What to see? Weekend of July 30th.

Unfortunately, not a single release this weekend entices me. If I had to go see something, I'd go see Inception again or check out The Kids are Alright, which I want to see but haven't yet.

This past Wednesday I went to an advanced screening of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It was a lot of fun and better than I expected. While not the style of filmmaking I enjoy most, Scott Pilgrim really captured something other comic book/video game/MTV/ADD-style movies have been unable to achieve. I look forward to anything Edgar Wright does in the future.

Go see:

Take the weekend off. Enjoy the great outdoors.

Why is it Three Act Structure? The cycle of life.

Aristotle's Poetics has long been considered the bible of storytelling. Aristotle applied to stories an absolute truth to all life, there is a beginning, middle, and end. I believe the idea of a life cycle permeates everything known to us in the universe. Alright, this post isn't going to be a discourse in philosophy, I'll stick to story.

While some writers, and teachers, of screenwriting will vehemently say you should forget about the concept of three act structure, I believe this would be the greatest mistake any budding writer could make. Three act structure is simply a way to define the life cycle in screenwriting terms. If you remove the cycle of life from your story, you remove any chance of writing a great story.

To prove my premise, I'm going to use my other passion I have mentioned before on this blog, financial markets. The beauty of financial markets is they're built by humans making them also at the mercy of life cycles. A theory has been created to articulate this called Elliott Wave Theory. Below is an image courtesy of Elliott Wave International that shows standard Uptrend(1) and Correction(2) waves in a market.

Don't worry. This isn't as confusing as it might look. For the purposes of the stock market, each line represents a movement in price. So line 1 is price going higher, line 2 is price going lower, line 3 higher, etc. Now let's see this in action with the Uptrend that started in March 2009.

click to enlarge

The green lines are the waves up and the red lines are the waves down. Pretty amazing how accurate wave theory sometimes can be. This particular Elliott Wave move I would classify as classic Hollywood structure. I have labeled the Acts on the chart. Click on it for a better look.

The blue lines on the chart are Fibonacci retracement lines. If you are unfamiliar with the numbers click here. Darren Aronofsky's terrific debut Pi incorporates Fibonacci numbers in the story, which is a perfect segue to the question, do all movies follow the above three act structure? No.

I'm sure you may have been thinking that and one example is Aronofsky's even more amazing second film, Requiem for a Dream. Am I saying Requiem doesn't contain three act structure? No. It does. Just not the classic pattern of waves seen above. This is because waves can move in a downtrend as well as an uptrend and there is smaller waves within the larger waves. Ok, another chart may help clarify this.

As you can see, there are a lot more waves on this chart versus the first one we looked at, though it is technically the exact same. Each of the single lines in the first has been broken into five or three lines here.

Aronofsky doesn't use classic Hollywood structure where the story's peak comes in Act Three. Requiem's peak comes at the midpoint of the story, right before the "Fall" title card, page 53 of the script. From there it's all down waves, though, of course, he put an up wave coda on the end so we didn't leave the theater completely bummed out.

Looking at the chart above, we would relabel the act structure for Requiem to have Act One end at (3), Act Two end at (B). The movie is a downer for sure, but I love it.

To bring this post around full circle, pun intended, remember that the waves are based of the cycle of life. Aronofsky used the title cards with the seasons to show this. All things natural to our world have cycles. This includes stories.

Look at your script. Can you find the waves in it? Does your story go through a cycle in a classic Hollywood way or is it like Aronofsky's Requiem? Leave me a comment if you agree or disagree with my proof.

What to see? Weekend of July 23rd.

While I haven't read it, I heard from good sources that the script for Salt was great. Of course, the script being evaluated had Salt written as a man, not a woman like in this weekend's release. After finding Knight and Day fairly lackluster, I'm curious to see if I like Angelina Jolie in the role, or if Tom Cruise made the wrong decision to walk away. I guess it could be both. Thanks, as always, to The Playlist, my trusted source for reviews.

Go see:

Hollywood Studios:

Salt - Sony - PG-13

For the next ninety minutes or so, we watch as she dashes, ducks, climbs out of buildings, detonates bombs and engages in high-speed pursuits, all in an incredibly guilty-looking attempt to clear her name...read more.

Independent:

Life During Wartime - IFC - Unrated

The picture brings a solid critique of society, but Solondz is smart enough to do it comically. What could've been extremely dry and preachy is actually a very well made comedy that actually has something to say...read more.

