The Lovely Bones (2009)

Jack and I did not like this very much, despite riveting performances by all the actors, especially Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, a 1973 teenage murder victim who narrates the story after death, and Stanley Tucci as her killer. Neither of us had read the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, but in the movie we wanted to see way less of "the in between," from whence Susie speaks and watches her earthly survivors. Director Peter Jackson, who has a cameo as a guy picking up some developed film, inelegantly combines the top-notch special effects chops he honed in the three Lord of the Ringses (2001-3) and King Kong (2005) with the murderous tone of Heavenly Creatures (1994). Roger Ebert agreed with us in his detailed and spoiler-laden review.

Now for the good parts: 15 year old Ronan (who pronounces her Irish name SUR-sha, chosen Time Magazine's 2009 third best female performance, Oscar-nominated for Atonement) perfectly delineates the fine line between childhood and adulthood tread by a high school freshman (and she is developing into quite the beauty). Tucci, deserving winner of the 2009 Gotham Tribute award for acting, directing, writing (he did all three in the marvelous Big Night; he got an Emmy for co-starring again with (and mocking) Tony Shaloub in a hilarious Monk episode; I loved him in the TV series Murder One; The Devil Wears Prada (2006); Julie & Julia; and much more) was horribly creepy as the neighbor about whom one would say, "He was quiet, kept to himself..." The supporting cast did good work as well: Rachel Weisz (I wrote about her in The Brothers Bloom) and Mark Wahlberg (I liked Boogie Nights (1997), Three Kings (1999), and The Departed (2006)) were strong as the parents who are ripped from a contented family life and plunged into their individual stages of grief; Susan Sarandon (some of my faves: Atlantic City (1980), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Bull Durham (1988), White Palace (1990), Thelma & Louise 1991), Dead Man Walking (1995) which won her an Oscar, Igby Goes Down (2002)), as the hair-sprayed Grandma, provided needed comic relief, and I liked the siblings, too, played by little Christian Thomas Ashdale and Rose McIver, who was in The Piano (1993) before she was 6 years old. The production design and snow effects in the real world were good, and the music by Brian Eno was quite wonderful. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers liked the movie (there's a mild spoiler in his review).

A writer for the Hollywood Reporter suggests that the movie might resonate more for folks who haven't read the book. Not this folk, but I'm still looking forward to reading it.

Crazy Heart (2009)

Though many critics have damned this with faint praise, raving about Jeff Bridges' performance in a so-called so-so story, Jack and I liked everything about this tale of a faded country singer/songwriter near the end of his rope. Crisply produced songs, top notch back-up bands, gorgeous big sky vistas, and touches like the mid-century sign on a bowling alley called the Spare Room help tell a tale that is not completely predictable. If you avoid spoilers, such as this song list, which writes about songs on and off the soundtrack, you might even be surprised now and then. Of course, the big stars of the movie are the music and Jeff Bridges (I wrote about him in The Men Who Stare at Goats), who inhabits his character of Bad Blake; he will get an Oscar nomination, and likely the statue. He somehow makes us understand how a sweaty, stinky, nicotine-stained drunk manages to snag a groupie or two. Veteran music producer T-Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000), The Ladykillers (2004), Walk the Line (2005), Across the Universe (2007), musical archivist for The Big Lebowski (1998), more) has begun racking up awards with his colleague on this movie, Stephen Bruton, who died last May. The song, "The Weary Kind," by Burnett and Ryan Bingham, has won some awards already, too, and will probably be performed at the Oscars. Bingham has a cameo in the movie, as the guitarist with the bangs who begs for a rehearsal with Bad before the Spare Room gig. Bingham's version is the only one on the soundtrack, but Bridges is good at this genre, and here's him singing it (I didn't know he had recorded an album?!? Listen to it streaming from this page, but it's nothing like his music in Crazy Heart). My personal favorite song is "Hold on You," which Bridges performs for only a few seconds during the movie and full length in the credits. I previewed all the songs on the soundtrack, and it's a good one, if you like country/blues, which I do.

First-time director Scott Cooper said in this interview (no spoilers, three misspellings: Kristofferson, (Ter(r)ence) Malick, and deferential) that he prepared every shot well in advance so he could complete the movie in 24 days with locations in three states! Nice work. Another interview tells of his starting out as an actor. He will be someone to watch from here on. Also to watch will be little Jack Nation, who is the adorable Buddy. Maggie Gyllenhaal (I wrote briefly about her in Away We Go) is perfect for her role as the not-yet-disillusioned single mom, Jean. We also liked the character of Bad's agent, played by Paul Herman.

