The Ugly Truth

As some of you may know by now, when it comes to Gerard Butler, I react to him on a cellular level.


This may skew my reaction to a film like The Ugly Truth, which is getting stinkeroo reviews from critics - and enthusiastic endorsement from filmgoers.
























Katherine Heigl plays Abby, a successful TV producer but unsuccessful dater.

She inherits Mike (Gerard Butler,) a low-rent shock jock who tells The Ugly Truth on his call-in show. The truth as he sees it regarding the battle of the sexes, that is.

















Abby's boss wants the ratings Mike is guaranteed to pull in.















Abby wants to date her new neighbor, hunky doctor Colin (Eric Winter) without destroying her chances before they even begin.












Mike offers to coach her past her own dismal track record if she'll give his show a chance.
















Here's the thing. Even though we follow Abby more than we follow Mike, the film is really presented from Mike's male point of view. This is a how-to-find-true-love romantic comedy told through a jaded man's focus - an outlook that is raunchy, obnoxious and unrepentent.

What I find really strange is the derision handed out to The Ugly Truth by critics, when I laughed throughout the movie - and so did everyone in the theatre.

So here's a battle of the critics versus the filmgoers.












Peter Travers from Rolling Stone gives it half a star out of four stars.

"Katherine Heigl once complained that Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, in which she starred, was way too guy-centric and made the women humorless shrews. Heigl owes Apatow an apology. The Ugly Truth, Heigl's new romcom, is the real sexist swill."












Internet Movie Data Base user michelem3 says, "I saw this movie at a preview event last Friday night and it was hilarious. The sold out cinema was laughing hysterically throughout the movie. Butler has great comedic timing complimenting his tough guy persona. If you are expecting to see a typical romantic comedy you will be surprised, because this R rated film is geared toward the men in the audience as well as the ladies. Grab your significant other and be prepared to laugh and enjoy the movie together."












Jason Anderson for The Toronto Star gives it one and a half stars out of four.

"These reluctant co-workers declare a truce when a hunky surgeon moves into Abby's apartment complex and she solicits Mike's advice on how to land him. Imagine what follows as George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion except with a potty-mouthed Henry Higgins instructing Eliza Doolittle on how to dress more like a stripper."












From IMDB user LadyMacbeth75:

"I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. My husband was happy to watch a romantic comedy from the male perspective as well as the female for a change. The typical fairy tale elements seem to go by the wayside here and we're left with a harsher but very funny battle-of-the-sexes comedy for the times in which we now live."












Manohla Dargis from the New York Times writes:

"That tap-tap-tapping sound you hear is another nail being driven into the coffin of the romantic comedy. Which leads to The Ugly Truth, a cynical, clumsy, aptly titled attempt to cross the female-oriented romantic comedy with the male-oriented gross-out comedy that is interesting on several levels, none having to do with cinema."















IMDB user tomjanjess says:

"I have not laughed so much over a movie as I did watching The Ugly Truth. This film was hysterical. It is a must see movie for both men and women. The scene in the restaurant just about sent me into a fit. I could not stop laughing. The baseball scene was just as funny. Guys would relate to a lot of the scenes in this movie. I cannot understand how the critics rate a movie poorly when the audience was roaring with laughter from beginning to end."















Liam Lacey from the Globe and Mail gives it one star out of four:

"If Doris Day and Rock Hudson had made jokes about vibrating panties and fellatio at the ballpark, just think how much funnier their romantic comedies would have been. That appears to have been the brainwave behind The Ugly Truth. The script was written by three women. They try desperately to copy Judd Apatow's recipe for romantic raunch but succeed only in reversing his snigger-to-flinch ratio."
















IMDB user tabuno says:

"This romantic comedy had two gut wrenching belly laugh scenes, along with a more in-your-face sexist look at the differences between men and women which in some ways could be closer to the truth than more 'enlightened' people may want to admit. It is understandable why most critics didn't have much positive to say, but these politically-incorrect sexist comments have at their core some resonance in how men and women actually feel and think. This is a movie that says what many of us want to say, but are afraid to admit, but also enlightens the mass audience with some actual relationship truths by the end of the movie. Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler do have their own chemistry and there is a hidden playfulness that comes out that for some critics might seem childishly crude, but in many respects is so real."

As for myself...well...I could watch Gerry on the dance floor for hours but had to settle for a mere few minutes...sigh...


