Fair Game was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I was a huge fan of a film about a similar topic, Nothing but the Truth, but to say these two movies share the same quality is anything but the truth! It feels more like two separate films to me:
1) a film about nuclear attacks and a spy flick
2) a film about the aftereffects of someone being revealed as CIA
Nothing but the Truth was #2, and when the film soars its in the storyline of #2. The first half of Fair Game is very dull, lifeless, boring, and STALE. The second half is much more about the characters. It's grounded, there's a sense of realism to it. It gives the time to Naomi Watts and Sean Penn to shine as actors, and trust me, they don't disappoint. It also ends the film with a poetic
I'd give the first hour a 3/10 but the second half a 8.5/10 and if I add in my love for the performances, I give it a 5.5-6/10
About Me
Name: Ryan
IMDb Aliases: RCSPs3, Scream_Saga101; SidneyPrescott2000; smg101, ScreamGellarCruzNine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RCScream1234
Courteney Cox and Sarah Michelle Gellar
Favorite TV Shows
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ringer, Angel, Friends, Cougar Town, The Good Wife, The Young and the Restless, Veronica Mars, Sex and the City, Dirt, Guiding Light , Bones, Charmed, Gilmore Girls, and 30 Rock
Favorite Movies
Scream 3, Scream Scream 4, Scream 2, Veronika Decides to Die, The Hours, Aliens, Psycho, The Return, The Air I Breathe, Cruel Intentions, Suburban Girl, Black Swan, Sex and the City , Sex and the City 2, Nine, Moulin Rouge!, Halloween, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Breaking Dawn Part 1, The Silence of the Lambs, NightScream, Alien: Resurrection, Halloween H20, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Derailed, The Interpreter, Erin Brockovich, Nothing but the Truth, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Inception, Chicago, American Beauty, Titanic, The Dark Knight, Fargo, Revolutionary Road, The Reader, A Fish Called Wanda, Pretty Woman, Who's Afraid of Virigina Woolf?, Rebecca, The Wizard of Oz, Sound of Music, Volver, The Upside of Anger, Pleasantville, Mean Girls, Changeling, Closer, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Kill Bill Vol. 1 + 2, November, Halloween II, A Nightmare on Elm Street, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors , Carrie, Duplicity, Final Destination, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Dreamgirls, The Family Stone, Red Eye, Flightplan, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Departed, Doubt, The Family Stone, Inglourious Basterds, Adaptation, Juno, The Kids Are All Right, Little Children, Michael Clayton, Grease, Se7en, Precious, Rabbit Hole, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Crash, and Up in the Air
***Indicates the loves of my entertainment life
My Ranking of the Scream Saga
Scream 3***
Scream***
Scream 4***
Scream 2***
My Ranking of the Buffy Seasons
Season 6***
Season 2***
Season 3
Season 5
Season 4
Season 1
Season 7
My Ranking of the Angel Seasons
Season 3
Season 4
Season 2
Season 1
Season 5
My Big Four Film Performances
Neve Campbell, Scream 3
Nicole Kidman, The Hours
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Veronika Decides to Die
Natalie Portman
Why Scream 3 Is The Best Of The Scream Saga:
. The complete second half of the film is literally flawless (post-Sidney comes out of hiding). The first 25 minutes are also pretty flawless, too, but not in the same park as the second half's brilliance. The only time it makes any mistakes is the 20 minute gap between Sarah Darling and Jennifer's house explosion <- it's not bad ...it's like 65% great, 35% flawed.
. The three intertwined storylines (Sidney's metal heath, Maureen Prescott's past, and Stab 3) makes for a very strong driven narrative.
. Has the strongest message of all four films (even though Scream 4's is very strong.) The message of the movie -> the first two asked the question are movies responsible for people killing? Most blame Hollywood for influencing the youth of America to be violent murders. The movies themselves don't, but the drama behind the scenes is enough to start a murdering bloodbath. Scream 3 shows us Sidney Prescott, a woman has lived through two killing sprees and has her life intertwined in this Hollywood drama. She, also, is in a bad mental state as a result. Yet, she is able to put the darkness aside from her past and move on with her life. You kill because you chose to...the movies, the people behind the movies, don't matter...it's your journey....you're decision.
. The role of Sidney was handled the best. Her scenes were crucial to her character development; there was no scene that felt like they edited in as a "filler" to get to the finale like the previous films.
