Why Megan Fox is a Future Oscar Nominee in the Making

by iconmatthew1

Megan Fox (not to be confused with the woman on the Pantene box.)

Say what now again? I know that half of my subscribers right now are totally confused by this proclamation. The other two I already told in person that I’d be making this. But that’s right and let me say it again in bold letters for added emphasis: Megan Fox is an Oscar Nominee in the making! It seems Megan Fox gets a lot of flack from both men and women; particularly young filmmakers/actors about being some blight on Hollywood. That she is somehow this horrible, horrible, actress that ruins any movie that she is in. And yet somehow keeps getting work. Of course the lazy and most common reason people say this happens is because “She’s hot.” Ah! Of course she is an attractive woman, she must get all her jobs based on her looks alone. That might explain actors (or actresses I’m not sure what’s considered offensive anymore so I’ll just go back and forth) who get work on a SyFy channel original movie or maybe one movie just to be eye candy. But Fox gets consistent work, she’s in at least 1-3 major studio films a year and does a few more independent films as well. Is she just that insanely hot everyone has to hire her?

“I was thinking Jennifer Lawrence for this film, but I need someone who can’t act.”

It’s this flawed logic that movie fans have and even filmmakers that Hollywood is somehow this world where you have to choose beauty or acting. This is a mindset despite some of the most gorgeous model-type women in the world being nominated and winning acting awards: Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Claire Danes, Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence just to name a few. Lawrence was voted Ask Men’s hottest female. Not one of the hottest, THE hottest. She beat Megan Fox in a beauty contest, so obviously good looks aren’t a marker of acting talent. So Fox must be getting all these roles because directors and producers only find her tolerable because of her looks. They could just as easily hire a good looking actress who probably has a lower paying contract, but they stick with Fox because….she’s pretty? I’ve produced many films in my life both short and feature length let me promise you something: pretty actresses are a dime a dozen. Actors who can act are harder to find. So what’s Megan Fox’s secret? Well I’m getting to that.

The Dark Knight Rises: Ranked on a Scale from Epic to Super Epic.

by iconmatthew1

 

“The Dark Knight Rises” has a tall order that few movies ever get the honor of attempting and even fewer are able to pull off successfully. That is concluding a trilogy, a much beloved trilogy. I’m going to try and avoid as many comparisons as possible but one comparison that should be made is to Marvel’s “The Avengers” which was also wildly anticipated. There are two main differences between these two films. “The Avengers” was not a movie fans deciphered and tried desperately to figure out prior to it’s release. Never have I seen so many people trying to figure out a movie before even trailers were released. It became an obsession within the comic/superhero community. Websites, forums, comic book stores, car rides, etc. were all full of speculation about the movie. Even after I saw this film there were some fanboys sitting next to me who were complaining about the film not featuring certain characters, not introducing certain plot lines and or introducing characters they felt they would never fully get to know about. It must be tormenting to put so much of your own into an experience you have zero control over. I think most negative leaning reviews will probably stem from unmet expectations. However unrealistic or reasonable they were, they consumed a lot of people’s attitudes toward this movie. Even before it’s release. I mean rotten tomatoes had to deal with angry people who had not even seen the film berating, insulting and even threatening any critic who gave a negative review. Should we be surprised that “The Dark Knight Rises” currently holds a tomatometer hovering in the high 80’s? All of Nolan’s films get this treatment, because unlike “The Avengers” “The Dark Knight Rises” is about creating a complex multi layered story. It’s more crime drama than superhero movie. More pulp fiction that comic book. That’s also one of it’s great strengths. Unlike “The Avengers” (which I must note I quite enjoyed and found to be one of the best movies of the year and one of the best superhero movies of all time) TDKR has something that “The Avengers” missed out on: suspense. An actual sense of danger for the leads.

It also lacked in enough shots of Anne Hathaway in tight leather. (No amount could have pleased me.)

The world of Gotham is cold and cruel. Heroes are gunned down with casual ease by villains and there is nothing that anybody can really do about it. These characters feel real, they play it straight, you are invested in what happens to them not just physically but on a moral level as well. That is not to say that wasn’t present in “The Avengers” but a movie like TDKR relies so much more on it. All that being said TDKR is a very satisfying epic conclusion to the Batman trilogy. One that will surely become the measuring stick of not only super hero franchises but the next waves of attempted trilogies by anyone. The last few trilogies to pull off a feat of this kind were: The Lord of the Rings and The Bourne Trilogy.Both of those franchises are now expanding into more films, I wish them good luck.

Nolan has basically promised this will be his last Batman film and I think that’s for the best. There are more heroes to be explored, the comic medium is rich with new stories to tell. Nolan has told the Batman story better than anyone else (sans Bruce Timm).

The Dark Knight Rises has gotten some criticism for having too many plots going on at once and a slow exposition. I don’t understand film critics. They bash movies for not having enough back story on one hand then bash a film for trying to have one. I guess I’m a film critic as well, except I make movies and write scripts on a regular basis. So maybe I’m still in touch with what makes them good, or maybe I just wanted to like this movie. But I doubt that, without spoiling anything there were a few moments where I felt that if under the hands of a less talented director than Christopher Nolan or perhaps less talented actors it would have failed. But it never did. Somehow at least for me it never collapsed under it’s weight. I didn’t sit there and try and compare Bane to the Joker or Anne Hathaway to Ertha Kitt. I just watched the movie. I’ve gone into many movies not expecting much, just wanting to be entertained by a familiar franchise and they’ve let me down. (“Terminator Salvation”, “Indiana Jones 4”, “The Matrix Revolutions”) Maybe it’s just that I felt that unlike a lot of movies I’ve seen recently The Dark Knight actually is a franchise trying to wrap things up, it didn’t feel like a cash grab, it didn’t feel like that old friend trying to relive good memories. It was a movie that had great direction, superb acting, beautiful cinematography, rousing music and a script that left you satisfied and cheering in the end. I’m not sure what else I’m supposed to ask from a movie. If you didn’t have that experience I don’t know what to say, some people don’t like the beach. The beach is amazing, some people don’t like it, what can you do. They aren’t bad people or not as cultured as you, maybe they just don’t like the color blue. I really don’t care if nobody else on the face of the earth likes this movie, I think it’s a great movie. Critics thought “Blade Runner” was sup-par, Major newspapers predicted “Home Improvement” wouldn’t make it past it’s 1st season, Francis Ford Coppola almost didn’t make “The Godfather” because he thought it was trashy. If you are reading this and you haven’t seen TDKR don’t worry about what critics think. Not even me, who am I but some recent college grad sending out job resumes while I eat oriental flavored Ramen and try and convince myself that labeling a soup flavor ‘oriental’ isn’t racist. See it for yourself, but please just watch the movie. It’s good, I’m telling you. Now I’m about to continue this review but in order to do that I’ll have to spoil some plot points so if you haven’t seen the movie: STOP READING NOW! I’ll let you know that my final grade was a very high one and that if you haven’t seen it you should.