can't wait till she's back again.  As for me, I'm getting ready to go check out The Fountain before heading back to work tomorrow.  I'll try to get my Fountain review up in a couple of days. 

Fran's been home since late Tuesday night.  It's been great having her home once again and tomorrow night we're finally going to see Borat.  We were looking at the movie times and I said that it would be a good idea to just spend the entire day at the theater because The Fountain and Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny came out on Wednesday, plus For Your Consideration has now arrived.  So stay tuned for my review of Borat... and anyone who's interested in seeing The Fountain should get in touch with me.

So that's all from me for tonight.  I just wanted to post something new and not seem like I'm ignoring the site!  Oh, and why don't you go check out my Flickr, I've added some stuff.  Nothing incredible, but it's there.  Actually, I've added a Flickr button to most of the main pages on NP1.  I also removed some stuff, including a link to Dane Cook's site because he's become far too popular.  MySpace tends to ruin everything.

Raton's latest conquest
And now for the story that I left you all hanging on in the last post.  Last week I was going to mow the lawn on the weekend, but I had to find a part to the lawnmower that I hadn't used since the springtime.  I looked everywhere for it, and couldn't find it.  I ended up looking on the patio in a corner where we keep the barbecue, etc, and I noticed a large brown mass.  I inspected it and found that it had feathers.  It was about the size of my shoe and had a big hunk taken out of its neck.  I disposed of it in our compost heap and realized what it had to have been.

The creature in question had to have been an owl.  I didn't check its face, but I knew from the size of its talons (believe me, they qualified as talons).  We've heard them out in the woods behind the house before, so it made sense.  I went back inside and Mom asked me what I was doing in the corner, and asked if I had found a "body" as we call it when Raton brings something back from hunting.  I then asked him, "Raton, do you know anything about a dead owl?"  From the moment I came into the room he had gotten up from his spot on the cable box and started to act quite proud of himself.  He must've smelled the owl on me.  He followed me around and took full responsibility. 

So there you have it.  A fifteen year old cat, who weighs nine pounds, took down an owl in our back yard.  As we know, Raton is and always has been an incredible athlete and hunter, but this is ridiculous.  I want to know what the look on his face was when he spotted this thing in the woods.  I want to know how big his eyes were when he was stalking it.  Most importantly, I want to know how he dragged it out of the woods and down to the patio. 

This would also explain why Raton had been feeling sick lately.  That week he'd had a cold with sneezing and watery eyes.  He probably got sick from some sort of owl germs. 

So that's the story, folks.  Just another tale to add to the legend that is Raton.

So my new job will be at WTAG in Paxton, selling ad time.  There's good money in that business.  I'm really looking forward to this opportunity.  I think I can succeed at the whole sales thing and I'll welcome the change of pace.  Also, I'll get business cards.  I've always wanted my own business card... but as Mitch Hedberg once said, "I just wanna win some lunches.  Mitch Hedberg - Potential Lunch Winner."

So George and Kelly are visiting tomorrow.  I was just going to share an exciting story, but I have to save it for them first.  After that I'll let you all know.

Nosferatu was a cool vampire
Back just before Halloween, I came across the movie Nosferatu on my hard drive.  Turns out that I forgot I downloaded it a few months back.  Don't worry, it's public domain.  If for some reason you don't know, Nosferatu is the original vampire movie, made in Germany by F.W. Murnau in 1922.  It's a fantastic silent film and there's some moments that are still pretty darn creepy.  Max Schreck did an amazing job as the vampire "Count Orlock."  You see, Murnau wanted to make Dracula, but Bram Stoker's wife wouldn't let him have the rights.  He changed the names and kept the rest the same.  He ended up being successfully sued for plagiarism and all known prints of the film were destroyed... except for a few that turned up overseas.  It's a good thing, because it's a classic that must be preserved.  I could go off on a film school summary, but it's really not worth it.  Look it up online and you'll see everything I can analyze and more. 

Hey guys, let's play some Scrabble

I then added Shadow of the Vampire to my Netflix list.  You might remember this movie came out a couple of years ago.  It's a sort of "behind the scenes" look a the making of Nosferatu, but with one difference: in this telling of the story, Max Schreck is, in fact, a real vampire and Murnau has struck a deal with him to make a truly accurate vampire film.  Willem Defoe masterfully plays the vampire, channeling Schreck's performance with true relish.  John Malkovich is great as Murnau.  Very intense, as always.  Eddie Izzard also stars as one of the actors in the film and provides some of the funnier bits in the movie.  It's actually a pretty funny movie, but it's creepy when it has to be.  Like the original film, there's a sense of dread surrounding the whole thing.  The film's climax is quite effective.

It's a symphony, can't you hear it?

Are you watching closely?
Greg and I checked out The Prestige last night.  We were very happy with it.  Blown away, actually.  I expected something good, Greg didn't know what to expect, though.  But it was absolutely great. 

Now, I've sung the praises of Christopher Nolan quite a bit in the space... and I'm about to do it again.  If you've seen all of his movies so far (go back a month or two and you'll see a Netflix-driven post that mentions his first four films) and I'm probably going to keep watching until he stops.  The Prestige is almost as ambitious as Batman Begins in production value and plot-wise it's even moreso than any of his films.  Structurally, it's very much like Following in the way the events are presented.  There are even some similar themes, like jealousy and obsession.  There's more twists and turns packed in than in any of his pictures yet, and it all unravels so well that it puts M. Night Shyamalan's films to shame.  Yes, I just put Night down in this blog.  If he keeps making crap like Lady in the Water, it'll continue.  I'll be honest, I don't want that to happen.

The cast is great, headed up by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, two actors I've become a big fan of, and not just for playing superheroes.  Add in Michael Caine and you've got three guys who play very well together.  Their scenes move along naturally thanks to their chemistry and a good script.  There's also some supporting players we were happy to see pop up, but I'd ruin it if I told you who one in particular is... so I'll just let you see it for yourself.  It-girl Scarlett Johansson is servicable, but while I do think she's damned attractive and a pretty good actress, there's something about her that really irks me.

And let's not forget the fact that this movie is about magicians.  Turn-of-the-century magicians.  It's a sneaky peek into their carnie-esque underworld of secrets and terminology.  That's something that everyone can enjoy.  I've been fascinated by magic since I was a kid watching Harry Blackstone do old-school tricks, reading about Harry Houdini, all the way up to following David Blaine.  I even like David Copperfield! 

I highly suggest The Prestige to everybody.  And just remember Bale's opening words: "Are you watching closely?"