Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Trailer

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is easily my favorite book in the series.  It creates a complex portrait of the boy who would eventually become Lord Voldemort (something I felt the seventh book tarnished a bit, even if I did think the book was an overall success).  The trailer itself is intriguing and definitely has a sense of menace and terror, but for some reason I think the filmmakers may have made a mistake by making the young Tom Riddle overly creepy.  There was supposed to be evidence that the boy could become bad, but the trailer seems to point out a little too clearly that this kid is just evil.  He reminds me a bit of Damien in the The Omen really.  But it is nice that they got the brilliant Ralph Fiennes's nephew to play the young Tom Riddle.  Hopefully when the film comes out it will be a little more balanced in its portrayal.  I felt that the fifth film was the best one yet, so lets hope David Yates continues to do well with this series, because we've got three more films to go with him, which includes this one.

Broadway Song of the Day

So I have decided to start a series focusing on Broadway songs since this blog is also supposed to focus on my passion for Musical Theater.  Each day (hopefully) I will post a new youtube video featuring a song that I either happen to love at the time, or completely loath.  It depends on my mood.  The first is a gorgeous song titled "Run Away with Me" sung by the enormously talented Michael Arden.  Hope you all enjoy.

That interrogation scene I was referring to...

suddenly appeared on youtube, and the perfect cut too! enjoy.

Heath Ledger and The Dark Knight

Much has been said about the late Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight.  Many have cited it as being extraordinary and "one for the ages".  Others have claimed that it is the performance that "claimed" Ledger's life.  And some have dismissed it outright (though very few) saying that it is all the result of an excessive hype machine.  I am in the camp who believes that Ledger's performance is indeed "one for the ages" as it is a totally unique and savage portrayal of pure evil.  There is no rhyme or reason behind the Jokers madness other than to bring the city of Gotham to its knees.  His purpose is to bring about chaos, as is defined in a brilliant monologue that the Joker delivers to a scarred Harvey Dent in the hospital - 

"upset the established order and everything becomes chaos. I am an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey? It's fair."

Ledger is charismatic and simultaneously terrifying in the role.  In a way it reminded me very much of the first time I saw Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector.  He was instantly likable and human, yet undeniably scary.  The Joker is a very different kind of villain than Lector, but we like him for many of the same reasons; the biggest one of all being that we really don't know a whole hell of a lot about him.  This makes him intriguing and we as the audience spend the course of the film watching intently attempting to figure him out and yet never getting there.  Ledger's best scene in the film is now the infamous interrogation room scene.  And I'm not talking about the section where he gets rammed into a plate glass window.  No, I'm referring to when he is just sitting and talking to Batman.  The way Ledger delivers his lines is uncannily insane and yet at the same time the Joker represents a sort of dark truth throughout the course of the Dark Knight.  That truth is, that good and evil are essentially one in the same.  It's a theme that has been explored in other films, but in our post 9/11 world the Joker's sinister monologue is even more haunting and thought provoking - 

"To them you're just a freak, like me.  They need you right now.  And when they don't, they'll cast you out like a leper. you see Their morals, their code... it's a bad joke.  And dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you when the chips are down.  These civilized people? They'll eat each other.  See I'm not a monster.  I'm just ahead of the curve."

This hits home on several counts.  What does it mean to be a terrorist? A freedom fighter? A villain? A hero?  What does it cost to save a life?  To save a city?  To save yourself?  The Joker's point is that perhaps none of us can be saved and he spends the entire films attempting to illustrate this point.  In our post 9/11 world this is a discomforting thought.  In the end the Joker's point is only partly realized by the downfall of Harvey Dent, but its powerful nonetheless.  If a man so good can eventually become a villain that we turn on, who's to say that it couldn't happen to any one of us?  The reason why the interrogation scene is the Ledger's best in the film is because its the one scene where there are no tricks up his sleeve (well sorta, there is a big payoff at the end of this scene).  He's not goofing off or propelled by some large action sequence where he gets to have some "wow" moments.  Instead here he is calm and collected and stating what Batman and few of us would ever really want to hear and that makes the scene powerful.  It's the way that Ledger delivers this dialogue with absolutely no hidden agenda, it's blunt and to the point, and its one of the few times we realize how human the Joker really is as a villain.  He is undeniably evil, but at the same time you can't help but admire him.  And that is the scary part about real evil.  It's a part of all of us.  That's what makes Ledger's portrayal of the Joker just so damn watchable.  It's honest.

Some have claimed that the reason behind the Dark Knight's success is due to Ledger's untimely death.  I would hope that we as a society would not be this sick and sad, but we are.  It's true.  We have a fascination with death.  I will admit that due to Ledger's death it made me anticipate The Dark Knight even more, but it was not THE reason for me to see the film.  But I guarantee you that there were several people who came out of the woodwork to simply see what the fuss was about and see the late Heath Ledger deliver his swan song.  These are people who care nothing about Batman or the fact that Ledger's performance has been getting some of the best reviews of the year. No, these are people who look at this as a sort of freak show.  People who squeaked with glee when they saw the Joker slam a man's head into a pencil, or mow down rows of innocent civilians in cars just so he could get close to the batman.  The Dark knight is a dark and sadistic film, but it's also a brilliant one.  And while many people I'm sure saw the film just because Ledger died, there are also thousands upon thousands who were eagerly awaiting this picture like me and who paid good money to see one of the greatest blockbusters in years.  People should go see the film because of how good it is and how great Ledger's performance is.  But don't join the bandwagon just because the guy died.  It's an insult to him and his craft.  He was a great actor and he could have been one of the all time greats.  I have a feeling he was just getting warmed up, but that's part of the problem.  We have a tendency to dismiss young performers because we always anticipate they will do something better.  Well folks this is it.  Ledger will never do anything better than this because he will never have the chance.  The academy made one mistake when they didn't award him the Oscar for playing Ennis Delmarre in Brokeback Mountain (one of the greatest performances ever committed to film).  Let's hope that they don't make another and that they remember this performance come years end.  It really is one for the ages and we will never see anything like it again.

