Catfish - I'm on the fence?

Before you read anything, click on the picture over there and watch the preview if you don't know about this movie.  Don't worry, I'll wait.

Ok?  Checked it out?  Then let's move on.

It's almost impossible to talk about Catfish as a film without giving anything away, and I really don't want to do that.  As I walked out of the theater I definitely felt a bit rattled by the movie, but not for the reasons that the preview would lead you to think.  Once again I take up issue with how movies are being promoted, even though I understand the necessity of needing to market certain products in certain ways.

You watch that preview and you think, "Holy crap, what happens in the final 40 minutes of the movie?!  It looks like those guys pull up to this old barn in the middle of nowhere and then....what?  Something must go wrong, all hell must break loose....or something....right?"  The entire premise of the film is interesting enough and we can talk a bit about that without giving too much away.  Stop reading here, however, if you don't want to know any more than what's in the preview, ok?

Nev, the film's main character, is a photographer based out of NYC who gets a package in the mail one day from a young artist.  It's a painted version of one of his pictures that was published in a NYC newspaper, and the artist who painted it is an 8 year old girl named Abby who lives in Michigan(?).  Over time, more and more paintings begin to show up and Nev's roommates (who just happen to be filmmakers) decide to document this blossoming friendship.  Abby is apparently talented beyond her years and Nev and the young artist eventually become friends on Facebook.  This new angle of the story is where things really begin to pick up.  Facebook acts as a doorway into Abby's life and we eventually discover that she comes from a talented family of artists, her older sister (Megan in the preview) is a dancer, singer, musician and her mother Angela also has talents.  Friendships and connections develop over a serious of months, all through the very tenuous connections of Facebook, text messaging, and phone conversations.  Ultimately things begin to fall apart, and Nev's curiosity gets the better of him.  He, with friends in tow, decides to visit Abby and her family in rural Michigan.

That, in a nutshell, is the film.

Did I enjoy the film?  I have no idea honestly.  Is it compelling and unique?  Definitely.  Is it, as it claims, true?  I'm not sure, and from everything I've read on the internet no one else is really certain either.  Certain parts of the film seem genuinely real, and other parts of the film seem a little more "Blair Witch Project" than actual documentary.  If the previews piqued your interest then you might want to try and find this one and check it out, but if the whole premise of it doesn't grab your attention then maybe you should give it a pass.

SPOILERS BELOW - STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW HOW THIS ONE ENDS.  Click and highlight the inviso-text below if you want to keep reading....

Everybody gone?


Ultimately it's the finale of the movie that is the most unsettling aspect of the entire ordeal.  But it's not unsettling in the way the previews make it out to be and that is where I think a lot of my issues with marketing come back into play.  The previews would have you believe that something ghastly happens when the boys finally arrive at Abby's home in Michigan, or at least it leads you in the direction of thinking that.  What ultimately transpires is not so much ghastly as it is...sad.  Yeah, it's definitely disturbing what the anonymity of the internet allows people to do, but it shouldn't be that surprising to anyone I wouldn't think.  I mean, how hard is it to make a new gmail address for yourself?  Or a new FB account?  It's probably one of the easier things to do on the internet at this point in time.


The sad part, for me, is seeing how this woman struggles to exist within the realities of her life.  The way she fights with the compromises that she has made with herself in order to have a family, and have some sense of security while, at the same time, begrudging those very things for "holding her back from her dreams."  I think the commentary is fascinating.  She builds herself a fragile house of cards knowing that the slightest inspection might cause the whole thing to collapse, and yet she continues with the illusions anyway.  It begs the question however, if she'd made no compromises, if she'd tried to become the dancer/singer/artist/musician that she dreamed of...and failed...would that life be any better?  Would she be any less broken than she is now?

I'd love to hear thoughts from any of you who've seen this one.

Where the hell have I been?!?!

Ok, ok, ok.  I admit it, I've been slacking...ok?  I've seen a whole ton of movies over the summer and now into the start of fall and I haven't written a damn thing since Iron Man 2?!?!  I mean, what the hell, right?  For all 4 of you dedicated readers out there you have my sincerest apologies.  I'm going to try and get back on the horse and ride again (or something like that....)


In truth, I was feeling a little bit like this was a pointless adventure.  With so many reviews and critiques out there I don't see how adding my voice to the din is helpful or necessary.  But you know what?  Screw it.  I like talking about movies, and if some of you want to hear what I've got to say, then all the better.


Now comes the tricky part, how do I proceed from here?  I guess it would make the most sense to just skip the summer altogether as most of the movies I would choose to write about are already out of the theaters and on their way to being pressed onto blank DVDs for arrival at your local Best Buy store over the next few months.  Here's what I will say about this summer, and then I will move on to reviewing a couple of flicks I've seen lately (a few of which aren't even playing yet in your neighborhood!!)


This summer was pretty lackluster on the whole for me.  As I think back on it, only a couple of movies really jump out at me as being memorable.  What were they?  I thought you'd never ask....

For me this summer ultimately came down to 2 movies.  First, Christopher Nolan's Inception was an amazing spectacle for reasons so numerous that there isn't a point in trying to go into all of it here.  Suffice to say it's a mind bending film that takes chances like no other major Hollywood release in recent memory and pulls most of them off skillfully.  It leaves you walking away from the theater scratching your head and wondering about all the various possibilities the story puts forward.  While the characters aren't exceptionally engaging, it's the ideas behind the story being told that are the characters to watch for and listen to.  As soon as this final credits rolled I wanted to watch it again, and I did about 5 days later.  Great performances, fantastic action sequences (The fight scene with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the hotel hallway is unbelievable) and a hell of a premise make this the most memorable movie of the summer for me.

The other most memorable title of the summer?  Easy.  Pixar scored another home-run with their send off of Woody, Buzz and the gang in Toy Story 3.  There isn't a single wrong note in the entire film, it honors everything that has come before it, and leaves you smiling and a bit teary eyed at the conclusion.  It's a sweet film that has tension, heart, and a lot of laughs.  How Pixar continues to nail each and everything they put out there is something that boggles the mind quite honestly.  (I'm a bit concerned about Cars 2 next summer....but here's hoping!)  This is supposed to be the final movie in the Toy Story saga and it couldn't end on a better note.  I truly hope that no one at Pixar or Disney have the idea of trying to revisit this franchise in a couple of years because I don't know what more there is to tell about these characters.  It's great for young and old alike and lets you walk away from the characters knowing they're in good hands.  If you didn't see it this summer (shame on you) you might be able to find it at a $1 movie theatre near by.  Otherwise you'll probably have to wait till the holiday season to catch it when it finally hits DVD racks.


Honorable mentions for the summer?  Despicable Me  had a ton of heart, Splice was uncomfortably creepy, The Switch was hurt by bad promo.  Was ultimately more drama than comedy, and was a decent enough film with a great child actor as the focus.