My dear, dear readers! Invisible readers, that is. I apologize for being away for so long, it truly has been a while since I've written. The end of the school year came and went, and I was busy unpacking and other such. Then we took our usual trip to Colorado (where my cousin convinced me to buy Minecraft...which has taken over my life). I was actually planning to blog out there, but we have no internet, so that's rather pointless. Then Sam (my laptop) died two weeks ago (right when we went back out to make repairs on our cabin in Colorado! Talk about bad timing :( ) and I finally have internet access. Of course, I've only got a week before school starts, so I'm trying to blog and finish up some of my Minecraft projects before I go back. Oh, I need to pack too... Anywho, here's something different: my review of:
Yes! Just today I went to the Alamo Drafthouse Village to see this movie. Last night/this morning (early) I watched the original with Roddy McDowall and Chris Sarandon just so I could get my bearings and make my review. Now, here are my categories.
- Plot/Scriptwriting: pretty self-explanatory, how was the writing, was the plot similar to the original, etc. etc.
- The Cast: Who were they? What else have they done? How did they act?
- SFX/Camera Work: Was the filming good? Was it more like a documentary or did it fall into a Blair Witch Project-type filming setup? Stuff like that.
And without further adieu, Let us begin, and see just how well the movie stands up to the original!
Edit: SPOILERS AHEAD!
CAST
Charley Brewster
Original: William Ragsdale
New: Anton Yelchin
Okay, main character! I've only seen Anton Yelchin in one other movie, and that was Star Trek, which came out in 2010 (if I remember correctly). I loved him in that role, though he had little screen time, and I was interested to see how he acted in this movie (and hear him without a Russian accent). On the other hand, the only thing I know William Ragsdale from is the original Fright Night, and I didn't much like him in that. It was like listening to Mark Hamill's whiny Luke Skywalker from Star Wars...Ragsdale was much, MUCH too whiny, which is why I enjoyed Yelchin's frightened-yet-cool Brewster. He seemed more calm and "into" the role than Ragsdale. They didn't give him much to work with script-wise, but that's another story.
Amy Peterson in the original film was kinda useless. She doesn't believe Charley until they get chased into a nightclub by Sarandon's Dandridge, and then she tries to kill him. However, I have to give Bearse a gold star for prosthetics that still scare the shit out of me when I see the original movie.
JEEZUM CREEZLE WHAT THE F***?!
I am 100% serious, when I watched this last night, I had forgotten (it had been a while since I watched it) just how frightening that face was. Agh. Imogen Poots' prosthetics were much less frightening than the Joker-like-shark-smile Bearce sported, but at least Poots wasn't useless. She did a lot of screaming, but she did actually mace "Evil" Ed in the face, which is more than Bearce ever did. She was a lot less useless and had a much less whiny voice, which also made me happy. I have a thing against people with whiny voices...have you noticed?
"Evil" Ed Thompson
Original: Stephen Geoffreys
New: Christopher Mintz-Plasse
"Evil" Ed...I love this guy. The original Ed was portrayed as sort of the odd-man-out, the weirdo on the street, the one everyone bullied. He wasn't really as brooding or angry as Mintz-Plasse's Ed, and was more psychopathic than anything. I mean when he first meets up with Peter Vincent (as a vampire) he's laughing hysterically the entire time, so I'm pretty sure that the human-to-vampire conversion finally snapped something, or pushed his psyche over the edge. He was funny to watch, but I'm sure I'd be wetting my pants if I met vampiric-Ed in reality. Mintz-Plasse's Ed was a lot more angsty and upset with Brewster for abandoning him as a friend, and became a lot less crazy. That angst translated to anger and jealousy when he was turned into a vampire, and he became almost oblivious to anything else going on around him. Heck, he even got his arm sliced off in an elevator door and kept going! He's like the freaking Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you know?! This was a great role for Mintz-Plasse, and though I missed Geoffreys' hysterical Joker-laugh, Ed's frighteningly composed nature when trying to eviscerate the main characters was just as scary.
Jerry Dandridge
Original: Chris Sarandon
New: Colin Farrell
I didn't much like Farell's portrayal of Dandridge. See, Sarandon's Dandridge was much more suave and debonair, preferring to seduce his victims before biting them and draining them. Farell's Dandridge was a brute-force sort of guy, who preferred more to slit the jugular vein and turn his victims into vampires. He wasn't as cool as Sarandon's. Too much blood and guts on this end for me. He acted the part well, and was frightening when he became "shark-faced" (my new term for when a Vampire shows its teeth), but they showed too much. Sarandon's "shark-face" was seen maybe three or four times in the original, where as Farell's "shark-face" was in almost every scene. I gotta hand it to him though, the "blowing up the house" bit was pretty genious...oh, did I mention spoilers? Better do that up above.
Peter Vincent
Original: Roddy McDowall
New: David Tennant
I am a huge fan of both of the actors who played this role. I've always had a fondness for the late Roddy McDowall and would have loved to have met him, but that's out of the question at this point, unless I build myself a time machine or find myself a Doctor. Like David Tennant. Yes, he's married and also twice my age, but my GOD is he sexy! I have a thing for British guys :) This is the one character (and pair of actors) I enjoyed the most, and not just because I like them, but because they did a fantastic job. Each had their own quirks, and each was uniquely loveable. McDowall was a much more awkward, fumbling, bumbling, scared-out-of-his-wits type character, with his sophisticated style and brown overcoat. On the other hand, Tennant was much more badass with his black-leather trenchcoat, eye shadow, and shotgun. Oh and did I mention leather?
