The Soloist (2009)

Many obstacles have kept me out of the cinema lately, so Jack & I had to choose only one movie for last weekend. We were both eager to see this one, based on a true story, which has had plenty of discussion on NPR (the story and the movie). Disclaimer: I'm a sucker for the corny "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast" genre (it's not "beast"). I even liked August Rush (2007), when most didn't, and would love to find a recording of young Leon Thomas III (as Arthur) singing the song when August first met him in the park. This song is not part of the soundtrack and is not La Bamba. The Leon Thomas (1937-1999) that I knew of before was a very hip jazz singer who did an indescribable (okay, I'll try) yodeling thing, frequently with Pharoah Sanders. But I digress, as usual.

Jamie Foxx (sensational and Oscar-winning, melting into character as Ray Charles in Ray (2004); co-star of, and singing in Dreamgirls (2006); arrogant as the football phenomenon in Any Given Sunday (1999); not a big part, but I must mention because I love it, in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996); and he came to my attention in the groundbreaking Fox TV series from 1991-94, In Living Color) stars as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr., a mentally ill, homeless musical genius, who was the subject of a book by LA Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr., who is good in everything, but here are a few: deservedly Oscar-nominated for Tropic Thunder (2008) and Chaplin (1993), cartoonishly intense in the live action parts of Iron Man (2008), a member of the first class ensembles in Good Night and Good Luck (2005) and Short Cuts (1994), good in the excellent Wonder Boys (2000), and my first sighting was in The Pick-up Artist in 1987, because I didn't watch SNL in the mid-80s). I think Downey should have received top billing, but he didn't. He was totally believable as the always-curious writer willing to go the distance not only for a story but for a fellow human being. Director Joe Wright's feature directorial debut was Keira Knightley's Oscar-nominated performance in Pride & Prejudice (2005), and his second outing, Atonement (2007), also starring Knightley, won an Oscar for composer Dario Marianelli, who scored both as well as The Soloist. There were many times in The Soloist when the music swelled and so did my heart, in a good way. I've listened to clips from the Marianelli soundtrack, and it's good, but there are many pieces that aren't on it, listed here. Catherine Keener is once again playing the angry woman, this time Lopez' ex-wife, and Ayers' sister is played by Lisagay Hamilton, who went by Lisa Gay Hamilton when she was on ABC's The Practice for 6 years. My time living in Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s did not take me to skid row, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the colorful, mentally ill street people in the movie; according to this trivia on imdb, most of the homeless people on screen are actually homeless in real life. I wonder if they will benefit from the film like the kids from Slumdog Millionaire will from theirs? I liked the character of Dave (Nelsan Ellis), who ran the homeless shelter and harbored no illusions about his population. There was a review that said Foxx's performance was "over the top." I don't think that writer had any idea what mental illness is about. I might even call it "pitch perfect," pun intended, using the current favorite tagline of movie publicity.

Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

After having to miss its one night stand at the university, I was happy to see Sita was playing at our local theatre for a week when I would be in town. I had heard of this because of its winning the Gotham Award for Best Film Not Playing at a Theatre Near You and nomination for the Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award. Mary Ellen and I went to see this today, on Earth Day, because that Disney documentary, Earth, will be playing long after Sita has left town. We had the best time! Now I find that Nina Paley (previously director/animator of 2 short films), who wrote it, directed it, edited it, and did "everything else unless otherwise indicated," according to the credits, is offering it to viewers to watch online RIGHT NOW (or after it leaves your city, because I think there's still much to be said for a really big screen). For more details, see her website, sitasingstheblues.com. imdb.com calls it "The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told: an animated version of the epic Indian tale of Ramayana set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw." The narration style is hilarious, with 3 people telling the story of Ramayana in a conversational style, speaking Indian-accented-English. There are several distinct styles of animation in the movie: 3 main ones for the Ramayana story, with silhouettes overlaid depicting the narrators, and, for a section of the movie featuring the contemporary American couple Nina and Dave, a jumpy style which reminded me of the Comedy Central series from the 1990's, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. In fact the narration style reminded me of that show as well. The songs by Annette Hanshaw are delightful, in fact, all of the music is great. Even before the Oscar success of Slumdog Millionaire (including its soundtrack), I liked Outsourced very much, and bought the soundtrack from his website. If Indian and/or jazz music pleases you, see this movie. If you've had a break-up or are considering one, see it. If you would like a laugh, see it. If you have a house pet, see it. Just see it. You can take the kids, too, as long as they understand about jealousy and wouldn't be bothered by cartoon battles.

