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Midol Girl beams in from ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here to introduce our own Midol Girl who was moved to write in after catching a screening of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. I recently saw the film as well and I think it's getting a lot of unwarranted crapola. It seems the lovely Midol Girl is of the same opinion. Enjoy her piece!
There are moments in your life when exactly the right thing is spoken at a time when you needed to hear it most. You watch the perfect film for what you are going through at the time. Those movies are precious, those movies are rare, and Across The Universe is one of those kinds of movies.
I haven’t written for Ain’t it Cool in some time. That’s because I have been really down the past month. The kind of down where I haven’t really even been my opinionated, full of piss and vinegar Midol Girl self, I’ve been (to be quite frank) kind-of uninspired, depressed and just an overall lame-o. Overall lame-os in my humble opinion don’t write the best reviews for internet sharing time. That’s not to say you have to be a happy-go-lucky overly enthusiastic sugar-coated corn ball. I’ve read plenty-o awesome diatribes from some pretty perturbed jack-asses in my day. But lackluster pieces of writing that come from uninspired “I’m writing this because I have to” places end up being big old boxes of bland. I’d rather be offensive than be insipid in my bloggy blabs.
I’m not about to dive into a cathartic emo rant here, or spew out some half-baked beatnik tortured poetry but this review is about a film that knocked me out of a rut that the sad mundane routines of daily life (including watching formulaic film) rolled me into.
Across the Universe is anything but humdrum. It’s a far out, multifaceted musical masterpiece about war, love and human expression. It uses the timeless, unifying and universally recognizable songs of the Beatles as a narrative device to drive the plot, reveal the characters and explore human nature. It unearths questions and truths from the era that shaped our modern attitudes and who we are as a society today. Our intrinsic search for meaning as a human race manifests itself through expression of love, war, art and music.
Directed by Julie Taymor, this film is based in the 1960’s during The Vietnam War, just prior to and following the assassination of Martin Luther King, it chronicles a love story between a girl named Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) and Jude (Jim Sturgess). They have seemingly opposing backgrounds, countries and lifestyles. Lucy is a blonde, studious preppy girl living at home. Jude is a wandering artist in search of his father in the USA. Jude happens to stumble into Lucy’s brother Max (Joe Anderson) while seeking out his father who’s the Ivy League school janitor. After a forming a fast friendship with Max, a rebel in his own right, Jude is introduced to Lucy. Romantic sparks don’t fully ignite until the three of them move to New York, and have their minds blown apart by their out-of-the fish-bowl sweet taste of freedom, adulthood and rock and roll revolution. It is here where Jude and Max move into an apartment rented out by a Janis Joplinesque up and coming rock star named Sadie (Dana Fuchs). They lead a lifestyle of growth and personal exploration through art, music, and love- oh - and just a little recreational heavy dope usage. Don’t worry it doesn’t glorify it, anyone who knows anything about the times knows it’s securely in context. When Max is drafted, the characters’ personal questioning and goals manifest themselves in contradictory ways. Lucy’s emotional response to the war, and fear of her brother’s survival, is through political activism. Jude personal struggle with the violent changing times causes him to look deeper inside, avoid the televised news, pose personal questions and create art. These very different approaches to such huge matters leaves the two at odds grappling with their purpose and place.
The film’s over all tone and mood is like a surreal, fanciful dream sequence grounded in reality. It plays out like one would look back at their life, transitioning seamlessly, scene to scene not unlike the way memories move in our minds. Moments of crisp dialog and sharply focused experiences move in and out of warped, outlandish sequences leaving us more with an after-taste of what the time was really like. This is such a perfect tone to set for a nostalgic story based on historical events to familiar songs.
Across the Universe is a story told in the traditional way of a musical where significant points in the plot turn into choreography and song. Characters start to sing their lines (in this case, Beatles’ songs) and dance. The editing was practically flawless. Camera movement and shots were dynamic but not distracting or pretentious. The art direction was pretty much dead-on accurate, yet extraordinarily creative at the same time. The performances were captivating, sincere, and moving. The untraditional story-telling aspect to this movie lies in the realization of the Beatles’ songs.
