In honor of Halloween, for my first Throwback Thursday, I'll be resurrecting a blog entry that I wrote back in 2010 and never posted. Once again, I'm a couple of minutes late, because I was trying way too hard to think of a bad vampire pun to add here, but it ended up being too much of a pain in the neck.
I think people never realize the value of a good soundtrack until they've sat through a movie with a bad one.
Seriously, think about it. In the best cases, we're not always consciously aware of the music playing under a film because it blends so well with the story itself. It helps to heighten our emotional reactions without sticking out like a sore thumb. It's only when a movie has a less than great soundtrack that you can't help but notice it. There you are, trying to get invested in the story, but there's all of this awkward noise getting in the way.
It's difficult for me to find stuff to watch around Halloween because I don't do well with really scary horror flicks. This Halloween, though, I had the brilliant idea to watch a couple of classic silent horror films. What made it better was that my brother was in town, and I knew he'd be on board. On Halloween night, we settled on Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. It started as a great plan, but the mistake I made was choosing to watch the version of Nosferatu that was available to stream on Netflix rather than ordering the DVD version ahead of time. Well, how could I have known? Being generally unfamiliar with the ways of silent films, I just assumed that all of the versions would be basically the same, or at least have the same music. How very wrong I was.
If you, like me, were not aware, silent films back in the day almost always featured a live orchestra. I mean, now that I know, it seems incredibly obvious and I'm not sure why I didn't figure that out in the first place, but whatever. I didn't. I have since learned that there are multiple versions of Nosferatu in existence, each with a different score. One of them, (the one I meant to watch), has a soundtrack replicating the music that would have accompanied the movie when it was originally in cinemas. Another version features a gothic industrial soundtrack, and I've heard fairly good things about that one as well.
And yet, out of all of the cool versions floating around out there, the one Nick and I got stuck with was the one with music sounding like it was played on a Casio keyboard from the 1980s, and some weird filter that made all of the scenes different colors, meant to enhance the intended emotion of each scene, or something like that. The actual result was that this iconic film, this self-proclaimed "Symphony of Horror" that was supposed to have terrified audiences when it premiered, was instead kind of a joke. Nick and I couldn't take it seriously, and I caught myself starting to fall asleep more than once. And all because the music took so much away from what should have been a legendary fright-fest.
Moral of the story is, if you plan on watching a silent film, make sure it's the version with the correct soundtrack.
UPDATE (10/30/2014): This Halloween, Netflix was streaming the version of Nosferatu with the original score. I gave it another watch, and I'm pleased to report that it's much more effective with an actual orchestra behind it. I was surprised to discover that this version still had the color filter, but it was somehow less jarring without the stupid Casio score. Also, I didn't fall asleep this time, so I got to see a few scenes I'd missed upon first viewing, and they turned out to be some of the scariest ones in the entire movie, which would partially explain why I was so underwhelmed the first time around. Granted, it's possible that Nosferatu may still not be considered terrifying by the standards of today's horror fanatics, but that's perfectly fine with me because I hate horror movies anyway and probably couldn't watch it if it were really that bad. It was still delightfully creepy, and I'm thrilled that I finally got to see it the way it was meant to be seen.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Here Lies Poor Old Jack OR My First (and Most Controversial) Movie Review
I'm about to make a pretty startling confession. It's something I don't normally like to share with people, for fear that I'll get burned at the stake by nearly everyone I know, including my boyfriend and my best friend. But recently, this deep, dark secret has been weighing on me, and I'm not sure why. Maybe the lies have just gone on too long, or maybe I feel like I've given people a very wrong impression of me, but either way, it's time to get this off of my chest. I think that The Nightmare Before Christmas is just...okay.
In case you're wondering, I don't have anything against people who love The Nightmare Before Christmas. I'm still expecting a whole lot of backlash, because I think almost everyone I've ever met is a huge fan. It's important to note that I do like watching it. When I was younger, I was right there with everyone else singing its praises. But as I got older, and as I watched it more, I started noticing several things that just didn't make sense. However, in spite of its flaws, I still find it very enjoyable. So no, I will not judge you if you're part of the 99% of the population who adores it. It's just that, if you try to tell me it's the most flawless, brilliant piece of cinema ever made, I'm going to have to disagree with you.