Stage Acting Resume

I figured I might as well post this on here as a way of further explaining "who I am".  This only includes my stage work and not the films I have directed or acted in.

Sean Knight

Height: 6 ft. Weight: 160 Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Dirty Blonde Voice Type: Baritenor

EDUCATION

North East School of the Arts 2000-2004 (Graduated)
(Film Major)
International School of the Americas 2000-2004 (Graduated)
Columbia College Chicago 2005-present (Exp. Grad. 09)
(Musical Theater BA)

TRAINING

Acting: Sheldon Patinkin, Tom Mula, Estelle Spector, Kristi Bramlett,
Paul Amandes, Gigi Buffington, Stephanie Shaw, David Connelly

(4 years)
Voice: Carol Loverde, Jonathan Mastro, Sharon Carlson, Kim Bianco
(5 years)
Dance: Christie Kerr, Amy Uhl, Linda Parsons-Fortunato
(3 years)

EXPERIENCE

(Acting)
Pippin King Charles Columbia College Chicago 08
Valentine’s Cabaret Soloist Musical Theater Collective 08
Hearts and Soles Ken Musical Theater Collective 07
Reefer Madness The Lecturer Falling High Productions 07
The Apple Tree Ensemble Columbia College Chicago 06
World AIDS Day Revue Soloist Musical Theater Collective 06
Ragtime Ensemble Columbia College Chicago 06
Summer of Love Ensemble North East School of the Arts 04
Into the Woods Cinderella’s Prince North East School of the Arts 04
Les Miserables Ensemble North East School of the Arts 04

(Production)
The Sondheim Revue Director Musical Theater Collective 07
Spring MTC Cabaret Director Musical Theater Collective
Several Short Student Films Director North East School of the Arts 00-04

Special Skills:
Film Knowledge, Stage Combat, Improv Skills

Welcome

Well this is my first post here and though I don't have an audience yet, I am very excited.   This is my first blog in years.  My first was over at live journal, which basically functioned as a way for me to vent my anger and frustrations in my personal life... not exactly thrilling reading for anyone who didn't know me.  This blog is going to be filled with rants that will more than likely vent my anger and frustrations, but I will also try to stay positive from time to time.  The difference between these two blogs is this one is going to be minimally about my personal life and much more so about movies and theatre.  The blog is going to be filled with my personal reviews and articles that I feel like writing up on either of the above subjects.  My hope is that I can build this blog up to get a lot of the things done that I have always wanted to do - a weekly great movies series (ala Roger Ebert, though I will need to come up for another name), weekly movie reviews, articles on my favorite actors, possibly some theatre reviews, top ten lists etc.  My goal is to post at least 3 times a week and who knows, maybe I'll even gain a following to match Nathaniel's... not bloody likely, but a guy can dream.

So now some info on me.  I am a 22 (going on 23) year old college student living in Chicago Il.  I attend Columbia College Chicago and am a musical theater major.  I sing, I act, I rant, and attempt to dance on a regular basis.  I'm extremely opinionated, but always willing to listen to the other side as long as they can present a well put and sophisticated argument. Before I got into theater I used to make a lot of short films, many of which went on to various festivals and won me some awards.  I even got to screen a film of mine at the youth portion of the Sundance film Festival back in the day.  I miss film and from time to time I try to dabble my hand in screenwriting.  I might even post some pages up here every once in a while to get some feed back.  I am a huge film buff and have been for years.  Now here is a list of my favs so you get a bit of an idea of just what kind of guy you are dealing with here -

Favorite Actor(s) - Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger, Ellen Burstyn, Meryl Streep

Favorite Director(s) - Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, Peter Jackson

Favorite Films - The Godfather, ET, The Lord of the Rings, Goodfellas, Hannah and Her Sisters, Broadway Danny Rose, Schindler's List, Blade Runner, Alien, Casablanca, Cabaret, Singin' in the Rain, Brokeback Mountain

Favorite Musicals - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sunday in the Park with George, Follies, A Little Night Music, Parade, Cabaret, Gypsy

Favorite Books - To Kill a Mockingbird, Night, Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, All Quiet on the Western Front, Memoirs of a Geisha, Everything is Illuminated, Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead

This is just a quick list that came off the top of my head.  It gives you a rough idea of the kind of film and theater I like and the kind of actors I admire.  During the course of this blog you'll probably find that I will says that dozens of films and actors are my "favorites" and I may even contradict myself from time to time, but hey I'm only human.  So welcome to the Knight's Rants on Theatre, Films and Acting blog.  I hope you all enjoy!