The Beatles don’t perform any of the songs. The characters in the film sing them and a lot of the songs are melodically punched-up or remixed. Plus a few of the musical segments play out like super wild acid trips. So if you are huge Beatles fan looking for a “Beatles Musical” or bio of the band then maybe you won’t be as crazy about this movie as I was. There is also a really outlandish artsy slant to this film with sentimental moments bordering on cheese over-dose. So if you aren’t able to suspend your disbelief easily and have a gag reflex for mushy love stories and all sorts of people bursting into song and dance (yes including macho men) for art’s sake then you may not leave the theatre jumping up and down like I did. I must say though, I’ve been known to get barfy myself at romance scenes and have an aversion to overly goofy musical numbers that seem to come out of nowhere but I managed to love this tale through and through. I think that’s because the director really “got” her subject matter and crafted a film that respected the integrity of the music behind the film and the sincerity of the characters.
What I like most about this musical, and what sets it apart from most of the others out there is that the story was inspired by the pre-existing songs. The Beatles songs themselves weren’t written to be a musical or dropped into a pre-existing story. The music and the mood were there first, and the song’s meanings set the tone and pace of the film. Usually a movie is made and the music and songs are thrown in after to spice up the flick or evoke an emotion.
As I mentioned earlier, the timing of this movie dropping into my life was perfect. It was an inspirational story and I was inspired. It was an entertaining story and I was entertained. But most of all it was out of the box and original in a time when things are getting to be pretty off-the mill formulaic and humdrum. I would definitely suggest going to see this movie if you are feeling blah, drained of your piss and vinegar or like an overall lame-o.
-Midol Girl
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I agree girl, the movie was good in it's way. And I hope things get better every day for you.
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"I would definitely suggest going to see this movie if you are feeling blah, drained of your piss and vinegar or like an overall lame-o"
Thanks Midol Girl -
Thanks for the review. Ebert loved it, too, and even if I don't agree with him all the time, I can at least understand the points he makes. So yeah ... this weekend, I might take myself a trip across the universe.
Better article this time, MG. It still wandered a lot, but at least the first and last points connected. Watch the empty modifiers and the redundancy - "The art direction was pretty much dead-on accurate, yet extraordinarily creative at the same time." The tend to bury the point you're making, like you believe in something only half-heartedly, and if that's the case, why even write it down?
Yay. Of course, everyone will listen to me! The Shiz is legendary! -
Hmm ... "pretty much dead-on" shoudla been emboldinated. Take that outta the sentence above and it becomes 50x better! Peace.
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God, it's really rubbish, in a Paul Anderson ruin your love of the source material kind of way. The ways in which they manage to "work" in the beatle songs are so hackneyed they will make you squirm and then laugh at the pointlessness of it all...
Aviod like the rotten plague it is -
It's called cocooning. It's necessary for recharging the batteries. Just go with it.
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...is that U2's Bono that I spy in the TV previews?
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Oct 03, 2007 5:40:09 AM CDT
Love beeatles songs but arent they a touch nonesensical
by theycallmemrglass
I sure would be interested in seeing this film just to see how they do make a story out of it. Beatles were one of if not the greatest band of all time but much of their lyrics really didn't make any sense (yet I still listen to them again and again!). I don't know...is that sort of music (like strawberry fields, yellow submarine, oh boy) called intelligent nonsense? Smoke this shit to understand music? Or what? Shame we cant hear the original band singing though.
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Also, that's the most depressing positive review of a movie I've ever read.
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She's an Intelligent and interesting filmaker with a background in Theatre (has a good rep with actors) plus she's also married to uber composer Elliot Goldenthal who generally scores her films, sounds like a cool project, looking forward to seeing it.
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Or a good film? I think it looks good, although not as good as the Dylan 'themed' one coming up...
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Will deffo check this one out, Taymor has a distinctive visual style, something that can't be said of most directors in Hollywood these days.
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than Righty Nazi Redneck Bullshit any day of the week. There's too much of that going on as it is.