Actually, though I like Tennant shirtless, I
thought this getup was ridiculous: the long hair, beard,
mustache, and leather pants? Ok, he rocked the
leather coat and pants, but not the beard.
God I love Tennant. Anyways, McDowall's Vincent didn't have much of a past with vampires, he didn't believe in them, and just did the show for the money. On the other hand, Tennant's Vincent had had a previous encounter with a vampire - one that scarred him for life - and was completely unwilling to help at first. That is, until he, Charley, and Amy were all attacked in Vincent's flat by a Vampiric Ed and a bloodthirsty Dandridge. Then he became "Well I'm scared out of my wits but I'm going to go in looking like a badass" Vincent and rocked. Tennant's portrayal was a lot more vulgar and much less refined than McDowall's (just think of when you first see him and he's trying to fix his leather pants...I mean...WOW...), but it was a fun role anyways. McDowall was also a lot more empathetic while Tennant took the Klingon Approach: "Let's go kill something!". He rocked those leather pants man... whoo did he rock those pants. *drool*
*Edit: Author's Note:
Although I have a huge crush on David Tennant, I have an even bigger crush on Roddy McDowall. Of all of my favorite actors, he is the only one I would ever, EVER marry. If he was still alive. Yes, I would marry him. *sigh* He's so...ok, I'm going to go on before I get into a long schpeel about how gentlemanly he was and...ok, shutting up!
PLOT/SCREENWRITING
The plot and screenwriting were pretty well done and stayed consistent with what happened in the original movie. Mostly. A few things were wrong. First: Charley isn't a popular kid, Amy isn't a popular girl, and Ed isn't really a friend of theirs. I mean he is, but not really. In the new movie, everything I mentioned above is the opposite. Also: Ed doesn't get turned until halfway through the original movie, whereas in the new one he gets turned within the first 45 minutes and you don't see him for another 30 minutes.
Also, there was a lot less seduction on the part of Dandridge. That's why Sarandon's Dandridge was so cool, he seduced everyone. Farrell's Dandridge was a brute force vampire, which took away from his character. The script was decent, not anything to go ga-ga over, and each of the actors did a decent job. They didn't give Yelchin much to work with so he couldn't really run with anything. Tennant wasn't onscreen for as long as McDowall was in the original but he still managed to work the role and make something out of nothing - superb acting. Ed didn't have much screen time either, but he was brilliant in his role and did very well. Amy...well, she did average, nothing to go crazy about. She was fun to watch, but not amazing. I'll mention the mother here as well: played by Toni Collette, the character of Jane Brewster was funny, witty, and made quick replies to snide remarks. I wish they'd given her more of a part, but at least she wasn't as bad as the original...
SFX/CAMERA WORK
By far the best camera work occurred during the car chase scene. That was just plain frightening. I was sitting there and actually thinking I was in the car as well, it was so well done, and I didn't even see it in 3D! As for the other special effects, they were kind of overdone. I mean, the exploding house was cool, but the blood spurting every time Dandridge bit someone's neck? Overkill. A friend of mine calls it "The 300 Effect", after all the blood splatters we had during that movie. Now THAT was overkill! Now the "shark-face" effects were also way cool, and rather frightening as well, but not enough to make me jump. The car chase made me jump, as did the exploding girl that Yelchin saves towards the beginning of the movie. I squeaked during that part...
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Fright Night. Yes, things could've been changed, but all in all it was a great movie. I give it a solid 3.5 stars!
Isn't it funny how so many famous singers these days have practically no talent? I mean, you look at Katy Perry, Niki Minaj, Justin Bieber, etc. etc. Compare them to Elton John, Aretha Franklin, the Beatles, and Freddy Mercury! Seriously, they don't compare. The great singers and songwriters of the 60s and 70s are beginning to die out now (or have already died) and are being replaced by a whiny group of people who rely more on autotune to make their voices perfect than on actual singing lessons.
Now that doesn't apply to all singers. There are a few bands who, though they lack in vocals, make up for in lyrics and interesting music. I'm a fan of OK Go (I admit, I'm a fangirl and have a HUGE crush on the lead singer) as well as Mary J. Blige and some Katy Perry songs (and Ke$ha too). The way that they make their music strikes a chord with me (Ha ha, get it? Strikes a chord? Sorry, I'll go hit my head on a wall now...) and keeps me grooving till the last measure. But this is what makes me sad about today's music business...two examples.
1) AUTOTUNE IS THE BANE OF ALL MUSIC
Seriously, it is. I'm sorry. If you have to rely on a synthesizer to make your voice sound good you just shouldn't be singing. Now Katy Perry and Ke$ha use the autotune in their songs to make interesting sounds with their voice...akin to how sometimes people would hook their mic up to the guitar and make odd sounds that way. However there are some people who use it WAAY too often. Perfect Example: Rebecca Black. She can't sing, the lyrics of "Friday" SUCK, and even the autotune doesn't help her voice. Also, a few things about the music video that bug me:
Seriously, who sleeps with mascara, eyeshadow, and lipgloss on?
Why would a thirteen-year-old skip school? It's a heckuva lot harder to skip school in middle school than in College.