First of all, the "love story" comes off as extremely forced. I'm getting this complaint out of the way first, both because it was the first thing that really stood out to me, and also because I worry that this is the one that will rattle the most cages, considering how many people think that Jack and Sally are the cutest little spooky couple that ever happened. Basically, I'm trying to get the most severe beatings over with right in the beginning. Anyway, it's pretty well-established that Sally has feelings for Jack. There are plenty of scenes throughout the movie showing her admiring him from afar. However, I have a hard time believing that there is any kind of a foundation for an actual relationship. The only arguably romantic moment between them comes when Sally sends Jack a basket containing a dead fish and a bottle of magic butterfly wine. But even then, she runs away before Jack has time to say anything to her. They only have one real conversation at any point, which consists of Jack effectively brushing off Sally's attempts to warn him about his Christmas being a terrible idea. And suddenly, at the end, they're singing about how they're "simply meant to be," and we're expected to just accept it. Unfortunately, it's not, as they claim, "as plain as anyone can see." It feels to me like they just decided to throw in a love story for the sake of having a love story. Even in Sally's own song, her unrequited love seems like nothing more than a footnote:
I sense there's something in the wind
That feels like tragedy's at hand
And though I'd like to stand by him
Can't shake this feeling that I have
The worst is just around the bend
And does he notice my feelings for him?
And since we're on the subject of the music, I have to say at least a little bit about the songs. Mind you, I'm not talking about the score itself, which I honestly believe is one of Danny Elfman's finest. But while no one is arguing that Elfman is a talented composer, a brilliant lyricist he is not. Every once in a while, he manages to crank out some lines that sound fairly poetic, but most of the time, it feels like he's just trying to throw in words because he didn't have enough syllables to fill out a line, ("I am the clown with the tear-away face / Here in a flash and gone without a trace"), or he needed a rhyme, ("Kidnap the Sandy Claws, tie him in a bag / Throw him in the ocean and see if he is sad," which, let's be honest, doesn't actually rhyme), or he just wanted some more arbitrary Halloween-themed lyrics, ("Trick or treat 'til the neighbors come and die of fright"). At least three of the songs contain bits where people are just singing "la la la," sometimes for the entirety of the chorus. One of these songs, "This Is Halloween," also includes numerous repetitions of just the word "Halloween" over and over. This may only be me, because I'm an admitted grammar nazi, but every time I listen to "What's This," I can feel my eye twitching from the multiple grammar mistakes, ("They're gathering around and hearing story," or "The smell of cakes and pies are absolutely everywhere"). The good news is, the songs to lend themselves quite well to cool covers, and I like to listen to Nightmare Revisited on loop every October.
Every time I watch Nightmare, I have more and more questions brought on by the continuity errors and all of the things that go unexplained. How can Jack be killed if he's already dead, like he says he is very early on? How does Jack wander (sleepwalk?) into the portal between Holiday Worlds without ever coming out through the door to Halloweentown? If Santa Claus comes from Christmastown to deliver toys to children, and the Easter Bunny presumably comes from...let's call it "Eastertown" to hide eggs in the human world, then what is the purpose of Halloweentown? Do they just pop out and scare people on Halloween, or do they just have some kind of a parade amongst themselves and then start planning for next year? Why does Jack get frustrated with the villagers for not understanding Christmas when he does exactly the same thing? What's up with Oogie Boogie, anyway? So he's a gambling addict who eats/is made of bugs (and maybe people)? Why is he the villain? Can you really have an outcast in a village that's already full of strange nightmare people?
To be fair, a lot of the issues I have with this movie can probably be chalked up to a lack of time. I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and for the first time, I noticed that it has a runtime of just over an hour. I don't know enough about the making of the movie to know why it was so short, but Nightmare was truly the first movie of its kind, and the first stop-motion feature of that magnitude. It's entirely possible that the crew didn't have the time or resources to make such an elaborate production too much more than an hour long, and perhaps that's why the story suffered. Or maybe I'm being too nice, and it really was the product of terrible writing.