Our local theatres get to reap the benefit of this movie's being released here just as the Oscar buzz is buzzing, and we suggest you buy a ticket or two, too. You won't be sorry. Bonus at the end of the credits: Robert Duvall, who, as producer, is one of the reasons the movie got made, and has a cameo as a friend of Bad's, sings a song.

Séraphine (2008)

I hated for this to end. Languid and beautiful, the based-on-a-true-story of a chambermaid who painted even when she couldn't afford art supplies kept us enthralled for over 2 hours. It's a shoo-in for a Foreign Film Oscar nomination and won Best Picture, Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Musical Score, Production Design, and Costume Design at the César Awards (French Oscars) in February 2009, among others. The movie starts in 1912, as Europe is heating up before World War I, and the interiors (luxurious or spartan) and exteriors are lovingly photographed in deep, rich, colors of nature (plus Séraphine's blue wardrobe) and lamplight. One little thing that tickled me: Séraphine's shoes in the early scenes click like tap shoes on cobblestones and wooden floors. I'm not familiar with the work of the director/co-writer Martin Provost, his writing partner Marc Abdelnour, nor the cinematographer Laurent Brunet. Belgian Yolande Moreau, who plays the title role, had small parts in Amélie (2001), Paris je t'aime (2006), and the documentary The Beaches of Agnés (2008), which may capture a documentary nod this year (I haven't seen it yet), among many in a long resumé. Moreau as Séraphine says little, but she tells much with her body language and scrubbed middle-aged face (Séraphine is 48 in the beginning of the movie, Moreau was about 56) with her eyes cast up or down. Ulrich Tukur (pivotal roles in The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen - 2006), winner of 2007 Foreign Film Oscar, and The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band - 2009), which I plan to see when it comes here) was also very good as Séraphine's German patron Wilhelm Uhde.

When we saw it on the smallest screen in the university-area complex, 38 of 45 seats were taken for the Sunday matinee, which is heartening for an "art film." Though netflix shows its DVD release date is unknown, it's available now from amazon's Canada site amazon.ca, and I was able to put it in my shopping cart with my American address before cancelling the sale (just an experiment!). Séraphine is a moving story, one that falls into Jack's and my category of stuff you can't make up, all the better with its artistic presentation by all involved. We both enjoyed it a lot and recommend it to grown-ups.

Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos - 2009)

New work from Pédro Almadóvar is always cause for excitement, and this brightly colored movie about a blind writer, his agent, her grown son, and the writer's past with the beautiful Lena (Penelope Cruz) is no exception. There's plenty of sex, betrayal, and redemption, staples of this Spanish director/writer. Almadóvar's masterpieces have included (ones I have seen) Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios - 1988), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (¡Atame! - 1990), All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre - 1999) which won the Oscar for foreign film, Talk to Her (Hable con ella - 2002), which won him the Oscar for its screenplay and a nomination for directing, Bad Education (La mala educación - 2004), and Volver, all of which he wrote and directed. The rich reds (as exemplified in the shot of the tomatoes for gazpacho), turquoises, even the beach with black sand (shot in the Canary Islands), contribute to the beautiful palette created with noted cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Amores Perros (2000), Frida (2002), 25th Hour (2002), 21 Grams (2003), Alexander (2004), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Babel (2006), Se, Jie (Lust, Caution - 2007), many directors, many styles, all gorgeous pictures). He captures Cruz' beauty from extreme close-ups to long masters. Cruz won an Oscar for her supporting role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and was nominated as lead in Volver. She was also good in All About My Mother, Woman on Top, and Elegy, among others. The writer, who is the main character, and his editor are played by Almadóvar regulars Lluis Homar and Blanca Portillo.

The Sony Classics press kit is available online, containing a long essay by Almodóvar and lots of spoilers--in fact, I consider its first sentence, variations of which I've seen many places, to be a spoiler, so read it at your own risk. It doesn't have the music list, which is one reason I usually like press kits, so I found that elsewhere. I'm guessing that the songs not credited on the list are by composer Alberto Iglesias (most of the above Almadóvar movies, Sex and Lucía (2001), The Constant Gardener (2005), The Kite Runner (2007), and more). The main theme played on a harp was cool, very Hitchcock (that would be the work of composer Bernard Herrmann).

