Dumb and Dumber To (2014) - Movie Reviews

This movie has some mixed reviews - it didn't seem to have done as well as I thought it would. But I get why. This wasn't just a dumb comedy - there was a some brilliant thought behind it that, given the reviews, I'm sure it was missed by most.

It made sense for them to have been stuck in this twenty-year old prank when the movie starts. We have these two characters whose concept of what is right and wrong is very different from ours. They say and do things that would be considered to be incredibly inappropriate today - like making fun of the handicapped; making some questionable homosexual remarks; childish fart humor; making fun of nerds was cool back in their day; a big one today, making fun of appearances; I don't recall catching any racial jokes though.

Of course everything Lloyd and Harry said and did was on purpose. It is a satirical commentary on what is the behavioral norm in society today. They bring out some points about what people do today that is questionable. If you watched the movie you know how awkward it was for Jim Carrey to be hitting on this supposed twenty-three year old - an educated guess, the age gap between people who date each other is getting larger.

When you sit and watch it, you will see a complete movie. They put out all the jokes they wanted to. There are plenty shots of them on a road travel. The pacing is as it should be. It's a blast.

There are 1044 weeks in 20 years. See my point?

Draft Two - The Story Thus Far -- Complete

I checked the dates, and it has been a month and two days since I announced I finished the outline for my second draft. It was a milestone. I am happy to let you know that I finished the second draft. Finally. After nearly a whole year.

As I write I just finished putting the script together. I have yet to read it through.
But I can already tell you the problems: it has grammar issues; the characters' speech is not as fluid as I need it to be; the entire story is a bit melodramatic, which is not bad, but I have to cut some of it down; and the main character - the one based on me - is a pretentious prick.

The script so far is good. It is at seventy two pages.
Every main character has his beginning arc and end.
There is no scene wasted; each serves its purpose.
The script doesn't lose energy throughout - except for maybe for the ocassional moment.
I have done well in avoiding plotholes
More importantly, I am happy with this draft.

The reason why it took me so long to write a second draft is because I had to rewrite almost everything that was in draft one. Only one scene that makes up one page made it through - the rest was mostly discarted - except for me saving a line here and there. I did keep some other elements; for example, if the scene takes place at a coffee shop, that remains - it's just everything else--
It's what I had to do to fix the "boring" element from draft one - Looking back into it: I agree; the first draft was severely flawed.

The Story in the Script
I can say with confidence that I won't be rewriting the script from the ground.
Like I stated on the draft-two-outline post: I found a good ending for the story.
That is why I can tell you what the movie would be about. Since this is how the story is going to stay until the end -

It is a two-part movie.
It all happens in one week - it is about how two people meet
The first part is about Bernardo - the main character.
He decides to write a book - during the process he interacts with the ghost of a long gone love.
By the end of part one: he says goodbye to his hallucination.
Part two is about Olivia - the female lead.
As this is a romantic comedy with a happy ending - the two main characters end together
The second part is about how Olivia sees Bernardo; as in, what she sees in him. And what is the tie between Olivia and Alisa - the ghost.

That is as short as I can make the plot. Which is a good thing - the story is complicated enough that it needs the ninety minutes to tell the audience all it wants to say - I needed it to be that way.

So, what now:
I have to keep revising the script until I am happy with it - which should be by January.
In that process I want to create a storyboard, and probably make scene reenactions to see how the timing works.
Personally, I need to break from the script for a couple days to refresh.
Also, now I can get back into posting more Movie Foods, and other videos that I had in mind.
During this whole month I have only been focused on finish writing this outline - I had hit a moment of inspiration - 'bout damn time...

The Newsroom (2012-2014) - TV Series Review

The newsroom is about what goes on behind the world of [cable] tv news journalism... that is not something I have ever been into. I had no idea who Jeff Daniels or Aaron Sorkin were before I saw the series pilot. But I knew who Olivia Munn is; and she was the only reason I needed to watch this HBO series - I actually have never been into any of the HBO series; they never really called my attention.

This isn't a critique about the plot lines; or about the controversy this show has caused; nor is it about Olivia Munn's performance ability and her increasing presence in the show [I think only her back showed on the pilot episode] - I had always known she had the talent - I'm not sucking her dick. I first saw her in Attack of the Show, I just knew she has talent beyond her current perceived limit that she thinks she had.
This is a study on the writing of the show.

The show is fantastic - for it to have engaged someone who cares little about the theme of the story; I think it says something. The performances by the actors are great at appearing to be real people. There is this one scene with Bill McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) in season two. Throughout the episode, Bill goes through his issues with his dad who is at the hospital at the time. At the end, he had found out that his dad had died. Right before the broadcast; Bill reflects on his loss. He is frozen in place - his eyes gazing at the ground. He doesn't say anything; nor does his face show any expression. But as the audience you understand that behind that dead face is someone who is grieving heavily. I learned then that Jeff Daniels is an amazing actor - that scene right there gave me goosebumps.

Aside from Olivia Munn and the performances by the cast throughout the series; what had me glued to the screen while watching this show is the writing. Like I said, I would have never known who Aaron Sorkin is if not for this show. And what a good find it has been.

The series is on it's running it's third and final season. Weird, in the second episode of the first season McKenzie and McAvoy have a discussion about her contract. They specify that her contract is to last 156 weeks (3 years); with the added condition that Will gets to decide at the end of each week whether she stays or not. Something tells me they will be bringing this up later on this season.

As far as my favorite lines on the series: "Can I point something out to you? You're giving a monologue," "Everyone does where I work" [referring to the Newsroom].