Speaking of the writing, I need to clarify something. Tim Burton neither directed Nightmare nor wrote the screenplay. It was directed by Henry Selick, and written by Caroline Thompson. Burton was a producer, and the creator of the original characters and concept. I know this is a little nit-picky, but I like to give credit where credit is due.
And of course, anyone who has known me for any amount of time is aware of how often superfans have ruined things for me. I have very little patience for all of the weird little Jack Skellington fangirls and fanboys, and it certainly doesn't help that a huge percentage of them weren't even born when the movie came out.
Now, all of that aside, I'll still maintain that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a cute, fun-to-watch movie with a lot of redeeming qualities. As I mentioned before, it was definitely the first of its kind. Full-length stop-motion features may have existed before Nightmare, but none on such a grand scale. No other movie before that time involved such intensely detailed character animation, facial expressions, or set designs. It paved the way for a number of amazing movies like Coraline and ParaNorman. Even though the final story left a lot to be desired, the concept itself is very unique and endearing. And like I also said earlier, it has a fantastic score. Now, I know we like to poke fun of Danny Elfman's tendency to reuse a lot of the same elements in everything he writes, (with the lalalala lalalalas and the BOM BOM BOM BOMs and the deedleedeedlee deedleedeedlees), but he really does have a distinct and intriguing style that's hard not to like, and his Nightmare score was exceptionally well-written.
So keep on truckin', all of you Nightmare fans. I salute you. I just...probably won't watch it with you multiple times in one year.
In case you're wondering, I don't have anything against people who love The Nightmare Before Christmas. I'm still expecting a whole lot of backlash, because I think almost everyone I've ever met is a huge fan. It's important to note that I do like watching it. When I was younger, I was right there with everyone else singing its praises. But as I got older, and as I watched it more, I started noticing several things that just didn't make sense. However, in spite of its flaws, I still find it very enjoyable. So no, I will not judge you if you're part of the 99% of the population who adores it. It's just that, if you try to tell me it's the most flawless, brilliant piece of cinema ever made, I'm going to have to disagree with you.
First of all, the "love story" comes off as extremely forced. I'm getting this complaint out of the way first, both because it was the first thing that really stood out to me, and also because I worry that this is the one that will rattle the most cages, considering how many people think that Jack and Sally are the cutest little spooky couple that ever happened. Basically, I'm trying to get the most severe beatings over with right in the beginning. Anyway, it's pretty well-established that Sally has feelings for Jack. There are plenty of scenes throughout the movie showing her admiring him from afar. However, I have a hard time believing that there is any kind of a foundation for an actual relationship. The only arguably romantic moment between them comes when Sally sends Jack a basket containing a dead fish and a bottle of magic butterfly wine. But even then, she runs away before Jack has time to say anything to her. They only have one real conversation at any point, which consists of Jack effectively brushing off Sally's attempts to warn him about his Christmas being a terrible idea. And suddenly, at the end, they're singing about how they're "simply meant to be," and we're expected to just accept it. Unfortunately, it's not, as they claim, "as plain as anyone can see." It feels to me like they just decided to throw in a love story for the sake of having a love story. Even in Sally's own song, her unrequited love seems like nothing more than a footnote:
I sense there's something in the wind
That feels like tragedy's at hand
And though I'd like to stand by him
Can't shake this feeling that I have
The worst is just around the bend
And does he notice my feelings for him?