In my humble opinion, this is not Almadóvar's best work, as it can be convoluted and occasionally slow (Jon said, when we saw the enigmatic trailer, "Could this be any more boring? Do they expect people to go to this?"), but it's still damn fine filmmaking and we're not sorry we went.

selected Sundance movies for rent on youtube

Not free, not unlimited.

http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/01/youtube-to-sundance-independent.html

A Single Man (2009)

Jack, Mary Ellen, Dan, Judy, and I all loved this powerful drama about a closeted gay man in 1962 Santa Monica mourning the death of his long-time lover. The directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, who co-adapted (also his first) the Christopher Isherwood novel, it doesn't seem the work of a novice. Ford had to finance it himself, but the Weinstein Company took over later. Colin Firth (about whom I wrote in Easy Virtue), as George, the British English professor, conveys volumes with a mere twitch of his face, and can change his demeanor from desperate to devil-may-care in one line. Julianne Moore (some of her best: Short Cuts (1993), Boogie Nights (1997), Cookie's Fortune (1999), The Hours (2002), Far from Heaven (2002), Blindness), as George's friend Charley, conveys her own desperation as a 1960s divorcée of a certain age. Both have gained a number of nominations so far with more to come (Firth gave Time Magazine's top male movie performance of the year, and the movie was the magazine's 7th best of 2009). Matthew Goode (Match Point (2005), Brideshead Revisited), as the lover Jim in flashbacks, was the perfect guy, and young Nicholas Hoult (the boy in About a Boy (2002) and Gabriel Byrne's son in Wah-Wah (2005), both wonderful), as the student Kenny, is good, too. Funny that the latter three actors adopt accents from the other side of the pond, Moore playing a Brit, and Goode and Hoult playing Americans. Erin Daniels (Dana in the first 3 seasons of Showtime's The L Word), Ginnifer Goodwin (HBO's Big Love, Walk the Line (2005), He's Just Not That Into You) and Lee Pace (Infamous (2006), ABC's Pushing Daisies, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) make credited cameos, and, uncredited, Don Bachardy (novelist Isherwood's 30-year partner) appears in one scene in the English department staff room (wearing, according to imdb, Isherwood's lucky red socks) and Jon Hamm (AMC's Mad Men) is the person on the phone near the beginning (I knew I recognized that voice!).

As for the look of this picture, they work magic with color and lack of color. Every shot is art, be it sepia, black and white, earth tones, underwater, fire engine red lipstick, or a turquoise party dress with matching patent leather shoes. Smoke loops around the screen, as the characters have cigarettes everywhere, even in class. The production designer Dan Bishop and set decorator Amy Wells also work on Mad Men, which explains a lot. As one would expect, the wardrobe is marvelous, as is the eye makeup (lots of extreme closeups of eyes, with and without liner, some of which you'll see in the trailer). And the locations are divine. The magnificent "glass house," in which George lived with Jim and now alone, is discussed on this page. Someone please buy it and invite me over. The exterior of the college is classic mid-century, too. The "picture cars" (cars shown on screen) are amazing: George's Mercedes (with a moonroof!), a Cadillac with fins, two Thunderbirds (according to Jack: one from its first year and one from 1962), a couple of Corvettes, and more. Wonderful Golden Globe-nominated music by Abel Korzeniowski, with additional tracks by Shigeru Umebayashi (see Absurdistan), plus source music (i.e. the record player is on) by Etta James, Booker T. and the MG's, Jo Stafford, and the beautiful aria, La Wally, around which the plot of Diva (1981) revolved.

Don't let anyone tell you in advance what's going to happen. And pay close attention. Jack noticed two foreshadowings (that I missed) of a major event. Some might find this movie depressing, but I found it wonderful and you should see it!

Paris (2008)

This delightful piece lived up to my high expectations. It features Juliette Binoche (more in a moment) as a single mother, Romain Duris as her brother, Mélanie Laurent (the blonde theatre owner in Inglourious Basterds) as the brother's (brunette) neighbor, Fabrice Luchini as the neighbor's professor, and François Cluzet as the professor's brother. A handful of vendors from the open-air food market and a few others make up the ensemble in intertwined stories. It was written and directed by Cédric Klapisch (L'auberge espagnole (The Spanish Hostel - 2002) and Chacun cherche son chat (When the Cat's Away - 1996), both of which I loved, and others I haven't seen), which is why I was eager to see it.

