In a World...(Film Review)

                

Lake Bell and Fred Melamed in "In a World"

          Inspired by voice legend, Don Lafontaine, who coined the phrased the term "In a World..."in various movie trailers, come a movie that is a dedication to him, of sorts. Back in the day, Lafontaine was a household name for his serious baritone vocal applied for many trailers for Movies, Video Games and TV shows. All of that vocal work spanned 46 years of doing many takes in a voice over booth belting the same repetitive lines. The business itself is pretty devoid of female talent. He died in 2008 due to complications with Pneumothorax. His impact was felt within the voice acting world because he crossed over to the mainstream and everyone took noticed of the man behind the legendary voice, literally. So, while the industry is filled with many colorful, effervescent personalities, much of the vocals in the booth for many trailers are mostly men.

Aside from a few exceptions like Melissa Disney, who narrated Gone in 60 Minutes back in 2000, women are hardly ever chosen to helm these roles. There's not a definitive reason why that is, but it's pretty glaring that in 2013, even if you've ever listened to one movie trailers that is carried by just the larynx of a voice actor.  In a World... challenges this idea by having a woman go through the hard task of being in a place where female voice overs are hard to find or aren't in high demand, even though, the movie is intended to be comedic and it works very well here. Carol Solomon, played by Lake Bell, who also wrote and directed this film, faces these problems head-on in a male dominated function and, to top it off, her selfish father won't let go of his aging legend. Fred Melamed plays Carol's father, Sam Soto, a contemporary to Lafontaine's style only with a lot more noticeable ego. Bell's script is sharp, especially when her character and Melamed's have a confrontation about the industry and why both of them are unwilling to let go of their dreams. Their rivalry is petty as it is insecure and the way it's handled here is somewhat refreshing. Same can be said for the quirky, awkward love triangle involving Carol, as she deals with another voice rival (played by Ken Marino) and her audio engineer played by Demetri Martin.

Alas, before the film reaches its highest crescendo, the movie is over. Just like that. Brevity is the movie's biggest flaw, but it's not a crippling one. There are a couple of small quibbles with In a World... (Some set-pieces look cheap; voice examples like “sexy baby” could use more explanation.) It just had me wanting more because there's a lot of detail within the comedy of the film that elevates into one exceptional package. While you won’t completely learn about how this profession is like through the entirety, but taken for what it is, you’ll certainly enjoy this brand of comedy along with the quirky cast of characters.

The World's End (film review)

Have you ever wanted to stay in the past long enough where only you remain in a state of delusions, while your best friends moved on from that past? Nostalgia is the main theme in The World's End, a clever, smart film from the people who brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. 20 years ago, five teenagers endeavored into a journey of belligerence by crossing the Golden Mile to get to twelve pubs in the town of Newton Haven in Britain. Sadly, their objective was cut, because their ego got the better of them, which, after that wild night was the last time they saw one another. 

           In the present, all but one has evolved into the adult life of parenthood, marriage and business. The other is struggling to fit in around an ever-changing world, struggling to fit in among-st the masses. Let’s just say, he loves to rebel against the present to stay in the past. But, he manages to gather his friends for one night back to Newton Haven, only to realize how much has changed in those last two decades. The pubs they once knew were replaced by corporate chains and ordinary citizens have become sterilized. Counter intuitive to real-life, The World’s End allegory of change is one we all can relate to because, once all of those good times are replaced by something that isn't organic or real, all depth is lost. These people in Haven have sacrificed themselves for a cause to be part of an entity called “The Network,” a group that brings everyone together for a cleaner, purified society that does away with the human race by turning them all into robots. 

          World’s End is right behind 2004’s Shaun of the Dead as my second favorite movie from Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright. What connected me to that film was its self-parody on zombie movies and makes the source material of these uninteresting movies into something more. It also helps that their inspiration for that movie was George Romero, the director of “The Living Dead” series. This movie has some parallels to that movie and some possible other inspirations but much of the material is pretty nuanced within the underlying themes. There’s a slight bobble in the middle portion of the movie that does drag on as the robots became privy of the humans activities and some other characters are a bit underdeveloped, but much of it is a blast, that I didn't care to take noticed of the small flaws. 

          In a year where summer films have come short of expectations because of large budget or simply bad plots, The World’s End exceeds at being  a rare property that doesn't stress the typical. See it with a friend to get a dose of how the British do comedy, these days, they seem to know how to be funny without trying too hard at forcing humor and, while you’re at it, grab a beer for the fun of it.

The message of shame: 50th anniversary of the March on Washington

          Equality or, in a sense, meritocracies usually are harder to obtain in comparison to the many that struggled within the rigors of segregated laws that did everything to keep Blacks and Whites separate from one another. John F. Kennedy was president during the early 60s and, many people of color were insulted, labeled, hosed and even killed. Much of the March on Washington in 1963 was, and will always be a referendum on race relations in America more than anything else. Much has indeed changed in fifty years, yet further progress is still in development. The conundrum of the Martin Luther King speech was a matter or proposal in the coming years, especially with equality, but often overlooked is that a good portion of the speech was a dialogue on shame. "We refuse the belief that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation," said MLK. To bring that quote the proper context it deserves, it was a depiction of how the Negro was a check with "insufficient funds." In other words: Being treated like a second-class citizen.

      The lesson of the speech was more than just a speech to bring us all together; it was a message of introspection, looking within oneself on the matters of civil rights and then coming along to be one with one another. There's not enough introspection these days, especially with a speech as profound as the one King offered in '63; but, I guess this is what happens with picking and choosing context. "The March on Washington teaches us that we are not trapped by the mistakes of history, that we are masters of our fate," says President Barack Obama who remarked on the March on Washington on August 28th.   

Whether we can escape our tumultuous past is still at odds with those who repeatedly reminds us of the ones that bring us back to the awfulness of the hate. In order for us to be the masters of our fate, a certain section of people are going to have to admit past indiscretions on racial discrimination and not just put it aside as if its not an American issue, because it is. The good news is that the loathing is fading out. It’ll be there in far background of insecurity, but with less stereotyping.

In our ever-struggling conflict for a better world, we must demand better of ourselves to rid ourselves of our past sins. We can keep wishing for that dream of abolishing racism, but those who harbor those feelings have to look themselves in the mirror and realize that hatred is overrated. Sometimes, feeling shameful isn’t a bad thing at all. In order to learn from disrespecting others, you have to feel a little guilty and learn from it; that’s where humility comes in. In order to be “Free at last,” you must purge the sins of a bad past and become one with the people.