After seeing the trailer, I thought that I knew everything about this movie before walking in, but I was wrong. Amy, Jack, and I laughed out loud many times all the way through this story of a divorced couple who have an affair even though the man has remarried. This is the fifth feature directed by Nancy Meyers (The Parent Trap (1998), What Women Want (2000), Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Holiday (2006); she wrote the screenplays for all 5) and I enjoyed them all. Before those, she co-wrote with her then-husband Charles Shyer, who directed their scripts for Father of the Bride I-II (1987, 1991), Baby Boom (1987), and, a personal favorite of mine, with reservations (loved the Shelly Long-Ryan O'Neal parts, didn't like the Drew Barrymore parts), Irreconcilable Differences (1984). Meyers knows comedy and her timing is excellent. There was only one line that bugged me (ask me and I'll tell you privately--it's near the end). Meryl Streep, about whom I wrote many words for Julie & Julia, can be funny, and she is here. Alec Baldwin is just a good actor; comedy, drama, he's got it (my faves are listed in Lymelife), and, apart from a few too many cuts back to him glowering with pursed lips, he is perfect in this role. Steve Martin is best known for comedy (from writing for the Smothers Brothers TV show, to The Jerk (1979), to Saturday Night Live in the 70s, to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Father of the Bride I-II, Bowfinger (1999, which he wrote and I also loved), Parenthood (1989), and much more), but he can do dramatic as well (Grand Canyon (1991), David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner (1997), Novocaine (2001), Shopgirl (2005, adapted by Martin from his own novel)). He gives his character warmth and depth and only really cuts loose in one sequence, which is a favorite of many. John Krasinski's (Away We Go) part was particularly well-written. Many have said it's too much like his character Jim from The Office, but we had no problem with that. Krasinski is going to have a hard time shedding that one, and we're in no hurry for him to quit the series to see if he can.
Next, the music was great, soundtrack by my hero Hans Zimmer, this time with guitarist Heitor Periera, and the nice use of songs (we really liked Gladys Knight's version of Since I Fell for You). There's a music cue called iSight Surprise--after you see the movie, you'll get it. Cinematographer John Toll (won Oscars for Legends of the Fall (1994) and Braveheart (1995), also shot The Last Samurai (2003)) made beautiful pictures with sweeping Santa Barbara vistas and luscious interiors.
My post about Away We Go brings up the chick flick issue. As always, Jack attended of his own free will. He now says it is, indeed, a chick flick, but he did, indeed, enjoy it (what a guy!). Baldwin and David Letterman had fun with that discussion the other night, with Letterman pretending to be outraged that something he liked was thought to be only for women.
All in all, this is an entertaining bit of fluff, worth seeing on date night (if you have/are a great guy), girls' night out, or with your family and grown children (rated R for the infidelity/adultery plot, and Baldwin's rear end--he told Letterman he had a "butt double"). Jack said "It's no Zombieland [our pick for funniest of 2009], but still..." ...it's got a lot of laughs.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
I suspect Arthur Conan Doyle purists will be heading for the door within the first 10 minutes, but Jack & I sat happily in our seats for two and a quarter hours (plus a plethora of previews). The collaboration between director Guy Ritchie, his modern writers, and star Robert Downey. Jr. delivers action, suspense, humor, and a little beefcake (sorry, boys, we did not see in the final cut the scene from the trailer when Rachel McAdams drops her robe to reveal her corset). Ritchie's early action movies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) were great fun and recommended for anyone who enjoys this one. Of the writers, Lionel Wigram, credited with screen story, and Michael Robert Johnson, screen story and screenplay, are newcomers; Anthony Peckham (screenplay) adapted John Carlin's novel for Invictus and Simon Kinberg wrote the action movies Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), and co-wrote X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and Jumper (2008); and Sir Arthur is responsible for certain character details only. But Ritchie's style, with slo-mo action alternating with real time, is paramount. I especially liked the cinematic illustrations of Holmes' inner dialogue during his fight scenes (recalling writing teachers who instruct: say what you're going to say, then say it). Sally often tells me that there are some actors she would pay to see read the phone book. I feel that way about Downey (some of my faves: Chaplin (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Wonder Boys (2000), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Iron Man (2008), and Tropic Thunder). His Holmes is a buff, dissolute, fist-fighting ninja in olde England (nice that we saw the boxing on Boxing Day, December 26th). Jude Law's (first came to my attention as Oscar Wilde's lover in Wilde (1997), also good in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), the inscrutable I Heart Huckabees (2004), Closer (2004), and more) Watson is a Felix to Holmes' Oscar (different Oscar--that's an Odd Couple reference). More scenes with the love interest, Irene Adler (I've seen McAdams in Mean Girls (2004), Wedding Crashers (2005), and State of Play) would have been nice, but the movie didn't need any extra length. I have written about three of the supporting actors in other posts: Mark Strong (Body of Lies) is a suitably creepy villain; Eddie Marsan (Me and Orson Welles) is the befuddled Inspector Lestrade; and Kelly Reilly (also Me and Orson Welles) the patient Mary.
So far the only nominations have been Critics Choice for the score and Golden Globe for Downey, but I expect more for visual effects and the music from the reliable Hans Zimmer. The soundtrack was released digitally a few days ago (here's a long and thoughtful review) without 3 songs (I particularly liked the Irish jig during one boxing scene). Costumes were good, too. I winced watching the luscious silk trains dragging on the cobblestone streets, but I guess they had to put up with that in those days of bustles and parasols. As Holmes used his sense of smell to find clues I was grateful we didn't have smell-o-vision. Oh, and listen for the line, "I haven't a clue," somewhere; it made me smile. Plenty of crooked and stained English teeth are in evidence; I'm grateful not to have any of those either. About 5 minutes before the end Jack turned to me and said, "Here comes the sequel," which was confirmed at the end of the credits. And, of course, the movie was preceded by a trailer for Iron Man 2, which we will be seeing this summer.
When we saw Nine on Christmas day, there were lines for this movie and not for that. They were very different but I'd have to say that this one is better as long as you don't mind all the hitting. You know what Sylvia says is the definition of a chick flick: Too much talking and not enough hitting.
