Posts tagged novel
“The Host” of Two Minds, One Body
Apr 6th
“Of Two Minds, One Body”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Host is based on the novel written by Stephenie Meyer, who also wrote the books that were the basis for the Twilight series of films, but this one doesn’t have any vampires or werewolves in it, just aliens.
When the movie opens, Earth has been invaded by an alien race that has inhabited almost every human body, and the humans who haven’t been invaded are on the run.
We learn that the aliens don’t change the worlds they invade, but they just occupy and improve them.
Yeah, right.
We see one young woman being chased by aliens and put up a fight, but she is captured.
An alien known as The Seeker looks down at the captured woman and says, “This one wants to live.”
The mind of the young woman, Melanie, played by Saoirse Ronan, stays active even though her body is taken over by an alien mind.
How do we know this? Because we hear the thoughts of both minds, but you can figure out the problem with this gimmick, can’t you?
Both minds are played by the same actress, therefore they sound exactly alike, and when one of the minds starts thinking, we don’t know if it is the human or the alien speaking.
Also, which mind is in control of the body?
Well, the alien mind says to call her Wanderer, and the human mind, Melanie, dreams, which we see and which fills in her back story, but then the Melanie body escapes when she is being interrogated so that the aliens can find other humans.
We can see the difference between aliens and humans, because the aliens all wear white clothes. The aliens also don’t lie, because they trust each other, and therefore it is easy enough for Melanie to borrow an alien’s car and take off in search of other humans.
However, Melanie and Wanderer get into an argument and one of them crashes the car.
Well, to make a long movie short, Melanie and Wanderer find some humans who are led by Melanie’s uncle, there is a three-way love story, but the movie’s pacing is so slow, what could have been a promising story just drags along.
Also, some famous actors in it are unrecognizable.
The Host is of two minds and one body, just like me about this movie.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Safe Haven – Movie Trailer
Feb 17th
An affirming and suspenseful story about a young woman’s struggle to love again, Safe Haven is based on the novel from Nicholas Sparks, the best-selling author behind the hit films The Notebook and Dear John. When a mysterious young woman arrives in a small North Carolina town, her reluctance to join the tight knit community raises questions about her past. Slowly, she begins putting down roots, and gains the courage to start a relationship with Alex, a widowed store owner with two young children. But dark secrets intrude on her new life with such terror that she is forced to rediscover the meaning of sacrifice and rely on the power of love in this deeply moving romantic thriller.
“Hitchcock” about the Master of Manipulation
Dec 22nd
“Master of Manipulation”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Hitchcock is about the famous British director, Alfred Hitchcock, who was known as the Master of Suspense, and takes place in Hollywood when he was making his most famous film, the 1960 Psycho.
We see Hitchcock in 1959 Chicago at the opening of his previous movie, his 46th, and a reporter points out that Hitchcock is 60 and says shouldn’t he just quit while he is ahead.
Thankfully, Hitchcock didn’t, who is played by Anthony Hopkins made up to look like the director and using a voice as reminiscent of the popular figure on television that we soon begin to believe that he is Hitchcock.
In fact, Hitchcock says that he is looking for a nice clean, nasty little book to make into his next movie.
That book becomes Psycho, a novel by Robert Bloch, based on Ed Gein and the murders he had committed in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, we meet Alma, Hitchcock’s wife, played by Helen Mirren, and we learn that she had even been Hitchcock’s boss in England when he was first starting out in the movie business, and they had collaborated on some of his early movies.
So, Alma helps Hitchcock with some of the casting and even makes suggestions for the plot, such as killing off the leading actress after the first 30 minutes instead of waiting halfway through.
Scarlett Johansson plays Janet Leigh, James D’Arcy plays Anthony Perkins, and in their first meeting, Hitchcock says, “Call me Hitch. Hold the ‘cock.'”
Then we see all the difficulties that Hitch had making this movie, with the studio, the censors, and even an actress with whom Hitch had a previous history, Vera Miles, played by Jessica Biel.
At one point, the picture is two days behind and $60,000 over budget, Hitch gets sick and confined to bed, and Alma goes to the set and takes over, showing everyone that she knows what she is doing.
One thing that might confuse you is that Hitch dreams and fantasizes about Ed Gein, the real murderer, and we see those scenes, but there is enough humor and lightheartedness in the movie to make up for these distractions, just like Hitch had in his own movies and TV shows.
Hitchcock is about the Master of Suspense, but he could just as easily have been called the Master of Manipulation.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”