tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90103062012-02-16T03:42:21.223-05:00John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.comBlogger811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-42541712954355683692008-05-20T07:39:00.002-05:002008-05-20T07:43:18.338-05:00

I know you have reason to hate bloggers that lack commitment, like me. Occasional posts, ugly layout, derivative ideas. Yeah, well, that and so much more has moved to www.johndavidroberts.com. It's still a work in progress - aren't they all. More nominally interesting stuff about me, my writing (don't ask), my job search, and stuff I think is worth reflecting on.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-53664110846165193922008-04-02T05:14:00.004-05:002008-04-02T07:23:52.840-05:00

Ben Campbell has a problem. He's brilliant but poor. Now that he's been accepted into Harvard Medical School, he can't afford to go. If he wins the scholarship he's competing for, he'd have a full ride. But as a 4.0 student at MIT - sure he has a robotic project on his resume, but really - he's just another very smart grind. Because there's no way he's going to stand out among the 4.0 war

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-78701679269111304292008-03-28T08:34:00.006-05:002008-03-28T14:42:57.133-05:00

Who cares, right? Unaccompanied Minors - that tissue of kooky observation, first broadcast as a segment on Chicago Public Radio's This American Life - certainly didn't sound like a movie idea. I'll admit that the lunatics-take-the-asylum situation is ripe for highjinks. It appears to have been a stepping stone, for most people on this project, rather than a hit. But it's eighteen months old.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-78842689475129285122008-02-11T07:00:00.000-05:002008-02-11T07:07:02.819-05:00

Writers shower themselves with awards:ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYJUNO, Written by Diablo Cody; Fox SearchlightADAPTED SCREENPLAYNO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Screenplay by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, Based on the Novel by Cormac McCarthy; MiramaxDOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAYTAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, Written by Alex Gibney; THINKFilmDRAMATIC SERIESTHE WIRE, Written by Ed Burns, Chris Collins, Dennis Lehane, David Mills,

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-63366430937739534562007-12-02T08:22:00.000-05:002007-12-02T08:46:51.322-05:00

As always, spoilers lie within.If thrillers are not my favorite genre of movies, Disturbia does a great job of refreshing the conventions and updating the Rear Window motifs.Efficient exposition, but something's fishyScreenwriters Christopher B. Landon and Carl Ellsworth show us what motivates the protagonist quickly, neatly, and violently. Kale Brecht (Shia LeBoeuf) and his father are buddies.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-57412100538552549382007-11-30T07:23:00.000-05:002007-11-30T07:42:08.378-05:00

If you ever believed in believing, Enchanted is a story so full of hope that you'll be glad you lost your magical thinking so that you can remember it fondly throughout this movie.Great set-up and expositionPlunging headlong from familiar fairy tales (principally Cinderella by way of The Princess Bride) Giselle (the perfect Amy Adams) meets her destined true love and Prince (James Marsden) and

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-89370375344353906782007-11-21T18:33:00.001-05:002007-11-22T07:17:23.710-05:00

After being misled by The New York Times review, I recommended "Dan..." to my in laws. "Awesome," they said. When folks get an emotional charge out of a movie, I see it. What do they know? Anyhow? Usually, more than me.A.O.Scott did such a good job pointing out the movie's charming and unexpected beats:The characters are funny not just to us but also to one another. Like most people, they use

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-87941744222574051972007-07-25T16:31:00.000-05:002007-07-27T05:44:03.409-05:00

So here's the pitch: a movie - passingly anti-abortion but let's not focus on that - that makes pin-up pretty blond Katherine Heigl look, well, ordinary, paired with donut-fit stoner Seth Rogen. Oh, yeah, and Paul Rudd, that old softy - he'll play the prick. Boffo, right?But when was the last time you got choked up in a movie? Spiderman 3, Shrek the Third, Pirates? I'm an unrepentant Die Hard

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-78249570800988367492007-06-29T05:03:00.000-05:002007-06-29T07:02:51.728-05:00

My good friend, and now prospective best man, Bruce Campbell introduced me to Forsyth back in the eighties, insisting that we see Local Hero in the theater. Gregory's Girl had been a big indie hit, and Hero looks like a movie that was made with wary cooperation between Glasgow and Hollywood. Burt Lancaster is there as Felix Happer, the corporate titan longing for meaning. Young Peter Riegert

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-10804564657699676812007-06-26T05:50:00.000-05:002007-06-26T13:55:05.185-05:00

