Double Feature Friday- Dance Movies!!

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Today is one of those days where it's so beautiful outside that you just wish everyone would burst into song and dance among the fucking leaves outside, Enchanted-style. Because I don't feel like discussing movie musicals, however, I decided to profile the next best thing: dance movies! Oh, yeah! 5,6,7,8...

Step Up


Okay, so this is the epitome of a shitty dance movie. It has a weak plot, so-so acting, and completely unrealistic beginning, middle and end. However, I think that the dancing makes up for everything that goes wrong in this movie just because it's awesome. The final composition is a combination of Modern, Jazz, and Hip hop that blows me away every time I watch it. Honestly, I think that if there were no dancing in this movie, it would have gone straight to video. I like that this movie is a perfect example of the symbiotic relationship between dance styles. It isn't Save the Last Dance, where the sole focus of the movie is Julia Stiles learning to be "cool" by integrating hip hop into her ballet routine- in this movie, both characters learn how to dance in their partners' respective styles. Channing Tatum learns ballet (in a really cute setting with an obnoxious six-year-old), Jenna Dewan learns street dancing, and what comes out of that is a really kick-ass final composition. 

Dirty Dancing 


When speaking of dance movies, if this one, Flashdance, and Saturday Night Fever do not immediately come to mind, then, I'm sorry, but there's something seriously wrong with you. This movie is a classic, and I'm not just including it because of Patrick Swayze's recent (and tragic) death. It is a dance movie that actually has a riveting plot, and although the period is a little off (it supposedly takes place in the 1960s, but I know a song like "The Time of My Life" would not have been played then), the dancing is fantastic. The chemistry between Swayze and Jennifer Gray is hot, and I love that this movie wasn't designed or intended to be a blockbuster hit because it makes it much more raw and real. It's almost like the Juno of dance movies. It will forever be an amazing cult movie experience and when I watch this, I remember why I am ashamed to watch most of the dance movies that come out these days. They just don't live up.


Peace!


The Movie Mistress

G.I. Joe- Rise of the Cobra

GI Joe- the Rise of Cobra

Yes, I went to see this movie. I know what you’re thinking. Why would anyone go see it? And why is it at the top of the Box Office charts? Well, I got out of this movie exactly what I expected to get out of it: a really good time with lots of shit blowing up. It didn’t ever really feel like a movie… it felt like more of a video game that was, oh, non-participatory. There was a little bit too much animation at times, which annoyed me. Until I discovered something.

I discovered that once I pictured the movie in cartoon form, (trust me, it wasn’t hard to do- there’s already so much CGI that it’s animated almost constantly) I found it ten times more enjoyable. Seriously! All the voices (which, up until I decided to just treat it as such, had irritated the shit out of me) sounded like they came out of your Saturday morning super-hero cartoons, comic style. In particular, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, who sounded like what I suppose Darth Vader would sound like if he had emotions.

Plus, the characters spend most of their time bailing out other characters, which leaves the only real character development to be shown through cheesy flashbacks and sharply cut one-liners.

Basically, what we have here is a movie with hardly any plot (and the plot that is there isn’t really explained- ok, fuck that, nothing really makes sense) and shitty acting.

So why did I enjoy it? Three reasons.

1. The music. You know how I feel about music and movies, and this movie had a killer soundtrack which heightened the suspense.

2. It was exciting. Sure, watching a video game isn’t the same as playing a video game, but watching a jet fly behind a missile (and watching it from the jet’s perspective) is still pretty damn exciting.

3. There will be a sequel. At least, if there isn’t, the entire movie was pointless. I mean, just look at the title: GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The entire movie was just a setup for the actual story of Cobra (as ridiculous as that sounds). And yes, it may be a total marketing ploy, but it kind of makes you want to see the sequel when they don’t explain shit in the first movie. Tarantino did it. Spielberg did it. Hell, I don’t think the first Harry Potter movie would have been made if they didn’t know seven more would be coming. It gives you hope that you’ll find out more to the story.

And hope that you’ll get to see more shit blown up.

Anyway, I would say wait until this movie has been on DVD for a while, rent it for a dollar, and then go borrow your neighbor’s flatscreen. It’s the perfect type of movie for a party- exciting, and you don’t actually have to pay attention to know what’s going on. Plus, you’ll be imitating the villain’s voice because it’s just that ridiculous, and trust me, that will be infinitely more entertaining drunk. 


Peace!


The Movie Mistress