. Scream 3 was the most emotional of the four.
. It was more brave than the first two and the fourth by having a male opening victim, let alone a recurring character who was the hero of the previous film.
. Neve Campbell's performance was flawless. The best acting I've ever seen.
. It was the funniest of the four without using the "spoof" to be funny.
. I think it’s the scariest of the four. Very thrilling, as much as terror (Blood doesn't matter...this is Scream not Saw).
. It was without a doubt the most surprising.
. I like the "adult society" plot it has compared to the first two and fourth who were about high school world and college life.
. It was the most plot heavy of the four, and I like plot; twists.
. The best climax/finale of the series. Brutal.
. Best production values: film editing, art direction, sound mixing, sound editing, visual effects, and the score! Scream 2 had slightly better cinematography and costume design.
. Contains the best supporting character in the entire series (excluding the trio in the earlier films), yes I'm talking to you Jennifer.
. The whole deja vu to Woodsboro and Sidney on the Stab 3 set was creepy and very effective. It goes back to the original and pulls out the unseen.
. Finds the equilibrium that 1, 2, and 4 couldn't find. It was terrifying, but you thoroughly enjoyed it.
.The killer had the best and most motivation to want Sidney dead out of the seven killers.
. The character development with the main three was a perfect epilogue. Wrapped up the story with loose ends being cut off while incorporating a little bit of "let the viewer decide." The new cast was different from the first sequel and the third sequel; in Scream 2 and Scream 4 the characters were so sketched out to be likeable with quirky personalities, it made them unlikeable. In Scream 3 they weren’t designed to be likeable; the audience was allowed to like new characters in Scream 3 on their own.
. The fact that it was original. This is more-so pointing to Scream 2, than the original even though in some ways the original was vastly similar to Halloween. Scream 4 was making fun of remakes so, I'm not sure if I can fault it for homaging the first three in every scene. The clever plot with the Stab 3 cast being offed as they are in the script; life imitating art.
Tuesday
"The Ringer" Trailer + Clips ~ Sarah Michelle Gellar
Or the one that was released last week.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SCaB09ER9I
It looks great, I seriously can't wait to see my girl back on TV and in the media. Hopefully everything goes well with ratings and reviews and such. I hope she can get award attention this time around, God knows she deserves it more than any other actress. Gellar is very underrated. I think it's kind of whimpy of CBS to put this on their other network, the CW, rather than the main one, CBS. Even if it failed completely, CBS still would've been known for it's bold move by putting a nontraditional show on the air next to the masterful likes of The Good Wife.
For those of you who are not familiar with the plot this is an outline:
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Bridget, a woman who after witnessing a murder, goes on the run, hiding out by assuming the life of her wealthy identical twin sister, Siobhan – only to learn that her sister’s seemingly idyllic life is just as complicated and dangerous as the one she’s trying to leave behind. Bridget is six months sober and starting to turn her life around when she is the sole witness to a professional hit. Despite the assurances of her FBI protector, Agent Victor Machado, Bridget knows her life is on the line. She flees to New York, telling no one, not even her Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, Malcolm. In New York, Bridget reunites with her estranged twin, Siobhan. Wealthy, pampered and married to the strikingly handsome Andrew Martin, Siobhan lives what appears to be a fairy tale life — a life where no one knows that Bridget exists. The sisters seem to be mending their frayed relationship, until Siobhan disappears overboard during a boat trip, and Bridget makes the split decision to take on her sister’s identity. She discovers shocking secrets, not only about her sister and her marriage, but also about Siobhan’s best friend, Gemma, and Gemma’s husband, Henry. And when someone tries to kill Bridget in her sister’s penthouse, she realizes she is no safer as Siobhan than she is as herself.
An interesting interview by Sarah Michelle Gellar herself. Mark the hour before The Good Wife next TV season off, for The Ringer is on at 9pm on Tuesdays.