WHAT KIND OF A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD DRIVES?! Another part of this question: WHAT THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD HAS A CONVERTIBLE?!?! My god, did you see that kid's car? That should belong to a fifty-year-old surgeon!
How did they not get pulled over when
They were driving underage?
They were driving on the interstate and letting their friends sit ON THE TOP OF THE TRUNK?!
What parents of a thirteen-year-old plans that kind of party? Or rather, what kind of a thirteen-year-old plans a party like that on their own? I know I couldn't
As you can see, I have a lot of issues with that. It's not just the bad writing, it's the bad video, and ESPECIALLY the bad singing.
2) AMERICAN IDOL SUCKS
Now believe me, I've watched American Idol. I watched the season where Jordin Sparks won. Now granted, she had a decent voice, but it didn't measure up to Melinda Dolittle's voice. Now that girl could SING. Now the guy that they had on there...ah...Blake Lewis, he couldn't really sing. He was kept on cause he was cute. Same with Jordin Sparks. It's all based on looks! That's the entirety of the show! The American people choose who is the cutest, not who sings the best. It's sad, and we end up producing Jordin Sparks' and Rebecca Blacks.
The music business is going down the drain, and no one cares. It all depends on who is popular. Rap now is all about sex, drugs, violence, rape, disrespect towards women, etc. etc. And if you go to a club or a local dance and try to dance to that stuff, you get guys trying to butthump you. I've been to a dance recently, and there I was just dancing and having fun. Then my night was ruined when a guy came up behind me and started dry-humping my a**. I turned around and was like "What the h*** dude?!" and he gave me a weird look and walked away.
Sorry for that rant everyone, but it's just surprising how badly the music business has degraded. Good night, have a safe week, stay out of trouble, don't drink and drive, and I'll see you next time. :)
that someone is watching you? No, this isn't like a "walk-out-in-public-and-see-someone-staring-at-you" sort of feeling, it's a "walk-into-a-room-and-feel-cold" feeling. See, I've had this happen a couple of times, minus the feeling cold part. I guess I just had to kinda talk about this, since it's something that has always interested me.
People, in a way, are all blessed with a little ESP, a little connection to the spirit world. Now I'm not one of those hippie types who are like "yeah man, if I like, smoke enough weed I can like, see ghosts and stuff" or "ah yes, the fates have smiled on you through the cards and you will be blessed tonight" etc. etc (though I have friends who are like that...I don't do the whole "fates" thing), but I do think that everyone is given an extra sense: the Sixth Sense if you will. Now someone might not be able to see ghosts or speak to them (like a medium), but - like I said earlier - some people get a feeling of someone watching them. Or there's the sudden cold air feeling, or a feeling of hitting a wall. Now the last one is the oddest that I've ever experienced, since I've never experienced walking into a patch of cold air.
This came to my attention because of a conversation I had with a few friends on Wednesday. Our astronomy teacher decided to skip out on class and, when the rest of us left, one friend of mine, another girl, and I all stayed to make sure he wasn't going to walk in later. As we sat there, we began talking about (I don't even remember how we got on the subject) ghosts and such. The girl (we'll call her "Kate" for now) was talking about the dorm she lived in last semester, which is haunted. "Jade" said she lives in that dorm currently and has had some paranormal stuff happen to her and her roommate. I asked her what, and she told me about it. She had left the room to go across the hall to her friend's room, only to have her roommate burst in moments later asking,
"Why the hell did you move all my furniture?" she responded
"It moved?"
"Yes! Why'd you move it?"
"It wasn't moved when I left, and that was thirty minutes ago." They both walked back over and realized there was something else going on in there. Just as they closed the door (saying something like "S*** I ain't goin' in there!" I imagine), they heard a crash, and flung open the door again. There had been a cross, maybe three inches in length, that had been hanging over their mirror. It had been flung around and landed face down in the center of the room. They got out of there.
Kate went on to tell us that, at some point, someone had been opening the window at night. She thought it was her roommate, and got up a few different times to shut the window. Finally, she got back in bed after shutting the window and looked at the foot of her bed, only to see a shadowy figure standing there. She switched on her bed lamp and the shadow disappeared, and when she turned off the light it was still gone. So she went to sleep for a while, then heard the window being opened. She closed the window, got back in bed, and realized the figure had returned. As she moved to turn on her light the shadow reached forward and grabbed her foot (she could even feel it). She screamed, turned on the light, and ran to her roommate's bed to wake her up. Needless to say they didn't sleep that night.
Supposedly, in that room, or rather the room above - supposedly the ghost gets bored and moves to other rooms to "f*** with other people" - was once home to a girl who hung herself. As well, the all-boys dorm next to mine had a kid who hung himself on the second floor. It is now a RL (residential leader's) room, as is the one in Kate and Jade's dorm. Actually, the kid that hung himself contributed to the "you can't stay in the dorms during breaks" policy my college has...he hung himself right towards the beginning of Christmas break and no-one found out until they all came back...nearly four weeks later. I can't imagine the stench. He had no family, which is just sad to think about...he must have been so lonely.
Now I've never experienced anything paranormal, but a few times I've walked into an area and felt like someone was watching me, or felt like I hit a wall I couldn't pass. In an antique shop in Hico (the same one with the old phones and typewriter) I walked towards one area of the store and got a feeling similar to vertigo. I wouldn't walk over there...I finally mustered up the courage to walk a little closer but I don't think I actually set foot in the area. Occasionally I'll also get the feeling of being watched when I'm in my room (not the one here in the 'Ville, but my actual home where my mum and dad are). It's not the "creeper watch" though, just kind of "oh, is someone there?".
