rickyleepotts…an opinionated realist

No matter how hard I try, I just can’t explain what I hear when I listen to a Pretty Lights album. From a full-length to an EP I am just overcome by beats and by an almost forced hip-hop sound. (Did you know that you can download all of his work on his website.) But it works. It works on so many levels that I just can’t turn it off. There are not a ton of vocals in his work, but that’s okay. You don’t need a lot of vocals with beats this good. I had the chance to sit and chat with Pretty Lights not too long ago and I learned a lot about who he was before he got into music and where he sees himself going with his work in the future. Pretty Lights is tall, tall enough that when growing up he had thoughts of being in the NBA. When I asked him in the interview what he would be doing if he was not performing, he said, “I always wanted to be in the NBA.” As Pretty Lights gears up for Electric Zoo here in a few weeks, he took some time to sit with me and discuss his latest EP, his thoughts on how the record industry currently stands, and even on where he sees himself five years from now. I learned a ton from this conversation and it is my pleasure to introduce you to Pretty Lights.

Where did you come up with the name Pretty Lights?

I first saw the name on an old Pink Floyd poster. It was the first time I saw the two words together and it stood out to me as not only a cool name but also a cool concept. It was very visual and got me thinking. It definitely stuck with me and related a lot of the ideas I wanted to communicate. What it really means to me is the concept that people and artists specifically go through their day eyes always looking for a moment of beauty or inspiration. It would be things that inspire people to create music and art. It would be any sort of form of that. Pretty Lights is an obvious element as it relates specifically to that. It‘s sort of like the essence of creative minds.

You are originally from Colorado. Is there much of a dance scene out there?

Yeah, the scene out here is really blowing up. It’s not a typical or traditional dance scene though. There are not a lot of the big named DJs coming through. At least not the club kind of stuff. Independent artists are basically performing hip-hop in a live setting. People are really supporting it and coming out for it. I just did a show for ten thousand people in Colorado of nothing but Pretty Lights beats. That is pretty much the scene today. A lot of artists are selling tickets for shows like that.

I get an almost hip-hop feel from your work. Where do you get inspiration for a new track?

I suppose my vision for the style I have created has been developing since I first started getting into music. When I bought my first bass guitar in the 8^th grade is when I first started. I was exposed and became interested in being a part of different themes. I think that over the last ten years, maybe fifteen years, I have tried to hang on to different elements and different genres. I have tried to design a style that fuses everything together. I grew up on hip-hop so that is part of the reason for the current music structure. I take the hip-hop approach to BPM and put the combined dance elements behind it. For a while I was going to a lot of dance parties and the rave scene started popping up. That infused it all too.

Also the dub step scene and reggae has had an influence. I was into that for a while and I was even in a few funk bands. I tried to take the best elements of all those things and fuse it together into a new style. I tried to create what I would consider to be my own favorite music. It just hadn’t been created yet. That is how I did it on a greater scale and crafted the vision on this music. I want to take the music to a new level.

I try to stay up to date on what others are doing all the time. I am not locked in the world of Pretty Lights.  It can be a danger when you get too busy with your music and your own shows. You can become cut off and alienated from the rest of the music scene. I always want to have a good idea where you are at and where your style is. You have to have an idea where the rest of your community is as well. It helps stay motivated and continuously inspired.

I am in love with your new EP. Tell me a little bit more about it.

This whole three EP thing that I have set out to accomplish over 2010 I did because I wanted to release more music than a single full-length over the course of the year. I wanted to hang on to the element of surprise. I am really big on people having never heard the music when it comes out on the EP.

It’s important for me when fans get an album that they haven’t heard the music live yet. That is just an element of it. With this second EP, I was thinking about it from the moment the first EP was released. I went on tour shortly after the first EP came out and while on tour I made it a priority to go visit used record shops in all these different cities across the country. I basically visited a bunch of record shops to go vinyl shopping while on tour to collect samples and snippets and sounds to start building this EP from.

I am not sure how much you know about my production style, but it’s what I like to call “sample collaging”. It’s where I am not just sampling an intro to someone else’s song and then building a track, but rather I am taking smaller pieces from old sounds and records and making several of them work together the way they were meant to be. I gathered material to create this material from all over the country while on tour.

