Stream of the Week- Girl Most Likely

The best kind of films are the ones that surprise you.

Imogene has been living a charmed life in New York for years that is until her boyfriend decides to move out, and she loses her job. In a desperate attempt to get her ex-boyfriend's attention, Imogene attempts suicide and lands herself in the psych ward. Unfortunately, Imogene is not at risk enough to stay at the hospital so she is forced to stay with her mother for the required 72 hours after being released. Imogene's mother is crazy with her constant gambling and "no filter" type of lifestyle. Imogene is pulled back to New Jersey to spend a few days to recover from her incident. While there Imogene finds out that her mother has kept her father's existence secret from her by telling her since she was a kid that he was dead. Imogene also gets to reconnect with her brother who has an obsession with hermit crabs. The craziness keeps coming as Imogene is introduced to her mom's CIA boyfriend and the renter who has taken over her room. Imogene can't handle all the New Jersey craziness and her only goal is to get back to New York and find her dad. After hitching a ride to New York, Imogene finds that she has been evicted and her friends are really not interested in taking her in so it's back to Jersey. When Imogene gets back to Ocean City, NJ she starts to hang out with the renter Lee who is young and interesting. Lee asks Imogene to come to one of his concerts at which he impersonates the Backstreet Boys, and afterwards he takes Imogene to a club. The two of them fall into a strange and weird kind of romance that works only because it doesn't make sense. Soon after her night with Lee, Imogene goes back to New York to attend a friend's book party so that she can keep up appearances. Imogene takes Lee as her date and her brother, Ralph, tags along to try out his new invention which is a protection device based on the idea of a hermit crab's shell. Imogene gets into a huge fight with her so called friends over the fact that she doesn't belong in their circle. When Imogene has finally lost everything, Ralph decides that they need to find their dad so that he can fix everything. But who they find doesn't exactly make them feel any better about their situation. Imogene quickly has to learn that family is something that you cannot survive without even if they drive you absolutely insane.

This movie is so completely adorable and hysterical. There are so many elements that wouldn't make sense on paper, but completely gel once on the screen. The movie begins on such a serious and somber note with the idea of Imogene faking a suicide to get attention, but quickly turns for a quirky tone once Imogene's mother and brother get on the screen. It's the kind of chemistry that one can only find in a comedy.

Kristen Wiig plays the sarcastic Imogene with almost a one note tone that adds to the effect of her performance. Her age and humor play a contrasting role to that of Darren Criss who plays the young renter Lee. Despite the age difference, there appears to be a quirky attraction between the two as they find themselves lost in their own situations. Against their witty performances is Christopher Fitzgerald who plays a "rainmanesque" Ralph. Ralph clearly has some mental issues, but his understanding of people is so deep and refreshing compared to the surface relationships that Imogene makes.

The ending is the sort of thing that you don't see coming, nor does it make much sense with the direction of the movie, but it is important to remember this is not a story kind of movie but rather a movie about finding yourself. It's the journey. I know that sounds cheezy, but this film accomplishes a semi-genuine journey of self discovery with just a tad of unbelievable action.

Capture of Culture- Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings

Apparently, I have been pronouncing "ukulele" the wrong way for all of my life.

Jake Shimabukuro is an extremely talented ukulele player from Hawaii who has become an innovator for the instrument as well as the culture surrounding the instrument. Shimabukuro has demonstrated that ukulele is a deeply traditional instrument that can be taken into the context of jazz, rock, and pop music and still remain relevant. This documentary follows his life starting with his humble beginnings as a kid with a single mom who used to jam in his room until 3 in the morning to an established recording and touring artist. Life on Four Strings shows the progression of Jake's fame while chronicling his journeys throughout various countries and tours including Japan and the West Coast of the US.  Throughout the film, it is easy to see Jake as not only an entertainer, but also a teacher. He has several interactions with children over the course of the documentary, and he teaches them how to play simple songs as well as play for them some of his more complicated arrangements. His background allows for him to connect with people over his playing. Not only is he teaching people one on one, but he is also guiding the world towards taking the ukulele as a serious instrument. Shimabukuro explains how as he was growing up the ukulele was a gimmick or something to mock in other cultures, but was always deeply appreciated and respected by Hawaiian culture. His humble beginnings were spent on learning those traditional Hawaiian tunes which are often associated with the instrument until he was inspired by other ukulele players who were attempting new sounds and styles on the instrument. Jake then began to experiment with the sounds of Jazz and pop on the ukulele until he found his rhythm. As part of a Hawaiian band, he was noticed by Kazusa Flanagan. She encouraged Jake to start a solo career and introduced him to all the record labels at a showcase. The next day Shimabukuro was signed to Sony as the first (no vocals included) solo ukulele player. It was with the help of his record label and Flanagan that he was able to churn out roughly 10 albums (including live recordings). "This is only the beginning" his mother proudly states as she talks about Jake's career. May it be a long and successful one at that.