This has always confused me. In all of those ghost shows and such, the first thing people do when they see a benign spirit (like the one at the foot of the bed) is to fight against it, or turn on the lights, etc. Jade had an experience where a spirit (like the one in Kate's room) kept turning on the TV in her friend's room when they were sleeping over. I mean, if the ghost wants the TV/radio on or the window open, I'd leave it open. You know, be like "hey man, you want the TV on? Fine with me, go ahead, I don't mind. Just don't shadow molest me or anything, ok?"
Spirits are interesting creatures. Now I believe in spirits, ghosts, etc., but I've never seen one. In a way, I've always wanted to see one, you know, spend a night in the haunted dorm or something like that, but I'm also afraid to. "You have to see it to believe it" is the sort of phrase I'd go by...and what if I saw it? What if, now without any doubt, I knew spirits existed? Its kind of frightening...something you can't combat, no matter how hard you try.
I may start sleeping with a bottle of holy water under my pillow from now on...sleep on that guys. Good night!
People are always talking about cities, you know? The whole: "Oh, did you check out that cute little shop on the corner of ____ and ____? It's got the cutest stuff!" or "Oh Mi Gawd that bar downtown is SO HIP!" etc. etc. Granted, places like that are great; I like cities! I kinda have to...I was born and raised in one. But when I moved to a little town of about 17,950 people...as opposed to the 26,851 that I was raised in. Ok, granted it's not a "small" town per se, but it's smaller than my city. Still, you find TONS of stuff to do around the area that is completely unrelated to shops and bars.
Recently I visited Hico, TX, which isn't far away from my college in Stephenville, TX. Now you're probably asking "A.J, why the heck would you visit a small town like Hico where the main coffee shop was once a gathering place for the KKK?" (not sure about that last bit) Actually I stopped there for a few reasons (or rather my parents and I did), the main reason being this:
Yep, it's a Billy the Kid museum. Now according to legend, The Kid was shot and killed in 1881 while fleeing the law. Well that may be accepted by most people, but certainly not by the good people of Hico. They believe that this guy:
Is actually Billy the Kid. Ollie "Brushy Bill" Roberts is supposedly the Kid, who escaped death and went on to live in secrecy. He lived in Hico for a while and died there as well...he is featured in the Billy the Kid Museum in Hico. You should definitely go check it out if you're a conspiracy theorist, since they actually have quite a bit of decent evidence to promote the fact that Billy lived and the sheriff, in fact, shot the wrong guy. Anyways, moving on. We left the Billy the Kid museum sporting a six-pack of Dublin Dr. Pepper and a shot glass, and proceeded to roam the streets until we found a lovely little antique shop.
When we went in we found the most interesting gadgets...I found a few old rotary-dial phones (and I now want one in my apartment when I get one...), a typewriter (that actually worked well, though a few of the keys were sticky), and a very, VERY old crank-dial phone. It was way cool.
We then stopped at another antique shop which didn't measure up AT ALL to the last shop we visited. However, I did find this:
Yes, the man in the picture is a matador who has just slain the bull he has fought. I don't know who the artist was, but had I had enough money I would have purchased that painting. Something about the man's expression struck me harder than any other painting (ink, watercolor, or otherwise) that I'd seen to that day. Is it exhaustion? Maybe weariness of the same thing over and over again? We may never know...I just hope when I go back to that shop that this picture will still be there.
We also stopped by the Hico Popcorn Shop, which, aside from Wisemanhouse Chocolates, is really an interesting food place in Hico. They make their own popcorn and add some of the strangest flavorings to the popcorn as well...Ranch, garlic parmesan (pretty good, salty!), peppermint, cinnamon, dill pickle, and vanilla just to name a few.
As we stepped back out onto the streets I got a chance to get a few pictures of the old buildings as well, and began to wonder...what was it like?
The opera house has been converted into a furniture shop, but I stood and wondered at this place, as well as the ones in Stephenville and other old places...what was it like in its hayday? Before cars and major roads left it as a tiny dot on the map, a tourist attraction to be known just for its chocolates and history with Billy the Kid. Imagine being a citizen here a hundred or so years ago. You'd get up in the morning and get some "Bright and Early" coffee or tea before heading out to work on the farm or in the local general store...then stop by the opera house for a night of music and fun.
Personally I think it's kind of fun to think about that kind of stuff.
The final thing I had to say about this was a wonderful story about reuniting a baby goat with its mum. As we were driving back to Stephenville, my mum spied a puppy-sized baby goat running about near the highway. She called out for my dad to stop, turn around, and check it out. Sure enough, the baby had worked its way out of the fence surrounding the pasture its mum, dad, and two siblings were in. So after a few failed attempts to get in touch with the owners of the place, my dad, mum, and I were forced to corral the little goat and put it over the fence back into the field. It would occasionally call out to its mom and siblings and, according to my dad, its "entire little body would convulse as it bleated". We finally reunited the family and headed off on our way.
In a way it was kind of sad, since I realized my parents would leave the next day to return home, and just as we reunited their family we ourselves would break and go our separate ways. But I wasn't thinking about it that night. I was wondering to myself...
