Been awhile, lost the login. But soon, maybe today, I will tell you about my adventures in writing the novel, summer movies and all the good things you can do in the entertainment biz ness.

Post 35

Mediocre movies

By Darrell J Banks

CR 2014

Well the other day I saw American Hustle, after a few months from its digital release and Oscar ™ failures. Mainly because I wanted to see Amy Adams and JLaw. Mostly I saw halter breasts, bad hair and bad acting. I liked them all the performances gained many an Oscar nomination, but the plot was stilted, stalled and jolted from place to place.

Act 1 Can one get the girl and loose the money making machine. Yes

Act 2 Can one have a mistress and a wife and FBI agent. Yes

Act 3 Can one survive with curlers and maintain ones’ status as an FBI agent. ?

Robo Cop- A remake of a remake of a remake etc.

Act 1 Can one survive a bomb.  Maybe

Act 2 Can one keeps ones family on dopamine. Maybe

Act 3 Is a sequel of the Robo Cop reboot needed. No.

Post 34

Captain America- Winter Soldier- A review

By Darrell J Banks

CR 2014 

What makes a great movie? Actors 7 out of 10, Script  9/10, and the director well if you have two out of the three you cannot go wrong, but when all three are clicking you get a movie like Captain America Winter Soldier. It makes you want to go see it again, this action comic, (the other critics get it wrong it is not a spy movie, trust me.), blockbuster. 

Disney got it right when they released it near the spring break, Easter break; it is a movie with great potential, from   the Black Widow flirting with   the future Falcon all one can say is bring it.  Captain well, he may have a super serum but he is vulnerable, as you will see in the film, things like falls, bullets etc can hurt him.  He needs his sidekick but later for that. For now in Act 1, we have to deal with the agents of shield and like Tony Stark/Iron man; some things are well best left to one person or maybe two. Beyond that well the shield agents let’s say have issues. This is not an ABC TV show.

Act two puts the Captain in a compromising position having to fight the Winter Soldier and his buddies is not easy, nor is it easy to deal with the character development this film shows through. If you like, spies well buy my short story for an old school, new school version of that.

Act 3 finds us on the verge of tears, will Captain win, can Black Widow survive, who is the enemy is it within us or changed by what allegiance we sign up for? 10 of 10.

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-News-Day-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B00J150Q68/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397852605&sr=1-1

Post 33

 Die Hard- A Movie Review

CR 2014

By  Darrell J Banks All Rights reserved.

I wrote this review a few years ago, maybe I posted it, maybe I didn’t because on the Internet does it matter? There is an archive at the NSA or some “online” library ready to check your stuff out. Times have changed  for most of us I still want to sale a screenplay, make a million dollars and move , like the song goes.  And now for our review.

What can one understand about character development in this classic film? Why do I call it a classic? Well, like Rocky, the Terminator and so many others it revised the action/cop genre.  “Come to the coast we’ll have a few laughs" defined movie creation for a generation. When I went to Script Expo Shawn Black spoke to us as we sat in admiration listening to every word. Back then, gas was still .75 cents.  911  was unimaginable and the only movie that involved a battle in a big building was the Towering Inferno.  

Act 2 No more Twinkies

Abe Lincoln has freed at least one person. In another great moment of character development we find ourselves with a black policemen who has said f*** it. He knows that life can disappear in a second. So when sent to investigate the building he finds that bodies are falling out the sky along with bullets. The police arrive and the real games begin. Unlike game shows, the pain in the ass Detective has added a few dead terrorists to his list.  Like John Wayne he has to save the day, and ride to the sunset with his bride. Using western symbols, Yippy kai yay mother f*****.  Bruce Willis picks up his cigarettes, takes the detonators and moves on.  Back in cop mode Al the policemen uses another antiquated term party line ( a cheaper version of two land lines)  In today’s age McClain ( Willis) would have a cell phone but back then even pagers were not in vogue.  Act 2 allows a pause in the action and for two characters to develop themselves. But D. Robinson emerges on the side of the antagonists. In an action movie themes move and slide in-between genre. Robinson makes a crack inside joke. (He could be a bartender B. Willis's former occupation).  If you have seen Die Hard 4, you know that life changes for McClain. But in this episode, his wife is standing by his side. Like in any good western, she’s been captured like Nell with Dudley Do Right. The bad guys are fascinated by her.