And since we're on the subject of the music, I have to say at least a little bit about the songs. Mind you, I'm not talking about the score itself, which I honestly believe is one of Danny Elfman's finest. But while no one is arguing that Elfman is a talented composer, a brilliant lyricist he is not. Every once in a while, he manages to crank out some lines that sound fairly poetic, but most of the time, it feels like he's just trying to throw in words because he didn't have enough syllables to fill out a line, ("I am the clown with the tear-away face / Here in a flash and gone without a trace"), or he needed a rhyme, ("Kidnap the Sandy Claws, tie him in a bag / Throw him in the ocean and see if he is sad," which, let's be honest, doesn't actually rhyme), or he just wanted some more arbitrary Halloween-themed lyrics, ("Trick or treat 'til the neighbors come and die of fright"). At least three of the songs contain bits where people are just singing "la la la," sometimes for the entirety of the chorus. One of these songs, "This Is Halloween," also includes numerous repetitions of just the word "Halloween" over and over. This may only be me, because I'm an admitted grammar nazi, but every time I listen to "What's This," I can feel my eye twitching from the multiple grammar mistakes, ("They're gathering around and hearing story," or "The smell of cakes and pies are absolutely everywhere"). The good news is, the songs to lend themselves quite well to cool covers, and I like to listen to Nightmare Revisited on loop every October.
Every time I watch Nightmare, I have more and more questions brought on by the continuity errors and all of the things that go unexplained. How can Jack be killed if he's already dead, like he says he is very early on? How does Jack wander (sleepwalk?) into the portal between Holiday Worlds without ever coming out through the door to Halloweentown? If Santa Claus comes from Christmastown to deliver toys to children, and the Easter Bunny presumably comes from...let's call it "Eastertown" to hide eggs in the human world, then what is the purpose of Halloweentown? Do they just pop out and scare people on Halloween, or do they just have some kind of a parade amongst themselves and then start planning for next year? Why does Jack get frustrated with the villagers for not understanding Christmas when he does exactly the same thing? What's up with Oogie Boogie, anyway? So he's a gambling addict who eats/is made of bugs (and maybe people)? Why is he the villain? Can you really have an outcast in a village that's already full of strange nightmare people?
To be fair, a lot of the issues I have with this movie can probably be chalked up to a lack of time. I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and for the first time, I noticed that it has a runtime of just over an hour. I don't know enough about the making of the movie to know why it was so short, but Nightmare was truly the first movie of its kind, and the first stop-motion feature of that magnitude. It's entirely possible that the crew didn't have the time or resources to make such an elaborate production too much more than an hour long, and perhaps that's why the story suffered. Or maybe I'm being too nice, and it really was the product of terrible writing.
Speaking of the writing, I need to clarify something. Tim Burton neither directed Nightmare nor wrote the screenplay. It was directed by Henry Selick, and written by Caroline Thompson. Burton was a producer, and the creator of the original characters and concept. I know this is a little nit-picky, but I like to give credit where credit is due.
And of course, anyone who has known me for any amount of time is aware of how often superfans have ruined things for me. I have very little patience for all of the weird little Jack Skellington fangirls and fanboys, and it certainly doesn't help that a huge percentage of them weren't even born when the movie came out.
Now, all of that aside, I'll still maintain that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a cute, fun-to-watch movie with a lot of redeeming qualities. As I mentioned before, it was definitely the first of its kind. Full-length stop-motion features may have existed before Nightmare, but none on such a grand scale. No other movie before that time involved such intensely detailed character animation, facial expressions, or set designs. It paved the way for a number of amazing movies like Coraline and ParaNorman. Even though the final story left a lot to be desired, the concept itself is very unique and endearing. And like I also said earlier, it has a fantastic score. Now, I know we like to poke fun of Danny Elfman's tendency to reuse a lot of the same elements in everything he writes, (with the lalalala lalalalas and the BOM BOM BOM BOMs and the deedleedeedlee deedleedeedlees), but he really does have a distinct and intriguing style that's hard not to like, and his Nightmare score was exceptionally well-written.
So keep on truckin', all of you Nightmare fans. I salute you. I just...probably won't watch it with you multiple times in one year.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
An Open Letter of Gratitude to Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
Dear Dan and Swampy,
I had the enormous privilege of getting to chat with you for a bit at this year's San Diego ComicCon. You most likely meet new people all the time, so it would come as no surprise if you don't remember me. What you might remember, though, is me telling you that for the past three years, I've been exceptionally blessed to be involved with Phineas and Ferb's Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party. I couldn't say much more about it at the time, because I was already feeling guilty for holding everyone up. Had I been given a chance to really sit down and talk with you, I would have told you exactly how much this show has changed my life.