Saturday
Top 5 Moments from each Scream film
SCREAM1. Gale pulls the gun on Billy and Stu: Works Better with the safety on ;)
2. Casey Becker's Opening Scene: The Most Iconic Death of the Series
3. Bloody Windshield: Gale comes back from her walk and tries to escape the party.
4. Normal Day after School at the Prescott House: Talk on the phone, Watch TV, take a nap, get attacked.
5. The Last Five Minutes: Sid Disappears>Closet>TV to head> Randy>"Say hello to your mother> Gale:Gun> "Not in my movie">"Exclusive Eyewitness account"
SCREAM 2
1. Gale's Chase Scene at the School: Suspense in the sound room
2. Gale's plee for help: "THE KILLER IS COTTON FUCKING WEARY!
3. Sidney and Hallie Trapped: The Killer in the Police Car
4. Randy Dies: First Survivor Down
5. The Last Three Minutes: Mickey gets shot down; Gale and Dewey are Resurrected; Cotton, the hero.
SCREAM 3
1. The Last 20 Minutes: Police Car>Mansion>Screening Room>Bullet Proof Vest>Closure
2. Sidney and Kincaid at the Police Station: Trilogies and Maureen Prescott
3. Chase scene on the Stab 3 set: Return to Woodsboro
4. The Killer Calls Sidney at the Police Station: Time to Man Up, Sid.
5. Sidney's Nightmare: Mother, Oh God, Mother! /The Supporting Stars of Stab 3: Cotton's Death | Jennifer's Death
SCREAM 4
1. Stab-a-thon: Gale's attack
2. The Hospital Finale: Four vs. One
3. Sidney and Kate House Attack: Death By Mailslot
4. Jill's Motivation Monologue + Self Mutilation: You just gotta have fucked up shit happen to you.
5. Stab 7: Shut the Fuck Up and Watch the Movie
Scream 4: Old Generation >>>New Generation
There was alot of hype around the new teens part of the script with Hayden, Emma, and Rory being headlined for it in the media, but actually, I feel that when just the teens are in a scene without the adults, it weakens the movie. I like the adult group (Sidney, Gale, Dewey, Hicks, Kate, Rebecca, Hoss, Perkins, Chloe, and Rachel) ) more than the teen group (Jill, Kirby, Charlie, Trevor, Robbie, Olivia, Marnie, Jenny, Sherrie, and Trudie) on almost all counts.
Most of you know, Scream 3 is my favorite of the series, and a big factor I think it is my favorite is because of the adult atmosphere. It's more mature and more down-to-earth and less cliche. I know in Scream 4 they were going for the "remake" aspect, and I'm not saying the teen scenes are bad, they just don't appeal to me unless one of the prominent adults is with them. For example, the chase scene right before the finale where Sidney meets Jill and Kirby at the door.
There were three exceptions: 1) Kirby's phone call, and Sidney was there for the beginning part of that and is featured in and out of the rest of the scene so I don't know if it should count as an exception. 2) Trevor and Jill in the bedroom. Even though Sidney is in the later part of this scene, I love the beginning of it too where we get to see the two interact. 3) Stab-a-thon, but the Stab-a-thon is almost completely focused on Gale, so I don't know if this counts either.
All the other scenes where we got to know the teens were obviously in the company of an adult (like the entire last 20 minutes, Sidney + Jill in the kitchen, Gale with Robbie + Charlie, ect), and the Lucy Hale/Sheane Grimmes part of the opening was awesome and a teenage part I really liked, I thought it stood on it's own, but scenes where the teens are the main focus are a little hard to except after years of having the same three people (like Kirby + Jill before Olivia dies, the ride to school, at school with the exception of the hallway scene with Trevor + Jill -I did love their drama-, the after party @ Kirby's house which never seemed to end are the scenes that really drug the movie down for me).
Adults are more interesting to watch. They're older, wise, and don't play dumb. It's more mature and sophisticated with them rather than returning to High School. And Sidney, Gale, and Dewey alone are more interesting than all the teens combined (Kirby fanboys don't even comment). I think that's another reason why I was so turned off by the teenager scenes, the dramatic hype, especially Kirby. I wanted to like before I saw the movie because everyone did, but after I saw it I slowly grew away from the Kirby buzz, and know I prefer Emma Roberts to Hayden's acting.
I hope that 5 & 6 stay strictly to adults (they do in my fan scripts), because teens have been used over and over again. Scream 1 and Scream 2 it wasn't a problem because our main character was a teen back then, but this is 10 years later. New decade, new, mature victims. Scream 4 is my least favorite of the series because of the teen scenes. It's still excellent, just not as excellent as 3, 1, or 2.
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