The driver from Act one scene one finds out he is also trapped. His Christmas party is over.  RV's and technical vehicles are not match for a re-coil-less rifle. The police back then had SWAT (LL Cool J and Samuel Jackson) but there is only one McClain and like Rambo and Wayne, he improvises with C-4 artillery that prevents utter chaos.  The news interlope on the scene Hans like the Red Army is not about to go down with a fight. He is out for the money and what people will do for money is worse than the lyrics of the O’Jay’s song. More lives are lost, and Hans assumes the character role of terrorist.  With this move, the screenwriter takes the viewer into the realm of the seventies. He demands the release of old terrorists and a helicopter.  The antagonists use great Christmas words. And we settle into a valley of dialog that allows the characters to advance the story.  We flip to the news and find someone talking about things they don’t know.  A great parody of major news stories unfolds until we conclude ACT 2 with the FBI intervening.

ACT 3 FBI agents Johnson and Johnson know what they have in hand. Like cardboard cutout characters, they know they can control the situation. The antagonist is great in this film-using actor’s diction and a great memory he distracts the protagonist. But McClain is no dummy he provides a great prop and Bill/Hans falls for this ploy. Most great characters make or break a film. Like some recent films, the character is great but the supporting actors fail to move the plot along.  John M. has his own plan, Hans counts to three one more bad guy departs the world and a classic lab scene unfolds (Mission Impossible 2).  That’s one thing I love about movies they expand upon one another.   Imagine this, you are trapped like a rat, the water is rising and your tail is caught. Would you bite it off (Saw movies) or would you improvise and suffer pulling your tail free.  McClain must do the unimaginable and Shawn Black is thrust into movie history.

When 911 arrived the news media gave due respect to most families but in this movie the press intrudes into the life of his wife.  Who gives an anecdote on husbands and wives? True to form, the characters evolve again via walkie-talkie. The FBI does the same thing and another classic scene is set up.

When I saw Jaws, I hated sharks. Aliens made me hate outer space. Die Hard well, let just say I’m always sure I stay away from glass, windows, doors, even drinking.  If you watch this film over and over again, you will learn character development.  Hans, well let’s just say he’s one of the world’s best antagonist and John McClain I hear they are making a fifth film for this action hero.

Ciao.

Post 32

By

Darrell J Banks

CR 2014

 What can you learn from Cary Grant and Leonardo DiCaprio in choosing a great character for a screenplay? Well, my favorite movies with Cary Grant are North-by-North West, Arsenic and Old lace.  

These scripts can be found at drewscriptorama (fair use).  Grant v DiCaprio, similar styles, smooth talking ladies man. This is no more expected then in the Aviator. While I am trying to find a copy of Gangs of New York, where Leonardo woos Cameron Diaz, in the Aviator DiCaprio, as Howard Hughes is a true player bred to find love in all the wrong places. What did Cary and Leonardo do right in both films they remain focused on their characters, they became their characters as Arsenic and Old Lace or in North By North West (found a copy at the library (TODAY)

 Below is a review I wrote a few years ago. Next up a review of Leonardo Di Caprio’s character creation.

----

North by Northwest- A movie review

By Darrell j Banks

CR 2011 All Rights Reserved Worldwide

I bought several books on Hitchcock one with pictures one by a movie critic.  I learned a few things. I’ve always enjoyed Hitchcock he stars in his own pictures as a standby and creates tension out of normalcy.  This film has always been a favorite.

Hitch shows New York. A man (Grant/Roger) talking to his secretary on his way to an important meeting. Extras weave in and out, as they walk down a busy NY street.  Then bam, the acting starts he steals a taxi, saying his assistant is sick. Plays, phones, a pending business meeting. A message waiter calls for a Mr. Kaplan and Roger informs him he needs to deliver a message for an attentive mother.

He gets up and is shanghaied to the NY country side. Thought to be a spy the antagonists try to dispose of him by drunk driving. This is where the fun begins for eventually Roger will meet up with an attractive woman Eva Marie Saint. Back then words jumps off the page like sex at a strip club. “Every time I see an attractive woman I want to make love with her. “ Eve is 26 unmarried and industrial designer who has tipped the bus men she wants to dine with a killer with a nice face and she wants sex.  The train continues to Chicago. Eva holds his hand and blows out a match. Like his other films, Hitch uses libido to induce the audience into the twists and turns of this thriller. Eve has a large drawing room and doesn’t mind sleeping with a suspected killer. The police have stopped the train and Roger is packed in like a sardine, the police have questions for her and one still wonders does she work for the defense intelligence agency.  I mean so far the film has been normal, uninvited house guests, local judges, and hotel rooms. But spies?