So far the only nominations have been Critics Choice for the score and Golden Globe for Downey, but I expect more for visual effects and the music from the reliable Hans Zimmer. The soundtrack was released digitally a few days ago (here's a long and thoughtful review) without 3 songs (I particularly liked the Irish jig during one boxing scene). Costumes were good, too. I winced watching the luscious silk trains dragging on the cobblestone streets, but I guess they had to put up with that in those days of bustles and parasols. As Holmes used his sense of smell to find clues I was grateful we didn't have smell-o-vision. Oh, and listen for the line, "I haven't a clue," somewhere; it made me smile. Plenty of crooked and stained English teeth are in evidence; I'm grateful not to have any of those either. About 5 minutes before the end Jack turned to me and said, "Here comes the sequel," which was confirmed at the end of the credits. And, of course, the movie was preceded by a trailer for Iron Man 2, which we will be seeing this summer.
When we saw Nine on Christmas day, there were lines for this movie and not for that. They were very different but I'd have to say that this one is better as long as you don't mind all the hitting. You know what Sylvia says is the definition of a chick flick: Too much talking and not enough hitting.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Nine (2009)
This is the fourth year in a row that Jack, Amy, and I have gone to a musical on Christmas day (last year, Cadillac Records; Walk Hard in 2007, Dreamgirls in 2006). Yesterday we enjoyed the spectacle, the smoke, the mirrors, the dancing, the costumes, the eye makeup, the vistas, and the high production values in a story about a Federico Fellini-type director in 1965 with writer's block. Some have called this a sequel to Fellini's 1963 autobiographical movie 8½, but I would call it an homage (and there is a recurring gag that made me think of the recurring gag from Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980), where Allen's fans say, "We love your movies, especially your earlier, funnier ones."). Anyway, as far as we were concerned, the songs Cinema Italiano (danced and sung by Kate Hudson) and Be Italian (Fergie) were worth the price of admission.
In an interesting coincidence, Amy and I had watched the Glee episode about "hair-ography," choreography with flying hair, the night before, and Nine has lots of hair-ography, including in those numbers. I also appreciated the use of the big stage set for dancing and climbing and jumping. We had an inkling that this was based on a Broadway production but knew nothing of the source material. Today I bought the soundtracks to the movie and the 2003 Broadway version (after reading complaints on some websites that the songs from the movie weren't all in the play and vice versa) and will do that research later.
Speaking of research, imdb's trivia page for this movie has a lot of details of the sort I usually put in, so thanks to them for saving me time. You should especially read the big long bullet point about the cast and pretend I wrote it (I will add that La môme (2007), also known as La Vie en Rose, which won Marion Cotillard her Oscar, was a bio-pic about Edith Piaf, but Cotillard did little of the singing). I can't believe that Nicole Kidman had recently delivered a baby when this was shot--her waist is miniscule (perhaps that was part of the visual effects department's job). Black suits and skinny ties look great on Daniel Day-Lewis (in addition to his big hits I really liked The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), written/directed by his wife, Rebecca Miller, daughter of playwright Henry), and I was surprised that he's not bad as a singer.
I was going to mention that this was the third 2009 number nine movie, after 9 and District 9, but imdb beat me to it and added a fourth that was new to me: $9.99 (2008). I like numbers, particularly nines and eighteens, so I was glad I didn't hate this one. It doesn't really have much of a story but is accumulating nominations and one should see those coastlines on a really big screen. If you keep your expectations reasonable, you won't be disappointed by spending a couple of hours with Nine.
I was going to mention that this was the third 2009 number nine movie, after 9 and District 9, but imdb beat me to it and added a fourth that was new to me: $9.99 (2008). I like numbers, particularly nines and eighteens, so I was glad I didn't hate this one. It doesn't really have much of a story but is accumulating nominations and one should see those coastlines on a really big screen. If you keep your expectations reasonable, you won't be disappointed by spending a couple of hours with Nine.
Me and Orson Welles (2008)
Jack, Amy, and I enjoyed this based-on-a-true-story tale, about the famed director's Broadway production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, taking place at the time Amy's grandmother/my mother was a freshman in college, autumn 1937. Fabulous but realistic costumes, sets, and motorcars decorate the mostly sepia cinematography by Dick Pope, who shot the lush period pieces The Illusionist (2006) and Topsy-Turvy (1999), as well as many of Mike Leigh's movies, including the dark 1950's Vera Drake (2004) and the brightly-colored Happy-Go-Lucky. Director Richard Linklater was first known for his quirky, independent work (Slacker (1991), Dazed and Confused (1993), Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004)), then his rotoscoped animated features Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006), as well as his more commercial Jack Black vehicle, School of Rock (2003), all contemporary, so this is new for him. Also new for him is working from a script that is not his own. Vincent and Holly Gent Palmo have no other writing credits besides adapting Robert Kaplow's historical novel for this movie (before this they worked in production offices and sets, occasionally for Linklater).
I asked Amy what she thought of Zac Efron's other work. She replied that she was "mad" that she paid money to see 17 Again (2009) and "he did what was needed" in High School Musical (2006) and Hairspray (2007). In this one, again, he did what was needed. He's a cute boy with lovely blue eyes, but I didn't care about his character, the "me" in the title. Perhaps that's why we liked it rather than loved it. The rest of the cast, though--that's another story. Contrasted with 22 year old Efron's dozens of credits, 36 year old Christian McKay is just beginning his career, and his dynamic portrayal of the mercurial Welles is turning heads and winning awards and nominations here and in his native England. Claire Danes (TV's My So-Called Life, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996), Shopgirl (2005), written by and starring Steve Martin) plays her usual beautiful girl who is so down-to-earth she doesn't know or care how lovely she is, and gets top billing with McKay and Efron. The supporting cast, Ben Chaplin (worked with Danes in Stage Beauty (2004), and has been in many dramas, but I so liked him in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)) as George Coulouris/Marc Antony, Zoe Kazan (I wrote about her relatives because she had a pivotal part in Revolutionary Road) as Gretta, Eddie Marsan (won British Independent Film Awards for Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky, and has been in many other first class movies, e.g. Gangs of New York (2002), 21 Grams (2003)) as John Houseman, Kelly Reilly (the wonderful L'auberge espagnole (2002) and Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)) as Muriel Brassler/Portia, and James Tupper (all 36 episodes of Men in Trees and a few of Samantha Who?) as Joseph Cotten/Publius, are all essential in this ensemble. There's a reference to The Third Man (1949), which starred Cotten, when a cigarette glows in the shadows towards the end (of the movie and the cigarette).