Foreign:

Valhalla Rising - IFC - Unrated

Slow-burning, meditative, eerie and putting a premium on atmospherics before narrative, Winding Refn's 7th feature-film proves he's still one of the most exciting new directors working today even if he doesn't feel the need to thrill audiences with style, fast-pace and camera-moving conceits...read more.

Documentary:

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno - Flicker Alley - Unrated

History is littered with films that could have been special had they, you know, been made. And "Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno" is a fascinating peek at a potential masterpiece by the French Hitchcock...read more.

Enjoy the movies.

What makes for great TV?

Read this amazing blog post.

I wasn't aware of Josh's blog but I am now.

FYI: Went to Inception in Imax yesterday. In the immortal words of Keanu Reeves, "Whoa"

What to see? Weekend of July 16th.

I would go see anything by a handful of currently working directors no matter what the movie is about. Christopher Nolan is one of those directors. Memento ranks #3 on my FlickChart, so it's fairly obvious what I'll be going to this weekend, in IMAX, of course. Will Inception be the last big summer blockbuster in 2D? Leave me your thoughts on that in the comments.

Go see:

Hollywood Studios:

Inception - Warner Bros. - Rated PG-13

Yes, Christopher Nolan's "Inception" is unthinkably complex, a whirligig puzzlebox thriller set in a world of dreams (and dreams-within-dreams), but it's also a exceptionally aspiring project in general: a large studio movie, whose budget tickled the $200 million mark, that isn't based on a preexisting franchise, video game or breakfast cereal mascot...read more.

Independent

Please Give - SPC - Rated R

Unfairly ignored by audiences and critics, this terrific, emotionally soulful picture, is an underrated gem and audiences with a female-centric bent would be wise to spend their time with these fully-dimensionalized characters rather than the cardboard cut-outs of "Twilight: Eclipse" and "Sex And The City 2."...read more.

Foreign:

Wild Grass - SPC - Unrated

I did enjoy the film's style—its exuberant colors, the restless, ever-curious camera, and the way it wove ominous undertones into an essentially light surface—and of course I enjoyed the loving references to the power of movies...read more.

Documentary:

Exit Through the Gift Shop - Producers Distribution - Rated R

Is it real or fake? In the end, it doesn't really matter because Banksy's high wire not-quite-documentary is one of the most flat out entertaining films you will see this year...read more.

Enjoy the movies.

"Young @ Heart" - One Sentence Reviews

A heartwarming, and at times heartbreaking, documentary with a terrific cast of characters who put together a show that all great movies do: make you laugh, cry, and stand up and cheer.

RECOMMENDATION: RECOMMEND

What's really selling? Adaptations.

All writing begins with an idea. As a writer I'm constantly attempting to generate new ideas, whether they be for the current projects I'm working on or for new potential projects. It can be both frustrating when ideas won't come or you think they're all crap, and extraordinary when you think you've struck gold with something fresh and new.

So much attention gets put on coming up with something completely fresh original and new, it's easy to forget that a great idea is often just a new spin on something done before. Take one of the greatest new ideas of the last decade, the iPod. When I was a kid I had one, only it was called a Walkman and it played plastic tapes. Avatar was deemed by many as simply a re-telling of the Pocahontas story with blue aliens and CGI, that didn't stop it from being the biggest box office success in over a decade. In fact, it more likely helped.

In business, the iPod is called product innovation. When it comes to writing stories, it's called adaptation. Most often when we think of adaptations we think of the recent bestsellers like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or iconic characters like Harry Potter. This might lead many writers to neglect the wealth of great stories free of copyright, and therefore can be adapted into a script without costing a penny.

Many writers, though, haven't forgotten. Public domain works have become hot properties this year in Hollywood with another being announced involving Victor Hugo's classic tale, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. If you missed the news, check out The Playlist's blurb. Disney has been in this game for decades, hitting it big again this year with Alice in Wonderland, and announcing a Wizard of Oz prequel and a new spin on Sleeping Beauty. Warner Brothers will be back with a sequel to the successful Sherlock Holmes, and a range of others are in the works including Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Mermaid, The Wind in the Willows, and Snow White just to name a few.

There are many reasons why stories in the public domain have been finding a lot of traction in Hollywood right now, but the main appeal for me is a known character free of charge to do whatever you please with them. While some may shake their fist at the revisionist takes just about all I've mentioned will see, like the Walkman and the iPod, innovation on something we already love can really pay off big.