Back in the day they didn’t show true love. Eve wants him to stay in his hotel room. She’s a big girl though he’s about sixty.  One wonders if she is aware that Gary Grant could never be a murderer. Eve doesn’t want to know much except like today’s “Madmen” he’s in advertising as Act 2 ends the action pauses. The porter cleans; Eve sings a child song, lights out.

Act 3 North by North West had it’s times restrictions and the noir genre requires pass a note to the agency. She won’t sleep with him but she has him in her grasps.  It appears the Defense Intelligence Agency is not so cruel. In Chicago the trains pull into the station now a days. (To view that beautiful bldg. rent The Untouchables Kevin Costner).  Roger carries her bags and they hide from the police as two spies follow them. The police search for porters with red hats and walk right past Roger shaving. Phone banks are shown as Eve and the bad guys plot their next move.  I miss those shots in movies. Since Collin Farrell starred in Cellular the phone booth has disappeared and now we get texting (Contagion) or emails shown on the screen. It’s not as interesting as a phone booth where all kinds of interesting things happen (Superman).Like in most of his films Hitch sets us up. Deserted plowed field finds Gary Grant in grey flannel awaiting his destiny. Cars zoom by and the stereo effect sounds like a plane. A man (Kaplan) gets out for a planned meeting. The man notices crop dusting (pretext) where there are no crops and Hollywood history is created.  In film people are killed by knifes guns, cars, sharks etc.  But rarely does a crop duster try to take you out.  Roger/Cary ducks, his suit soiled, bullets fly, and he must find and escape route. A car zooms by. Once surrounded by technology he finds himself alone against the machine. He flees back to the nature (a cornfield for safety).But the machine always welcomes you and then tries to destroy you. Chemicals are dropped and he flees for an approaching truck, which almost runs him over. The plane crashes into a symbolic fuel tank. (Man doomed trying to feed himself, and maintain a future).  Roger steals a truck with a refrigerator (symbolism again).  He finds himself back in Chicago looking for answers. He blows a spy’s cover and we find that Eve has been played as well as Roger who must once again play a corpse.  He pushes Eve into feelings she cannot utilize and the bidding between the neutral, good and evil concludes with a trip South Dakota.  Hitch uses violins to ratchet up the tension.  Roger creates a scene calling an auctioneer, idiot, creating a fight.  One thing I like about spy thrillers is that you see old signs North West Orient (Delta) Love blooms, and a story t must conclude.  Truth, innuendo, usually ends with a bullet. Leonard finds an old Gestapo trick, planes arrive and a choice must be made. Symbolism, verses reality. The good and the bad climb over the founding fathers and with a house divided one must survive to find true victory. I hope you rent this film and enjoy it. If only the WB would release it to the theaters again. Ciao.

Post 28

By Darrell J Banks

Cr 2014 All Rights preserved

Some films should never be made, perhaps the upcoming batman/superman movie, but only time will tell. Until then we are left with the remnants of the Jack Ryan reboot.  Well, where can I start, I like all of the actors, and their performances while not great were interesting.  I think it was the script or was it the editor or let us start with the director.  (Name less go to imdb.com for that)

 The film jumped around and created the premise that the CIA can do anything it wants in Moscow/Russia. Well, maybe but even in the film world that premise does not work. 

 Perhaps the story should have been set up better, first Keira Knightly is a med student, next she is married to Jack Ryan, and next she is a jealous wife/fiance who ends up in Paris then Moscow.  

 MISS-JOINTED FILMS 

The world is full of them for example, Star Wars I, II, and maybe three. Star Wars into Darkness, Superman IV etc etc. You notice it is many sequels and you can blame a lot of people. Really, you can.

 After you create a great character, you must place them in a story that has a developed plot, structure, action, character development. Then perhaps your film wont be less then your original intentions.

POST 31

By  Darrell J Banks

CR 2014,2005

NICOLE KIDMAN

This is a past article I wrote while the roles Hollywood has written for her have slowed down since I wrote t

his article, little Nicky is about to break out again as Grace Kelly.

The Actress Nicole Kidman and writing for her.

