rationalandpsyched2

First of all, I came out of an International Film festival and saw something so dramatic (Steve McQueen's phenomenal "Hunger") that I couldn't leave in my state of shell shock before regaining a happier mood.

I expected HSM3 to make me laugh and take me to another place. I expected something like Fame, or The Breakfast Club even... But the previews were better than the actual movie.

Nevermind that, what you REALLY want to know was, Zac Efron's performance- easily the most talented of all the HSM3 cast with the best singing and dancing abilities and most energy. THAT is what I needed to see. I felt that the scene with Gabriela and Troy making out at Stanford was REAL, not a rehearsed scene. They looked best when they were giving realistic performances. This movie would have almost been better with less staging, as the staging came off as confusing- a musical within a musical within a movie?

Another confusing element were the character focuses- Did Kelsey and what's-her-name's evil brother ever get together at prom, or was he just supposed to be the ambiguously gay ambiguously possibly evil brother that ALMOST taught a moral? In the end Zac, I mean Troy, didn't even get into Julliard, another confusing plot twist. (Maybe seeing HSM1 and HSM2 would explain more... but a movie has to flow on its own!)

The NATURAL settings, like the garden scene overlooking the valley, could have been utilized more as they were beautiful. Simple shots could have saved this movie from being an opiate for children of the AdHd generation. The obvious sound staging and bad sound mixing could have been a lot better, it would have kept the viewer's focus on the actors. (Note to Disney: they have this thing called pro tools now!).

The motion graphics, especially the yearbook sequence at the ending, were very basic and unoriginal. The HSM3 3d title at the end with the red curtain was poorly blended as well.

All in all the repetition was almost too much for me to take and I felt extremely offended by the stereotypes of women as damsels and princesses, a classic Disney sexism. I didn't learn anything or feel anything, other than when Zac Efron was looking at me through the silver screen!

I love this film so much, I show everyone I meet who knows anything about the culture, but you can learn a lot if you've never seen a graff film before or ever wondered what the people running the show were really like. This is not to say that this is the end all be all of graff movies, but it's a really good representation of some of the most INFLUENTIAL individuals still in the game.

Huge props to Pray and Gastman and the cameramen on taking the risk for their own film, I'm sure one or more investigations resulted from the making... Hopefully nothing too severe. It is a big deal for a writer to show their face, people must recognize.

This movie helped me understand more of what I love about graff so much, the HONESTY of the art form above all else.

It goes into daily life with each person not holding much back, esp. the openly PROUD/ strong/black/and homosexual earsnot setting an example to speak your mind, (which more people should follow), the personality traits/flaws of writers (Their egos, their gregariousness, impulses, non apologetic behavior, etc), their artistic motivations (whether it be in evolving their graffiti further, to their fine art to fashion to tattooing to sketching), what its like to live in a rough hood and be stereotyped (LOS ANGELES, NY, etc), dealing with other people's expectations including your peers and your parents)...

For a movie shot in a lot of illegal locations, the cinematography/lighting/technicalities was amazing. It takes BIG BALLS, great amounts of trust I'm sure, and a passion for art to make something like this... can't wait for the next project!

Hannah takes the stairs... what does that mean exactly? Taking the stairs would constitute doing things "the hard way", and that is exactly what she Hannah does whilst trying to "find herself"/and "relate".

From the beginning we can see that there is no budget here, they don't even try to hide it... not necessarily a bad thing, if it hadn't been so much like a movie I recently saw on youtube called "four eyed monsters", which belonged on youtube. I believe this belongs on youtube as well, for its amateurish almost-there-but-not-quite quality.

The zoom-ins to try to capture Hannah's emotion where all else fails are absolutely played-out and do nothing for the scene...

While it is nice to see "real people" sometimes instead of actors, in this case, it's not. It's nice that the guys in the movie are "cute in their own way", giving them a chance to pull the promiscuous blond-chick, based on their personalities for once. (Matt's hairiness and ass made me almost want to leave right then) Hannah's "I don't knows..." get old really quickly. Also, trying to end a movie on a happy note doesn't always work, in this case there was already a bad pattern established.

The only interesting character was Hannah's roommate, Rachel, and right when she started to develop we got cut off by another one of Hannah's escapades. Rachel seemed to be too mature or too aesexual to get involved with anyone at that point in her life, let alone the three men Hannah paraded around, and smartly so- the best thing Rachel does is just sit back and enjoy the show (or should I say train wreck). And for that, three stars.