Hot Fuzz a jigsaw puzzle of cliches from some of the best cop/action/thriller/Clint Eastwood/procedural Hollywood movies stitched together. But rather than quickening an incontinent Frankenstein, this is a delightful, wry Bionic Man of an homage to the genres. Wright and Pegg have the technology.The procedural style and direction of close up, insert shots is so conspicuously fast-paced, the

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-12808883494339527362007-06-14T09:16:00.001-05:002008-03-28T13:47:44.968-05:00

Who needs a hero like John McClane? A man who is motivated by...Absolute standards of good and evilAn irrational sense of loyaltyA loose grasp on the purpose and value of the justice systemEmotions that are both intense and inexpressibleAn unquestioned sense of personal powerHe may be a high-functioning psychopath with a blind if admirable love for his wife. A man like that begins to sound

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-73068872716036807132007-06-13T11:11:00.000-05:002007-06-13T12:02:01.487-05:00

Combine The Office with any good vengeful-killer slasher movie and you've got Severance. You'll want to like both parents to sit comfortably with their offspring. But if you do, you've got a treat in store.Folks who'd seen Severance at the Toronto(?) film festival called it the most interesting, buzz-inducing movie of the festival. I'd read, I responded, that it was a rollicking parody of a

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-9250820140853137962007-06-09T08:09:00.000-05:002007-06-09T08:57:39.975-05:00

Just this week I remembered a dream. That's rare for me. It seemed to tell me the importance of a decision - very - and my role in the world in which it takes place. It has already proved the seed of an idea for another screenplay. The power of dreams is so potent but so personal only someone as inventive as Michel Gondry should take us inside. But the story of real dreams - the what happens

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-17275985450082004292007-04-12T17:30:00.000-05:002007-04-13T06:42:23.979-05:00

After trying and failing to read Jumpha Lahiri's novel twice, the prose in which is direct and stylish, I was cheered to find that reviewers praised the movie. The fault of the novel lies with this reader. There's no accounting for taste.This is a strange and wonderful movie. It should not work. But it does. It's Merchant Ivory meets Ang Lee (of The Ice Storm). The Namesake is Gogol Ganguli,

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-81560918189575668182007-03-16T05:10:00.000-05:002007-03-16T07:01:58.773-05:00

Finally saw Borat. I settled in expecting to be embarrassed. And to laugh my ass off.Embarrassing? Let's see. Americans hold jingoistic political views? Shocking! Homophobes? Misogynists? Xenophobes in denial? You don't say? Not "embarrassing" but a case of, "So what else is new?"I was impelled to see this movie because of reviews that had critics squirming in a puddle of collusion.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-83765537843450124542007-02-08T15:28:00.000-05:002007-02-08T15:27:07.253-05:00

A new look for a new year. However, I my silence has not been for lack of seeing interesting movies. I've restarted the movie list in the sidebar for the new year. But I find that the more I learn the less I have to say.I mean that as I practice screenwriting, it becomes that much clearer when I see a solid, well-written screenplay. Not that I haven't always got improvements to suggest.But

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1164035019532853652006-11-20T09:55:00.000-05:002006-11-20T10:05:00.746-05:00

From Garrison Keillor's The Writers' Almanac and in turn from "Helicopter Shots (for Malene)" by Louise Vale.I love helicopter shots.Slooping over early-morning Washingtonin a drink-tilt...For the entire, entertaining poem, click the title of this post, and find Monday, November 20, 2006.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1163463095091072062006-11-13T18:39:00.000-05:002006-11-17T10:16:55.113-05:00

After reading Tom Perotta's Little Children eighteen months ago, nothing about it made me think "movie." This is why the gods gave us Todd Field and his producers. In fact, there was a lot of interest in the book as a property before it swam onto the popular sonar. But, according to Field, things heated up after that. Perotta's Election made a terrific cult movie and he has written for the screen

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1162556733155611812006-11-03T07:03:00.000-05:002006-11-03T07:25:33.223-05:00

In case you check regularly for cool opinions here, I know I'm disappointing you. And then, when I do post... well, let's not get all humble. The thing is I'm planning my wedding which, though ten months off, promises to be the most complex and expensive project I've ever done. I can't wait. And then there's work and writing. You know?Funny? Who Needs Funny?Every week 30 Rock sits there

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1161265751397441462006-10-19T08:36:00.000-05:002006-10-19T08:49:15.166-05:00

