Across the Universe

Impressions before seeing it
When I first saw the trailer a few years ago, I thought it looked campy. When I watched the trailer again more recently, I had a different outlook and really liked how the visuals and movement in the shots went with the music, and I became more interested.

How was it?
I know this movie has a bit of a cult following, and I suppose I can see why, but on most levels it just didn't do it for me personally. I like The Beatles, but - and this is also one of Glee's many flaws - I usually hate hearing covers of familiar songs because they're never as good as the originals. And that's just the music.

There is a story running through the many Beatles songs but I didn't really find it compelling, and the characters spent so much time singing and dancing to songs that weren't personal to them due to being well-established Beatles songs that I didn't feel like I knew them very well, and thus I couldn't connect with them during what were supposed to be the emotionally moving scenes. In fact, the integration of the songs with the story felt forced to me, hitting the audience over the head by naming all of the characters after names found in Beatles songs and turning some lyrics into lines of dialogue and/or actions for some of the songs that weren't sung. I actually found myself rolling my eyes when a character climbed in through a window and introduced herself as Prudence, followed up by Jude saying "She came in through the bathroom window." I don't know, maybe some people find that clever or cool, but to me it just feels hackneyed and lacks subtlety. And I can't put my finger on it, but I really didn't like Jim Sturgess as Jude. His onscreen presence bothered me enough that I disliked the character when I could have at least been indifferent to him. On the plus side, this movie does have some weirdly unique visuals that I enjoyed seeing on Blu-ray. Maybe worth one viewing for that, but I don't know if I'll be coming back for a second look.

Recommendation
I can't say I recommend it because there were just too many things I didn't like, though maybe I'll change my mind again in a few years. If you're looking for a musical that is truly awesome, I would suggest Once, 8 Femmes, or Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Once

Impressions before seeing it
The little indie movie that everyone seemed to love, and I remembered it winning an Oscar for Best Original Song. Saw it was coming on TV and jumped at the chance.

How was it?
To describe it simply, Once is like Lost in Translation, only Irish and with music. It's two very likable characters who meet, hang out for a few weeks writing and playing music, and then part in spite of the bond they've formed. It's part of that "hangin' out" genre of movies that I've expressed love for in the past, but it's also a musical and a romance. A nontraditional romance - the kind I like best - because there's no physical affection involved and the ending is far from Hollywood, but the sparks are clearly there. The two leads are really natural and have wonderful chemistry, and that combined with a handheld camera style gives it a realistic documentary feel that totally works for a movie about lower class characters like these. I got so into it that I didn't even realize until the end of the movie that the main characters don't have names.

I would also like to mention briefly that the music, while not normally my kind of thing, is so full of emotion that it is the physical love between these two characters. The harmonies in some of the vocals were so beautiful that they became emotionally moving - at least to me - particularly in "Falling Slowly", the song that won the Oscar.

Recommendation
If you're looking for a movie that is cute and beautiful (you can choose to view it as either a friendship or a romance) and will probably make your heart smile and weep at the same time (mostly smile), look no further. I think the genius of Once is that it's not as sentimental as it could be; rather than throw tons of heart at you like Hollywood romances often try to do, it just puts these two wonderful people out there and lets you feel it for yourself.

Glee - Pilot Episode

Impressions before seeing it
As you can see by the poster, they already aired the pilot back in the spring. I didn't catch it back then, but it looked like something a little different with possible comedic potential, so I checked it out.

How was it?
This probably won't be the last time I say this, but I have a problem with the way high school is portrayed in movies and on TV. It could just be me, but I have yet to see anything resembling my own high school experience.

For example, in this episode of Glee there is a scene where the football jocks trap a wheelchair-bound student in a portable toilet so they can tip it over. Forgiving the fact that modern schools don't tend to have portable toilets, I don't believe there are kids who would do that. I'm not saying there aren't cruel kids, but almost all of them have limits. NOBODY does things like that to handicapped (mentally or physically) kids, they simply ignore them, or maybe make fun of them verbally behind their backs. As far as I know these kids just do not get physical abuse from other students. Hell, even physical abuse/pranks against non-handicapped kids isn't that common. Most of the cruelty is verbal. And furthermore, anyone considered to be good looking will always be in the "popular" crowd, no matter what they do or what is done to them. This was my experience anyway. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, back to Glee. This show was advertised as a comedy but in the one hour pilot there were probably only about three or four jokes. It felt more like a drama to me, and believe me the last thing we need is another high school drama. Since none of the students felt real I can't say I really cared for any of them, and that says a lot because I usually like to root for underdogs. I actually found the teachers more sympathetic. It did have a message, and that was to not be ashamed of the things you love, but the way it was delivered just felt bland. Again, probably because I didn't care enough about the characters.

Recommendation
I may give it another episode or two in hopes that it will pick up, because the concept could be a good one, but the pilot wasn't that strong. This show may appeal to the ever-growing popularity of nobodies singing popular songs, so if you're into that and typical high school drama then perhaps this show is for you. At this point I can't really say it's for me though. They did happen to perform Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", but it was only awesome because how can anyone not love that song?