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I bought the Bee Gee's "Sgt. Pepper" soundtrack in the $.99 bin at Aire-Way back in 1979 because at the time I was super-into Steve Martin's "Comedy is not Pretty" & "Wild & Crazy Guy" albums. He did "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" on the soundtrack and I went boffo for not just his songs, but all of them on the album (including the one true non-dud, "Come Together" by Aerosmith. I was only nine years old & didn't know any better. Well, a few months later I learned that these songs weren't Bee Gee songs but instead Beatles songs. I biked up to the local record shop (which now is one of those cigarette-discount-ilk places) and searched all the albums by the Beatles for the one that had the most songs from the Sgt. Pepper soundtrack. That LP was Abbey Road, and though it is very scratched & worn I still have it to this day (as well as their entire catalog on CD).
I'm going to buy a fresh CD copy of thier entire catalog one a month when my son is born (due: January 1) and then on his 8th or 10th birthday I will bequeath him the best music ever.
And I still have the Bee Gees LPs, too, but he dosen't need to hear those. -
as soon as i read the names of the two main characters, i knew this film wasn't for me. how much more of a corny, uninspired choice could you make?
hey jude, you suck! -
...But how can I love someone who can't see that this film is a smoldering pile of dogshit masquerading as an art film?
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Teaching your "young'uns" about the Beatles is the absolute best thing you can do. My 13-year-old daughter now knows the words to every song on Revolver.
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It's not the Beatles, of course, but it's worth the $10 at Best Buy.
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The current Beatles CD releases (from the UK releases; the US releases are in Capitol Records Box Sets) are not high-quality transfers of the original mono recordings. With the exception of Abbey Road and (I think) Let It Be, the CDs are not as good as the albums.
Harrison's widow (ex-wife? I always forget) has stated they're in the process of re-mastering from the originals -- they might already be done -- and the expectation is that the new CDs will be released next year. So get those. -
"Stray Cat Blues," the provocative new musical inspired by the songs of the Rolling Stones?
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It sounds EXACTLY like the kind of movie that would send me into a rage! I walked out of that Stink Fest Moulaun Rouge when Jim Broadbent started singing Like a Virgin or whatever and the only musical kind of film i've ever tolerated, no really enjoyed was The one where Bjork who goes blind, framed for murder then hung so I dunno if I'll even bother with this.Also What's with all the Piss and vinegar?
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Maybe he'll get my old, inferior CD's. Not that I'm a Beatle freak or anything, but I had my friend burn all the Capitol releases (scratches & all) onto CD's, well, because those are the LP's I grew up with. Even in their "inferior" state, still the best records ever. I couldn't bring myself to pay the $160 or whatever for the CD "Capitol" releases. Not yet, anyway...I've got a too much baby-paraphenalia to buy...
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...for this to be remade in 20 years before I see it. It'll probably be better starring Shilo Pitt-Jolie or Suri Cruise-Holmes anyway.
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Why is AICN reviewing movies that have been out for at least 2 weeks i some cities?
I don't even live in New York or LA, and it's been playing at the Regal Multiplex by my house for 10 days now. -
Saw this movie and I really dug it. Though it was a bit too long probably because the deported the poor guy which slowed the movie down a bit. The movie itself is like an acid trip and the songs are done respectfully. (sorry but some covers of the beatles suck ass I'm looking at u a perfect circle making a crappy ass cover of imagine (yes I know its a lennon song)) and the movie didn't end with a sappy hugg and kiss from jude and lucy. The joe cocker part sooo kicked ass. The hot asian lesbian cheerleader (yes hot asian lesbian cheerleader!!!!) singing I wanna hold ur hand was awesome somewhat laughable but u can see from this point of view that maybe just maybe that song wasn't suppose to be a happy song. Bono did a good fucking job in this movie, if he didn't sing u wouldn't know it was him. the get by with a little help from my friends was way cool. I'm done rambling right now bout it movie. and yes it is light years ahead of sgt. pepper. which when I was wee, I thought was a good movie but upon further viewing it sooooooooooooo sucked ass.