This: Plus this: Equals "Layoffs loom at NBC Uni".I concede. Mostly they're killing off news ops and shooting reporters in the back of the neck, figuratively. But these two shows seemed so promising and, well: Ick.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1160594474622203632006-10-11T13:50:00.000-05:002006-10-11T14:21:14.896-05:00

Maybe I shouldn't have praised the first date so much. You know what happens when the first date goes well. Studio 60's post-pilot episode was solid and interesting, though it consisted largely of follow-on exposition. Damned good character exposition at that, but not bracing TV. So when Monday's episode slogged through soap opera - damned good soap opera - and the writerly standoff between

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1158752825065355752006-09-20T06:04:00.000-05:002006-09-20T07:11:47.563-05:00

You don't need me to tell you what's great about Sorokin's Studio 60. It's got everything we love about movies and more. But the complex and morally inconsistent characters, beautiful camera work, broad scope in sets and setting, and glimpses into the social anthropology of a world where few of us ever go (though we can hope, we strivers) promise to go on for years to come.Here's the

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1158234313886841662006-09-14T06:19:00.000-05:002006-09-14T06:45:13.946-05:00

I like this show the way I like Las Vegas (the show, not the place) - I guiltily linger over the gleaming surfaces. Not that the writers are any help. The thing moves at rat-on-a-wheel pace.Last night, thirty five minutes of Justice was all I could take. I realized that it's a great bad dialog instructor. Characters announce their intentions in two modes: angry confrontation, and fleeting,

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1154627657896411022006-08-03T12:00:00.000-05:002006-08-04T07:17:31.773-05:00

The general absence of opinion here comes from having read many only-okay screenplays recently. And writing a new at-least okay story of my own. I respect the contribution of the stories below, so my apologies if these limited comments sound unjustly sour. Friends With MoneyJane (Frances McDormand) belatedly tells us that she's angry that life is going to go on more or less, well, like this.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1150906077351296262006-06-21T10:24:00.000-05:002006-06-30T06:13:29.956-05:00

Left to right (apologies for the photo quality)Mark Levin, festival jurorAlan Berliner. Entry: Wide AwakeHenry-Alex Rubin, festival juror, director MurderballSteven Cantor. Entries: What Remains; loudQUIETloud.Freida Lee Mock. Entry: Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony KushnerSaturday morning's discussion was another filmmaker free-for-all: how they did it, why chose/how they approached the

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1150810586072044722006-06-20T07:44:00.000-05:002006-06-30T06:43:17.993-05:00

The whole weekend at the Nantucket Film Festival would not have been possible without the generosity of The Producer (one of my bosses at the Boston Production Company where I'm a story analyst) and the publisher of Imagine, Carol Patton. The Producer put in a call and soon I was talking to Carol, who offered me an available room at the Imagine house.Carol is the longtime, tenacious promoter of

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1150724383903677922006-06-19T07:31:00.000-05:002006-06-19T08:47:59.533-05:00

What a great time this festival is. An emphasis on screenwriting, plenty of A-listers, good parties, and room for the small production companies and even screenwriters like me. Watch for more entries, in particular one on theme from a panel discussion on which Jay Craven said some very cogent things on the subject.Aubrey Nealon. Entry: A Simple Curve.Lizzie Gottlieb. Entry: Today's ManEric

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1150205863405851102006-06-13T06:41:00.000-05:002006-06-13T08:37:43.476-05:00

When you're a movie story fan and an autodidact, here's what happens. Fortune smiles and you get an internship reading scripts, which is great. Everything you learn - read "teach yourself" - about story is Invaluable, but Confidential. And though it's given that the bloggers' standard editorial policy is to drop trou, I'm old fashioned in the trou department. Hence my silence.Finding Funny

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1145363327632411682006-04-18T06:48:00.000-05:002006-04-18T07:28:47.746-05:00

I mean that every project reveals something you thought you'd learned but have to learn again. Okay, so I'm new. When you've rewritten a screenplay at least a dozen times, you've answered all the questions about characters. You see them pointed at the inevitable conclusion. So when the second or the tenth idea for the scene - you know dead-on how characters behave.The new screenplay, despite

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1143429594596611272006-03-26T21:54:00.000-05:002006-03-27T11:43:46.400-05:00