Stylistically I was trying to explore a couple of themes. I was trying to choose multiple genres and throw them into a single track. I also wanted to take multiple styles into single songs at the same time. At one point it flips to a harder more electronic sound. That is one thing I was really messing with on the new EP. It was an idea I had been thinking about for several years now. I wanted to do two interpretations of the same song. I wanted to flip back and forth in a single track seamlessly. I was exploring new ideas on how that was possible and how I could push that. I learned a lot about what is possible and got a ton of new ideas from making that EP. I am really excited to start working on the third one.

Are you looking forward to Electric Zoo?

Absolutely. I play a lot of festivals and this is definitely one that I am looking forward to being a part of.

What is the biggest crowd you have ever played for?

The biggest crowd of my own headlining show was actually just last weekend. I headlined a gig at Red Rocks for about ten thousand people. I have played bigger sets than that at festivals though. Coachella was maybe fifteen thousand people.  That is the most I have played in front of I think.

The smallest?

Ten people probably. I played some really small rooms and small crowd when I first started.

What is the best show you have been to?

I can tell you one of them. I have been to a lot of really dope shows but I was blown away by Jay Z’s performance at Coachella. That guy has managed to bring it to the next level on all fronts. With the production and the musicians and just the overall show. Just everything has been thought of. Obviously when I watch a show I think back to how it was put together. I also think about my show or how I can push what I do to the next level. I was inspired by his performance.

I really dig that style of artwork you showcase on your album covers. Who does all your graphic design work?

I work with a handful of different artists. I try to conceptualize everything and then work side-by-side with artists and graphic designers. This EP trilogy I have worked with an artist from Australia for the covers. My website and posters I work with an artist out of Denver. A good friend of mine designed all my older album covers and shirts.

What would you be doing if you were not producing music?

I would be in the NBA winning titles. (Laughs) I always played basketball growing up. I was really into it. Not sure you knew this, but I am 6’8”. But in high school I decided that music was my calling. I quit the basketball team and focused on that. When I was a kid I always wanted to be in the NBA.

How cool is it to know that Behind Your Eyes has been downloaded over 500,000 times?

It’s sick. I feel so blessed to have such a large amount of people who are listening to my music and ready to download it when it comes out. It’s cool because when I sit down and produce something I know that it is has the potential to affect a broad number of people. It’s awesome. It reinforced what I had hoped for from the beginning. I wanted to show that an independent model like this could be successful and exist without the support of a major label. To prove that it can work without the system that the record industry has in tact.

This has been completely independent venture as far as creating and releasing the music. It’s awesome for Pretty Lights and my shows, but its also an example to set for where the music industry can go and what indie artists have the potential to do without major record label support. I hope that I can continue to evolve this model and other artists can do similar things. I want to make the playing field level and more indie artists can be self-sufficient.

If I were to release one record for free, and get all my fans to buy just one record, it could put Pretty Lights near the top. It makes you think of the scope of downloads and how it relates to the major labels.

I almost want to hear your work in a movie or as a theme song for a television show. Have you ever thought about working that angle?

I do a lot of that already. I work with a lot of major motion pictures and tons of extreme sports films. Surf videos, snowboard videos; stuff like that. I am completely down with that and it has been a goal of mine actually. Rather than license preexisting tracks, I want to go in and compose the score for an entire film. I would love to do that in the future.

How many stamps are in your passport?

(Laughs) I don’t know. I have been focused on the US and western Europe. Ten or fifteen maybe. I don’t know. There are just so many places to play in this world. There are so many markets and I am really trying to get into Australia and Japan. It’s not that we have not been offered shows there, it’s just the time to do it all and still take care of the markets that have already been through it in the states.

Do you prefer to play shows overseas or here in the States?

Right now it is all about playing the States. It’s not the same thing over there. I am trying to build it best I can. The shows in the States are leaps and bounds to what is happening in Europe. I am definitely working to build that up though.

Tools like Twitter and Facebook are changing the way people listen to music. How much attention do you pay to these services?