 

Here are some of Jake Shimabukuro's Recordings-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8SBrxJldbw&list=PLujZ5SdTdfKWmkJAsal9xCcKXZb1dVt9g&index=1


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFaFxNNHvpI&index=8&list=PLujZ5SdTdfKWmkJAsal9xCcKXZb1dVt9g


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqozsGJGdM

Stream of the Week- Hitch

They call him the "Date Doctor" or the "Love Guru". Whatever the name, Hitch takes the nice guys that seem to finish last and get them their own leading ladies.

 

Hitch is the kind of guy that was broken in college. He was in love and she wasn't. Instead of wallowing in self pity, Hitch set up a business to help the good guys get the girls they want by showing that they are caring and loving people. His methods have helped many guys in the past, but that was before he met Albert. If there ever was a lost puppy of a man it was Albert. Poor Albert is in love with the dazzling and famous Allegra who has had nothing but scandalous, cheating guys. Albert only wants the best for Allegra, and in hopes of winning her affections he contacts Hitch. Hitch gives him the complete overhaul. He tells Albert what to say and what to do so that he appears confident and less nerdy around starlet Allegra, but Albert is unable to complete anything that Hitch asks him to do. He just can't help being himself. On the side, Hitch is finding himself falling for gossip columnist Sara. She is coy and guarded. She doesn't want to let Hitch anywhere near her heart, even without knowing what he does for a living. Everything Hitch tries to woo her ultimately ends up as an embarrassment, but somehow the two get together over their awkward and messed up dates. But Sara has to chase the news, and when she gets word that Hitch is the "Date Doctor" she feels manipulated and lost. Sara writes an article about Hitch's ways and jeopardizes everything Hitch has ever accomplished with his clients, including Albert and Allegra.

Goodness knows there are days where I really just want to sit down to a romantic comedy. And though they can be awful cheezy, you have to admit there is something charming about their constant happy endings. Hitch is well done and has some bright comedic moments. The people are quirky, and though they are unrealistic, their performances are entertaining. Kevin James (Paul Blart), provides enough comic relief as Albert to make Hitch's meddling seem somewhat valiant. With out Will Smith's help as Hitch, Albert never would have had a chance. The girls in this cast aren't the strongest of players, but they do portray independent women which is always a nice change in rom-coms. Overall, Hitch is a nice Friday night-in kind of movie.

Capture of Culture- Maidentrip

There are amazing people in this world. They are the ones who know what they should do; they know what they were born for.

Laura Dekker was the youngest person to sail around the world by herself. When she started she was a sail-happy 14 year old girl with a dream and a destination. In Holland, Laura felt like an outsider, but once she was on the sea everything fell into place. Because of her age, Laura had to fight the Holland court systems and child services for 10 months in order to get permission to go on the trip. Once Laura started, however, there was no going back. Her plan was to sail around the world, but not to break the time records because the whole point of sailing around the world was to actually see the world. Her travels brought her to many countries where she met dozens of new people. "Sailing is like a surfing or skate boarding group" Laura explained, "once you see someone else doing it, you have a connection." No matter her age, Laura was able to make friends with other sailors and share her journeys. Her trip changed her. Laura was no longer a young girl who depended on her father; she was now a grown up with a mind of her own and the skills to do whatever she wanted to do.


Most of the trip was documented by Laura herself as she spent most of her trip on the seas alone. Her introspective voice overs let the audience know what was going on in her mind as she sailed through each obstacle presented on the trip. It shows how independent a person can be when forced to do so by necessity. Laura clearly loves what she does when she is sailing. She has a special connection with the ocean. The adventures she has on land are equally entertaining. She is still a teenager so her reactions to happenings on land are relatable, but then they are juxtaposed against her wisdom and strength on the sea. It's really interesting to see the change in her personality as she gets farther from home. At the beginning of her trip, Laura seems to be very lonely when she has to be away from land for days at a time, but as the documentary progresses Laura becomes very comfortable with being alone and begins to prefer it to the company of others. She explains that at first she missed her dad, but after a year without him she stopped missing him so much because she didn't need him out there on the ocean.