Little did I know that Tromeo and Juliet is the festering petri dish of more than a few careers. It looks like a mad, mad, flatulent, raunchy, frayed retelling of Shakespeare's love story for all time. With a great extended nude scene. And a nipple piercing on camera. And a happy incestuous ending. Murder and car wrecks, yes, but strangley, no cannibalism.So I'm out of touch. James Gunn

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1143347030996677562006-03-25T22:38:00.000-05:002006-03-27T11:47:35.916-05:00

There's a small and fiercely independent festival in Boston. So small I often miss it. Not this year. It runs through tomorrow night. What it is: it's about getting films made. It's about encouraging film makers. It's about giving some spotlight to the little, the credit-card funded, the erstwhile next master of gore/horror/broad satire.What I learned: That if you're going to make

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1142519208445373042006-03-16T09:15:00.000-05:002006-03-16T09:43:59.490-05:00

No excuses here for not posting, but after being underemployed, a few appointments feels like a full schedule. I love a serial killer. Do you?Or the genre, at least. I've been doing a little research, which shows that this well-mined vein is full of great successes and failures. The obvious high point is Silence of the Lambs. I'm working on a post that extracts some of the story elements

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1141695247933362752006-03-06T20:08:00.000-05:002006-03-06T21:00:17.510-05:00

Read this story: The Long March, then the Countdown to Oscar GloryHighlights: Bobby takes acting lessons in NYC, stinks, wants like a hungry man wants food a different future than construction, longshoreman, so he goes to L.A. His brother is murdered, so Bobby goes back to NYC, works, and writes a play about his brother's murder. Producer sees the play, Bobby goes back to L.A., works, meets

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1141651855628685472006-03-06T07:56:00.000-05:002006-03-06T08:30:55.680-05:00

Best remarks about why movies matter without sentimental gushing: George Clooney for best actor in a supporting role. Who is having a better time with his celebrity and making more of it in Hollywood than George Clooney? He's our Frank Sinatra with a conscience.Best restrained comments about what movies can do for peace: Paul Haggis, right before they slammed the door on Bobby Moresco's

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1141571895196663592006-03-05T09:32:00.000-05:002006-03-05T10:26:50.206-05:00

When it comes to comic dramas about marriage, it's hard to think of one with more realistic, adult sensibility than Spanglish. I was inspired by some of the writing in As Good As It Gets, and because I'm outlining a marriage-centered comedy myself, I watched Spanglish again. Like the other script, I found that I loved scenes and Brooks' insight into love and need. He follows characters' crises

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1140975895860647332006-02-26T11:53:00.000-05:002006-02-27T08:35:42.150-05:00

Thanks to Karl Igelsias (See Our Craft, here), I took on a close reading of this script to look at characterization. The first forty pages demonstrate great characterization of complex and nearly impossible people. Melvin Udall first among them. So, thanks Karl. I think your Creative Screenwriting story is as good as self-instruction gets. The movie left me disappointed, but I couldn't

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1140661498121883292006-02-22T21:18:00.000-05:002006-02-22T21:25:38.606-05:00

Can I kiss someone at Sage? Okay, frankly, not just anyone, but maybe a cute developer who looks something like Diablo Cody, more or less?I used to use Pluck, the newsreader plug in, in Internet Explorer. It was light, clean, versatile, and gave me lots of control over how I displayed, read, and deleted new feed entries. Then I discovered Firefox. Totally turned my life around. Well, things

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1140659862300267522006-02-22T20:31:00.000-05:002006-02-22T21:11:47.193-05:00

The Banff Mountain Film Festival annually brings two nights of adventure movies to nearly 185 locations around the US. It's a crunchy, boho pair of nights that allow you to see, for example, a guy ski off nutty vertical drops and land in deep snow, more or less on his tale. Last year a pair of German climbers scaled Eiger using equipment identical to that of the first successful climber to

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1139957516380901542006-02-14T17:33:00.000-05:002006-02-14T17:52:47.286-05:00

Love is like this: You do it for free, but it costs you plenty. You lose your innocence and learn things you will be glad of, but first you feel creepy and you feel glad much much later. You think you'll never be good enough. Then you accept that you're not good enough. Then it's not you, it's her (or whatever). You're right. But you can't help yourself because it's good and getting better

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1139486934648948732006-02-09T07:01:00.000-05:002006-02-10T18:44:29.176-05:00