Most of the movie was shot across the pond, with the Gaeity Theatre on the Isle of Man sitting in for the 1937 Mercury Theatre in New York, and other English locations playing old NYC. A nice regular length holiday entertainment that you can enjoy with your family of all ages (as long as you're not forcing them to go), this has music of the 1930s in original and cover versions.
I asked Amy what she thought of Zac Efron's other work. She replied that she was "mad" that she paid money to see 17 Again (2009) and "he did what was needed" in High School Musical (2006) and Hairspray (2007). In this one, again, he did what was needed. He's a cute boy with lovely blue eyes, but I didn't care about his character, the "me" in the title. Perhaps that's why we liked it rather than loved it. The rest of the cast, though--that's another story. Contrasted with 22 year old Efron's dozens of credits, 36 year old Christian McKay is just beginning his career, and his dynamic portrayal of the mercurial Welles is turning heads and winning awards and nominations here and in his native England. Claire Danes (TV's My So-Called Life, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996), Shopgirl (2005), written by and starring Steve Martin) plays her usual beautiful girl who is so down-to-earth she doesn't know or care how lovely she is, and gets top billing with McKay and Efron. The supporting cast, Ben Chaplin (worked with Danes in Stage Beauty (2004), and has been in many dramas, but I so liked him in The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)) as George Coulouris/Marc Antony, Zoe Kazan (I wrote about her relatives because she had a pivotal part in Revolutionary Road) as Gretta, Eddie Marsan (won British Independent Film Awards for Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky, and has been in many other first class movies, e.g. Gangs of New York (2002), 21 Grams (2003)) as John Houseman, Kelly Reilly (the wonderful L'auberge espagnole (2002) and Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)) as Muriel Brassler/Portia, and James Tupper (all 36 episodes of Men in Trees and a few of Samantha Who?) as Joseph Cotten/Publius, are all essential in this ensemble. There's a reference to The Third Man (1949), which starred Cotten, when a cigarette glows in the shadows towards the end (of the movie and the cigarette).
Most of the movie was shot across the pond, with the Gaeity Theatre on the Isle of Man sitting in for the 1937 Mercury Theatre in New York, and other English locations playing old NYC. A nice regular length holiday entertainment that you can enjoy with your family of all ages (as long as you're not forcing them to go), this has music of the 1930s in original and cover versions.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
New York, I Love You (2009)
Delightful. This artfully edited series of short films about love in the big apple by 11 directors, 18 writers and a host of stars does not proceed from start to finish, yet hops seamlessly from story to story and concludes satisfactorily. Jack and I both hated to see it end (it's 1:43 long). Many walks of life and ethnicities are represented. Almost as good as its blissful companion piece, Paris, je t'aime (2006), it will be followed, according to the credits, by Shanghai, and there will be Jerusalem and Rio as well, in the "Cities of Love franchise."
Natalie Portman (I wrote about her in Brothers) is in the Paris movie and, in this one, as I mentioned before, she directs one segment (her debut) and stars in another (Mira Nair's) as a Hasidic jewelry buyer. I knew Portman was Jewish but forgot she was Israeli (she is expected to be in the Jerusalem project). Here's an interesting anecdote about the Hasidic segment. We recognized little Taylor Geare from Brothers, even more adorable here (this was clearly shot before Brothers, as Ms. Geare is missing some baby teeth in the Portman-directed Central Park sequence). Emilie Ohana is also in both Paris and New York (she plays the videographer in NY, is somewhere in every sequence, but is not the star), and will be in Shanghai. Some of the featured actors: Rachel Bilson (played the other woman in Zach Braff's The Last Kiss (2006) and Hayden Christensen's g.f. in Jumper (2008)), Orlando Bloom (speaking of franchises: Lord of the Ringses and Pirates of the Caribbeanses), James Caan (The Godfather I-II, Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), much more), Christensen (Life as a House (2001), Shattered Glass (2003), Star Wars II-III), Julie Christie (my faves of many: Shampoo (1975), her Oscar winning Darling (1965), and her Oscar-nominated McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Afterglow (1997), and Away From Her (2006)), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, He's Just Not That Into You), Drea de Matteo (best known as Adriana on The Sopranos), Andy Garcia (among many: Godfather III (1990), Hero (1992), Ocean's 11-13, and a personal favorite, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)), Irrfan Khan (I keep telling you all how much I loved Nair's The Namesake (2006), and he was featured in Slumdog Millionaire, among many others), Shia LaBeouf (both Transformers movies, a third coming up), Cloris Leachman (I could write a whole column just on her; for this I will choose TV: Mary Tyler Moore (1970-77), Malcolm in the Middle (2001-6), as the evil grandma; and movies: The Last Picture Show (1971), Young Frankenstein (1974), Spanglish (2004)), Olivia Thirlby (delightful in Juno (2007), Snow Angels (2007) and The Wackness), Eli Wallach (his segment is with Leachman and he also deserves a whole column, but he's getting The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966), Godfather III, The Two Jakes (1990), and Mistress (1992)), and many more.
Directors were: Fatih Akin (from Germany), Yvan Attal (an Israeli who lives in France, My Wife is an Actress (2001)), Allen Hughes (one of the (American) Hughes Brothers, Dead Presidents (1995)), Shunji Iwai (Japan), Wen Jiang (China), Shekhar Kapur (India, directed Cate Blanchett in both Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007); he filled in here for Anthony Minghella, who, before his death in March 2008 personally asked Kapur to take over the Christie segment), Joshua Marston (U.S., Maria Full of Grace (2004)), Nair (India, The Namesake, Salaam Bombay! (1988), Monsoon Wedding (2001), and a segment of another brilliant collection of shorts called 11'09"01 - September 11 AKA 11 minutes, 9 seconds, 1 image), Brett Ratner (U.S., three Rush Hour movies, Family Man (2000)), and Portman. Randall Balsmeyer, a title designer and visual effects guy, is credited with directing the transitions, and, from a look at the cast members, that was more than a little work. All of these directors except Balsmeyer, Hughes, and Nair are also actors.
Apparently, when this was shown at The Toronto Film Festival in September 2008, it had two more segments. One was another directorial debut, by actress Scarlett Johansson, starring Kevin Bacon, and the other was directed by a Russian, Andrei Zvyahintsev, with Carla Gugino and Goran Visnjic (ER), but they didn't make the final cut. We can unreservedly recommend seeing this, perhaps more than once.