I realize what you are saying; they are really powerful tools. With everything that has been going on, I find myself neglecting them a little bit. I have been trying to communicate with my fans on Facebook and Twitter more frequently. I am a newbie, although I have had a Twitter account for a while. I used it to send out updates and show things, new download announcements, etc. I don’t like to tell people what I’m doing and where I am eating my next meal.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

(Laughs) That is a question I have been asked before, and I don’t know where I see myself in six months. I know that I will hopefully have fifteen more albums that I am proud of, an expanding, thriving label and a show that pushes the bounds of what shows do. Hopefully, if the next five years are anything like this last year; it will be crazy. (Laughs)

What do you want to be remembered for when this is all said and done?

I suppose when the dust settles, I want to be remembered for exactly what my main goal and ambition has been the whole time. Just to create fresh, good, tasteful music with longevity and emotion that is thought provoking and can really affect people. Whether it is right now or ten years from now, that is the music I am aiming to produce. In all the craziness of touring and running a business and putting on a production every night, sometimes that can sort of lose its luster. This is about making good music. The shows will happen and they will eventually come to an end, and there will be memories of those times, but the music will always be here. I want to evolve and push the music. I use the word evolve and I never think that my style will ever stay where it is. I want to get better.

I always let the artist get the last word. Go.

*Right when I asked this question the phone went dead. I told him, after a previous dropped call, that I was speaking to him on an iPhone 4. He stated that he was on an iPhone 4 as well. So whether you blame Apple or AT&T, Pretty Light’s last words will forever remain a mystery.

When I sat down to write the summary of what Zohar Lazar called the top 10 films of 2009, I had no idea the reaction that it was going to get from my readers. I knew as soon as I saw the headline of “Top 10 Films of 2009” that I was going to personally disagree with that list, but I had no idea that my audience would agree as much as you all did. You seemed to drool over such films as District 9 and Up in the Air. You also seemed to think that the Coen brothers had talent and that movies like Inglorious Basterds deserved an A+ rating. You couldn’t have been further from the truth.

So I have set out to dispel some of those rumors. I am going to show you now what I feel the best ten movies of 2009 were. There were some epic films last year but some of those did not even make the list. I judge more from a movie than the actors and the script. I look for things such as character development, highs and lows in the script as well as how realistic the story line is and if these characters could really suffer these types of things. If it cannot happen, I tend to not like it.  So, what follows is my attempt at the top 10 films of 2009. I don’t expect you to agree, but to do me the simple favor of watching these films. Do so with an open mind and a closed conscience. You will see that films that I have listed have a little more staying power than the trash that something like District 9 dishes out.

10. Adventureland

This film scores on multiple levels. First this film is relatable. Any teenager who has held a summer job and has had a summer lust can relate to this film. Granted, the characters playing these teenagers on a mission are a little older than we like to believe in this film, but it does justice to what we experienced in our years growing up. Love might not even truly exist when we are that young, but lust sure as hell does. These characters know how to show that. The pain, the suffering, and the utter confusion that is suffered by these individuals throughout a single summer puts this movie in my top 10. Granted, it falls at the bottom of the barrel, but the way this film forced you to fall in love with the characters forced it into the list. (Does anyone else find it ironic that Jesse Eisenberg, who plays the same role in every film anyway, was in two films last year taking part in an amusement park? He was in Adventureland and Zombieland.)

9. Up

I will agree with the previous list, and while I will not place this as close to the top as he did, this film was incredible. Outside of the spectacular graphics that we have come to expect from the guys over at Pixar, this movie has more of a message than anything. An old man left to fend for himself and his home after losing his wife goes on a journey when his house is picked up by a slew of balloons. Granted, I told you before that I enjoy films that are realistic and while this one might be a little far fetched, the relationship he builds with the budding Boy Scout is enough to make your heart break. Note that this film is not meant for the children in the audience. This animation is for the parents.

8. I Love You, Man

I had to throw one slap stick comedy on the list. The film has a ton of good one liners, sure, but there is more to it than that. I too find myself in search of a best friend. I have a lot of friends, sure, but not a single one that stands out above all the rest. I will, until I find him, look for that one true man that I can look in the eyes and say, “I love you.” While these characters make their time pass by slapping the bass and planning weddings left and right, the true meaning lies in the sheer love that these characters build on a deeper level. This is a film with great intentions and it hits the ball out of the park with making me feel for these characters.

7. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

This film is just darn right cute. The concept is great with a boy who is obsessed with inventing things that never work. On his last try, he decides to try his hand at a machine that makes the sky rain with food. It is a great concept for those who are suffering from starvation and and even more of a relief when the machine actually works! There is a lot of drama thrown into the mix and, as with every story that comes out of Hollywood, a love story between the two main characters. It has a lot of wit, humor, and a monkey wearing a headband. How can you not love a film with a monkey in a headband? Outside of all that, you have a father who is doing his best to keep his family-owned business afloat. The drama that he and his boy go through is enough to make you want to pick up the phone and call your dad as soon as the film is over.

6. The Soloist

This film not only has two of the biggest actors in Hollywood in it, but also is based on a true story. A man who is down on his luck yet has some of the most incredible talent in the world is stuck playing music for strangers. A journalist on the look out for a news story finds him, but becomes immediately immersed in his life and can think of only ways to help. By the time the characters are halfway through the film, you not only want to reach out and help him too, but you cannot help but cry when things do not go as planned. The film has a strong sense of accomplishment on one side of the fence and a side of depression and betrayal for every time you looked down upon a homeless individual. These people know no other way and are happy with what they have. That is not something that you can replace, even with the financial stability to do so. This film takes you into the heart of the L.A. homeless.

5. Star Trek

This film was set up to fail. Having a cast of no name actors with a script that has been told time and time again, there was no way this flick would survive a week in the box office. The critics were wrong. This film was incredible. The acting was not only some of the best in any film I had seen all year, but the story line was not as boring as the previews had made it seem. Sure, there were some parts that you know could not happen in real life (pretty much all of them actually), but you see a man go from being down on his luck to being the success of his crew. A true story of valor as a boy lives in his father’s footsteps trying to make a name for himself and carry on his father’s legacy.

4. My Sister’s Keeper

OK, so I am not one to talk about my habits when watching a sad movie, but the first time I saw this film I cried for hours. The story features a few key name actors that you would not expect to see in a film like this, and they pull it off without too much distraction. This story has been told time and time again but it begins with a daughter who was diagnosed with cancer. Outside of showing her struggles with trying to live yet another day, it shows the story of her sister who was theoretically born to help save her sister’s life. The second daughter does not want to have anything to do with it, hires a pro bono lawyer to try her case, and ends up upsetting her parents more and more as the story goes along. Keep an extra box of Kleenex, as this film will bring you to your knees in tears.

3. Last Chance Harvey

I might only be twenty-six years old but I am having a hard time dealing with the process of getting older.  I do not want to get older, even though I have no control over that. I try to protect my body and my relationships as much as I can as I know they could all be gone in the blink of an eye. Enter Last Chance Harvey. This is the story of an older man who has lost his way with love. He meets a woman, similar in age, and begins to spark what promises to be a dead end relationship. They have their struggles and while the entire film is mostly dialog, you literally cannot help but feel for these characters. You want them to kiss. You want them to stop fighting. You want them to be happy yet together. The story shows that there is truly no age to loving someone, and that you can fall in love at the drop of a hat. This film was epic in the eyes of someone who wants a story filled with honest and believable dialog.

2. Watchmen

I rarely see the same movie twice, let alone in the theater. I did this film, as it was truly an epic showcase of incredible acting and a truly original script. The story had been told before only in graphic novel form. But it has now been transformed into a three hour major motion picture. If you can see past the male full frontal nudity and begin to understand the lives that these super heroes lived, you can then begin to appreciate the lives of the super heroes we all have come to know and love. They are people too, but they have a responsibility. They are put on this earth to do well while trying to fit in outside their costumes. The film has some incredible graphics as well and will take you on a ride like you have never been. Be careful the first time you watch it as you might want to run out and get the book as soon as you are finished. I know I did.