By Darrell J. Banks

Copy Right 2005

All Rights Reserved

Perhaps it=s pretentious to presume one can write for an actress you have never spoken too. Pretentious to imagine and dream that you the writer can develop a screenplay for a box office smash. But that is the premise of this article. Unless one is married or divorced from an actress such as Sandra Oh, one needs a muse to create inspiration for an actress such as Nicole. Having once seen Ms. Kidman live and in person, the shyness, the demur quality and yes the beauty is inspiration to type well.  Yet, the roles she has selected over the past ten years are idiomatic. Nicole searches for a script with a remembrance of past characters.

Recently, I also saw a photograph of Nicole Kidman with Lauren Bacall. Back in the forties Lauren looked very much like the current Nicole. Then, Ms. Bacall played the smoky, vixen, good girl. Yet her characters were driven to the bad guy. Never to forget a sequel Hollywood grabbed Nicole Kidman from Australia to perfect the vixen role for the past ten years. Surprisingly, in a recent article Ms. Bacall, was quoted by the BBC that today=s actors are A of minuscule talent.@ A slur perhaps.  Yet, those who write for Nicole Kidman would find this quote abhorrent.

Consistent with the intelligent sex symbol, Kidman=s   sex roles have expanded since A Batman Forever@ where she played the infamously named    Dr. Chase Meridian. The Bond girl name, the double entendre has three meanings. Rewind from 2005.  Ms. Kidman has stretched her acting repertoire to include the abused sex symbol in ADogville,@ the bad wife of AEyes Wide Shut= and of course the seductress in ATo Die For.@

Symbolic of Marilyn Monroe with a brain Kidman plays the prevailing dumb blonde to perfection in A The Stepford Wives.@  This role continues in the pending A Bewitched.@

As a screenwriter, one rarely writes for the same actress over and over again.  For, unlike the studio, system of days gone by the writer sits on the sidelines as the studio revolving door of redheads, blondes, and brunettes twirl by. Inspired by the similar roles your dialog may ensnare the synapses of some busy actress. Hopefully it’s Ms. Kidman who remains busy with four films per year, while many other Oscar winners, the Roberts, Tomei=s etc. select less work each year.

 Ms. Kidman has chosen roles that Meryl Streep in her prime may have declined. Yet, like Bacall and Streep, the role of the abused blonde is predominant in Hollywood cinema.

The Films

The early Kidman films, AEyes Wide Shut@ and ATo Die for@ feature the good girl turned bad. That is the marketing premise but the writers of these movies, Stanley Kubrick and Buck Henry respectively are no slouches, and they use a three-act structure to expand the role of the dumb blonde. In Kubrick=s film the wife is the backdrop yet she controls the flow of the movie.  Tom Cruise is the featured protagonist.  As the subtle antagonist Kidman beguiles Tom into what she wants, and his eyes are wide shut to the manipulation.

  In ATo Die For@she played the protagonist spinning a web around her husband once again.

Who would suspect the weather girl? Why would you? Ms. Kidman continued this theme in ADogville@  Never one to shy from the sexual provocateur role Ms. Kidman perfected this vixen role with a vengeance.  Like Barbara Stanwyck in ADouble Indemnity,@ she earns her revenge.

In A DogVille@ Nicole is passed from man to man, a fitting pawn of the town=s paternal system. Yet, her character has a self-inflicted wound; she has chosen sexual abuse over her role as the gangster=s daughter. Abused, yet willing, she accepts the towns’= rapes for more than two hours. Ironically Ms Bacall starred in ADogville@with Ms. Kidman Why is Nicole afraid? Why would a town seek to protect her and destroy her?

As a screenwriter reviewing this trend in roles, one should steer Nicole away from the abused vixen. Yet, Ms. Kidman has selected this role once again in A The Interpreter.@ Perhaps market share?

In the same April 5, 2005 article (BBC UK) Lauren Bacall cited the lack of acting skills of today=s stars. . When Ms. Bacall starred in the pictures A Key Largo@ and  A Sex and the Single Girl@  sex was different or so we are lead to believe by today’s= censors.

 So, as a screenwriter choose to expand the sex vixen=s role. For that is the ultimate quest. Like fried chicken today=s actresses are packaged and ready to go. Select one, and then dilute the bad stuff for a long and prosperous career. Until next month when we cover the actors Tom and Laurence and break them out of the cracker jack box. Ciao.