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MisfitDoll
1998 Wrote and directed 45 minute b/w short Eccentric Domain of the Supercold
1998 EDOTS screenplay receives honorable mention Bad Kitty Films contest
2000 Background extra Above Suspicion
2004 Winner Anything But Hollywood Screenwriting Competition with God's Garden
2005, 2006 Guest Speaker on topic of screenwriting, High Point University
2006 Screenplay God's Garden optioned by Your Half Pictures
2006 Background extra Home of the Giants
2008 Docent (Animal Educator) Course of Study Certificate - Natural Science Center
2009 Art Exhibit - House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
EDGY BY Hollywood STANDARDS, TOUCHING, YET...(may contain spoilers)
I'm conflicted on this one. Though I cried more than I usually do - I haven't sobbed so much since MOULIN ROUGE - it was still kind of lacking, and hokey in its attempt to inspire a FORREST GUMP kind of love in its audience - there was even an omnipresent hummingbird as pretentiously symbolic as Forrest's feather. Benjamin's mama is even a font of Southern wisdom, not going so far as to compare life to a box of chocolates ("you never know what you're gonna get"); her shtick is that you never know what's comin'.
(PS: it didn't even click with me when reading the credits that it was written by the screenwriter of FORREST GUMP; I only just now discovered that on the IMDb, so my comparison is pure and I was in no way prejudiced.)
Yes, there were some universal truths, for which I'm a gigantic sucker: it's never too late to be who you might have been, and you're only "perfect" in your life during a very brief window. Not enough of us appreciate that, and that youth is wasted on the young. There were some colorful characters with stories to tell. But too often director David Fincher (who brought us SEVEN and ZODIAC!) seemed to be channeling P.T. Anderson MAGNOLIA-style. Lofty Capra aspirations creep to mind as well.
Then there was the off-putting narration, too reminiscent of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, jarring with its abrupt cuts from lyrical scenes of life as lifted from a diary's pages to the present day where Hurricane Katrina whips around outside a dying old woman's New Orleans hospital room. It's a confusing juxtaposition with no metaphorical raison d'etre. It makes even less sense considering this is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Poetic license aside, the narration comes across as a lazy editorial decision that consistently interrupted momentum and the insertion of a devastating modern day disaster is arbitrary to say the least.
The make-up and CGI effects are mind-blowing, but serve to overshadow the acting abilities of the two leads. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are beautiful to look at, but they never really say or do anything. When Blanchett's Daisy explains how a dancer emotes with their body and they are only as good as the line they project, it's a wonder she didn't see the irony. Here, long looks are meant to replace any real emotional connection between their characters. Tilda Swinton actually has the most poignant scene, towards the end.
Out of a possible ten, I give it 8 hankies and 7 toes up.
Helter Skelter (2004)
IT'S COMIN' DOWN FAST...MAYBE A LITTLE TOO FAST
A strong start - the pulsating song "Helter Skelter" (by a band who is not The Beatles) over a montage of 1960s images, and then a swift deposit into the home of music teacher Gary Hinman where we are witness to his brutal senseless killing by Family members Bobby Beausoleil and Susan "Sadie" Atkins. Charlie himself shows up in no time wielding the sword that takes off a piece of Gary's ear. To a true crime buff this is gold, getting to see a re-enactment of that which had not been seen before. Then the movie becomes "The Linda Kasabian Story". We meet Linda as she's introduced, young daughter in arms, to the Family and their home, a disheveled old movie ranch, by Family member Gypsy. From that point onward it's as if we see the story through her eyes only; Clea Duvall, impressive as Linda, is in nearly every frame henceforth. By pointedly attempting to defy comparison to the original, this latest adaptation of the book "Helter Skelter" by prosecuting attorney turned author Vincent Bugliosi, invites just that. Comparison. It tries way too hard to be the anti-1974 version by showing us many of the episodes we didn't get to see in the first (Bobby being pulled over by the police for driving a stolen car, Sharon Tate's possible encounter with a trespassing Manson days before the murder) and omits most of what it assumes we've seen before. There is none of the great detective work of Bugliosi. Bruno Kirby (miscast as Bugliosi) doesn't even show up until nearly two hours into the three hour film. At that point the movie just rushes to get it all over with. As Manson, Jeremy Davies, is adequate. He's studied Charlie's mannerisms, that's for sure, but the lack of actual physical resemblance made for a portrayal hard to swallow. The buzz was we'd learn more about Manson this go 'round; we didn't. Speaking of resemblances, other than Clea Duvall's (and her wig is wretched) to the person she plays, there isn't any to be found here. Many of the family girls were redheads. Most notably Squeaky Fromme, who later went on to attempt to assassinate President Ford. She was copper-haired and freckled. Yet here she's played by Mary Lynn Rajskub (of "24") who's blonde and fair complected. And Kitty Lutesinger had a beautiful mane of auburn hair yet the make-up department chose to give the actress who plays her (Cheselka Leigh) a despicable ratty blonde wig (in this day of chemical treatments and hair extensions why the cheap and obvious wigs?). This probably would have been much better had it been longer, perhaps spread out over two nights. A great disservice was done to the story by having it cruise along at top speed and then bottom out in the final act.