Natalie Portman (I wrote about her in Brothers) is in the Paris movie and, in this one, as I mentioned before, she directs one segment (her debut) and stars in another (Mira Nair's) as a Hasidic jewelry buyer. I knew Portman was Jewish but forgot she was Israeli (she is expected to be in the Jerusalem project). Here's an interesting anecdote about the Hasidic segment. We recognized little Taylor Geare from Brothers, even more adorable here (this was clearly shot before Brothers, as Ms. Geare is missing some baby teeth in the Portman-directed Central Park sequence). Emilie Ohana is also in both Paris and New York (she plays the videographer in NY, is somewhere in every sequence, but is not the star), and will be in Shanghai. Some of the featured actors: Rachel Bilson (played the other woman in Zach Braff's The Last Kiss (2006) and Hayden Christensen's g.f. in Jumper (2008)), Orlando Bloom (speaking of franchises: Lord of the Ringses and Pirates of the Caribbeanses), James Caan (The Godfather I-II, Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), much more), Christensen (Life as a House (2001), Shattered Glass (2003), Star Wars II-III), Julie Christie (my faves of many: Shampoo (1975), her Oscar winning Darling (1965), and her Oscar-nominated McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Afterglow (1997), and Away From Her (2006)), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, He's Just Not That Into You), Drea de Matteo (best known as Adriana on The Sopranos), Andy Garcia (among many: Godfather III (1990), Hero (1992), Ocean's 11-13, and a personal favorite, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)), Irrfan Khan (I keep telling you all how much I loved Nair's The Namesake (2006), and he was featured in Slumdog Millionaire, among many others), Shia LaBeouf (both Transformers movies, a third coming up), Cloris Leachman (I could write a whole column just on her; for this I will choose TV: Mary Tyler Moore (1970-77), Malcolm in the Middle (2001-6), as the evil grandma; and movies: The Last Picture Show (1971), Young Frankenstein (1974), Spanglish (2004)), Olivia Thirlby (delightful in Juno (2007), Snow Angels (2007) and The Wackness), Eli Wallach (his segment is with Leachman and he also deserves a whole column, but he's getting The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966), Godfather III, The Two Jakes (1990), and Mistress (1992)), and many more.
Directors were: Fatih Akin (from Germany), Yvan Attal (an Israeli who lives in France, My Wife is an Actress (2001)), Allen Hughes (one of the (American) Hughes Brothers, Dead Presidents (1995)), Shunji Iwai (Japan), Wen Jiang (China), Shekhar Kapur (India, directed Cate Blanchett in both Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007); he filled in here for Anthony Minghella, who, before his death in March 2008 personally asked Kapur to take over the Christie segment), Joshua Marston (U.S., Maria Full of Grace (2004)), Nair (India, The Namesake, Salaam Bombay! (1988), Monsoon Wedding (2001), and a segment of another brilliant collection of shorts called 11'09"01 - September 11 AKA 11 minutes, 9 seconds, 1 image), Brett Ratner (U.S., three Rush Hour movies, Family Man (2000)), and Portman. Randall Balsmeyer, a title designer and visual effects guy, is credited with directing the transitions, and, from a look at the cast members, that was more than a little work. All of these directors except Balsmeyer, Hughes, and Nair are also actors.
Apparently, when this was shown at The Toronto Film Festival in September 2008, it had two more segments. One was another directorial debut, by actress Scarlett Johansson, starring Kevin Bacon, and the other was directed by a Russian, Andrei Zvyahintsev, with Carla Gugino and Goran Visnjic (ER), but they didn't make the final cut. We can unreservedly recommend seeing this, perhaps more than once.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Three Monkeys (Üç maymun - 2008)
This Turkish movie won Nuri Bilge Ceylan the Best Director prize at Cannes and was nominated for the Palme d'Or but we found it just a bit difficult to follow. In film school they taught us to throw out some of the exposition because our audience is smarter than we think. Maybe Jack & I aren't smart enough to follow the Turks, or, at least, this one. The story tended to jump ahead from time to time, and then there were (possible) fantasy sequences, leaving us scratching our heads and saying wait, what? Perhaps if we had seen this on the big screen in a theatre we would have concentrated better, but streamed from netflix onto the laptop, then hooked up to the TV, with pixillation in the dark scenes, and the cat wandering in and out (and then an interruption of 3 hours when we had to leave) was too much. The title comes from the monkeys who hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil; but the people in the movie all had their evil ways. The online reviews have mostly been good (78% at rottentomatoes, 7.4 on imdb) so I guess we were just too distracted to enjoy it. I imagine the cinematography would have been great on a proper DVD on in a proper theatre. Turkey has submitted this as its entry for Oscar for foreign film (I have no idea how many contenders there are). This played for one night at the university in the fall--one night when we were unavailable--and I had been wanting to see it ever since. I think you serious film lovers should see it and tell me what you think, please.
The Vicious Kind (2009)
I don't know why imdb lists this as a comedy. It's pretty good, but not one bit funny! It's intense and cruel, with a few similarities to Mike Nichols' Closer (2004): there's a lot of mean-spiritedness, there are four main characters, Natalie Portman wears a pink wig in Closer and I'm pretty sure Brittany Snow is wearing a jet black one in Vicious Kind. Snow has come a long way from the Aryan princess Amber von Tussle in Hairspray (2007) and other teen roles, and here she plays Emma, the apparently vapid girlfriend of Peter (Alex Frost, who was featured in Gus Van Sant's Elephant (2003), an ensemble piece set in a high school on the eve of a Columbine-type event). J.K. Simmons (I just wrote about him in Up in the Air) is great as always as Donald, Peter and Caleb's father, and gets more to do in this movie than usual. But the heavy lifting goes to Adam Scott (half of one of the unhappy and desperate couples in HBO's Tell me You Love Me, plus a long list of more credits), whose unhappy and desperate Caleb is a misogynist and misanthrope--he just hates everyone, particularly himself.
This is writer/director Lee Toland Krieger's first feature. He started as an assistant to Neil LaBute, who, to me, is a master of mean (In the Company of Men (1997), Your Friends & Neighbors (1998), The Shape of Things (2003), Lakeview Terrace) and served as an executive producer on this one. It won 4 film festival awards and has been nominated for two Independent Spirits, for Scott's acting and for Krieger's screenplay. Shot on location in snowy Connecticut, I was moved to look up that state's smoking laws, as Caleb always has a cigarette in his mouth. Either it was shot before October 1, 2003, or they decided to ignore the trends and have him smoke on private sets. Not a happy holiday picture (perhaps the title was a tip-off?), this is a slice of a seriously dysfunctional life and I suggest you arrange to do something fun after you see it, if you do.