I always find these types of stories fascinating. Laura is so young, but so very determined and it is amazing what can be accomplished when one sets their mind on something to achieve. She is wise beyond her years and out there sailing towards the horizon just like she loves to do.

Stream of the Week- Funny Face

It's been so long since I've brought you a musical, but fear not for Audrey Hepburn shall soon make up for that oversight.


Quality Magazine is looking for the new "it" girl to use as their main model for their upcoming issue. They want someone who the world has never seen before, and someone the world will never see again. While shooting another photo, photographer Dick Avery stumbles upon a philosophical bookshop girl who has a rather "funny face." While developing his pictures, Avery decides that if anyone is going to be the new Quality Girl it should be someone with character and a quirky nature and that is exactly what the bookshop girl, Jo, has. Jo Stockton doesn't believe in fashion magazines or the idea that women have to degrade themselves and lose their intellect just to look nice. However, when she hears that this modeling gig can get her to Paris, Jo jumps on board. Jo falls in love with Paris and all the sights and sounds of the city. She also falls in love with the people, most of all Dick Avery. While working on the various photo shoots, the two realize they have feelings for each other. But where would a film be without some conflict? The night of the big reveal, Jo has a chance to meet one of her heroes Professor Flostre. She hears him speak at a café and he invites her to converse on the ideas that Jo has been reading about and studying. Avery shows up to break up the party and drags an unhappy Jo to the presentation. The two have a fight over their "relationship" and ruin the entire night. Jo runs off to join Flostre in a night of meditation and conversation. In order to get her back, Avery and magazine editor, Maggie Prescott, pretend to be beatniks in order to slip into Flostre's home undetected. Jo has to be brought back to present the clothing collection to the fashion community, and she must be delivered from Flostre's underlying motives.


As far as musicals go, this one is not the most glamorous nor the most well done. That being said, it is still a fantastic little film of fun. Who doesn't love to see Audrey Hepburn all dressed up in Paris fashions or observe Fred Astaire dance in the hotel square? This dazzled cast gives off a fun and flirty film which is pure entertainment. Audrey Hepburn actually gets to sing and dance in a film which marries her acting talents with her ballet dance training while Fred Astaire charms the audience with his performance. Kay Thompson who plays Maggie Prescott also gives a hilarious performance as the editor in chief of Quality Magazine. Together they have a rhythm that is fast paced and fun which propels the action.


If you're looking close enough in any film, you can find mistakes or camera guys hanging out in the back. This film is no exception. During the dance scene in the bookshop, Jo is looking into a mirror and serenading herself. In the background of the reflected image you can find the legs of a camera man. He moves his legs as he tries to position himself. (It's hard to see here, but trust me it's there. I spent hours just staring at this scene.)

This is the angle that the camera man was trying to get. The mirror is in the back.

Did you watch the opening credits? Then you'll notice that all of the pictures used are in the office on the walls. This picture, however, uses the same makeup that Maggie Prescott is first showed in. Yay for consistency!

Capture of Culture- We Cause Scenes: The Rise of Improv Everywhere

That awesome moment when one of your favorite YouTube channels gets a documentary...




"I wonder sometimes if when I'm 52 I'll still be that guy who gets people to take their pants off on the subway. Maybe. I'd be ok with that."- Charlie Todd

In 2001, Charlie Todd performed his first Improv Everywhere stunt when he impersonated Bed Folds at a local New York bar. The two girls he was sitting near fell for his act immediately. For the next few days Charlie kept recounting the story to his high school and college friends. After typing it up so many times, Charlie decided to find a way to write it down so that his friends could access it easily on the internet. With some rough coding experience, Charlie was able to build a website in which he could post his story and post several photos. From that point Improv Everywhere grew. Charlie Todd would go out and meet his friends for drinks and they would just start brain storming for the next adventure. In January of 2002 the first No Pants Subway ride was born. With less than 10 people involved, Charlie got his group of friends to stagger their boarding onto a single subway car in their underwear. This was one of the first impactful pranks they had pulled and it was recorded and archived for later use. Improv Everywhere was gaining momentum and followers. Blogs were becoming an internet standard, and Charlie had the content for readers. Reporters were writing stories and getting the gang the exposure they needed.