CLICK HERE to watch the set-up scene from The Ugly Truth

First Kiss, Destiny and Meeting God

Michelle Johnson over at Poefusion takes part in Manic Monday, hosted by Fleur de Lisa - and for today's Through the Opera Glasses I thought I'd focus my sights on her prompt.

As you may recall, I'm taking part in Kim's Blog Improvement Project, and the latest challenge is to once again shake up our normal offerings. We're encouraged to post as many different types of blog posts as we can by July 24th.

"It’s easy to get into a pattern of writing the same kinds of posts over and over again," Kim reminds us. "But sometimes it can be fun to spice it up."

Here are Michelle's prompts:

When and with whom was your first kiss?

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?

What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

I'm going to put an arts twist on this prompt, since this is my arts feature.

First kiss - My own first kiss was with my first boyfriend, Philip. For more details, check out my story in my Naughty Meme of Firsts.


When I think of a perfect depiction of a first kiss, I can't help but think of the final scene in 1995's Persuasion.

It occurs at the 5:50 mark in the clip below.





But of course, I can't rule out the kiss in North & South.


Warning ladies - watching this scene may turn you into a puddle of goo...





Does everything happen for a reason? - Well, let's see. When I first moved to Toronto 23 years ago, I worked as a live-in nanny in the west end of the city. I went over to a movie theatre to fill out an application for evening and weekend work - at the Humber theatre - and began walking east along Bloor Street. Not west. East.

I wanted to start meeting people with similar interests to mine. I figured movie theatre people would be a good start.

Not too far along I saw a sign for psychic readings. I thought, what the heck? So I went up. I didn't keep going along the storefronts as I normally did.

The young woman read my palm, and among her observations she was adamant that my soul mate was very near. She mentioned that he wore a uniform. Since I was brand new to the city with only two friends from home also in Toronto, plus the family for whom I worked, I thought, don't know how that can be.

When I was done, I went down the stairs to the street. I kept walking east along Bloor Street until I got to another movie theater I hadn't even known about. It was the Runnymede Theatre. So I went in and applied.

I was called to start work there not long after. One of my co-workers was a very handsome usher named Brad Smith. To whom I'm now married.

I absolutely think everything does happen for a reason. In the same way that thousands of people gather for a performance at the same place at the same time, the universe arranges significant events in order to facilitate each person's potential for growth. The universe has the ticket with the date and time. It's our job to sense when the curtain is about to go up.


A wonderful film with this outlook is Serendipity.





What would I like to hear God say when I cross over? - I would like to hear: Rest, now.















A truly chills-inspiring meeting-up-with-God scene for me is the ending of The Fountain. The music really thrills me.



So... What about you?

The Rise of Green Screen Technology

Did you ever wonder why blue screens seem to have turned into green screens for film effects?

The reason is the simple march of time - and technology.

Blue screen continues to be used in film, as we can see in these composite shots from 300.




















"Until the the 1990s most blue screen for films was done optically, and all television composites were done using analog real time hardware." - Bob Kertesz

Optical effects are expensive, exacting and have to be done in post-production, which is the time used by the production after the principal photography is completed. This is the time when music is recorded for the soundtrack, dialogue is replaced through looping, and sound and visual effects are created.

Before the advance of digital technology, the only way to get a realistic-looking visual effect was through blue screen optical matting, which replaced a background component - the blue screen - with a second visual component - usually a risky location such as a cliff.

The process of traditional travelling matte optics is time consuming. Each frame of the actor has to be made into a negative. The blue background is replaced by the new location footage, then photographed again with the negative of the actor superimposed, then the images photographed once again replacing the negative of the actor with the actual actor.









Graphic by Tech On

The television industry has always opted for green screen technology, due to the way TV cameras work to a basic three-color spectrum: Blue, Green and Red. Often the superimposed images are created on the spot in the studio at the mixing console by the video switcher.

"Chroma-Key is a television process only, based on the luminance key. Video cameras are usually most sensitive in the green channel, and often have the best resolution and detail in that channel. Green paint has greater reflectance than blue paint, which can make matting easier." - Bob Kertesz

Because cameras have gradually moved over to digital, even for full-length motion pictures, the effects have moved with them. The green background works best in digital format and has the added benefit of not interfering with actors' blue eyes or blue clothing.




















The trick with green screen is knowing how your other colors will behave when you shoot them. Notice how on-set for Sin City, Marv's bandages are red, but in the finished effect shot, the red becomes white. Also notice how a slight blue tinge on Marv's white T-shirt turns the shirt into a truer white in the effect shot.

