Stream it now Drumline Reset Status Want to Watch Already Watched Don't Want to Watch

very entertaining :)

Viewed 11/11/03 (VHS) (First Viewing)

i am so unbelievably tired its unbelievable! i don't even know why i'm so tired. but i need some help. k so i like never have any time at home anymore! i'm always at school, at work, at a city council meeting, at church, or out with my friends! and i love doing all of that but i never have time for me. and if i want to have time for me i have to give up the time with my friends which i really couldn't do (they're like my life). and work is the only place where i'm practically stress free (except for the bitchy customers) because all of them are at least three years older than me and none of them know all the problems i have with my friends and such. and my friends are all like splitting up cuz they're being stupid bitches also...jeez sorry for the bad language. this just really pisses me off. but thats it for now...i'll be back tomorrow!

Saw Drumline on HBO last night. The music, and especially the drumming, was the highlight. The acting was decent. The plot was fairly simplistic and predictable and the characters seemed fairly cliche, but the band scenes on the field made the movie. If you like sports movies with a happy ending, check this one out. It's not a sophisticated film that will change the world, but it's fun for a couple hours.

I was inspired to write this entry by an post that MovieFan, an unidentifiable visitor to my journal, made in regards to Punch Drunk Love. MovieFan did not like Punch Drunk Love, and his commentary on it got me thinking about the differences between the Blockbuster Lover and the Film Lover.

I am a Film Lover, and I will try to control the feelings of superiority I have towards Blockbuster Lovers. Try as I might, I should say right off the bat that I think Blockbuster Lovers are mindless buzz addicts who are consumers FIRST, which blurs their perception of most entertainment "product." Film Lovers are interested in art, excellence and emotional impact. I'll expand.

What I mean by "consumers first" is that they live to spend their money on whatever is cool to spend their money on. They are heavily influenced by advertising. It never occurs to them that the reason a movie is being advertised SO MUCH on television is because it needs to make most of its money on the weekend that it is released. Why? Because it sucks, and once word gets out that it sucks, no one will come to see it. But opening weekend, they come in droves. They saw the ads and felt compelled to do as they had been told.

Not all the blockbusters are bad. In fact, I'll be generous and say that most are just not good. Some examples -- the last two Star Wars films, The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King, Daredevil, Gigli, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys 2. I haven't heard a whole lot of good stuff about the last Matrix film, either.

Look at the Rotten Tomatoes best rated films -- 91% or better -- and try to find films that had huge advertising campaigns behind them. What you come to realize is that advertising should be a warning sign.

If you ask a Blockbuster Lover what they enjoyed about a film, you will usually hear something like:
> I don't know! It was just so much fun!
> (Name Of Star) was really good!
> It had the coolest special effects.

Specifics are tough to come by. Its hard to say what is good when you see almost the same thing each week. What was better about Terminator 3 than The Rundown? Even if you know the answer, it doesn't matter. Both films accomplished their goals -- maike money and make a name out of a star so that their next movie makes money, too.

And maybe that is the difference between Blockbusters and Films. Blockbusters are all about the NEXT movie -- enjoy what you're seeing, tell a friend, enjoy the coming attractions, forget about the film 10 minutes after you leave the theater, come a see another movie next week. Films, on the other hand, want you to be involved while you watch, want you to dwell on what you have seen and want you to recognize some sort of achievment.

So, let's revisit MovieFan one last time to drive my point home through this dead horse. MovieFan's explaination for not liking Punch Drunik Love was that, although Sandler's acting was good, the movie focused too much on his character. The fact that the movie was ABOUT Sandler's character is apparently not cause for his being the focus. But even more ironic is that I have trouble thinking of a movie that Sandler is in where he is not the focus.

I think Punch Drunk Love made MovieFan's head hurt. I think he was trying to veg out and bumped into a movie that asked him to pay attention and think. I understand if that is not his cup of tea. And here is what the real problem with Punch Drunk Love was for MovieFan and all his Blockbuster Lovin' friends. Sandler doesn't make movies that make you think. NO FAIR casting him in a movie where thought was required. It was a real waste of their time when all they wanted was a time waster.

so, I now have to keep up with not only one (this one) but three other journals. This one, my idea journal, and a writing journal for my Writing NonFiction english class. I tried keeping one before, without any success. I think now, however, that these are more purposeful and therefore more likely to progress.


I wanna go see some nice jazz this saturday. At FishNotes in Jackson, on N Shannon st. There's an awesome band playing. Anyone wanna come? there's no cover....

I knew I wouldn't be that amazed by Love Don't Cost A Thing, but it was not as bad as I'd expected it to be. The movie has no surprises, but the characters are fine, and it was just good for some entertainment. But I'm glad I finally got over this one and won't have to watch it again. Too bad Nick Cannon didn't get to play anything better after Drumline, which I'd loved quite a bunch.

A horrible representation of marching band.

Drumline came on one of the Showtimes last night. This movie was pretty good. But what made the experience better is that the friend I was watching it with had been a drummer in a marching band so he could explain a lot and add his stories about similar situations to it. So we sat back had a couple of Legends and talked through a lot of the movie. Nick Cannon's girlfriend was very attractive too. After that A League of their own (which is pretty good) came on but it was getting late and I had to go home.

Drumline (2002)