The first police busted prank came from their U2 roof concert. Charlie Todd and his roommate got a group of people together to hold a U2 impersonation band on their roof. They were able to get a crowd of hundreds of people to listen to them play 4 songs before the police stormed onto the roof and put all the characters in handcuffs. The exposure was fantastic. The No Pants Subway ride of 2006 became a national news story when 8 of the actors were arrested on the subway. Everything was on the up and up. In April of 2006, YouTube became a part of the Improv Everywhere experience. Because Charlie Todd had so many pranks archived, he was able to post lots of content at a steady pace which allowed him to grow a loving fan base on the internet. NBC contacted the group and offered a TV show spot for Improv Everywhere. A pilot was produced, but never aired due to some bad press regarding a previous prank. The videos from the pilot were leased back to IE and released on the internet. Frozen Grand Central became the first big hit on YouTube. It made the front page and was becoming rapidly interesting to the media. Frozen places started popping up all over the globe and the prank became a global sensation. Charlie Todd was asked to start organizing his pranks in different countries and speak at conferences. Ever since, Improv Everywhere has been an internet staple and has been increasing the size of their projects. Now hundreds of people ride the subway without their pants in January. Thousands of people in hundreds of places get together to participate in the MP3 experiment.

Charlie Todd's success has a been a testament to the power of the internet and the effect it can have on how people interact with each other. This documentary shows the rise and fall of Improv Everywhere and ends with their rebirth from the ashes into the popularity that they have now. The amount of archived footage is incredible and adds greatly to the experience of the film. Where would we be without documentaries? I have known about Improv Everywhere for a while, but I had no idea there was this much of a story. Now I do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo&list=PL85A942DA44896F14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKB7zfopiUA&index=6&list=PL85A942DA44896F14



Stream of the Week- Can't Buy Me Love

If you give a geek a girlfriend...

Ronald Miller was one of the head geeks in his high school, but for his senior year he tried something different- Popularity. Ronald mowed countless lawns for summers on end just to save up enough money to by a telescope (microscope? no ma, a telescope), but at the last second Ronald gives his saved money to none other than Miss Popularity herself Cindy Mancini in exchange for 1 month's worth of "dating". His hope was that his "relationship" with Cindy would propel him into the popular circle and land him a spot in the world of cool kids. Cindy gets to really know Ronald after their month of fake dating and begins to really enjoy his company, and after they break up she tells him never to change himself. Being a teenage boy, however, he does not take that wise advice. Instead, "Ronnie" becomes the epitome of all things popular and chill. He gets all the girls, hangs out with all the jocks, and like in any other high school kid movie he leaves all his geek and nerd friends behind. He is at the top of his game, but he is slowly losing himself to the standards set by the group. It all ends when Cindy, drunk at a party, starts a tirade about how fake Ronald is and how oblivious all the cool friends he's acquired are. He becomes banished and avoided by everyone. No one wants to associate with Ronald Miller. But Ronald in his newly lonesome state does something so fantastic by standing up for the little guy which shows the rest of the student body that he was never a fake he was just playing their game.

If you know me at all then you know I'm a sucker for the 80's high school kid films. There's just something about the big hair, letterman jackets, and social class struggle that captivates me. The whole point of the 80s culture high school films was to show that clique groups and levels of popularity did not matter in the long run. The underdog geek guy or secretly beautiful nerd gals always ended up having a heart of gold and finding the down-to-earth pretty populars by the end of their 90 minutes. It's a beautiful cycle of similarity between all the classics of the era. This film is formulaic and fantastic for it. It's fun to watch and easy to relate to in the sense that we have all in one way or another (whether it be big or small) tried to fit in with the more elevated social classes in our worlds. It seems to be hardwired into us and perhaps that's why these films have become cult classics. Yay for lawn mowers and cheesy ballads!

Capture of Culture- Helvetica

I wonder how many times a day we observe years worth of work and development only to be unaware of how much thought actually went into it.