PS. It's nearly a week since I posted this and I've been feeling a little guilty about revealing that this is a break-up story. I wondered if the trailer, which I didn't see, would have revealed that fact. No trailer is available on imdb, nor on the film's own website. However the poster says so, first thing. See it here. Whew. I feel much better now!

Adventureland (2009)

Glad to say the weekend's picks weren't all bad (see Observe and Report, my previous post). I expected to like both but one is better than none. Writer/director Greg Mottola's Superbad (2007) was fun, a coming-of-age tale about a boy getting ready to go off to college. This one is a coming-of-age tale about a boy finished with college and getting ready to go off to grad school. In place of Superbad's adorable and awkward Michael Cera (TV's Arrested Development, Juno (2007), Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)), we have adorable and awkward Jesse Eisenberg (you should see Rodger Dodger (2002) and The Squid and the Whale (2005)). My readers have guessed that I'm familiar with the cancelled TV series Freaks & Geeks (though I have yet to see the final 5 episodes); so when I saw trailers for Adventureland, I recognized Martin Starr in his bad haircut and unfortunate glasses, who played the tall geek in the series. Starr had small parts in Good Dick, Superbad, and Knocked Up (2007), but in Adventureland he got to shine--in fact some of the promo stills featured only him and Eisenberg. Great supporting cast, notably Bill Hader (NBC's Saturday Night Live (2005-09), Tropic Thunder (2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Superbad, more), Kristin Wiig (SNL (2005-2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, more), Wendie Malick (so great in the 1990's HBO series Dream On, and many more), Ryan Reynolds (Waiting... (2005), Definitely, Maybe (2008), and I did not see him in the fat suit in Just Friends (2005)), and Kristen Stewart (I haven't seen Twilight, but I liked Panic Room (2002), Fierce People (2005), Into the Wild (2007), and What Just Happened (2008)) as the love interest. While researching this I came upon a trailer for Mottola's first feature, The Daytrippers (1996). It looks good, too. Trivia: the redhead who looks like Bryce Dallas Howard? It's her sister, Paige, also the daughter of Cheryl and Ron Howard.

Observe and Report (2009)

I'm going to write about this one first--the one I didn't like. Faithful (and since-the-beginning) followers of babetteflix may remember I hated Pineapple Express, but I chalked that up to outside influences. I'll try to analyze why this one bugged me so much. Mean-spirited, violent, racist, egomaniacal loser thinks he can win skank girl and save the mall, or perhaps the city. What's not to like? Hmmm. Sure, I'm a white woman in my 50s, but anyone who has checked out my netflix recommendations knows that my taste in movies is way wider than my world. So that's not it. Ever see a movie where the lead character annoys you? A lot? That may be part of it. I read somewhere that the director, Jody Hill, thought it was supposed to be sad, not funny. All the ads said funny (which isn't his fault). Parts were sad, I guess, and Jack & I laughed some, with long, sighing spaces in between. If the director thought it was sad, then the producers and editors messed it up. Apparently I am not alone in hating this. It has only rated 53 out of 100 on movietickets.com and has inspired much ranting. Here's a link (which contains a mild spoiler) by someone who says he or she (first name: Arya) actually liked the movie, but discusses one part that many found the most disturbing. Frankly, I was not surprised by that part. I was surprised and disappointed in the fine actor Michael Peña (Crash (2004), Babel (2006), World Trade Center (2006)) for playing a lisping moron. I observed, I report: C+ for 10 minutes of laughter and one hour 36 minutes of wishing I were somewhere else. Jack said that was generous. I hope to watch Jody Hill's Eastbound & Down mini-series on HBO to see if it's any better.