1. Avatar

Allow me to be the first to say that this film was not that great. The storyline was one of the most racist and over told stories that I have ever seen in a major motion picture. The acting was just OK considering almost all of it was shot on a green screen. Even the choice in actors, in my opinion, could have been a little bit better. But what makes this film deserve the top spot (it came in late as this film was released late December) is for the sheer genius in James Cameron’s mind when he came up with this world. You literally get lost in the creativity that spills onto the screen as the film progresses and instead of hating these creatures as the humans in the film tell you to, you begin to not only feel sorry for them, but wish for their utter survival. You see these creatures killed at various parts of the script and you literally hold onto the edge of your seat in hopes that they are OK. This film was graphically perfect. You have never seen graphics like this and the story behind Cameron’s thought process for this film is worth listening to. (You can find it on an NPR interview done just after the film’s release.) Avatar will go down as one of the most well-crafted and graphic films of your and my generations. This film was not as good as some I have seen based on storyline alone, but the graphic power in this film makes up for it.

So, as you read through this list, look at some of my key points. Look at why I chose the films that I did and note that I did not chose the films like Terminator: Salvation or Transformers 2. Those were decent movies, sure, but they did not make me fall in love. They were forgettable. These films listed above you are not. I know that not all of you have seen these films, not all will agree with me on this list, but I just had to get it out. I watch too many movies not to write about them. So, to you people out there who are looking for something to do this weekend, head to the local video store and grab a couple of these. I promise that even if you don’t like them, you will respect what these films were meant to do. These, ladies and gentlemen, are the top 10 films of 2009.

I read a lot of magazines. I read anything from Nintendo Power to Details all the way to Maxim and GQ. Each one has a unique set of writers that as time goes by you learn to love. You laugh with your favorites as they tell a funny joke or you scream at the haters who make negative remarks on your favorite video game. Regardless, magazines are just another form of visual entertainment for a generation that cannot seem to sit still.

Movies are also another form of visual entertainment. I am not sure how many films I watch a week but I would venture to say that the number climbs close to ten or so. I am obsessed with how filmmakers tell a story. Part of that is probably because I want to write my own script one day.

In the most recent issue of GQ Magazine Zohar Lazar breaks down the top ten films of the year. Being the movie buff that I am I wanted to share those with you here and give you a brief summary of why I disagree on almost everything he says. So, what follows are the top 10 movies of 2009 according to GQ Magazine and the reason that Zohar Lazar is full of shit.

10. Bad Lieutenant: Port Call of New Orleans

Yeah, I have never heard of this film either. Next film please.

9. A Prophet

This film was decent at best. It is the story of a French Muslim convict who makes his way from bottom of the barrel to the cream of the crop. It has some twists but is packed with that nostalgic European humor that I just can’t stand.

8. The Hangover

This is nothing more than a good weekend in Las Vegas. Some guys get drunk, sample some illegal narcotics, wake up with a bunch of strippers on their floor half naked, and find a baby in their closet. Who has not experienced all of that in Las Vegas at one time or another?

7. Up

This deserves to be a lot higher on this list. (Too bad this is not MY list.) This film was yet another masterpiece by the folks at Pixar and had a story line meant for the parents in the audience. I have to admit that this film made me cry.

6. District 9

Are you really going to make me explain to you why this is quite possibly one of the worst films ever made? The acting was terrible, the story line has been told time and time again, and the visual effects were just mediocre. The film lacked from the moment it started and I almost think it was meant to be a satire film. I mean, was that Murray from Flight of the Concords in the lead role. How can you take a film like this serious?

5. In the Loop

I must admit that I have not seen this film. I was really hoping that when I sat down to look through this list that I had seen almost, if not all of these films. Perhaps I should visit my Netflix queue.

4. A Serious Man

This is a film from the Coen brothers. I have not enjoyed a single film that those two men have made and this one is no different. I am not even sure why I continue to watch films that come out of these two. I just wish they would throw in the towel and stop making films.

3. The Hurt Locker

This was a great film but not one that I would put in the top ten. Political films like this always get a rise out of me anyway. The film, however, based on all that you have heard is in fact not about what you have heard. (Did you follow that?) There is a lot more underlying principles in this film than what is truly on the surface.

2. Up in the Air

Isn’t George Clooney a doctor from the hit TV show ER? Or wait; maybe that is Uncle Jesse from Full House. Regardless, this film, as much as some like to say the best of George Clooney’s career, is not worth your time. To have someone rate this as the second best film of the year sends chills down my spine. We are better than this Hollywood. Prove it!