The answer to the question, "Why make this movie?" is, I think, because you're not coming from or going to the places these boys know. Thank god. The movie is the stories of Neal, a charismatic and desperate boy prostitute and Brian, a desperately certain believer that he was visited by aliens. Each follows a path that leads them to each other, and the truth of what happened when they last

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1139243142960722722006-02-06T11:09:00.000-05:002006-02-06T11:28:02.126-05:00

Thanks to all of you have gave me online and offline advice about whether to try acting in a community theater play. I wish you could have seen the auditions. When I announced that I'd do a few minutes from the second act monologue of Christopher Durang's Laughing Wild, the director said, "Oh good!"” He laughed and said "Excellent," at the end. That'’s good, right? Here's a lesson from the

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1138908589653023162006-02-02T14:29:00.000-05:002006-02-03T07:43:21.283-05:00

Click on the title of the post to find a new discovery of mine: StreamingSoundtracks.com. I suppose I have to thank iTunes for loading this link in the latest release (See Radio/Eclectic).I started listening to this donation- and community-supported shuffle service the other day while writing. I was completely distracted by the changes in mood and tone and the nagging question, "What the heck

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1138908462060913662006-02-02T14:08:00.000-05:002006-02-03T07:39:01.516-05:00

Because I have my doubts. I tried out for a play yesterday. Namely You Can't Take It With You (Kaufman and Hart). And having seen this company's previous productions, I know that the right combination of material and amateurs comes off. Note my dubiousness.A year or so ago a film guy said to me that acting was good for screenwriters. And actors I talk to tell me something similar. They want

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1138907213317155812006-02-02T14:04:00.000-05:002006-02-03T07:23:47.170-05:00

In a clever double-meaning, Transamerica is a picaresque in which Bree, the transgender woman in process, crosses the nation in a beat-up station wagon. She turns the American family trip upside down. This is no vacation, but a trial that tests her desire to become the woman she knows she was meant to be. Spoilers follow! Just one week from the transforming surgery that will complete the

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1138715936361666562006-01-31T08:54:00.000-05:002006-01-31T08:58:56.373-05:00

"Sometimes you're so beautiful it just gags me." - Tony Kirby to Alice Sycamore in You Can't Take it With You (1938)

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1138553569625751182006-01-29T11:52:00.000-05:002006-01-29T11:53:15.466-05:00

Like everyone who has an inferiority complex about comprehending the science of our times, I'm fascinated by the drumbeat of insights - of varying significance - about what happens in the brain. Two recent articles in the New York Times have me reflecting on what to pay attention to when writing stories.Recently, a study showed that we don't want to know, and that we fight against knowing, facts

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1138553373698701492006-01-29T11:12:00.000-05:002006-01-29T12:24:31.416-05:00

Mirror neurons, that is. These are a relatively new function of particular neurons and related complex structures that may explain why movies have the power to move us as few other art forms do. Empathy, it turns out, is not just an unconscious emotional capacity, it's built into our cells and molecules.In a story in the New York Times, Sandra Blakeslee reports that recent research shows mirror

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1137857142027313782006-01-21T10:25:00.000-05:002006-01-22T07:12:11.256-05:00

I thought it had its heart in the right place, this movie. But where it should have a heart, it had a camera. Now, the editing, color, and overpowering framing of a bright, blank Kenya in early scenes offer so much promise. I’ll leave it to others to identify what went wrong in the choices of the DP and director. But the story cheated viewers out of nearly every moment of identification with

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1137509058021873372006-01-17T09:42:00.000-05:002006-01-17T09:44:18.020-05:00

"A little talent to a writer means as much as a little talent to a brain surgeon." - Dave Hirsh. Hard drinking, passionate misanthrope. Sometime writer.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1137457150297033542006-01-16T18:05:00.000-05:002006-01-17T09:42:21.426-05:00

The New Yorker's Anthony Lane (January 16, 2006) barnstorms the 2005 cinematic year and as you might expect, found it de trop and le moins. But he left me second-guessing my hard earned instincts, one about length, the other about character motivation. I think he may be right.I've gotten used to two-hour movies. And I've given up my knee-jerk complaint that two is too much. I only complain

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1137254403623121952006-01-14T10:58:00.000-05:002006-01-16T09:34:59.456-05:00

As I settled into my gay cowboy movie seat trying I was trying to smooth my hackles. They always stand on end when a vocal majority noisily loves a movie or is afraid to criticize it. Hackles down, I found Brokeback Mountain is a great, well-made movie. I even forgave it it's two-hour topping length.But as I meditated on unbristling, a question replaced my hackles: How will screenwriters