This is writer/director Lee Toland Krieger's first feature. He started as an assistant to Neil LaBute, who, to me, is a master of mean (In the Company of Men (1997), Your Friends & Neighbors (1998), The Shape of Things (2003), Lakeview Terrace) and served as an executive producer on this one. It won 4 film festival awards and has been nominated for two Independent Spirits, for Scott's acting and for Krieger's screenplay. Shot on location in snowy Connecticut, I was moved to look up that state's smoking laws, as Caleb always has a cigarette in his mouth. Either it was shot before October 1, 2003, or they decided to ignore the trends and have him smoke on private sets. Not a happy holiday picture (perhaps the title was a tip-off?), this is a slice of a seriously dysfunctional life and I suggest you arrange to do something fun after you see it, if you do.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Up in the Air (2009)
You would have to look far and wide to find a reviewer who didn't like this one, and Jack, Amy, Rachel, and I vote with the majority. The hype brought dozens of moviegoers to the early opening at 2:00 PM on a work day. I loved director Jason (son of Ivan, who directed the comedies Ghost Busters (1984), Legal Eagles (1986), Dave (1993), and, of course, Meatballs (1979) and Stripes (1981), among others) Reitman's other two movies, Thank You for Smoking (2005) and Juno (2007), and this shares more than a few elements of both.
The leads are cynical yet hopeful and Anna Kendrick's Natalie reminded me of Ellen Page's Juno: petite, smart, and mouthy. George Clooney (see The Men Who Stare at Goats for my recent comments) is flying high with this role (the NY Film Critics split his acting award between this and Fantastic Mr. Fox) and I can't imagine anyone else occupying the character Ryan, who fires people for a living, so fully. I did not see Kendrick in the Twilight movies, but did enjoy her as the debater in the excellent Rocket Science (2007), and neither tightly wound character prepared me for seeing her on Letterman the other night with a lush mane of curly hair and a tiny little dress. Vera Farmiga (last year's powerful The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Departed (2006), more) fills out the main cast as the lovely Alex.
The movie was adapted by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Turner adapted the 1974 movie The Longest Yard into a vehicle for Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds, which helped me while away a plane ride a few years ago) from a novel of the same name by Walter Kirn (also wrote the novel Thumbsucker, from which the entertaining and edgy 2005 movie was adapted). In fact, every filmmaker above, except Ivan Reitman, has won or been nominated several times for this movie (here's my list in progress). Two interesting trivia bits from imdb (the link has a third bit that I consider to be a spoiler): 1. almost all of the people (not Zach Galifianakis (HBO's Bored to Death, The Hangover, more) whose character's firing is in the trailer, nor J.K. Simmons (Juno's dad, Burn After Reading, I Love You, Man, all Spider-Man movies, others) who are fired in the movie are real people who were laid off. The filmmakers placed ads in St. Louis and Detroit looking for participants in a "documentary." 2. Reitman began work on the movie in 2002, but his other two features came along first, which gave this one the advantage of being released in a real-live recession (or use the term of your choice).
Jason Bateman (TV's Arrested Development, Juno, Hancock (2008), Extract, more) is good in it, comedy guy Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder, and others that I liked less) is, too, and, as Ryan's sisters, Melanie Lynskey (Shattered Glass (2003), Away We Go, and many others) and stage actress Amy Morton provide exactly the right touches. The aerial photography is great (I, too, like to look out the window in airplanes). Apparently Jason Reitman flies a lot and personally perfected some of the methods to get through security checkpoints shown in the movie. Product placement: American Airlines, Hilton hotels, and Hertz are featured prominently. This inspired me to go to the desk afterwards to make sure that I got my points and free Wednesday popcorn coupon even though I have misplaced my theatre's loyalty card.
Bonus: a song during the latter part of the credits has a cute verbal intro. I suggest you stay to hear it, even though you can hear a live version from my link. Some people are upset it may not be eligible for an Oscar, nor will the Brad Smith song in this article and clip at the bottom..
2009 awards season
The awards are coming in fast and furious (but no sequels for F&F this year) (I think). I have an ongoing list of awards and nominations, sorted by movie title. It is obsessive and compulsive, but orderly. I've posted it on my alternate blog, the babetteflixlist, with live links to my posts about the ones I have seen. You will see that this list is incomplete. Obsessive, check. Compulsive, maybe not so much. I will be adding more when I can.
So far the frontrunners are Crazy Heart, An Education, Hurt Locker, Nine, Precious, A Serious Man, and Up in the Air. Some of the other ones sound very interesting to me and I hope to see Amreeka, Broken Embraces, The Last Station, The Maid, The Messenger, A Prophet, Red Cliff, Séraphine, A Single Man, Three Monkeys, White Ribbon, and Zero Bridge. Sorry, Clay, don't think I'll subject myself to the agony of Antichrist, though I was looking forward to linking some really scathing reviews we found in Philadelphia. I'll give you this one here.
Bookmark the list and check back from time to time. I will do my best to update it. I have positioned it after the alphabetical list. And, around the Oscars, I'll move it to this blog.
So far the frontrunners are Crazy Heart, An Education, Hurt Locker, Nine, Precious, A Serious Man, and Up in the Air. Some of the other ones sound very interesting to me and I hope to see Amreeka, Broken Embraces, The Last Station, The Maid, The Messenger, A Prophet, Red Cliff, Séraphine, A Single Man, Three Monkeys, White Ribbon, and Zero Bridge. Sorry, Clay, don't think I'll subject myself to the agony of Antichrist, though I was looking forward to linking some really scathing reviews we found in Philadelphia. I'll give you this one here.