1. Inglorious Basterds

Note how the word “bastards” is misspelled? That was on purpose. That does not make sense nor does this film. It was an excuse for Quentin Tarantino, who is usually pretty good at making captive movies, to put his two cents on the world wars. I mean, sure Brad Pitt made it tolerable, but the film is too long and wastes too many good one-liners.

In all of this I hope you see that I do not agree with hardly anything that our published movie critique has to say. If there is a reason that I am not being published for speaking the truth I have yet to find it. But I will be damned the day I turn on a Coen film and enjoy it enough to simply have my name on the inside of a magazine.

With the advent of all of these social media tools like Twitter and Facebook, online privacy becomes a big issue.  Some people stay off these tools all together in fear of sharing too much information with the World Wide Web.  For instance, on Facebook, you can find my birthday, the school and year that I graduated from college, my girlfriend’s name, and even my job title, email address, and iChat screen name.  This information is private and relates only to me for the most part, but it was my decision to put this content on the website therefore I am taking full responsibility of it being on there.

In an effort to shut the doors of the video and game rental (and now book rental) store Blockbuster I have been using Netflix and Redbox for a few years now.  It might just be me but I would much rather pay $1 for a DVD rental than the $8 that Blockbuster charges.  And with Netflix I pay $9 a month and have a rotating DVD at my apartment all the time as well as the ability to watch a huge and always growing collection of media online.  The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have even integrated an interface to be able to watch all of my Netflix from the console.

Blockbuster is on Facebook too.  When you sign up to be a member of Blockbuster I would venture to say that the majority of you do not read the fine print.  I know I don’t.  Of course, until I read a story today about a woman who is suing Blockbuster for sharing too much of her private information on Facebook.  This woman claims that Blockbuster shared personal information, including her full name and what films she was renting, on the website.

This is absolutely genius from Blockbuster’s point of view.  They are using a free tool in Facebook to generate unique content and to increase interest of their services.  Sure, they are overpriced and have a weak selection of movies and video games (and are usually out of the hot titles that I care about in the first place) but this is a way to hopefully increase traffic through their doors and to keep their heads above water.  Earlier this year they actually closed 500 stores across the United States in an effort to stay out of bankruptcy.

The lady that is suing Blockbuster, and also Facebook at the same time for the same situation, is saying that these services need to respect people’s privacy by not sharing this information.  But the contracts that you sign by being able to rent movies at Blockbuster and the profile that you create on Facebook make this information open for public discussion.

Facebook has actually found themselves in a similar situation before.  Last year, around this time of year, a family was on vacation over seas.  They were traveling around a remote area in a foreign country when all of a sudden they saw a picture on a grocery store advertisement that made them feel right at home.  At a bus stop this family saw a billboard advertising this grocery store and on the side of it had a picture of a family.  This family was in fact close friends of the world travelers.

The family that was on the picture contacted Facebook in hopes of pressing charges for invasion of privacy.  Facebook made them aware of the agreement that you agree to when creating your account and was clean of all charges.  The grocery store eventually took the advertisement down out of respect for the family, but no criminal charges could be pressed due to that contract.

That is exactly what will happen in this situation.  Facebook even has the ability to control your account through privacy settings adding one more layer to cover themselves on cases like this.  The lady that is suing these two mega companies is fighting a losing battle.  She will get a lot of media attention, sure, but she will spend a lot of money that she could have saved by reading the contract in the first place.  She also stated that the films she was renting were nothing to be ashamed of, but it was the invasion of her privacy.  If the films were nothing to be ashamed of then what is the big deal? And I could look your name up in the phone book.  But what if the movies she was renting were something to be ashamed of?  Well, if that is the case maybe she should take a look at her rental history. (By the way, when was the last time you went to Blockbuster and saw a film on the shelf, turned to your significant other, and said, “You know, that is just rude and crude.  I would be ashamed to rent that.”)

Paranormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation or phenomena alleged to be outside of science’s current ability to explain or measure.  Paranormal Activity, the newest release from Hollywood filmmaker Oren Peli, is a movie that lacks interest and that leaves you begging for more.  This film, before I even get started talking about it, is quite possibly one of the single worst movies that I have ever seen.  When I am on my death bed and I am told I only have a few moments left to live this studio should have to show up and give me 99 minutes of my life back for sitting through this awful film.

The director of this film, Oren Peli, has never made a movie before.  Trust me when I say that it shows in this film. Katie Featherston, who plays the lead female role in this excuse for a horror flick has only been in one movie prior.  She starred in a movie called Mutation that was released in 2006 but never made it to the big screen.  Micah Sloat, who plays the male leading role here, is making his big screen debut with this film.  Whoever thought that a movie with a debut director and only having a total of a handful of films from the rest of the eight person cast (yeah, there are only a total of eight characters in this film) would be worth watching is sadly mistaken.

Never mind that this film made over sixty million dollars in the box office in its opening week.  It is the Halloween season and people are always looking for a scary movie to run chills up his or her spine when the sun goes down.  It was genius on the people who decided to release this movie when they did as it was perfect timing.  I must admit, from the preview this film looked interesting.  I wanted to see it long before it came to the movie theater.  However, when it finally arrived, and thanks to the likes of Twitter, I was thrown into the world of social testimonials.

I began researching the film and later learned that it was in fact not a real couple.  The movie is based on the premise of a lady, named Katie, who has been suffering from paranormal activity.  Since she was a little girl, eight years old to be exact, she has been hearing ghosts whisper to her and has heard things go bump in the night, so to speak.  She later moves in with her boyfriend, into a really nice house I might add, and he discovers her eerie past.

The movie begins with absolutely no back story what so ever.  You have no idea who he or she is or why he is filming everything that is going on.  While the reasoning behind the camera is later made obvious, you still never know what would cause a paranormal occurrence like this on this woman.  I am not a believer in these things in real life, only in the movies, but the film goes on as if they both, her and her boyfriend, are aware of what is happening and are trying to solve it by catching it on camera.

The movie is only an hour and a half long but throughout the entire film, every handful of minutes or so, you see the camera take its resting place on top of the tripod and the couple goes to sleep.  Throughout the film every night you hear more or see weirder things happening.  It starts with someone walking up the steps.  Then the camera goes into the next day.  Then you begin hearing voices.  Then some more loud foot steps.  Then it even gets to the point where Katie gets out of bed and stands, staring at her man, for hours into the night.  The next day, of course, she remembers nothing of the previous night’s occurrences and it is thought to be just another paranormal activity.  (I can see where they got the name for the film.  Very original.)

Eventually Micah gets the thought to throw down some baby powder to see if these footsteps they are hearing are causing actual footprints.  Wouldn’t you know it, they do find a series of footprints.  One leading into the bedroom, but never returning, and another leading to a guest bedroom down the hall.  The only cool part about the guest bedroom down the hall is that this “thing” one night grabs Katie and drags her down the hall into this room.  Micah, of course being the good boyfriend that he is, goes after her and saves her at the last minute.

Eventually, and this is the only part of the movie that I would consider creepy, is when there comes a loud knocking at the door.  The banging continues and eventually all chaos breaks loose.  Micah runs down the stairs to find out what is going on, and to stop the spirits if he can, as Katie runs down after him.  After a few loud screams Katie comes back upstairs with a knife in her hand and blood on her wife beater.  She sits, begins to rock, and continues sitting, and rocking, for hours on end.  Eventually the phone rings to no answer as Katie is still rocking, knife in hand.  Eventually a friend shows up, notices the dead body downstairs, and runs to get the police.  A few moments later the cops show up, run upstairs, and begin to yell at Katie, who is still rocking, to drop the knife?  She gets up, wakes from her rocking state of paranoia, and is quickly shot and killed on the spot by the two police officers who had their guns drawn.  The movie is then over.

This movie could have been a half an hour and done just as much for me.  When I was not watching their bedroom in night vision I was listening to her complain about her boyfriend trying to help or a psychiatrist who was unable to help.  There was even a scene with a Ouija board.  It caught on fire, which was kind of cool, but that did not make up for the stop motion camera shots that faked the board actually moving on its own.