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1136641397308696482006-01-07T08:01:00.000-05:002006-01-07T08:43:17.383-05:00

I loved the way this movie takes us to the land of Memento, but I felt disappointed by the revelation that Trevor Reznik (the sepulchral Christian Bale) worked so hard to uncover. The plotting is clever and the storytelling that reveals Trevor's madness, paranoia, and murderousness is deftly handled. Much of the movie is starkly beautiful. And they must have saved $$ on craft services. The

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1136416398347197122006-01-04T17:23:00.000-05:002006-01-05T12:30:37.563-05:00

This Johnny Cash story gives us its two stars working at the top of their form, channeling the celebrities they're playing. So many reviews and coverage of the film focus on this, but few people have said the obvious: the story runs in historical sequence in the most conventional way. Walk the Line is a great success. But Capote comes to mind. It was the best movie I saw last year. More

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1136327868778478212006-01-03T17:12:00.000-05:002006-01-03T19:35:25.200-05:00

Fun Joel proposes trying really hard - without resolving anything - tracking the movies you see in a year. A good idea, since some sear the memory and some are lime Jell-o. I'm going to try to keep my list in the sidebar in reverse chronological order, just for the sake of experiment. Darkness Visible reviews will keep coming, but you'll also see the movies I didn't review. I'm finding that

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1136223343928249632006-01-02T12:08:00.000-05:002006-01-03T18:01:41.613-05:00

In a New York Times article, Warren St. John scratches the surface of a trend toward "Neanderthal TV" and finds that what men want is models of moral certainty who live toward good ends by any means. Murder, revenge? As Stewart Smalley used to say, "“That's... Okay!" My first reaction: Oh, hell yeah! I knew that.But when my brother in law Jack (not his real name) said, "I love this guy,"

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1134744689043685492005-12-16T09:15:00.000-05:002005-12-16T09:51:29.103-05:00

Watching The Fellowship of the Ring again on the small screen - okay, I was wrapping gifts and mostly watching - the clever pacing in Jackson's direction became clear. Watching with peripheral vision, I felt the action was slow. But in the final sequence in which Frodo sails away with the sodden Sam, the slowness became a deliberate and steady pulse, even during the attack of the orcs. This

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1134575511368381002005-12-14T10:48:00.000-05:002005-12-14T10:51:51.370-05:00

Take that.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1134572446080431042005-12-14T09:21:00.000-05:002005-12-14T10:45:06.056-05:00

In a flush of end-of-year generosity to shine some light from the dark, dark Northeast, I'm adding to blog-pals over there (look right). I met some of you at the Expo or I read you regularly because you're pros or entertaining or both. Happy belated Christmahannakwanzica.StriversNeal: This guy does everything, and most important, sells cool merch. See not-the-Buddha. Me, too.Fresh Hell: She

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1134137609328320892005-12-09T07:48:00.000-05:002005-12-13T07:29:32.786-05:00

For shame, or why sci-fi hasn't won my heart.Flux is a great looking movie that left me unmoved, much the same way Serenity did earlier this year. Nevertheless, I think it's a pretty damned successful example of the genre. But two sci-fi features a year exceeds my quota. (Technically, The Revenge of the Sith falls into this category, but it was an opera without music, not a movie.) The

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1133793396838786512005-12-05T08:11:00.000-05:002005-12-05T10:01:05.236-05:00

Chris Kubasic taught the first workshop I attended at the Screenwriting Expo (11/13 ff.). Chris is a not-too-tall force of nature, a foul-mouthed Yoda. He rocks. For more than an hour he said, engagingly, "Have a clear idea." Does this sound too obvious? It shouldn't. Take any screenplay you're struggling with and I'm willing to bet that there is a problem at the heart of the idea. Here's

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1133706821418079092005-12-04T09:13:00.000-05:002005-12-05T06:28:58.080-05:00

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.The underappreciated Brattle Theater in Cambridge MA is facing the overthrow of its independent programming because operating/real estate costs increased while audience numbers held or declined. If you've seen a great old American and rare foreign movie on the big screen, you've probably seen it at a theater like this one. Here's what I'll do.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1133188739926354252005-11-28T09:20:00.000-05:002005-11-28T10:10:15.643-05:00