So here’s the first review of 2011! Yay! I thought I’d start with something different, since I don’t get out to see many movies, I’ll do a music review! This is one I’ve wanted to do for a while, but I’ve not had the right venue to do it. but now I have a blog on which I can write such reviews, so I will! This review is a review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a movie that has been one of my favorites for a very long time. Also, truth be told, what Hunchback lacks in memorable lyrics (unlike The Little Mermaid) it makes up for in imagery and mysterious, haunting undercurrents that weave themselves throughout the entire piece.
So The Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place in Paris, specifically in the area surrounding (or within) Notre Dame cathedral itself. The titular character is a hunchback by the name of Quasimodo – literally “Half formed” – who is played by Tom Hulce. His love interest is Esmeralda (Demi Moore), who is actually in love with Phoebus (Kevin Kline), or at least falls in love with him later in the film. Then there’s the main antagonist (and Quasimodo’s “master”) Judge Claude Frollo (Tony Jay) who serves as the dark that the main characters must defeat (or the minor key that underlies most of the music). There’s also Clopin, voiced by tenor Paul Kandel. Finally come the minor characters, the Archdeacon (David Ogden Stiers) and The Gargoyles (three of them), who were supposed to serve as comic relief but just got annoying after a while. I like the tall one though. Anyways, now that we’ve got the actors out of the way, let’s get on to the music!
The Bells of Notre Dame
The opening music, The Bells of Notre Dame, is begun by a Gregorian chant, which is actually sung to the melody of Someday, which you don’t hear until the end of the film. The Gregorian chant itself is a real chant, however, I couldn’t find the lyrics to it so I can’t analyze them. *Insert sad face here*. Anyways, an all-male chorus sings the chant, but once Notre Dame cathedral comes into view the entire chorus joins in with the “Hellfire” theme. The music shifts once again when you fall towards the streets of Paris and meet Clopin, who begins to tell the tale of Quasimodo to a small group of children. If you notice, when he speaks to the children, the flute and chimes come into play, whereas when he speaks of the “Bells of Notre Dame” the music darkens and is accompanied by the brass and bell sections. His voice also falls into a whisper once he speaks of the “tale of a man and a monster” and the “four frightened gypsies” who are trying to sneak into the city on a dark winter’s night. His voice suddenly rises as “but a trap had been laid for the gypsies” and the bells toll ominously as Claude Frollo is introduced. The high strings in the background after Frollo’s entrance also add an extremely creepy and horror-like effect to the music (sends shivers down my spine every time I hear them).
At this point I was going to stop and move on to the last part, where the music turns to a major key as the riddle is told. However, I realized something…
Boom! As the woman runs with her child, the chorus in the background begins to chant the Dies Irae, or “Day of Wrath”. Lyrics and translation below.
Dies iræ ! Dies illa (Day of Wrath, that day)
Solvet sæclum in favilla: (Will dissolve the world in ashes)
Teste David cum Sibylla! (As Foretold by David and the Sibyl!)
Quantus tremor est futurus, (How much tremor there will be)
Quando iudex est venturus, (When the judge will come)
Now this may not be the “lyrical” translation, but is the “formal” translation. Anyway, you get the picture, and the Dies Irae itself has been used in so many things already (at the beginning of The Shining, Danny Elfman uses the melody in a few of his Nightmare Before Christmas songs, etc.) that I was surprised I hadn’t heard it before then. Still, it’s a great description of Frollo, is it not? The judge that comes “investigating everything”?
Also, if you listen closely, during the lines “and for one time in his life of power and control / Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul” (this is after the Archdeacon’s accusations are sung) the chorus sings “Kyrie Eleison” which, in Greek “God have mercy [on me]”.
Anyways, after this part of the song is sung and once we are returned to Clopin’s voice, we hear the music turn major as he asks “Here is a riddle to guess if you can sing the bells of Notre Dame / Who is the monster and who is the man?”, which creates the basis for the rest of the film.
Out There
This is the song sung by both Frollo and Quasimodo when the latter attempts to leave the cathedral to join the Feast of Fools. Frollo tells him of the cruelty of the world and of its lack of pity towards anyone who is “deformed”, “ugly” or considered “a monster” (as Quasimodo surely would be). He even has Quasi himself saying “I am a monster” (brainwashing!!). so Frollo tells him to stay “in here” in his “sanctuary”. Then the music takes a shift and slowly builds up to a major key as Quasi begins to sing about how he wishes to live “not above them / but part of them”. As for hidden melodies there really aren’t any, but this is a lovely song anyways. However, something must be done about Tom Hulce’s vibrato, it’s much too fast.
Sorry, I’ve not got much to write about this song, but its one of my favorites.
Humiliation
Humiliation is a very dark song that begins with dissonant tones and minor harmonies that prominently display what is going on with poor Quasimodo in the movie (if you don’t know, this is where he is tied down at the Feast and things are thrown at him). It’s a very dark tune when you don’t understand where its coming from (and is even when you DO know what’s going on) and sounds almost like something Carlo Gesualdo would compose. As well, the Agnus Dei is prominently featured (lyrics and translation below)
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
Qui Tollis peccata mundi (Who takes away the sins of the world)
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
Dona Nobis pacem (Grant us Peace)
Now see, the Agnus Dei is part of a Mass, and was an interesting addition to the song, but a good one nonetheless. See, in a way, Quasimodo is absorbing all the jeering and the torture that the gypsies had to endure under Frollo’s rule. Then when Esmeralda enters the scene she is the one who grants the crowd peace, since the throwing of vegetables and other objects abruptly stops.