Series 7: The Contenders (2001)
Just how far can television go?
"Series 7: The Contenders" is the ultimate reality program... and, in being so, it's the ultimate satire of the whole burgeoning "peephole tv" phenomena. Whereas, in their quest for viewers and subsequent advertising dollars, television producers have already confined strangers to houses and islands, and in one case, chained people together, for our voyeuristic amusement - "The Contenders" pits randomly selected contestants against each other with firearms, ammo, nearly constant video surveillance, and a strictly enforced policy of play-to-the-death. In the movie, a marathon episode of the "show", the American public cheers for and jeers at the reigning champion, very pregnant Dawn who, if she wins this particular round, gains her freedom from the show. It's a terrifically funny and pointed examination of the "real people/not actors" splayed across television screens dissected for the sake of entertainment, and a commentary about a public that derives pleasure from witnessing what amounts to public executions in an increasingly media-manipulated society. Is it a case of giving the people what they want or conditioning the people to want what they are given?
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
...and David Lynch furrowed his brow...
You know, I'm fairly certain David Lynch didn't exert as many brain cells developing this film as the audience has trying to decipher it. I'm among the guilty who constantly over-analyze this man's work. I love him, love what he does, thank goodness he's around to stir things up. But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. I have to accept that. Almost every image, every line of dialogue, in "Mulholland Dr." is beautifully, devilishly open to symbolic interpretation. And these interpretations are, unfortunately (or gleefully?), as unique as the audience members forming them, and probably based more on their own life experiences and filtered more through their own perceptions than any David Lynch may have intended. In that regard, "Mulholland Dr." can be equated with a dream.
I enjoyed the parallels drawn between the Hollywood system and the mob. The relationship between Betty/Diane and Rita/Camilla was deep, believable. The score (as expected) was right on target. And then there were those gorgeous colors and sumptuous fabrics and eccentric peripheral characters. Yes, a blue box, that one girl had; a blue key the other girl had. Death in the guise of a dark, disfigured, and hirsute man living out behind the Winkie's Cafe ("Winkie's", get it?). Pillows and bed sheets and only a slight bump in the chronological order of things there towards the end. But follow a few clues, like "okay, she just came to get the ashtray, but in the next scene it's still on the table"... and you'll be just fine.
Not rocket science here. Just art. Mull all, and drive.
By Hook or by Crook (2001)
The filmmakers should be very proud of their work
I was very impressed with this small, independently made picture. The story, about a pair of social outcasts who meet, become friends, and provide each other with a support system both seemed to lack as children, is at times hilarious, at times sad, but always provocative. Music, mostly by underground bands, was used to great effect, as was the experimentation with camera angles, filters, and slow or fast motion techniques. The performances (the leads are played by the writers and directors of the film) are some of the best I've seen in the last couple of years. If you ever felt like a square peg being forced into a round slot, I really believe you'll appreciate "By Hook or By Crook".