This film was made on a very small budget.  Sure, they managed to rake in some incredible dollars in the first few weeks, but that does not make up for the fact of how terrible this film was.  Today on National Public Radio I was listening to them discuss the sequel that is already being talked about.  A sequel?  How in the hell can you make a sequel of a movie where the two people involved are dead?  And I sure don’t want to watch another couple do a repeat of the same thing I watched these two B movie actors do.

If you have seen it, please leave your comment either good or bad. I want to hear your thoughts on this film.  If you have not seen it, I apologize if I ruined anything by telling you the two main characters died.  But, I might have saved you from wasting $10 on seeing it this weekend.  I give this film a 1 out of 5 on the Netflix scale. (I rate all my movies on Netflix.)  I would give it a zero but 1 is the lowest number available.  If they decide to make a second one I will not see it.  I actually hate myself a little bit more now for seeing this one.  The studio produced a stellar trailer that hooked me but I hope that this blog post can keep you away from the ticket booth.  Paranormal Activity was an absolute box office bomb.

Hugh Jackman has been pretty busy over the last few months.  Just a few weeks ago the latest film from the X-Men series was released on DVD where Jackman plays the famed Marvel character Wolverine.  The film had some increased exposure before it was even released on DVD as it was leaked, in DVD quality nonetheless, to the general public and was downloaded over a million times before the film even hit theaters.  Skeptics say that it hurt ticket sales, but I would beg to differ.  Nothing compares to watching a film, especially one like this, in the theater.  The sound is better, the picture quality is better, and it provides a better experience overall.

Outside of the release of this film Jackman finds himself in another form of entertainment.  Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman both star in the Broadway play titled, “A Steady Rain”.  During a recent preview of this performance Jackman stepped right out of character, stopping the play all together, to set a rude audience member straight.  During the middle of one of the scenes a cell phone rang causing Jackman to become upset enough to stop the acting and start the preaching.  Jackman was caught on camera, as the video can be seen online on various websites, and told the rude individual, “You want to get that?”  He then proceeds to tell the person, “Come on, just turn it off.”

Of course the producers of the play refused to comment on the actions of Jackman.  The interruption came at a time during the play where Jackman’s character, ironically a policeman, is seen remembering events of the past.  (I am not sure how a scene where someone is simply remembering thoughts from the past can be called intense, but then again I have not seen the play so I cannot comment.)

The funny thing about all of this is that after the interruption, and before the play started up again, a voice came over the loud speakers telling the audience members to turn off their cell phones.  This was too little too late in my opinion.  They did finish the rest of the play without any further interruptions.

I think that Jackman might have gone a little over the top on this one.  Sure, when you go to a play or a movie, or anything in public for that matter, it is just courteous to turn off your cell phone or put it on vibrate.  I personally always have my cell phone on vibrate.  I am not sure I have even heard the ringer on my phone; as it is always on vibrate.  And yes, I understand that people can forget to turn it off or to vibrate, but is it really worth stopping the play, therefore hurting the experience for everyone else (regardless of approval) to tell one person to shut off his or her phone?

I do get upset, for instance, when I go to the movies and someone is talking, or sending a text on their phone illuminating the entire theater.  But I do not make an effort to tell that individual to put it away.  He paid just as much to see the movie as I did so I have no jurisdiction over his actions.  However, in this case, Jackman is the star (or Daniel Craig if you are a fan of his work more than Jackman’s) and he has the say on what happens on his stage and in this case even off stage.  I imagine that if you were on the set of a movie filming the next action thriller blockbuster with any given actor and a cell phone went off you might get the same reaction from the director or actors on set.  Look at the tangent that Christian Bale recently had for someone just walking through the back of his set.

“A Steady Rain” is a dramatic play that is about the relationship between two policemen.  The play opens this week but only for a limited engagement through December. 6^th, 2009.  Jackman has some experience on Broadway as a matter of fact.  Jackman won a Tony Award in 2004 for his performance as Peter Allen in the musical “The Boy from Oz.” However, for Craig, having done nothing since the latest James Bond flick is making his Broadway debut.  I am curious to see how this goes for these two super-star on screen actors.  If I ever do make it out to see the play I will make sure that I need to keep my phone off, that’s for sure.