God Help The Outcasts
Well, this song is going to be a bit like Out There because I don’t really know what to write about it. this song is sung by Heidi Mollenhauer instead of Demi Moore, and is Esmeralda’s prayer to the lord (once she takes sanctuary in the cathedral). At first there is only the soft sound of the wind section and the high strings, but gathers more and more instruments from each of the sections (the brass section is nearly impossible to hear, and the bell section is nonexistent for once). She asks if God was once an outcast like herself, knowing full well that she “shouldn’t speak to [him]”, then asks for God to bless the outcasts.
The song segues into the prayers of other people (wealth, love, etc.) and returns to Esmeralda as she mentions she can survive, but there are others less lucky than her. The dynamic rises and falls but barely reaches above forte, making the song a lovely soft addition to the soundtrack.
Heaven’s Light / Hellfire
This one should be fun to write about, another long one! This song begins with Heaven’s Light and Quasimodo’s confession of his feelings towards Esmeralda and his loneliness without love. Again the wind section and the lower strings accompany his voice, but as the song progresses the bell section and brass join into the melody. He sings about “Heaven’s Light” and how when he rings the bells it will make his “cold dark tower [seem] so bright”. At the end, the orchestra is accompanied by the sounds of chimes, which give the song a cheerful tone before it moves into the Confiteor section (lyrics and translation below)
Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti (I confess to God Almighty)
Beatae Mariae semper Virgini (To blessed Mary ever Virgin)
Beato Michaeli archangelo (To the blessed archangel Michael)
Sanctis apostolis omnibus sanctis (To the Holy Apostles, to all the saints)
Archdeacon and the choir in the chapel sing the song before it shifts to the Hellfire part of the song, sung by Frollo. He begins to speak to Mother Mary (Maria), assuring her that he is a righteous man (and he’s proud of it). He moves towards the fireplace, and moves very little from that spot. Here, I’ll put down the first parts of the lyrics:
Beata Maria
You know I am a righteous man
Of my virtue I am justly proud
Et tibit Pater (And to you, Father)
Beata Maria
You know I'm so much purer than
The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd
Quia peccavi nimis (That I have sinned)
Then tell me, Maria
Why I see her dancing there
Why her smold'ring eyes still scorch my soul
Cogitatione (In thought)
I feel her, I see her
The sun caught in raven hair
Is blazing in me out of all control
Verbo et opere (In word and deed)
You see how the Latin phrases at the end of the stanzas sync up with what Frollo is saying? I thought that was amazing how Alan Menken and his buddies did this. Anyways, when he begins the hellfire part, he speaks of how the fire (his lust for Esmeralda) is a fire in his skin, a burning desire, and how it is turning him to sin. he finally breaks and runs down the hall away from the fireplace as red-cloaked figures sing “Mea culpa / mea culpa / mea maxima culpa” (“My fault / my fault / my greatest fault”) as he tries to tell them “It’s not my fault / I’m not to blame!”. He is then “sucked” into the fires in the fireplace by the red figures in a flow of lava.
Suddenly he’s back at the front of the fireplace (now kneeling), and asks for Mary to protect him…and destroy Esmeralda. As he says this last line (“Destroy Esmeralda / and let her taste the fires of hell”), the figure of Esmeralda, dancing provocatively in the fireplace, is then replaced by her figure writhing in agony, as if tied to a stake. He then goes on to say, “Unless she will be mine and mine alone”, and a smoky apparition of Esmeralda steps out of the fireplace and they attempt to embrace before the she dissipates into the air. A soldier then enters and informs Frollo that Esmeralda has gone missing from the cathedral, provoking him further. “Now gypsy, it’s your turn / choose me / or your pyre / be mine or you will burn” is what he says next, his final offer to the girl he lusts for (symbolically he throws the scarf she had thrown at him into the fire during this scene). Now this is one of the most interesting parts in the song. As he backs away from the fireplace and as dark shadows begin to follow him, he sings “God have mercy on her / God have mercy on me”, and the chorus in the background sings “Kyrie Eleison” (God have mercy), as if he is still trying to fight what he is about to do, asking for mercy. Finally, as he states his last offer, he falls to his knees, shadows whirling about him, and as all of his strength leaves him he falls flat on his face, arms outspread in the shape of a cross.
The flames? They represent fire of lust and passion that have now taken hold. By the end, the flames have been transformed into rivers of lava and undulating shadows as he becomes more and more enraged with his actions and feelings. Seriously, talk about a guy who never gets laid…
MOVING ON.
Paris Burning
Not much actually happens in the music, however, the actual things that are going on in the movie are quite frightening as Frollo’s rage overtakes him and he then takes it out on the citizens of Paris. The Dies Irae also returns (although it’s a bit shortened)!
Dies iræ! Dies illa
Solvet sæclum in favilla:
Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando iudex est venturus,
If you listen closely, as Frollo sets the windmill and house of another family on fire, you can hear the Kyrie Eleison phrase return.
Also…Phoebus has dissolving armor?
Sanctuary
Okay, seriously, this part is just too hard to explain. This is one of the most poignant scenes in the entire movie, as Quasimodo yells “Sanctuary!” from atop the cathedral. But since we’re not discussing the imagery, I’ll go ahead and post the lyrics and a link to the scene in the movie.