Bookmark the list and check back from time to time. I will do my best to update it. I have positioned it after the alphabetical list. And, around the Oscars, I'll move it to this blog.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Invictus (2009)
Although it was overly long (2:12 should have been cut to 1:50 or so) Jon, Jack, and I enjoyed and were inspired by Morgan Freeman's Nelson Mandela in director Clint Eastwood's newest saga connecting the South African rugby team's World Cup competition to the end of apartheid. Invictus is starting to rack up nominations and awards in this year's races. Freeman (Oscar winner for Million Dollar Baby (2004), good in everything, notably Driving Miss Daisy (1989), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Se7en (1995), Nurse Betty (2000), Bruce Almighty (2003), Batman Begins (2005), The Bucket List (2007), and The Dark Knight) had apparently wanted to do a Mandela project for some time before journalist/author John Carlin told Freeman about his book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, and then Freeman brought Eastwood, his Oscar winning director/co-star of Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby, on board. See this link for more. Eastwood has become one of the grand old men of American cinema and has his own pile of accomplishments (Oscars for Unforgiven, Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby, and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006); the wonderful Charlie Parker bio-pic Bird (1988), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), the Iwo Jima companion piece Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Changeling, and Gran Torino, to name a few). Matt Damon (I covered him in The Informant!) was fine. His character was a simple man, an athlete and team captain whose world view did change over the course of the movie, but that meant he moved from acting respectful to President Mandela to actually agreeing with him, and didn't really seem any different (here's a story about Damon meeting the character he portrays). The one who changed the most was Mandela's head of security, well played by Jason Tshabalala, and the rest of the newly-integrated team.
The music and photography were superb, as to be expected from the filmmakers and locations. I especially liked two aerial shots of gigantic airplanes, probably computer generated. I just wish the movie had been shorter. I suspect only rugby fans will love the last 15 minutes. Apparently I picked such a good time for my bathroom break that Jon thought I had checked a certain website. This was news to me, and now, fellow movie lovers, I have found it. It's called RunPee.com (I can't even type it without giggling), soon to offer mobile phone apps that will vibrate when you should run (or print the times before you leave!). Invictus is the first movie listed, and five break times are suggested. However, I don't agree with the 56 minute break, and my break wasn't there. And I make no promises of watching the clock to give you better break times.
One reviewer said that Eastwood wanted so much for this film to be taken seriously that he gave it a Latin name. Jon said he got a little tired of Eastwood telling us when to be inspired. "Next thing you know," he said, "Clint Eastwood will be making a Robert De Niro Christmas movie," a dig at Everybody's Fine, which he was shocked we didn't hate. But, Jon insists, he liked Invictus. And we did, too (as have the majority of critics--Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 78%). As I said, it was inspiring. Just right for a holiday movie with the family.
The music and photography were superb, as to be expected from the filmmakers and locations. I especially liked two aerial shots of gigantic airplanes, probably computer generated. I just wish the movie had been shorter. I suspect only rugby fans will love the last 15 minutes. Apparently I picked such a good time for my bathroom break that Jon thought I had checked a certain website. This was news to me, and now, fellow movie lovers, I have found it. It's called RunPee.com (I can't even type it without giggling), soon to offer mobile phone apps that will vibrate when you should run (or print the times before you leave!). Invictus is the first movie listed, and five break times are suggested. However, I don't agree with the 56 minute break, and my break wasn't there. And I make no promises of watching the clock to give you better break times.
One reviewer said that Eastwood wanted so much for this film to be taken seriously that he gave it a Latin name. Jon said he got a little tired of Eastwood telling us when to be inspired. "Next thing you know," he said, "Clint Eastwood will be making a Robert De Niro Christmas movie," a dig at Everybody's Fine, which he was shocked we didn't hate. But, Jon insists, he liked Invictus. And we did, too (as have the majority of critics--Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 78%). As I said, it was inspiring. Just right for a holiday movie with the family.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Brothers (2009)
This is really good, though tense. The children in this are so convincing I suddenly had flashbacks of director Jim Sheridan's In America (2002) and his debut, My Left Foot (1989), which had wonderful performances by young people as well (and his In the Name of the Father (1993) and The Boxer (1997) were great, too). Bailee Madison, as the older daughter Isabelle, is 10 now and portrays great ranges of emotion without even speaking, and Taylor Geare, as Maggie, shows wisdom and cuteness without appearing to try (her imdb resumé omits her real age, but says that she will be in a segment directed by Natalie Portman of New York, I Love You (2009)). Portman (who made a splashy film debut around age 13 in The Professional (1994), and was wonderful in Zach Braff's quirky Garden State (2004), Mike Nichols' intense Closer (2004) (which earned her an Oscar nomination), and her segment, acting only, of Paris, je t'aime (2006 - a sister film of New York, I Love You); yes, she was in Star Wars II-III, but I didn't like those) plays their mother in this drama about two brothers, one of whom is her husband. Tobey Maguire (first came to my attention in the searing The Ice Storm (1997), was great in Pleasantville (1998), The Cider House Rules (1999), Wonder Boys (2000), Seabiscuit (2003), and three Spider-Mans. 4 and 5 are in the works!) is the career Army captain who is presumed dead in Afghanistan, and Jake Gyllenhaal (I've liked him in everything of his I've seen: Donnie Darko (2001), Moonlight Mile (2002), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), of course Brokeback Mountain (2005), which got him his Oscar nomination, Proof (2005), Jarhead (2005), and Zodiac (2007)) is his brother, the screw-up ex-con. Sam Shepherd (I particularly liked his 1980's work--Resurrection (1980) is on my desert island list, Frances (1982), The Right Stuff (1983), Crimes of the Heart (1987), Baby Boom (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989)--all good stuff) also turns in a great performance as the flawed father of the brothers. Despite seeing An Education before this, we did not recognize star Carey Mulligan playing the wife of the Army private (she said her scene was shot late at night and was mostly improvised). Brothers is adapted from the Danish movie Brødre (2004), which piled up a bunch of nominations and wins at festivals worldwide. There is a lot of snow in this one, as one might expect in Denmark, yet it was shot entirely in New Mexico. This version features some songs by U2 and Bono (also prominent in Sheridan's earlier work). We enjoyed it thoroughly.
The Damned United (2009)
Playing on only one screen here, this movie mixes strong personalities; vintage (1969-74) sets, wardrobe, hair, and vehicles (the buses are fabulous); with soccer, or football, as they call it everywhere else in the world; and comes up with some good entertainment in this story about Brian Clough, manager of the Leeds United soccer team.