Binoche (faves: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), The English Patient (1996) which won her an Oscar, Chocolat (2000) which earned her a nomination, and Caché and Bee Season (both 2005, both wonderful)) is great as the harried single mother, a social worker who doesn't take crap from anyone. Duris (L'auberge espagnole, title role in Moliére (2007)) gives the required depth to the ex-chorus-boy brother with a big problem; Laurent (blonde again last night as Quentin Tarentino's date for the Golden Globes) is delightful, even as some of her dialogue is via text message; Luchini (he was in the quirky and good Confidences trop intimes (Intimate Strangers - 2004) as a man who poses as a psychiatrist to develop a relationship with a beautiful woman, and co-starred in Moliére, among his 66 imdb credits, which include the classic Le genou de Claire (Claire's Knee - 1970) by Eric Rohmer) is perfect as the obsessed prof; and Cluzet (even more credits; I loved Clint Eastwood's 'Round Midnight (1986) and Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One - 2006) and quite liked French Kiss (1995)) is also perfect in his small part. The whole cast was wonderful. Surprisingly, the only actor nominated for a César (French Oscar) was the bakery b***h, who was funny, but not the best in the movie.

My Rule #2 is strictly observed, as the Eiffel Tower is visible in lots of exteriors, especially from Duris' balcony, day and night. The locations/sets are lush and the music good, too. One classical piano theme was so familiar I jotted down its name during the credits: Gnossienne no. 1 by Erik Satie, which was used in The Painted Veil (2006), among others. And there were plenty of songs in a variety of genres. I'm considering buying the soundtrack, which has 15 of the songs listed here. This is yet another love letter to the City of Lights, with diversity of neighborhoods, stories, moods, times of day, and people. Many of them dance in the end (Luchini's dance to the Wilson Pickett track is priceless). Klapisch's production company is named after his 1989 short film Ce qui me meut (that which moves me), and I agree. I saw Paris in a theatre Sunday while Jack watched football at home, but it's now available on DVD. Check it out.

Youth in Revolt (2009)

This entertaining fluff, according to Anthony Lane in The New Yorker, "for the umpteenth time, is the tale of a nerd who wants to get laid." Based on the novel Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp by C. D. Payne, this stars Michael Cera (see Paper Heart for my faves) whose Nick invents a doppelganger, François Dillinger, who is supposed to be dangerous and macho but is, to my mind, not macho. Sometimes the two of them are in the frame together, sometimes not. There have been detractors and fans. One of the former said, "How can a 90 minute movie seem to drag?" One of the latter was Peter Travers in Rolling Stone, though I don't know why he wrote such good things and only gave it 2½ stars out of 4. Director Miguel Arteta has also been recognized for the stalker comedy Chuck & Buck (2000), which I meant to see, and the Jennifer Aniston starrer The Good Girl (2002), which was okay, both of which were written by actor Mike White. This one was adapted from the novel by Gustin Nash, whose script for Charlie Bartlett (2007) I liked a lot.

Youth in Revolt has a bunch of famous funny co-stars in smallish parts that contribute much to the final product: Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, M. Emmet Walsh, Mary Kay Place, and some not-so-famous: co-star Portia Doubleday, who is quite cute, and Adhir Kalyan, who was in the TV show Aliens in America and is good with accents and other languages. The songs are listed on a blog called The Playlist. It's supposed to take place in Oakland, Berkeley, and Ukiah, California, but it was actually shot in various Michigan locations plus some reshoots in Shreveport, Louisiana. Like Paper Heart, there are some unexpected animation sequences, which are delightful. In the novel Nick is 14, but he's a little older here and this movie is certainly not for kids, containing graphic discussions and illustrations of sex. Though Amy said it was "just a series of random funny scenes," all three of us laughed a lot and enjoyed it: a lightweight diverting hour and a half for those of voting age and above.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Director/co-writer/graphic designer Terry Gilliam brings us a visual feast made all the more interesting by the machinations necessary to finish it after the mid-production death of co-star Heath Ledger. Gilliam fans, Ledger fans, and movie buffs already know how it was done: three actors stepped in to finish three sequences, with re-writes that explain the physical transformations. One wag opined that this is classic Hollywood: there are always three guys waiting to take your job. Rumor has it that Tom Cruise asked to be considered, but Gilliam, who, in his own words, had become "really close" with Ledger, wanted only actors who were also good friends of the star, who died of an overdose of prescription drugs on January 22, 2008, less than 2 months after the start of principal photography (he wrapped his Oscar-winning scenes of The Dark Knight the previous April). 