It's real, of course. "Be present in the moment." Simple yet profound. But forgettable, especially when I say it. But you drive 45 minutes to see the Dali Lama, and he chuckles about his car ride through (your city here) and he says, "Be present." It will resonate for days. You will notice, at least, that you're not present. Not in the moment. Suddenly the obvious is true of you. This is

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1131661772068496952005-11-10T17:25:00.000-05:002005-11-10T17:32:43.816-05:00

If she were your friend, you'd tell Mirabelle Buttersfield she needed to quit hoping that Ray Parker will come around. After a few too many beers, you'd slap her and scream, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Because whatever half-lived dream she's stuck in, it's excruciating to watch. The movie of her story is deliberate, affecting, and slight - dated and pre-feminist in ways that may be telling us

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1131448373462001152005-11-08T05:51:00.000-05:002005-11-08T06:21:22.473-05:00

Like being reunited with good friends you've never met.It's official. We'll gather at the Veranda bar at the Figueroa Hotel on Sunday night, November 13th and dare to look at each other's god-given faces in three dimensions. Illustrations and other particulars can be found at Warren and Joel's sites.The idea for a live, in-person meeting of screenwriters from the blogosphere to coincide with the

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1130941048002920152005-11-02T08:55:00.000-05:002005-11-04T08:35:18.976-05:00

The Woodsman, your first movie (written and directed), knocked me out. I can'’t think of any observation worth mentioning that can take away from the total effect. When people say that all the really terrific, boundary-crossing stories were told in the '70s, I say: "“Three words: 'bullshit,' and '‘The Woodsman.'"” Here are just some of the ways you made a great movie. Generally: Simple.

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1130072538225781422005-10-23T07:38:00.000-05:002005-10-23T08:02:18.270-05:00

After seeing a well chopped and TV-formatted version of Erin Brockovitch - my first viewing - I thought some important scenes had to have been left in the Avid recycle basket. George (Aaron Eckhart), the biker boyfriend, is so good, so good to her, that I thought I'd missed the scenes in which they'd fought it out to this hard-won loyalty. Cut for time in favor of Swiffer, or another product, I

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1127814283556399292005-09-27T04:37:00.000-05:002005-09-27T04:44:44.870-05:00

Over the next three or four weeks, I am plying my trade and teaching a course of news skills to Louisianans. It's a double-shift kind of job - seven hours teaching, four hours preparation, three hours pure sleepless anxiety in the early days of the course. But all work makes Jack cranky. You never know what I'll be able to see and comment on during a winkless night. Mark your calendars for

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1126895654098242542005-09-16T13:29:00.000-05:002005-09-16T13:34:14.100-05:00

Walter Salles seems to have learned everything important about how to make road movies (Motorcycle Diaries) from the shortcomings of this film. But you have to give him credit for going Brazil instead of Hollywood, where the rule is "when in doubt, more sexy fun. Or at least be sure it's fast." The slow pace of Central Station shows how much director Walter Salles and editors Filipe Lacerda and

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1126895263425534042005-09-16T11:53:00.000-05:002005-09-16T13:27:43.503-05:00

An unexpected visit home interrupted posting here. Baton Rouge without power is no place to be for long. A note about liking movies but getting all up in their Koolade anyway: I like many movies I see. When I noodle about what makes them less than riveting, appealing, or piercing, I end up saying what's wrong. And I feel guilty. I don't enjoy doing it. Mind you, I'm only talking about the

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1124941790092648942005-08-24T22:40:00.000-05:002005-08-24T22:52:25.876-05:00

I'm going to get grief about this, but Junebug is a beautiful mess of a story. There are some revelatory scenes, much brilliant acting, and a view into some new territory, but the story lacks propulsion. In the last scene, the writer and director try the old trick of whisking the tablecloth from beneath the china. But the crystal crashes to the floor.Somewhere, David Mamet sagely said, "Film is

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1123694158923153212005-08-10T12:13:00.000-05:002005-08-10T12:17:23.250-05:00

Dignity, comedy, birth, death, monogamy. What more can you ask from a hero or a penguin?This beautiful movie about the Emperor penguins’ annual mating migration across 70 Antarctic miles is a triumph of cold-weather filmmaking remarkably free of the story techniques that motivate many wildlife documentaries. Whether you enjoy the light touch of March of the Penguins will depend on whether you

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1123266320340113002005-08-05T13:20:00.000-05:002005-08-05T13:27:41.736-05:00