I don't just mean that because I've been with it for so long, or because it was my first "parade," or my first time opening a show. My life was changed by the people in it with me. They brought me out of my shell, and taught me not to fear just being myself. Over the years, I learned that many others in the cast were affected just as strongly. Though we were all different types of people with varying personalities, we christened ourselves a "Phamily." And despite our fears that our dynamic would dissolve as more people joined, the Phamily only grew with every new group.
You know that our management has decided to close our show soon. As far as we knew, guests still came in droves to dance with us, so this seemed to come out of nowhere. But, alas, it was not our decision to make. After it happens, I don't foresee myself staying with the resort for much longer. The idea of leaving my job has been on my mind for a while, for several reasons, but hearing the news of the show's impending closure sealed the deal. I'm losing what has, for a long time, been one of my defining roles at my job, and it feels like just the push I needed to move on and pursue my writing career, (*hint hint*). My love for the show is a big part of what's kept me around, and once it's gone, it's bound to leave a void. My main comfort now is that I'll never lose my Phamily. We've formed a bond that will never be broken, no matter where our lives take us now.
It's become tradition for people to flash mob the last number of the dance party. On the last show of our last day, friends, fans and former cast will be joining us, (some from out of town), to dance with us one last time. Ideally, it will be the flash mobbiest flash mob that ever flash mobbed. I mean, I intend for this thing to be so huge that there's no room left on the dance floor, and we end up having to take over the entire street. I'm letting you know because I'll never forget your reaction when I told you about my job, or the hug that Swampy gave me. If anyone should witness the impact this show has made, it's you. (And of course, the cast, crew, musicians, and anyone else who loves the show as much as you do.) If you feel the urge to join in, there are plenty of videos on YouTube to help you brush up on the choreography, because nothing in the world would make for a more epic flash mob (phlash mob?) than having our benevolent creators join in. You, after all, are a part of our Phamily, too. Then, feel free to give Ferb a giant hug, because he'll be crying on the inside. Not that he'll show it, really. You know how he is.
If you'd like to swing by, I'd be happy to send you a direct message with the information. If it so happens that you can't make it, I still want you to know how grateful I am to the both of you, and everyone who makes Phineas and Ferb a reality. Every time the Phamily has laughed together, cried together, had parties, gone on vacations, and generally made the most of every day has been because of what you created. There would be no Phineas and Ferb's Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party without Phineas and Ferb. I owe so much to my Phamily, and we owe everything to you.
Love for 104 Days and Beyond,
Analisa Kate Hubbard
P.S. Give my love to Vince and Thomas, who will always be my boys.
P.P.S. Carpe Diem.
I had the enormous privilege of getting to chat with you for a bit at this year's San Diego ComicCon. You most likely meet new people all the time, so it would come as no surprise if you don't remember me. What you might remember, though, is me telling you that for the past three years, I've been exceptionally blessed to be involved with Phineas and Ferb's Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party. I couldn't say much more about it at the time, because I was already feeling guilty for holding everyone up. Had I been given a chance to really sit down and talk with you, I would have told you exactly how much this show has changed my life.
I don't just mean that because I've been with it for so long, or because it was my first "parade," or my first time opening a show. My life was changed by the people in it with me. They brought me out of my shell, and taught me not to fear just being myself. Over the years, I learned that many others in the cast were affected just as strongly. Though we were all different types of people with varying personalities, we christened ourselves a "Phamily." And despite our fears that our dynamic would dissolve as more people joined, the Phamily only grew with every new group.