The Great Buck Howard (2008)

The only things I've seen Colin Hanks in were King Kong (2005) and W. (2008), and his roles were small and forgettable. Frankly, I don't think he was up to the task of this otherwise fun tale of Troy, the assistant to the clueless, self-obsessed "mentalist" of the title, played by the brilliant John Malkovich (my faves are Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Object of Beauty (1991), Art School Confidential (2006), and, of course, Being John Malkovich (1999)). It reminded me of a show I saw one night in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. Roseanne Barr assembled the best backup band money could buy and played for one night at The Mint on Pico Blvd. It was entertaining, and she didn't howl like she did the national anthem at that baseball game, but she still couldn't sing. Colin Hanks' daddy, Tom, producing with his regular partner Gary Goetzman, did everything he could for his son, but the kid doesn't have Dad's acting chops. I kept wondering what it would have been like with someone more dynamic in the lead role. That's not to say I hated it (and, to Colin's defense, what I considered blandness Jack saw as ennui that was part of the character). The production values were high, the story was good, I always like seeing Griffin Dunne (all of the following are worth watching: he was producer of Head Over Heels aka Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), Running on Empty (1988), and White Palace (1990); producer/director of Fierce People (2005); and producer/star of After Hours (1985)) albeit in a cameo, and sparkle was contributed by Emily Blunt, Adam Scott (HBO's Tell Me You Love Me), Tom Hanks as Troy's dad, and a series of stars playing themselves.

We saw this on vacation, and made our first visit to the new Landmark Theatre in the Westside Pavilion, coincidentally also on Pico in LA. It was shown in the "screening lounge." Instead of rocker seats, it had black leather armchairs and love seats, each a step higher than the one before, with small tables between them. It probably seated about 50-60 people. Nice bonus!

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

New Zealander Christine Jeffs, who directed Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig in the excellent and depressing Plath bio-pic Sylvia (2003), has moved on to this delightful comedy with some real-life messiness (pun intended). Every time I saw the trailer in which Emily Blunt fell on the mattress, I laughed. Amy Adams (Oscar-nominated for both Doubt (2008) and the wonderful Junebug (2005), and a recurring role in NBC's The Office) plays a down-but-not-out former cheerleader and single mom who starts a cleaning business with her slacker sister, played by the lovely Blunt (best known for The Devil Wears Prada (2006), but you must see her in My Summer of Love (2004); I quite liked Dan in Real Life and Charlie Wilson's War (both 2007), in which she had supporting parts, and she filled out the ensemble in The Great Buck Howard (2009) as well). Alan Arkin's portrayal of their father reminds me of the grandpa he played in Little Miss Sunshine (2006): idiosyncratic, unrealistic, and fiercely loyal and loving. Clifton Collins, Jr., who played the murderer Perry Smith in Capote (2005), was a breath of fresh air as Winston. It's not a spoiler when I say that Winston inspires us all to ask the question: how can a one-armed single man braid his hair so neatly? Some posts on imdb find fault with the depiction of the school principal, but his actions pushed the plot, which Jack & I found nonetheless highly entertaining.

Duplicity (2008)

This was fun. Tony Gilroy, Oscar nominee for both writing and directing Michael Clayton (2007) and writer of the Bourne series (2002-7) and Delores Claiborne (1995), has crafted a mildly complex tale of corporate espionage, starring Clive Owen (some of my favorites: Croupier (1998), Greenfingers (2000), Children of Men (2006), and Inside Man (2006)) and Julia Roberts (I liked her in Mystic Pizza (1988), Something to Talk About (1995), Erin Brockovich (2000) for which she won her Oscar, and Runaway Bride (1999), among others, and she starred with Owen in the depressing Closer (2004), where I first heard the wonderful Suzanne Vega song "Caramel," and which earned him an Oscar nomination. Roberts is also supposed to star in the planned 2011 movie of Eat, Pray, Love). I would have liked to hear her belly laugh, but her character was too wrapped up in all the Spy vs. Spy games to really let go. And Jack said he would have liked to see more nudity. Paul Giamatti (who has more movie credits than Roberts, but my faves are American Splendor (2003) and Sideways (2004)--I didn't see HBO's John Adams, which won him an Emmy) was dependably manic. The always effective Tom Wilkinson (he's always so good I can hardly choose what to list for him; see The Full Monty (1997), Oscar & Lucinda (1997), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Cassandra's Dream (2007), and Michael Clayton) was a little creepy, as his character required, and Kathleen Chalfant, who will start a series arc in the new season of FX's Rescue Me (which I love) sometime this spring/summer, lent a quiet gravity to her role. We were somewhat surprised by the ending.