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I thought it was an entertaining piece of art, but a horrible film. I would have liked it much more if they would have cut out like a third of the songs. I think they could have easily strung together a coherent narrative out of the music they chose, if they had simply been more selective. Also, I really could have done without the extremely grating meta-references to other songs not used. Many of them actually made me wince. I don't know. I really wanted to like this, and I see what they were trying to accomplish, but I don't feel like they succeeded. It fails as a musical, because the story is completely in service of the music, and it needs to be the other way around. It fails as a narrative because there are too many random elements, and the way they are strung together does not feel organic. I think the best way to enjoy this movie is to think of it as a string of very interesting music videos in a variety of styles, done as a tribute to a favorite band.
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But if you are going to be a writer, then you have to learn to write even when you don't feel like it. Also, don't plan on becoming a writer.
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Bono is the single most annoying rock star ever. Good review though Midol McPlan, even if the movie does suck.
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Number nine....number nine...number nine...
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To each their own, of course, but the story stinks of overly-sentimentality attempts at being deeper than it really is. It looks visually well-crafted, I must admit. Characters named after ones in Beatles songs while using Beatles music? Quite lame.
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i was really really looking forward to this movie, i loved the trailer, and ended up fucking disappointed. the movie doesnt know whether it wants to be a traditional hollywood musical or a trippy new age one. The song use is painfully obvious, the story is minimal, the images are not that striking. it's half baked terry gilliam. if a little more thought was put into the film it would have been great. it has moments where it reaches greatness (strawberry fields, revolution, i want you), but the rest of the movie doesn't decide what it wants to be and just hovers in this "too normal to be an art film too wierd to be a hollywood movie" limbo and that's why it fails
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does this site give reviews to movies that have been out for weeks that they feel are getting 'alot of unwarranted crapola'? this is just another noble failure for julie taymor, she is probably used to them by now.
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you can shit on my chest, midol girl.
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There's a Red Book on the counter, go read it and be quiet.
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i want too piss on you, lets get weird!
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This is , without a doubt, one of the worst movies I've seen in a few years. maybe i just went in with my hopes too high. Taymor has a great eye and there are times when the film is beautiful to look at. If I didn't know better, I would assume it had been directed by someone deeply affected by Taymor's work. Visually though, this is nowhere close to Titus, Frida or (broadway's) The Lion King. It's just too much. I LOVE the Beatles and i felt that there were WAY too many songs thrown in "just because". naming all of your characters after songs just so you can squeeze that song in at some point...etc. The only saving graces, in my mind, were the performances by Jim Sturgess and Martin Luther. I really wanted this movie to be great or decent, even. It just isn't. Save your money and listen to whatever Beatles albums you have instead.
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I understand this is crazy ole AICN but, egads!
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For months I've been watching this trailer, thinking "Across the Universe" could be great...or awful. Well, I thought it was flat-out great. Great review, Midol Girl... You captured a lot of my feelings about the film. I'm already looking forward to seeing it again.
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Yeah, this movie has already come and gone from my local theater. AICN: always blazing trails and on the cutting edge.
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Otherwise known as "Ain't it Sensitive News"
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damn! damn! damn!
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Great production design, good singing but a passionless story. It just felt emotionally flat.
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go out of their way to violently trash something they haven't seen or have no interest in seeing.
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Convoluted and incoherent, yet somehow watchable? I wouldn't know. Gimme Indy or Batman. Anyone watch Troy Directors Cut? Much better than the theatrical release like Kingdom of Heaven Directors Cut. Two must watch movies.