You know that our management has decided to close our show soon. As far as we knew, guests still came in droves to dance with us, so this seemed to come out of nowhere. But, alas, it was not our decision to make. After it happens, I don't foresee myself staying with the resort for much longer. The idea of leaving my job has been on my mind for a while, for several reasons, but hearing the news of the show's impending closure sealed the deal. I'm losing what has, for a long time, been one of my defining roles at my job, and it feels like just the push I needed to move on and pursue my writing career, (*hint hint*). My love for the show is a big part of what's kept me around, and once it's gone, it's bound to leave a void. My main comfort now is that I'll never lose my Phamily. We've formed a bond that will never be broken, no matter where our lives take us now.
It's become tradition for people to flash mob the last number of the dance party. On the last show of our last day, friends, fans and former cast will be joining us, (some from out of town), to dance with us one last time. Ideally, it will be the flash mobbiest flash mob that ever flash mobbed. I mean, I intend for this thing to be so huge that there's no room left on the dance floor, and we end up having to take over the entire street. I'm letting you know because I'll never forget your reaction when I told you about my job, or the hug that Swampy gave me. If anyone should witness the impact this show has made, it's you. (And of course, the cast, crew, musicians, and anyone else who loves the show as much as you do.) If you feel the urge to join in, there are plenty of videos on YouTube to help you brush up on the choreography, because nothing in the world would make for a more epic flash mob (phlash mob?) than having our benevolent creators join in. You, after all, are a part of our Phamily, too. Then, feel free to give Ferb a giant hug, because he'll be crying on the inside. Not that he'll show it, really. You know how he is.
If you'd like to swing by, I'd be happy to send you a direct message with the information. If it so happens that you can't make it, I still want you to know how grateful I am to the both of you, and everyone who makes Phineas and Ferb a reality. Every time the Phamily has laughed together, cried together, had parties, gone on vacations, and generally made the most of every day has been because of what you created. There would be no Phineas and Ferb's Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party without Phineas and Ferb. I owe so much to my Phamily, and we owe everything to you.
Love for 104 Days and Beyond,
Analisa Kate Hubbard
P.S. Give my love to Vince and Thomas, who will always be my boys.
P.P.S. Carpe Diem.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
This Could Possibly Be the Worst Day Ever
Remember that blog I wrote about the show I do, and how I once had the crazy notion I’d stay with it through its entire run? Well...it turns out that notion wasn’t so crazy after all.
Early this week, management came to us with the thoroughly heartbreaking news that our show will soon be closing. I went into enough detail in my last entry for you to know exactly why this is such a crushing blow. What’s worse, though, is that the news seemed to affect the cast in a pretty negative way. Instead of unanimously supporting, celebrating and comforting one another, some people seemed in a rush to take every little comment very personally. In the past few days, rivalry and bad feelings that had been bottled up for a very long time suddenly came exploding to the surface, people were ready to jump on the attack at the slightest offense, a few people showed their long-dormant true colors, and our beloved Phamily seemed to be on the brink of a nasty storm.
Fortunately, it seems to have cooled down since the initial announcement, but there’s still a little bit of tension. I want us to be able to end this show on a good note. I want our Phamily to still be a Phamily even if we don’t see one another as much at work. I just pray I can help to encourage honest communication before we start losing Phamily members to simple misunderstandings.
The most common response I get to me breaking the news is people asking, “Why?” Indeed, why close a show that’s still relevant, popular, and generally better than several of the other shows at the resort? (No offense, friends who do those shows. I’m including one of my own in that group as well.) Theories abound, most of them budgetary, but even if the theories are correct, it doesn’t make much sense. But alas, it’s not my decision to make. The best we can do is make the most of what little time we have left.
Our last show will be at 3:30 PM on Sunday, November 2nd. If you don’t already know, it’s a tradition for people to flash mob the last number. I know many friends, fans and former cast will be joining us, some even from out of town, to dance with us one last time. I’m sincerely hoping so many people show up that there is no room on the dance floor and we have to take over the entire street. If we’re lucky and I succeed in my current mission, we might even have a special surprise. Either way, I would love very much to see as many people there as possible. We may be on our way out, but we can still make one hell of an exit.CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: "When We Didn't Get Along" - Danny Jacob (Phineas and Ferb)
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