Actors today can be assured of having to act in front of either a blue or a green screen at some point in their careers. A major challenge for them, but green screen has changed the way film and television is shot. I personally love this technology, especially when it brings me back through time to ancient Rome or to Middle Earth.















Graphic from Make Movies or Die

True Blood Season 2

On Sunday night my husband and I settled in to watch the second season of True Blood, another delicious series from HBO. Here's a trailer for season 2.
















How could I resist a series featuring a melancholy vampire like Bill Compton?

















Vampire Bill is an American Civil War vet who has taken up residence in Bon Temps, Louisiana, the setting for Charlaine Harris' series of books on which the series is based.




This is the only kind of TV show that can capture my attention - one with quirky, edgy characters and writing that really pushes the envelope.

Although having uber amazing Viking leader Eric doesn't hurt.






















The blundering bad luck of Jason Stackhouse - as well as his racy sexcapades - are a favorite part of the show for me.





















And I really love supporting character Terry Bellefleur, the post traumatic stress disorder Gulf War vet. He has a scene in season 1 where he sees something while out fishing, and flips into battlefield mode, communicating with military hand signals. I just love that scene. His befuddled civilian persona gives way to the soldier within and I love that glimpse of him.


Can't get enough of gay cook Lafayette, either. He tells it like it is, girlfriend.
































And who can resist the rivalry between Bill and diner/bar owner Sam? Especially since Sam keeps a secret of his own...


Not every character in True Blood is male - just my favorite ones. Except for Sookie Stackhouse herself, the main character for the series.

She's fast becoming one of my favorite female characters ever.











Here's the original trailer for season 1. If you haven't discovered True Blood yet, and if you love vampires, oddball towns and superior writing, give this series a look.

You'll pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming.

Romeo and Juliet

Imagine my joy on Sunday morning when I sat down to coffee and breakfast with my mom - and she pulled out the TV listings and told me Romeo and Juliet would be on PBS that afternoon!

It's been three weeks since I went to see La Bayadere at Empire Theatre's ballet-in-HD series. Long enough to long for another ballet.

When you are a ballet freak like me, you'll take whatever you can get. Even when it's a super-charged emotional story like Romeo and Juliet, performed by a company like the New York City Ballet, known for its non-story ballets, its crisp purity - essentially, not for emoting.

















Mom and I sat down in her living room at 3:30 for the whole tragic tale. I was very impressed by Juliet, played by Sterling Hyltin. She had me in tears when she awoke from Friar Lawrence's potion to find Romeo dead.

You can check out some rehearsal footage and part of an interview with Ms. Hyltin here:

Clip from Romeo and Juliet rehearsal















Mom and I were both knocked out by Daniel Ulbricht's performance as Mercutio. He's the dancer in purple clashing swords with Tybalt, in yellow. Mr. Ulbricht gave a solid dramatic performance alongside his superb dance technique and brilliant height with his jumps.

You can check out some weapons rehearsal footage for the sword fights here:

Clip from sword fight rehearsal

The production which aired Sunday is a new work choreographed by Peter Martins. It's always interesting for me to see a new interpretation of something. Whatever form the story takes, I'm willing to go where the director or choreographer, composer or poet points me.

I've seen five different full-length versions of the Romeo and Juliet ballet:

The National Ballet of Canada's version by John Cranko

The Bolshoi Ballet's version by Leonid Lavrovsky

The Northern Ballet's version by Massimo Moricone

The Royal Ballet's version by Sir Kenneth MacMillan

The New York City Ballet's version by Peter Martins

I've enjoyed each one of them.

But nothing moves me as much as Cranko's version. He captured everything there is to say about falling madly, irrevocably in love. Below you'll find the original dancers on whom Cranko set his ballet, Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun in the balcony pas de deux, filmed for German television in the 1970's:




And because the weapons rehearsal footage got me psyched for more sword fighting, here is a compilation clip from one of my favorite shows, Legend of the Seeker:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I've been waiting to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine since the first glimpse of this character in the first X-Men film.

















You know the scene. His back to us in the cage fight sequence.























My husband Brad and I are big superhero fans, and on Saturday mornings in the 90's when I was getting ready to work the matinees at the performing arts theatre in Toronto, X-Men: The Animated Series was always on our TV. I just loved the opening credits music. We both loved waiting for Cyclops to yell, "Jean! No!" at some point during the episode. So I was already familiar with the character of Wolverine when we gratefully sat in our seats at the movie theatre in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2000 for the first X-Men movie (we lived there for two years.)