DJay's got a problem. As if weren't hard enough being a small-time dealer and Memphis pimp to a skinny white girl, a stripper, and a pregnant heart-of-gold 'ho, he's got dreams. When you pull back the just-right tone of seedy Tennessee, this is a story about work and hope. If you've ever been one thing "but really" something else - actuary/extreme snowboarder, 7-11 night manager/poet - this movie

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1122860805795455522005-07-31T20:41:00.000-05:002005-07-31T20:52:23.166-05:00

[Spoilers]From the moment we see a 302" V8 in Ray Ferrier's kitchen, to the appearance of the first invading alien tripod, to another alien's last onscreen breath, director Steven Spielberg, the movie maker, is as good or better than ever. But even under the blockbuster rubric, which forgives many sins especially those of improbability, the movie is thematically hollow. The rush is real, but

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1122216694175755722005-07-24T09:50:00.000-05:002005-07-24T09:59:18.856-05:00

[Spoilers within.]If you laughed, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, and director David Dobkin made it to first base. Second base if it made you horny. “Love triumphs after all” came to mind -- third base. If you thought this was a great movie, you got screwed and liked it. But I must have liked the piece I got (so a longish post).Funny, sexy, sometimes very clever, the movie’s worth the ticket price

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1121912294919138632005-07-20T21:17:00.000-05:002005-07-24T09:50:22.200-05:00

So…, a friend (BC) writes that Darkness Visible is fallacious, since the movie is not the script. The movie is a story made by producers, at least one director, and an editor. Dead to rights. BC concedes that my taking swag at the final cut, well, who doesn’t have the right? So, refining the purpose, I submit that Darkness Visible asks, “What makes a movie an effective, affecting story? And

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1121685197986999232005-07-18T06:10:00.000-05:002005-07-18T06:26:25.063-05:00

[Illuminating comparisons within. Also, spoilers.]"Who can take a rainbow," and steal it from the shining edible world of Willy Wonka? Johnny Depp and Tim Burton can. While a lot of sweet and salty tidbits emerge whole from Roald Dahl's book in this new version of the movie (or remake, if you like. They're that similar.), Willy Wonka is creepy. Not that it would matter, if Depp's boy-man

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1121428320755250842005-07-15T06:51:00.000-05:002005-07-15T06:52:00.756-05:00

[Spoilers, confessions within]I confess. A well-reviewed movie about two teenage girls who fall in love, try on clothes, and then tempt a religious convert sounded like a titillating couple of hours. And though langorous and direct in its sensuality (not disappointing in the teen lesbian department), the film feels like a batch of episodes without much disicipline in the story department. As

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1121428261155643842005-07-15T06:49:00.000-05:002005-07-16T08:45:58.553-05:00

[Within, facetiousness]This is a genre that thrives on the premise, “given one or more women and an isolated location, a psycho killer will – must – appear and attack.” So let’s take this one – two female college students drive to the countryside home of one of the girls to study for the weekend - as read. Enter psycho killer.The second act, however, is full of conventions of the genre that are

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1121018618776708042005-07-10T12:57:00.000-05:002005-07-10T18:31:19.570-05:00

[As always, spoilers within]Loved: The turning point in Bruce Wayne’s (Christian Bale) training in the Tibetan fastness of R’as Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe). This is a beautiful, simple, visual expression of the transformation of the man into Batman. Wayne remakes himself into one of the black-clad fighters dancing and drilling in the ring with Ducard (Liam Neeson). He bests Liam Neeson, signaling

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1120949778982340472005-07-09T17:53:00.000-05:002005-07-09T17:56:18.990-05:00

[Spoilers, probably, within. There always are.]This movie has fought and mostly lost the battle against celebrity gossip and to my mind, its own marketing, to find someone, anyone who'll say they really liked it. Despite the trailers you've seen, this is not the story you've already seen six times, simply tagging the bases and trotting home. By melting down two genres for a specialized new

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010306.post-1118543584850964202005-06-11T20:32:00.000-05:002005-06-12T07:38:31.683-05:00

[Spoilers within]This Rebecca Miller movie (script and direction) is a love story, but without much love. The briefest possible plot summary: Jack Salvin (Daniel Day-Lewis) suffers from a bad heart and a smoking habit. He's an aging, independently weathy hippie -- the last surviving member of a communal experiment in peace and freedom. The only viable upshot of the commune is Rose Slavin (Camille

John David Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14360097950645332644noreply@blogger.com0