Judex crederis esse venturus
(Our Judge we believe shall come)
In te, Domine, speravi
(In You, Lord, have I trusted)
Non confundar in aeternum
(Let me not be damned for eternity)
Salvum fac populum tuum
(Save Your people)
Judex crederis
Kyrie Eleison
(In our Judge we believe)
(God have mercy)
Libera me Domine
(Free me, Lord)
Libera me Domine de morte aeterna
(Free me, Lord, from everlasting death)
In die illa tremenda
(On that terrible day)
Quando caeli movendi sunt
(When the heavens shall be moved)
Caeli et terra
(The heavens and earth)
Dum veneris judicare
(When Thou shall come to judge the world)
O, salutaris hostia
(Oh Saviour, saving victim)
Quae caeli pandis ostium
(Who opens the gate of heaven)
Bella premunt hostilia
(Our enemies besiege us)
Da robur, fer auxilium
(Give us strength, bring us aid)
Sit sempiterna gloria
(May you always be praised)
Sit sempiterna gloria
(May you always be praised)
Sit sempiterna gloria
(May you always be praised)
Gloria, gloria semper
(Glory, glory forever)
Sanctus, sanctus in excelsis
(Holy, holy, in the highest)
Mors stupebit et natura
(Death and nature shall be confounded)
Cum resurget creatura
(When creation shall rise again)
Judicanti responsurra
(To answer for judgment)
Judex ergo cum sedebit
(Therefore, when the Judge will take his seat)
Nil inultum remanebit
(Nothing shall remain unpunished)
Quem patronum rogaturus
(To what protector shall I appeal)
Cum vix justus sit securus?
(When scarcely the just man shall be secure?)
Juste Judex ultionis
(Righteous Judge of vengeance)
Ante diem rationis
(Before the day of reckoning)
Kyrie Eleison
(Lord have mercy)
Now as you listen to the music, read the lyrics and see how they match up with what is going on in the movie itself. Pretty amazing, isn’t it? I mean good lord, just listen to how everything syncs! It’s not often you find a movie that does that anymore.
As Frollo first lights the fire at Esmeralda’s feet and as Quasimodo screams “NO!!” you hear the chorus sing “Free me lord / Free me, Lord, from everlasting death”. Then, as the chains begin to break and the pillars holding Quasi back begin to crack, the lyrics change to “On that terrible day / when the heavens shall be moved / the heavens and earth / when Thou shall come to judge the world”, and further follow the movement of the film by saying “Oh Saviour, saving victim / who opens the gate of heaven / our enemies besiege us / give us strength, bring us aid” as Quasi swings in and saves the day. Also, once he reaches the top of the cathedral you hear the chorus sing “Sit Sempiterna gloria / gloria, gloria semper” (“May you always be praised / glory, glory forever”), and as Quasi screams “Sanctuary” the crowd cheers back, praising him.
I think that’s about all I’ll do for this song, since I could tie in every word to what was going on in the scene. It’s just a great scene and great music to go along with it.
And He Shall Smite The Wicked
Yet again the Dies Irae returns in this piece, but now its much more well-deserved. During this song is the wonderful fight scene between Quasimodo and his master, Frollo. As Frollo chases Quasimodo about the top of Notre Dame, the song is nearly inaudible, covered up by dissonances and quick dynamic changes by the strings. Then, as the fight progresses it grows in dynamic, then falls back to a nearly inaudible level as Frollo utters the words, “I should’ve known you’d risk your life to save that gypsy witch… just as your own mother died trying to save you.” Then, as he gives his ultimatum – “Now I’m going to do what I should’ve done twenty years ago!” – the dynamic changes suddenly again. The chorus grows in volume slowly as Frollo and Quasimodo hang from the very top of the cathedral, and finally comes to a climax as Frollo climbs onto the jaguar’s head, eyes glowing a ghastly yellow, and says “And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!” The brass then finish the finale as Frollo is “plunged into the fiery pit” himself.
You gotta admit, this is one of the best scenes in the movie. I mean, aside from the bad guy finally meeting a fitting end, the two lovers finally expressing their love for each other, and the outcast who lets them do so…
Man, Frollo has one eeeeeevil laugh. Brilliantly evil.
Into the Sunlight / The Bells of Notre Dame Reprise
Now there’s nothing much to say about the symbolism of this part…since there isn’t really. It’s the music that is played when all the bad things are finally resolved, and the riddle is solved. That’s the part I love, for two reasons.
“What makes a monster and what makes a man?” is the line that Clopin asks the little girl as Quasimodo is carried off by a cheering group of villagers, adding the Aesop’s fable-type ending to the movie (much, MUCH happier than the book). You have to wonder WHAT makes a monster and WHAT makes a man…you can’t always judge a person by how they look. You also hear the Out There theme return at the end. However, there is one other thing I love about this part of the song, and it also happens in the Bells of Notre Dame (opening). As Clopin – or rather, Paul Kandel – sings:
“Whatever their pitch, you
Can feel them bewitch you
The rich and the ritual knells
Of the
Bells of Notre Dame”
Here, watch the video.
You can hear his voice rise higher and higher in pitch until finally he hits the highest note (the one sung on the word “Dame”)…GOOD LORD THAT’S IN THE FREAKING SOPRANO RANGE!!!