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Midol Girl, good review and I'm glad the film brightened up your day. Sometimes catching a film at the right time can make you view it completely differently. I saw Across the Universe on a first date and while both of us were psyched to see it, neither of us cared for it. I was one of those guys who took Taymor's side when all the issues with Joe Roth came to the forefront. He wanted to cut a half hour of it. I thought studio interference would sink the film and that the should trust the vision of the director that they had hired. But after seeing the finished product, I completely agree with the suits. The film was incredible to look at but overall, it was a complete and utter mess and has to be viewed as nothing less than one of the biggest disappointments of the year. The only characters I liked were Martin Luther's JoJo and Joe Anderson's Max. A lot of people have been talking about Jim Sturgess and while I thought he was fine (and certainly better than Evan Rachel Wood, who I normally like), I thought Anderson was the real find here. A few days later I saw him in Control where he's equally effective in a smaller role. I think he's like a young Jude Law and an actor to definitely keep your eye on. But on the whole, Taymor's storytelling ability is severely limited. I didn't care about the central relationship between Jude and Lucy. It just felt like 33 different music videos strung together, and I'd say half the songs were done well. I thought the trailer looked amazing but the rather schizophrenic film left me disappointed. But I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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It wanted so badly to be Moulin Rouge-esque but it comes no where close to approaching the greatness of that film, while a movie like Once handled a relationship through music with so much more originality.
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It's still playing here in DC...like...four months after it came out. I need to go see that one again....THRICE!
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I thought that was gonna be your gimmick. The "Holy shit, its a nice looking girl writing on a site full of geeky guys" contributer to aicn.
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Saw this a few weeks ago just after TIFF and definitely enjoyed it. While not something I'd see over and over again, it had some great visuals, good acting, some great scenes that made it enjoyable with some funny cameos. Good film overall. Also met one of the leads (Jim or Joe not sure they look kind of similar) during TIFF at work and had a good chat really nice guy. Oh and he likes Canada too so that put him in the good books :) Also, the singing by the leads is really good and while obviously the Beatles are classic, their versions felt like really good updates of the originals. Perfect for the movie.
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only a woman would like this piece of shit. yes, Ebert is a woman too. I saw a preview screening because my wife wanted to see it so fucking bad... waste of time. That's all I say.
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That'll be the day.
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Thanks for giving me permission to shit on your chests, piss on your faces,
eat your cum, stuff my tits in your mouth or any of your other charming offers.
Unfortunatly I'm too busy giving Harry Knowles blow jobs and learning how to write better then a 13 yr. old japanese exchange student...
But please, don't give up on me--keep your offers coming! I promise to pencil you in one day... you can help my study for my TOFEL! Let's have DimSum!
Love,
Your fantasy fuck-puppett/ cum bucket/ cyber litter box
Midol Girl.
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Fuck Bono and fuck this stupid fuckin movie.
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Fuck Bono, and fuck this stupid fuckin movie.
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re:chest shitting------------
(standing ovation) that was fucking awesome! my 16month old can't even read, and he knew that was awesome. you talk better smack than 1/2 the guys at my poker night. bra-fucking-vo! -
http://xkcd.com/322/
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Wow. Who would've thought so many of the men who frequent this website would react so strongly to a woman's review? I'm blown away, but not really.
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No-one posts on Quint's reviews with an offer for Quint to shit on their chest. Though if it helps get a ticket to Butt-Numb-A-Thon I'd consider it. No Mexican food though. And for the record Midol Girl, I'm glad this site has a female perspective, it needs it. I love that you get so many talk-backers nut sacks all angry and twisted. Keep it coming.
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I just don't like it- heh. What's a cyber litter box?
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I actually quite like her reviews. Even if this film will most likely be shit. Just one question: what's a girl?
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at least I think it is.
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This film was, honestly and truly, one of the most beautiful, wonderful films I have ever seen. This is probably not the time and place for me to get into it too deep, but I was completely and utterly blown away by some of the ideas.
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You mean the ideas that war sucks and love is important? Yeah, I was blown away by those ideas as well. Around the time I learned to read, if I recall correctly. Wow, that was really snarky, even for me. I must be more tired than I thought.
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You're right, it's amazing. And it was the only thing capable of getting me out of my own doldrums, for 2 hours anyway. I do think it's only for a certain kind of person though. There are some who just don't get the happy or uplifting musical thing. They can like 'Tommy' or 'Dancer in the Dark' but anything light is worthless crap to them. And they'll hate this, that's a given. But I loved it, which may have been a given too. It's exactly my kind of movie.
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