There is a long spoiler-filled list of goofs and factual errors on imdb but they didn't trouble Jack and me (although I did wonder about the Evel Knievel line, noted now as an anachronism). I see on wikipedia that people have criticized the author of the book on which the screenplay is based (David Peace: The Damned Utd) for inaccuracies, so we needn't blame the adapter Peter Morgan (nominated for Oscars and Screenwriters Guild Awards for the original screenplay of The Queen (2006) and adaptation of Frost/Nixon; and also winning two BAFTA, or British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards for the unforgettable The Last King of Scotland (2006), which starred Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin, and another for The Deal (2003)), nor the director Tom Hooper (BBC's EastEnders, ITV's Prime Suspect, HBO's Elizabeth I and John Adams). Michael Sheen (played Tony Blair in both The Deal and The Queen, and David Frost in Frost/Nixon) turns in a good performance as the cocky Clough and I always like Timothy Spall (some of my faves: Secrets & Lies (1996), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and many of you know him as Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter series), who plays Clough's wingman Peter Taylor.
Colm Meany plays Clough's nemesis, Don Revie (one of my favorite characters of all time is Meany's supportive father to an unwed pregnant girl in The Snapper (1993), he was also a great dad in the cover band saga The Commitments (1991), funny in The Van (1996), and contributed his skill to the ensemble piece Intermission in 2003, among many credits) with a perfect combination of arrogance and scorn, and Jim Broadbent (Oscar for the wonderful Iris (2001); played Gilbert, as in Gilbert & Sullivan, to Spall's "Mikado" in Topsy Turvy (1999); was a foil to Brenda Blethyn and Jane Horrocks in the must-see Little Voice (1998); was Bridget Jones' dad both times; was great in The Crying Game and Enchanted April (both 1992); Vera Drake (2004), and as the title character in When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007)) lends his considerable talents as the team's owner. Stephen Graham, the player with the bleached perm, was in, among others, Public Enemies (as Baby-Face Nelson), Snatch (2000) by Guy Ritchie, and Filth & Wisdom by Madonna, Ritchie's more famous ex-wife. I knew he looked familiar. Yanks may have a wee bit of trouble with the English accents, but Jack and I got most of it and enjoyed the movie.
Forgot to say: the rotten UK weather and soggy fields were a nice touch.
Forgot to say: the rotten UK weather and soggy fields were a nice touch.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
LA, Boston, and Washington Film Critics Awards, AFI, and British Independent Film Awards
Monday, December 7, 2009
Everybody's Fine (2009)
We expected something a bit more rip-roaring from Kirk Jones, the director of the hilarious British comedy Waking Ned Devine, but instead got a thoughtful family drama, a remake of a 1990 Italian movie of the same name (or Stanno tutti bene). This family, the Goodes, says everybody's fine when they aren't, and that could be the reason for the understated roles of some talented actors.
Robert De Niro (Oscars for Raging Bull (1980) and The Godfather: Part II (1974), and some of my favorites are Brazil (1985), Cape Fear (1991), This Boy's Life (1993), Flawless (1999), as well as his comedic roles in Meet the Parents and the sequel (2000, 2004, and one expected in 2010), and What Just Happened) plays Frank Goode, is a recent widower who is disappointed when his four grown children all cancel on a summer family reunion, and he decides to surprise each of them, traveling by train and bus from Elmira, NY, to Manhattan, Chicago, Denver, and Las Vegas (shooting locations were New York and various places in Connecticut--the house and office in "Chicago" are spectacular). Lovely Kate Beckinsale (first came to my attention in the delightful Cold Comfort Farm (1995), and was good in Whit Stillman's The Last Days of Disco (1998), Laurel Canyon (2002), and more) is bland daughter Amy in Chicago. Sam Rockwell (I last wrote about him for Moon) is equally under-utilized as brother Robert. Drew Barrymore (covered in Whip It) brings much-needed warmth to the movie as daughter Rosie in Vegas. We like the kid, Lucien Maisel, who plays Amy's son and looks a bit like Bill Maher. The appearance of the younger versions of Frank's children is a clever touch and nicely executed. Young Amy is played by Kate Beckinsale's own daughter (with actor Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)) Lily Sheen, who, like her mother, has learned to speak with an American accent despite being a Brit. Other cameos: Amy's husband is played by Damian Young, known to Jack and me as Bill, Karen's almost-husband in Showtime's Californication; and Rosie's friend is Katherine Moennig, from another Showtime series, The L Word (she played Shane).
This isn't comedy and it's not De Niro's usual life and death depth. In fact, the actor himself agrees with me, that he should have shown a little bit more intensity, in this interview. But Paul McCartney numbers among the movie's fans, and wrote a song specifically for it after seeing a screening (here's more). The soundtrack is by Dario Marianelli, Oscar winner for Atonement (I love Briony's theme--listen to clips here). There are going to be a lot of must-see movies this season; though this isn't one of them, it was enjoyable and we didn't dislike it.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
After the mayhem of 2012, we wanted to watch something funny and, we hoped, smart. We picked this netflix DVD, written and directed by John Turturro, which we thought was awful and wonderful at the same time. I will attempt to explain why (leaving out my usual actors' bios).
Let's start with the cast and their real ages. James Gandolfini (born 1961)'s character is married to Susan Sarandon (1946), and they have three daughters, Aida Turturro (1962 - played Gandolfini's sister in The Sopranos), Mary-Louise Parker (1964), and Mandy Moore (1984). He is having an affair with Kate Winslet (1975), and Moore's character with Bobby Cannavale (1971). Winslet's character looks and talks very dirty, with a strange accent that I believe is supposed to be from northern Scotland but I can't be sure. One reviewer said that this movie just proves that Winslet is good in everything she does. She, like all the actors in the movie, hams and mugs to the max. Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Eddie Izzard, Elaine Stritch, and Amy Sedaris also have supporting roles.
Have I mentioned that it's a musical? Huh? The music swells, sounding very familiar, and then the actors sing along with the original (in most cases) vocalists. Oh, and occasionally firemen dance around the street in Queens. John Turturro has a forgettable part in this (Male Dancer & Singer), but does more in the other two movies he directed, Mac (1992), which won the Palme d'or at Cannes, and Illuminata (1998), which was nominated and also featured Sarandon, Walken, and his cousin Aida.
This one was shot in 2004, and finally released late in 2007 because he put his own money into it. It looked vaguely familiar to me, and I realized after a half hour that I had seen it but remembered only a few things, mainly Winslet's performance. If you borrow or rent it, have a back-up movie planned just in case. But you may be joining the cult following that this crazy project has inspired.