Paul Kandel, sir, I have to hand it to you. You have a tenor voice that can reach up into the soprano range. Now I sing on and off, and even I can’t hit that note. That is simply brilliant. Just listen to that! It gives me shivers every time I hear that…here, I’ll post a link to the vid and you can listen to it yourself. Good lord, I just can’t get over that.
Well, in the words of Porky Pig
“Th- th- th- that’s all folks!”
Have a great week :)
Also, apologies for the giant blank spaces before and after the videos. The Blogger.com software was being annoying and bothersome, so it wouldn't let me just set them up like a normal picture. SORRY :(
So a few days ago I saw TRON. Pretty awesome, the CG was amazing, but after coming home and thinking back on the movie itself, I realized I wanted to write a review…and since I’d be WAY behind if I wanted to put this up on my YouTube page I decided to put it here on my blog. So without further adieu, let’s begin!
On my little outline of what I should discuss I put1) Start w/the basics, so I will. Of course, what does that mean? Well, let’s introduce the cast (Actors and Characters)! Jeff Bridges as well as Bruce Boxleitner reprise their rolls as Kevin Flynnand Alan Bradley (respectively). Bridges also starred as Clu and Tron as well. The character of Quorra was played by Olivia Wade (better known as Thirteen on the show HOUSE, so we’ll call her that from now on). We also had Garrett Hedlund playing the son, Sam Flynn, and Michael Sheen playing Castor (Zuse). As for places, most of the movie took place within the TRON game itself, so it was heavy on the CG elements.
Speaking of special effects and computer graphics…let’s go on to the good qualities! The CG and SFX in this movie were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The light cycles and jets were very well done, blending with the landscape wonderfully well. Also, the suits were really cool, and the discs too. Wow. I also noticed that, since Jeff Bridges isn’t as young as he used to be, they had to find some way to make Clu (non-aging character) believable (since K. Flynn created Clu when he was younger). So what did they do? They created a CGI K. Flynn to replace him! It’s amazing what they can do with CG these days, it looked very realistic.
Of course, there was something off with his face, since they didn’t use motion tracking like they did in Avatar (his face looked too perfect). In the way of characters, Thirteen was on there! Zuse was also pretty awesome as well…very Frank n’ Furter – like…like a cross between Frank n’ Furter and Eddie Izzard. Well played. However, they didn’t give him enough to do and killed him halfway through the movie. Whoops sorry, spoiler alert!!
And with that statement, let’s move on to the bad qualities. Acting and music were lacking. Severely. Especially by Sam Flynn. Seriously, how many bad one-liners can you put into one person’s script?! Quite a few obviously, and the music, at best, was the repetitive kind you would hear in a first-time sci-fi movie. But now that we’ve discussed the acting and the music, let’s discuss the plot, hm? But first:
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Way too predictable! Sorry, but it was. There were plot holes and twists that I could see from a mile away. so let’s just go through them then!
1.) Kevin Flynn was going to die at the end. He would reintegrate with Clu and kill himself, shutting down the lead bad guy and ending the reign of terror within the game. It just took him a while. However, this confused me. instead of keeping track of Clu and his minions, K. Flynn went into hiding, like Yoda (except way less cool)! At any point, once he realized Clu was destroying everything, hurting people, etcetera, etcetera, he could have gone in and reintegrated. Besides, if he had done it if he was younger, he might have survived reintegration…ah well. Moving on.
2.) Sam Flynn was going to save the day AND get the girl. You saw it coming. Right when Quorra/Thirteen showed up everyone went “Whoop yeah, he’s gonna get her.” Its true! Of course, that’s what always happened. Transformers, any of the Bond movies, and the list goes on. Overly blockheaded (or brave), bad character development, and just plain bad acting really made Sam an understated character.
3.)Quorra/Thirteen was going to be “special”. Saw that coming too! She was going to be some kind of special breed of person, some adopted orphan who learned the ways of uber-break-your-face-with-my-pinky kung foo after her parents were killed by bad guys, something like that. She was an Isomorphic algorithm (ISO), which were special programs that just manifested themselves in the game. However, even though she was one of these, she still managed to get knocked out, beat up, and just sort of pushed aside as S. Flynn bumbled his way through the fight scenes. If she was so cool, why did they give her so little to do?
4.) Rinzler/Tron was going to be a good guy at the end. He was a good guy at the start, and then was reprogrammed to be a program named Rinzler and fight with Clu. Of course, you knew at the end that Tron would resurface and save the heroes from an inevitable crash. However, WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?! At the end, he and Clu have a midair battle and fall spinning into the ocean…then suddenly Rinzler’s suit lights turn from orange to blue!! I mean really, where’d he go?! Is this supposed to be the beginning of the third movie in the series, Tron: Return of Tron or what?! Ugh. So predictable.
5.) Clu was going to be bad all the way through, die at the end, AND be WAY too dramatic. Too bad. Clu (Codified Likeness Utility) could have been an awesome bad guy, but they made Jeff Bridges overact him. He was just…too bad. He also didn’t have a British accent, so he couldn’t pull off the overacting. Like Dr. No!! he could pull it off because he was a Brit (if I remember correctly). Arg, too overdone!!
6.)They gave Alan Bradley nothing to do. Not much else to say about this, he had NOTHING to do in the movie. Seriously nothing. Kinda sad.
All in all, the CG was great, but the plot, characters, and music were severely lacking. All in all I’d give it a 2 ½ or a 3 stars out of five. Maybe 2 ½. Yeah, that one. Sorry guys. Too many plot holes.
