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Paper Heart (2009)
A Controversial Movie
As you may have noticed with all the comments, this movie might be mediocre, terrible, great, or some weird combo. I'm one of those who think this was a great movie, but I hope to explain the discrepancies.
First, let's get my biases out of the way, so that you can judge my comment accordingly. I am a Michael Cera fan. I am an indie movie fan, but not an aficionado. I wanted to see this movie. I'm a young guy who likes some romantic movies, but they have to be rather good. I didn't know anything about this movie aside from what the trailer tells me. I think that does it.
A lot of the comments on IMDb about this movie center around the format. I agree that the style is important to talk about, but not the only thing. The style is documentary, but with certain deviating aspects. It isn't Blair Witch Project; it has decent editing and lighting. The angle is natural, all from a guy or three carrying cameras. Certain scenes are done in paper cutouts in paper scenery and wires for movement. These are usually the scenes that they didn't catch on camera and are important to the plot. These scenes are really charming because of their scale and their construction.
The "acting" is also good. The most controversial aspect of this movie is the content, or the plot. Some think that this movie is either simply an observation of life or a movie about an observation of life. Either real or reel, some might say. I tend towards some middle ground. I think that this movie is a documentary about real life including a documentary about real life. There are staged things and things that look really genuine, so I think that it's more of an embellished real story. The cynic in me thinks that a lot of it is fake, but they did a really convincing job so I hope its all real.
If you are an optimist, this story will be really cute and lovable. If you believe it to be faked, it's a bad movie. That is why I think it is mostly genuine, if not completely. If this was produced in any really directed way, it would not have included some things in it that it did. But then again, they could have included it to make you think that. Whether you're paranoid about that sort of thing is beside the point. This movie feels very real. I know some of my dates were almost exactly like some in this movie. Charlyne is believable and so is Michael Cera.
Michael Cera plays a really cool guy with a cute awkward disposition. If you're a fan of Michael Cera, you'll recognize his characteristic style, but now I believe that style to be more of just how he is instead of an acting style. Regardless, he's endearing. Charlyne is also really lovable because she's funny and easily embarrassed. The two are quite genuine and work really well together because of their similar personalities.
Overall, a cute and lovable movie. The ending is unsatisfactory, but that's because there is no end that would fit the story and remain truthful to real life.
Merlin (2008)
A fantastic version of a fantastic tale.
Very few spoilers.
Basic Overview:
The centuries old tale of King Arthur is a well known one. This show, however, is not within the canon of the usual legend. For anyone familiar with the story, you will be misinformed as to Merlin. Merlin does not follow the usual plot and sometimes directly contradicts it. This is no failure on the producers part, simply a license open to all who portray King Arthur and Merlin.
The reason I recommend Merlin is because of its creative writing, good acting, and its intrigue as a tale of King Arthur. I shall hopefully defend these beliefs.
Writing:
The writing in Merlin is dramatic and funny. Merlin has the funniest of roles and sometimes even uses current language. This little bit of the fantastic is one of the main reasons why this show is so accessible while maintaining integrity as a fantasy. It's all well and good to have a fantasy show and never deviate, but Merlin subtly puts in some slang so that viewers can relate to jokes and not get bogged down in medieval jargon.
A seamless incorporation of humor and drama and action in my opinion. The writers have put just enough humor to keep you happy and friendly to the characters. They have also included enough to drama to keep all us entertained with scandal and romance. Finally, the action is put in enough, and well enough, that us guys don't feel like we're watching a soap opera. This balance of humor, drama, and action is hard to achieve and Merlin achieves it.
Acting:
Colin Morgan plays Merlin and he does a fantastic job. His appearance is a little on the awkward side, but it fits his character perfectly and doesn't distract from anything. I think all the characters look good, so I guess I'm biased. His acting is the most modern of the bunch. He is the funniest one mostly because of the writing. But he carries out the script with a sort of whimsical humor that really resonates with a lot of people. He has sarcastic humor, which is more modern, as well as irony. He is really a likable guy and the show really brings the audience to care for him. Few shows get you really emotionally involved in their characters but in Merlin, you can't help but to feel happy for their triumphs and sad for their losses.
Prince Arthur is played by Bradley James. A handsome fellow, Bradley fits into his role quite well. His acting is more stately and this is exactly what is called for. He gives just the right amount of compassion and love in Arthur to be lovable. He also portrays the conflict of following in his father's footsteps quite well. He really comes through as a good friend and a good man. This, above all, is important to his character. He could easily have acted poorly and come off as a egotistical jerk, only rarely tempered by compassion. But James comes through by coming off as a compassionate guy who can sometimes be bullied into cruelty. A complex character to be sure.
Morgana (Morgan Le Fay in the tradition) is well played but can sometimes feel unnecessary as a supporting character. No doubt she will become important, as the legend predicts, but it's hard to say that she is truly a lovable character. Perhaps this is exactly what we are supposed to feel. She is after all one of the enemies of King Arthur in the legend so maybe we are to mirror her conflict of staying with the King and going off to the druids. So we don't know if we should love her or hate her.
Gaius and King Uther Pendragon are also important characters. Gaius is the guy with the awesome eyebrow. He isn't much of a deep character but he definitely has a history that will likely come up repeatedly. As Merlin's mentor, we do feel affection for the old man, but he's not very important to the plot. Uther is a cold man who rationalizes all of his controversial decisions with his hatred for magic. He is human, after all, so he's not a character to hate. But unfortunately for him, he is going to die eventually and it's hard to say whether the audience will be glad or slightly crestfallen. He's not the nicest guy, but he's our heroes dad, so we feel a little.
Gwenivere, the controversial black girl. It's true that the Gwen of the legend is fair-haired and fair-skinned, but as we've seen, Merlin is not about to follow guidelines. Just look at how Gwen is black and Merlin is young and Nimue is not Merlin's apprentice and there is no Excalibur and Lancelot is different and Gwen is a servant girl and Merlin is a servant boy. It is not helpful to compare the show Merlin to the differentiated tales told over the centuries. Gwen is very likable but her love with Arthur isn't all too organic. Her love with Lancelot, which does come from the legend, is much more genuine. This will likely play a big role later, if Arthur and Gwen ever hook up.
Other thoughts:
Personally, I think that the friendship between Merlin and Arthur is about the most believable connection on screen that I've seen in awhile. Some people claim that they should be lovers or that they already are. I agree that they share a deep bond and that they're cute together, but I think it is simply a friendship. If it turns out that they are more than friends, then it'll simply become even less like the legend, but I'll still watch it. It wouldn't detract; I think it would only add to the intrigue. (reviewed after series 1)