Hello readers! My name is Trieu and I am a new writer to HST. A little bit about myself. I am a recent college-graduate who decided to stay in his rural college town. Why you ask? Mostly because I’m not ready for real life just yet. I took a film studies class back in high school and fell in love with the film-making process. But don’t worry, I still enjoy watching them more. However, having a job that doesn’t pay that well kind of limits me from always going to the cinema. That’s why I’ve fallen back to watching TV shows recently. Not that I’m complaining though, cause the more TV shows I watch, the more I appreciate them. TV shows just have the character development that cannot be matched by movies. I’m not saying one or the other is better (at least not for now), but that is what I’ll mostly be contributing initially.

Movie Genre. Can’t say I really have a favorite, but I know what I don’t like. Sport and War movies. I will watch anything when I’m by myself, but when in a group, I like to watch less serious movies. People say my laugh is contagious and I like to see who it works on lol.

TV Shows I watch on a regular basis. American Dad. Family Guy. Brothers & Sisters. Heroes. Entourage. Glee. Better Off Ted. Cougar Town. The Office. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The Venture Bros. A few reality shows. AND my favorite, Desperate Housewives.

I’ll be honest, the first thing I look for in a movie/TV show is a good-looking cast. It’s certainly not a big factor in whether or not I like it, but let’s face it, who wants to spend hours looking at ugly people? I’ll leave you with that ending thought. Cheers!

(It’s been years since I’ve done any form of journalism so please pardon my writing style. I promise it’ll get better)

Tarantino has hit his stride again with the Basterds

Hello all, I’m Grant and I’ll be doing occasional reviews on this site. This introduction should let you know what I like, and what you can expect from me.

Favorite Film Genre

From Double Indemnity to Brick I love a good Film Noir. I enjoy the expansive plots and confusing narratives that leave me as lost as the protagonist. I love the ambiguous intentions of the characters (be it the protagonist or one of those dangerous ladies). Also, over the years I may have become so disenchanted with the ‘Hollywood Endings’ that I see a pessimistic film with a downer ending as a breath of fresh air.

Thoughts on Quentin Tarantino

He is a huge dork, but this only enhances his craft. It is nice to have a writer/director who is more obsessed about the film than I am. Tarantino has an amazing ability to let his soundtracks guide his films. His interesting and comedic dialogs are thought provoking and very quotable. Tarantino is amazingly refreshing because he continually provides creative narratives and long tracking shots to improve his story telling. It won’t always be a success (Deathproof) but Tarantino sacrifices nothing during his filmmaking and I will gladly see anything written and directed by him.

The Last Time I was Surprised by a Film

Role Models

Role Models was much more than the shallow comedy it appeared to be. With lines that left me crying with laughter and a storyline that made me care about the characters I was left completely entertained. Much of the credit goes to Paul Rudd and the other great comedic actors.

The Last Time I was Disappointed by a Film

Public Enemies

Even a well made poster could not save this film

Public Enemies had such great potential with great actors, a great director, and a stylistic art direction. But I was never invested, and the blame must fall on Mann. Mann attempts to help us better relate to the characters by using ‘personalized’ camera work. Unfortunately, this hinders the narrative and isolates the viewers from the film’s action scenes. Mann also made poor judgment in the screenplay. Instead of allowing great actors to help the audience explore the dichotomy between Depp as a gangster and Bale as an FBI agent, the film provides us with the slow uninteresting fall of Dillinger. Depicting the rise and fall of a criminal is not a new cinematic plotline.

Out on a Limb

I will defend M Night Shyamalan, even after seeing The Happening. His ability to create suspense is second only to Hitchcock. Shyamalan does a fantastic job of adding relationship dilemmas to the larger plot of the movie. Does he occasionally make ridiculous decisions for his movies? Yes, but I have excuses all lined up for him. Buy me a beer and I’ll tell you about it.

Movies > Television

Television shows are weakened by the fact that they are splintered. One of the main goals of a television show is to incite you to ‘tune in next week.’ All plot devices and character development are built around this. Having to reestablish the context and relationships at the start of every 22 minute episode is usually redundant and awkward. Obviously not every television program makes these mistakes, but this is a time for generalization and I cannot call television a pure form of entertainment. Films are able to be more creative while presenting an uninterrupted message less tainted by marketing.

Why Sequels are Crap

Remember how I don’t like television shows because they are fragmented? Well the same applies for movies which have unplanned sequels. Filmmakers see this as an opportunity to cut corners and plug those old familiar characters in oddly similar situations. Very rarely does a writer or director use this opportunity to further explore a theme or take the series in a new and interesting direction. Occasionally these filmmakers don’t just go for the quick buck, but their sequel still suffers because their decisions were influenced by the praise of the original. Many sequels are vastly over-appreciated, and I think this happens because audience members are reconnected to movies that they love, by viewing the sequels. Because of the lack of creativity and the cinematic shortcuts in sequels, I can count the number of sequels I love on one hand.

I know what you’re thinking. Who is that awesome person that is best friends with Wall-E? Here’s a little bit about me:

I am very much a product of the entertainment world. I was a Disney kid that learned as much from PBS shows as I did in the classroom. My biggest fear stems from my first encounter watching ET when he screams upon seeing Elliott for the first time.  The closest experience I have to holding a gun is shooting ducks out of the sky on the NES.
Today I am no different in the fact that I still relate everything back to movies, TV, games, etc. Especially Friends. Name a life experience and there is probably an episode that includes it. I love all genres of films, but have a tendency to lean towards horror, sci-fi, fantasy and things based on comic books and superheroes. My favorite director/writer/all-around-awesome-person is Joss Whedon and I will stand by pretty much anything he does, ranging from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. Though I say this with confidence, I cannot do the same for favorite actors. Ask for my favorite and you will get a list, both male and female. I am a firm believer that product placement belongs in films and TV because there is nothing more distracting than having a sticker over the apple on a computer (though holding a Coke can so that the label is perfectly facing the camera is pushing it). I get way too much enjoyment out of noticing random people in something and being able to pin point why they have a familiar face (my most recent pat-on-the-back moment was making the connection back to 2002s Doctor Zhivago on PBS and Lord Coward in the newly released Sherlock Holmes). I come from an artistic background, so in my reviews I tend to lean more towards the “look how pretty the set-up of that shot was!” more than the film credits of the director, and I will throw in big words to distract you from noticing this fact. Unfortunately, the vocabulary of terms I picked up in my Intro to Film class a few years back is constantly dwindling, so be on the lookout for “film noir” and “German expressionism” because they are slowly becoming all I have left. And finally, if you haven’t noticed yet, it is hard for me to avoid a good ramble here and there.
Still willing to know more about me? Well, my name is Lauren, so look out for my posts in the days to follow. And maybe a while after that as well.