Post by Beachguy on Nov 6, 2016 9:25:38 GMT -5
Thanks for your detailed review; appreciated the effort you put into it. But for the life, I can't figure out what your problem is with Jackie's acting. I guess it's a highly subjective thing, but to me she does great. I reviewed Safe & Sound and Writing's on the Wall, to try and see what you mean. High points, for me: In S&S, the sequence starting at 3:05 for me is a heartbreaker. In just a moment, she sums up the story. In WotW, her expression at 3:02 says several things at once: I knew you were there, but I also know you aren't a back shooter- now we'll have it out...
Maybe your irritation with the big screen distraction at concerts is affecting you, which I agree with. I think screens, if anything at concerts, would best be used to give the seats further back a closeup view of Jackie's expression as she sings. Preferably off to the side, not right in back of her. Jackie IS the show.
BTW, no need to segregate your honest opinions to AMZ; let's hear it.
1. Writing/scripting or lack thereof:
"Jackie, look into the camera and sing." "Jackie, stand by the water's
edge and sing." "Jackie,"sit on the grass and sing." "Jackie stand by
that tree and sing." There was no story to draw the viewer into the video. Just none. A young man in a "Captain Morgan" outfit, twenty yards offshore, rowing away in a wooden dingy, toward a tall ship that could easily have been CGI'd on the horizon, would have shown Jackie wistfully saying farewell to a love interest she won't see again for years, if ever. What the buying public got was Jackie standing, sitting and looking, as she sang. Jackie deserves better.
2. Acting coach:
One of my earliest observations in Jackie's videos was that Jackie is not being coached, not even at the high school drama class level.
Isn't it Apocalypse that Jackie plays Katniss, a girl forced into an all against all death match where only the last man standing gets to live? One scene shows Katniss walking on a road in a wooded area. I don't see the movement of a warrior who has survived deadly encounters from all points of the compass at any time day or night. I see an American girl, perhaps from Peoria or even Pittsburgh, (shudder) slightly bored as teens can get during the Summer months, walking non chalantly. No arrow nocked, no scan for threats, no scan for cover or concealment in case of attack. I saw Jackie walking, not Katniss moving. (one S or two in Katniss?)
And poor Rachel. Mockingjay right? I can just hear:
The producer: "We need a little girl!
His assistant: "There's one! But she seems to be wearing a mattress cover."
The producer: "Don't bother me with details! Get me that girl!"
I saw Rachel at Longwood. We were seated, it was before the show. Andre10s (RIP Andre, a true Jackie fan) and I were talking Jackie. We had made it to the show. The world was great. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement that could only come from a perfect little girl. It took me a second to realize it was Rachel and a stout young fellow following her as escort/bodyguard. Rachel had the easy, perfect posture of a little girl who the good sisters at a Catholic school had trained. (I know, the E kids attend public school) Her hair was well brushed and went all the way down her back. She was as pretty that day as any little girl on the planet. THAT'S the Rachel/ Mockingjay we should have seen on that video.
But no one bothered.
3. Advisors for specific skill sets:
If Jackie were to act out a karate fight in an upcoming vid, would you expect her to be able to give a convincing performance without a martial arts advisor to show her what position she should start from? What position she should finish at? What positions she should flow through to get from start to finish convincingly? Of course not. Without knowledgeable advisors on set, her attempt would be amateurish. Such was the case in her James Bond video with Juliet playing the evil crime lord.
Jackie looked WONDERFUL in that vid. Her hair combed severely tight to her head (a first afaik) and a man's dark suit conveyed the worldly sophistication required for a Bond actor. Ten thumbs up!
But she had a specific technical task to perform throughout most of the video and she flopped miserably at it.
It was firearm's handling. A task as specific as a martial arts fight but easier and more quickly taught/learned.
One scene shows Jackie's hand as she is walking while carrying her pistol. She is holding that pistol with as much awareness and care as she would give to holding her i-phone. Her grip is soft, her finger is resting casually on the trigger yet not in a ready to squeeze position. Acceptable professional standards, and I would stipulate that James Bond is a professional with firearms, is strictly TRIGGER FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER AND OUT OF THE TRIGGER GUARD. A well trained, well practiced firearms user MIGHT, under circumstances I can't conjure up, with great awareness that he/she is violating a primary rule, carry a pistol pointed toward the ground with a finger on the trigger, but NEVER with a casual, non ready, finger placement.
Then, in the climax scene where the two antagonists are facing each other, AIMING!, or rather should be doing so, at a specific shot placement point on the other, I see not, two deadly, well trained, experienced pistoleros with a proper stance (step ONE of five easy steps in firearms accuracy) leaning at least slightly into their target. I do see two American high school girls play acting. Holding unfamiliar objects in an unfamiliar way. Both girls leaning backwards. The, maybe icky, objects are held as far away as arm length allows and their heads are as far back on their necks as physiology allows. This is the posture taken by us when a dog vomits something in the back yard only partially digested. You get a stick to hook it with and you keep the disgusting whatever, as far from you as possible, even bending your neck back to maximize distance.
Any small town in America has NRA certified basic firearm safety instructors. Most even small towns have an NRA certified police firearm instructor. A city the size of Pittsburgh would have a dozen or more certified advanced police instructors that would make themselves available for a modest fee.
The team is penny wise and pound foolish imo when they don't seek a competent advisor for specific tasks Jackie is asked to portray.
Ok. That's enough for now. I do hope we can have a conversation about Jackie beginning to ACT, and not just be herself all dressed up before the camera.