Hugh Jackman hooked me with Wolverine the moment he turned in that cage with his raised eyebrow and his keep-away persona. Of course he was a badass. Of course he couldn't turn his back on runaway teenage Rogue. No! He's my perfect kind of male character. Because lurking there somewhere was the revelation that came in X-Men 2: X-Men United. Wolverine had endured a hideous physical transformation that gave him those claws. And he had the disturbed repressed memories to prove it.











When he stumbles upon the scene of the crime in X-Men 2, Wolverine flashes back to the top-secret military experiment that resulted in him.











These flash backs came to us as they came to him. Horrible scenes of agony, thrashing in a tank of liquid, breaking free of the perpetrators, trying to make sense of what had been done to him.











But they were only flashes, and Wolverine blocked them out as soon as he could.

Knowing an origins film was in the works simmered in the back of my mind for what has seemed like an endless torment. Not as tormented as Wolverine, mind you. But close.

Finally, finally X-Men Origins: Wolverine opened on May 1st. At last I could find out how he got in that tank, could brace myself to see the awful truth for myself.

Except that I couldn't. My personal hell of migraine plague was raging. This winter has been my worst on record, and by May 1st my endurance level was hitting critical failure. The Wolverine origins film was sure to be flashy and loud. No Wolverine for me.

I read reviews which said:

The movie is somewhat limited in its denouement in that as a prequel, Sabretooth and Stryker must live to play another day (in X-Men and X2) and Wolverine must remember to forget these events. Nonetheless, it’s engaging action, and a spur to watch X2 again on DVD. - David MacDonnell, Starlog



Which begs the question - why do I want to see an origin story so badly when I already know what happens to this character in the future?











This past Friday, all systems were go. My head was bugging me but not so badly that I couldn't grit my teeth and bare the flashy parts. And the explosion parts.

I met up with Brad and we greeted the long weekend finally sitting down in a theatre to see how Wolverine got to that opening cage fight scene back in X-Men.











For me, the irresistable call of the origin story is going through the transformation along with the character. Instead of having zero interest level because I already know what's going to happen to him in the future, for me this moment shown above is so much more gripping and heart-crushing because I know so much about Wolverine.

He readies himself for something we already know will be excruxiating in the extreme. It will change almost everything about him. The true transformation of one incarnation into another is my favorite type of story - a thread that runs through all of my own stories.
















The echo of transformation resonates so strongly in us because so many of us experience its painful process.

We leave home, move to a strange city, experience hard times and must rely on ourselves to get through it. The new being that emerges has some battle scars, but stands straighter, taller.

A woman goes into labour and emerges as a new being - a mother. The transformation is painful. But the new persona created by that event provides the baby with its own personal superhero, someone who can push past the boundaries of the previous woman who existed before the birth transformation took place.

The chrysalis mythos is a basic element of the human condition. Without transformation, there is no growth. Without growth, there is no life.











When Wolverine endures the inevitable, I endure it with him - gladly. It reminds me that all the days that absolutely suck are not just meaningless torture. They are part of my chrysalis.











When Wolverine erupts out of the tank roaring with new life, a lean mean fighting machine, it reminds me of the way in which I meet my own personal pain, my own personal Black Moment. It's really my cue to show my true character. The transformation changes almost everything. The thing that remains is character.











The opening credits show this as Wolverine and his brother Sabretooth ennact their version of the Universal Soldier. A really nice sequence. Sabretooth's true nature is uncovered by each successive battle they're in.

And having Sabretooth portrayed by Liev Schreiber only adds to the joy for me.














Because I write about vampires, this scene above where the two brothers, Sabretooth and Wolverine are about to be executed by firing squad - when they and the audience are aware that they have the ability to regenerate and will now have witnesses to their unexplained ability - sets up a delicious anticipation.


One of the complaints about the film is the inclusion of various Marvel Comics characters without giving fan-favorites enough screen time. Because the X-Men stories are really about a team of beings that work together, I don't see how you could tell an X-Men story without them.

My favorite of the new characters is Gambit, played by Taylor Kitsch.








I really liked his wizard-y fighting staff.






















And Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool gets particular flack from fanboys and I assume fangirls because of mysterious retooling of the character's basic elements. His wisecracking personality, to be specific. Not being one of these, I enjoyed Reynolds performance and his swirling katana swords. You know I love me some swords.