Talk about typecasting, Helvetica is the industry standard for getting information across. From it's rise in the 60's, Helvetica (The Swiss Type) was used heavily by big corporations, government programs, and everyone else. It was simple and effective at transferring information to readers. It was bold and modern just like the time period. But since this rise of Helvetica, there has been an outcry of the people to push back on the font. Many believe that it is now overused in all of the ads and papers that you see everyday. It is the font face of big blank companies and is mechanic in it's form. Helvetica seems to say anything, from American Apparel ads to your Tax forms there are many different voices of Helvetica. For some type designers, it has lost it's charm
This led to the post-modern type movement. Slick type was out in favor of finding more artistic type faces. The "artsy" years came and went with the 70s and from the ashes of Helvetica rose grunge type. It was gritty and messy and often illegible, but it was well liked by new artists who had new messages to convey. Unfortunately, by the end of the grunge period everyone thought they could do typography and the results were tangled, mangled, and utterly unbearable to the masters. Thus returned Helvetica on its shining modern style white steed, ready to take back the world of information.


The Two Sides of Helvetica...


"Don't confuse legibility with understanding." Some types give off certain messages which say more about the topic or object in question than the actual description of it. There were so many people that took hold of the type market after the 60s that really despised Helvetica. They made it their mission to get rid of it and bury it under new dynamic fonts. They wanted fonts that were fun, meaningful, and colorful. Helvetica was standard, soulless, and black in their minds. These people became the new masters of type and were the new kids on the block that the masters of type just couldn't stand because they refused to play by the rules.

 

Grunge Type

 

"It's about making something beautiful out of the ordinary." Many people live by Helvetica and revel in its simplicity and class. They enjoy trying to make Helvetica say new and different things with the graphic quality and contrast of black to white in Helvetica typeface. Why mess with something that works?

Helvetica Type

There is a whole subculture of graphic design dedicated to creating and preserving typefaces and fonts. Helvetica played an integral role in the development of a whole new kind of advertising which took the script fonts of the 50s and streamlined the message and design with the modern movement. This documentary examines the ins and outs of Helvetica font and those who oppose it as well as the purest who still use it religiously. This documentary takes a subject which many could find dry and turns it into a debate which is fun to watch as well as easy to understand the history of fonts. Intermixed with the interviews is hundreds of short clips of fonts in the real world. Signs on your street, numbers on the buses and typography on the ads you see are almost always composed of Helvetica font. This type has had a huge impact on the way information is presented to the public. There is much to learn from such innovations.

Stream of the Week- Jane Eyre (2011)

I'm afraid I've always been a fan of tragic love stories. Their characters are so beautifully broken by unseen forces, and yet they pull themselves up again by their bootstraps so that they might not have survived the harshness of love in vain.


Jane Eyre is one of those very tragic and beautifully fantastic stories of a women who continue to stand tall after they've been broken by their emotions. Jane Eyre was a poor little orphan girl quickly cast out by her family. She was admitted to a school in which she was abused and her friends were taken from her by illness or time. When she was fully grown, Jane was given a position as a governess in a big house with a master who was often quite absent. Her chance encounter with the master of the house established a friendship between the two. He often treated her as much more of an equal than he did the others in his household. He asked for her opinion and trusted her advice. His secrets became hers to bare and just as he had come into her life, he was gone. Jane was forced to leave Thornfield unannounced and quietly. She left in the dead of night forced to wander the moors and, by chance, she fell onto the doorstep of a minister and two sisters who immediately took her in as their own kin. There Jane was able to recover herself from the loss of the only man she could- Edward Rochester, the master of Thornfield Hall. He haunts her still and she will never be rid of him.

This film is visually stunning. The colors are desaturated, but the yellows and sunlight colors remain warm. In contrast Jane remains stark and pure in her appearance. She is humble and somewhat plain, making her stand out all the more against the gloom and darkness of the house. Similarly, Rochester seems aged and angered. His expressions are often out of question instead of understanding. The two of them together seem like such an odd paring in picture, yet on page it made so much sense. There are quite a few scenes which seem like they've been shot for more of a perfume commercial than a historical film book adaptation. They have large amounts of background with music playing and the main character just looking off into the distance at a profile angle. It's more of a beauty shot than an intuitive view into her soul, but it adds to the overall feeling of loneliness in the film.


It helps, in my opinion, to understand these stories before you see them. I've read the book several times and it helped me visualize the unseen actions in the film better. There are many blanks in the timeline because we can't just have a film of Jane looking out windows hopelessly pining for the man she thinks she'll never have. An actor must convey these points to us through their performance, but I think it is our responsibility to pick up on that and appreciate it. That is often hard to do without the original as a reference. So this is the film girl telling you to go read a book. First. Then come back to this. You'll thank me one day. Maybe.