2012 (2009)
Judy, whose company did some of the special effects, said this was worth seeing on the big screen, especially "when L.A. falls into the ocean." Jack and I laughed, cringed, and generally enjoyed a good part of our 3 hours in the theatre (movie is 2:38). It's not really supposed to be a comedy--perhaps it takes itself a teeny bit too seriously. But, thanks, Judy, the SFX were spectacular. And the cast! Chiwetel Ejiofor (I'll list some faves for each. Kinky Boots (2005), Melinda and Melinda (2004), Tsunami: The Aftermath (HBO - 2006), Children of Men (2006), American Gangster (2007), and especially Talk to Me (2007)), John Cusack (The Grifters (1990), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Grosse Point Blank (1997), Pushing Tin and Being John Malkovich (both 1999), and, of course, High Fidelity (2000)), Oliver Platt (Funny Bones (1995), Pieces of April, and the depraved lawyer on Showtime's Huff (2004-06)), Danny Glover (Color Purple (1985), Grand Canyon (1991), 3 Lethal Weapon movies (1987-92), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and Blindness), Amanda Peet (Igby Goes Down (2002), Something's Gotta Give (2003), Melinda and Melinda, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (TV - 2006-07)), Thandie Newton (Crash (2004), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Run Fatboy Run (2007), and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People), George Segal (he's done so much, but I have three words and a number: Flirting with Disaster (1996)), and the only one really using his comic timing, Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers (1994), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), and the hilarious Zombieland) as a crazy person. Gordon, the guy in the scrubs, is played by Tom McCarthy, who has done some acting, but is also the writer/director of two fabulous features, The Station Agent (2003) and The Visitor, both of which won him some Independent Spirit Awards. And fellow fans of Psych on the USA network will recognize "1987 Shawn," Liam James, as Cusack's son.
Perhaps the biggest problem was that it seemed like nearly an hour went by before anything blew up. I guess they wanted to give all those talented and expensive actors something to do. Then the earth's crust began to crumble, a city here, a mountain there, and the filmmakers took care to include recognizable landmarks amid the rubble, making it fun for anyone who knows the various locations. The stunt flying was great, too, and it became the disaster movie it was supposed to be. Last night David Letterman quipped the movie was "like a documentary," as Peet mugged for a camera in her face, demonstrating what it was like to look scared in front of a blue screen. We saw this movie because effects like these are best enjoyed on a great big screen, and the story dragged enough that we could stagger our bathroom breaks to fill each other in on the story if necessary. You can, too, but, if you have a big screen at home, you can wait for the DVD and use your pause button and your own facilities.
Perhaps the biggest problem was that it seemed like nearly an hour went by before anything blew up. I guess they wanted to give all those talented and expensive actors something to do. Then the earth's crust began to crumble, a city here, a mountain there, and the filmmakers took care to include recognizable landmarks amid the rubble, making it fun for anyone who knows the various locations. The stunt flying was great, too, and it became the disaster movie it was supposed to be. Last night David Letterman quipped the movie was "like a documentary," as Peet mugged for a camera in her face, demonstrating what it was like to look scared in front of a blue screen. We saw this movie because effects like these are best enjoyed on a great big screen, and the story dragged enough that we could stagger our bathroom breaks to fill each other in on the story if necessary. You can, too, but, if you have a big screen at home, you can wait for the DVD and use your pause button and your own facilities.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Coco Before Chanel (Coco avant Chanel) (2009)
The good news: it's French; the locations, especially the country estate, are lush; so is the music--composer Alexandre Desplat (nominated for Benjamin Button and The Queen (2006), also wrote for Chéri, Lust, Caution (2007), The Painted Veil (2006), Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), among others) won a World Soundtrack award; the yummy Alessandro Nivola (Frances McDormand's "younger man" in Laurel Canyon (2002)) is in it; actress Emmanuelle Devos, as Coco's first society friend, has some funny lines; and the hats are pretty great. The bad news: it drags (even at 1 hour 45 minutes it seemed too long); the color palette of the wardrobe is drab until the very last sequence; we never get to really see the first dress that Coco designs (that really cussed me off) as it is only shown on her while she is dancing with Nivola who blocks most of her; the fashion show at the end is so arty, with mirrors, that we don't really get to see much of that fashion either; Audrey Tatou can be charming or annoying--guess how I reacted here. Tatou was adorable in Amélie (2001), L'auberge espagnole (2002), and Priceless (Hors de prix - 2006). In The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Dirty Pretty Things (2002) her roles could have been played by anyone, and she was downright irritating in He Loves Me...He Loves Me Not (À la folie...pas de tout - 2002), though, because she played a stalker, perhaps that was intentional. Much is made of Coco's refusal to wear corsets, like her friend. But her friend is voluptuous and Tatou is skinny (trivia--the even skinnier Keira Knightley was apparently considered for the role). Some people have liked it. I didn't hate it, but it could have been much better.
Independent Feature Project: NY awards, LA nominations
The first major awards are out, The Independent Feature Project's Gotham Independent Film Awards. The nominations were announced a while back and the winners came out today. I like the category called Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. See this link for a list of the New York winners with short descriptions of the movies.
A few hours later, the Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced. This ceremony will now take place Friday March 5, two nights before the Oscars, Sunday March 7. Here's the press release with a list by category a couple of screens down. I like the category of the John Cassavetes Award for the best feature made for under $500,000. Unfortunately, these are the hardest to see outside of film festivals and the biggest cities.
The Independent Feature Project honors, surprise, independent films. Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler crossed over last year. I imagine Precious will this year and who knows what else?
I've started my list of awards sorted by film but it's not done yet. I may post it when I've entered the IFP awards or I may wait. If you have an opinion, let me know. You can contact me via the box on the right side of the page if you don't already know my address.
A few hours later, the Independent Spirit Award nominees were announced. This ceremony will now take place Friday March 5, two nights before the Oscars, Sunday March 7. Here's the press release with a list by category a couple of screens down. I like the category of the John Cassavetes Award for the best feature made for under $500,000. Unfortunately, these are the hardest to see outside of film festivals and the biggest cities.
The Independent Feature Project honors, surprise, independent films. Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler crossed over last year. I imagine Precious will this year and who knows what else?
I've started my list of awards sorted by film but it's not done yet. I may post it when I've entered the IFP awards or I may wait. If you have an opinion, let me know. You can contact me via the box on the right side of the page if you don't already know my address.
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