What character in the public domain do you love?

What to see? Weekend of July 9th.

I'm out of LA and on the very hot east coast. The heat always makes me feel more tired than I actually am, and makes me want to go to the movies for the wonderful air conditioning. This week Universal gets into the animation business with Despicable Me. Looks like a chuckle and they beat DreamWorks Animation to the punch with the villain as protagonist angle. I'm more interested in some adult fare this weekend.

Go see:

Hollywood Studios:

Predators - Fox - Rated R

There's constantly so much stuff going on that there isn't much time to slow down and focus on the intricacies of the characters, situation or plot. In a way, this is one of the movie's biggest assets since it doesn't allow the audience (or reviewer) to contemplate why exactly any of the stuff that's happening, or how it's happening logistically, since some other big moment of over-sized kick-assery is looming just around the corner...read more.

Independent:

The Kids Are Alright - Focus - Rated R

Like Meyers, filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko crafts a movie actually made with adults in mind as an audience (and features some gorgeous, glossy-worthy house porn), but Cholodenko doesn't rely on unlikely, Ephron-aping meet-cutes and groan-worthy dialogue...read more. 

Foreign:

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Music Box - Rated R

"The Girl Who Played With Fire" establishes the series' pessimistic ongoing thesis: society is controlled by powerful men who only seek to oppress and exploit women, and no passage of time or changing of the guards will change that...read more.

Documentary:

Winnebago Man - Kino - Unrated

"Winnebago Man" is essentially a documentary following filmmaker Ben Steinbauer on his quest to find the star of the famed RV salesman freak-out video, Jack Rebney, sometimes dubbed as the "world's angriest man" and a guy who's video ranked #2 on some stupid Vh1 show about all-time Internet memes...read more. 

Enjoy the movies.

What to see? Weekend of July 1st.

The only challenger to Twilight is M. Night. Sadly, early reviews make it clear this is no contest, not that there was ever a chance it would be. Is it really possible M. Night will score lower with The Last AirbenderThe Happening on the Tomatometer? While I'd be glad to see another "franchise" put to pasture, I really hope M. Night can come back with a strong original concept that puts him back on top. then he did with

Go see:

Hollywood Studios:

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Summit - Rated PG-13 

This isn't as painful as it's predecessors, but that doesn't mean that there's finally an entry point for the uninitiated into the series. "Eclipse" still features dialogue that will make non-fans wonder at the saga's popularity...read more.

Independent: 

The Killer Inside Me - IFC - Rated R

Darkness comes in many flavors. If you've heard anything about Michael Winterbottom's "The Killer Inside Me," it's inevitable that you've read at least something about its supposed darkness and brutal violence...read more.

Foreign:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Music Box - Rated R

Though Stieg Larsson's novels are rife with sexual violence and considerable gore, they're also mystery thrillers in the Agatha Christie sense — in this case, the specific genre homages include an isolated estate and skulking suspects with loads of motives and alibis...read more.

Documentary:

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work - IFC - Rated R

With the media in full reality overdrive, it’s refreshing to see an unflinching documentary that delves into what it’s really like to be famous...read more.

Enjoy the movies.

Who has it worse than Studios right now? Theater owners.

As I slowly get the hang of this blogging thing, who I am and what I'm all about will come to reveal itself. One of the reasons I have struggled to post on a more consistent basis is because I consider myself a private person and I didn't want to write about myself at all on here (yes, I realize now that is kinda the whole point of blogging).

Beyond my passion for Film and Television I have an interest in economics and financial markets. Several posts back I showed how the success of Avatar followed by Alice in Wonderland sent stocks of theater owners soaring to levels not seen since 2007.

Since the market peak in late April, all the gains those stocks made have been wiped out and they currently are hitting November 2009 prices. The chart of Carmike Cinemas (CKEC) pretty much says it all.

About two weeks ago I bought some DreamWorks Animation (DWA) believing the market had found support above its 200-Day MA but was stopped out with a small gain (+5%) when the market fell hard two days ago.

With Toy Story 3 performing well, Twilight breaking records and Inception on the way, here's hoping July can start to turn things around for Entertainment stocks, but with key support areas being broken daily in the markets, the time for bottom fishing may not be as soon as I would like.