The story is about Doctor Parnassus, played with usual gravity by 80-year-old Christopher Plummer (so many to list--I choose The Sound of Music (1965), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and Inside Man (2006)), who keeps making bad deals with the devil (is there any other kind?). The devil in a bowler hat is played by gravel-voiced musician Tom Waits (The Heart of Saturday Night, The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)) who has a distinctive screen presence as well (Jim Jarmusch's Down By Law (1986), and member of the first-rate ensembles in Robert Altman's Short Cuts (1993) and Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), among others). Ledger (good in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Monster's Ball (2001), part of the ensemble of I'm Not There (2007), and, of course, Brokeback Mountain (2005), his Oscar nomination, and The Dark Knight, his win) plays Tony as a charming con man given to deep bows, flourishes, and flirting. 

Johnny Depp (see Public Enemies) is the first of the alter-egos, then Jude Law (see Sherlock Holmes), then Colin Farrell (my faves: Phone Booth (2002), A Home at the End of the World (2004), Cassandra's Dream (2007), and In Bruges (2008)). Each of them uses a Ledger-like dazzling smile and the same endearing awkwardness he shows in his own scenes. I also must mention 32-inch-tall Verne Troyer, best known as Mini-Me in two Austin Powers movies (1999, 2002). He has a fully realized role as Parnassus' friend and confidante Percy. Model Lily Cole does a nice job as Parnassus' daughter Valentina (nicknamed Strumpy, but I don't know why) as does Andrew Garfield as Anton. 

 My favorite Gilliam-directed movies are The Fisher King (1991, with Waits in an uncredited cameo as a bum), Brazil (1985), and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). Charles McKeown co-wrote with Gilliam on Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), as well as this, which shares with those the melding of time eras, e.g. Doctor Parnassus' traveling show is a throwback to the late 19th century with its wooden stage flopping down onto a modern street, performers in Victorian/Shakespearean dress entertaining an audience holding cell phones. 

The costumes and sets are stunning, as is the animation. This project features plenty of the Gilliam animation we loved in Monty Python, with its fair share of giant heads rising and spinning over landscapes. Another Python reference is in the policeman's recruitment video--think of the song I'm a Lumberjack and I'm Okay. 

Two degrees of separation: Gilliam wrote, "This should cover up that nasty hole in your wall," on my roommate Helene's Brazil poster in 1984. The full publicity press kit (containing all sorts of spoilers) is available online and discusses the making-of and the players in the movie. Jack and I really liked this one. I see it as part II of a fantasy trilogy, starting with Avatar and passing right through the mirror into Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland, which will star Depp as the Mad Hatter. There's a We Are the World spoof, and, at the end of the (very long) credits, an audio bonus relating to it in a modern way.

The Messenger (2009)

This powerful drama about two officers who notify next of kin about Army casualties moves between day-to-day life and gut-wrenching grief and back again. As of today it has 7 wins and 16 nominations and we expect more.

It's the directorial debut for Israeli combat veteran Oren Moverman, who was co-writer (with the directors) of the quirky Bob Dylan homage I'm Not There (2007) and quirky dark 1940's tale Married Life (2007). Moverman shares a writing credit here with second-time writer Alessandro Camon (executive producer of respected indies The Cooler (2003), Thank You for Smoking (2005), Driving Lessons (2006), and The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans).

I've been a Ben Foster fan since he played a funny rebellious 1954 Jewish teen in the fabulous Liberty Heights (1999), then, in a recurring role in HBO's Six Feet Under, his character was a little crazy, and he played all-out evil lunatics in Alpha Dog (2006) and 3:10 to Yuma (2007). Here, as the wounded-in-combat Sergent Montgomery, he's intense, but his back story explains it all and we really care about him as he shows deep emotions without saying a word. Montgomery brings his bad news to people's doors with Captain Stone, who has never seen combat, perfectly portrayed by Woody Harrelson (some of my favorites are Natural Born Killers (1994), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Wag the Dog (1997), Edtv (1999), Zombieland, and a cameo in 2012, proving he can do nuts with the best of 'em). Samantha Morton (Oscar-nominated as the mute in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and as the mom in In America (2002), also great in Enduring Love (2004)) is earthy and real as the widow to whom Montgomery is drawn. All three have been recognized for their performances. Jena Malone (she was 14 in Stepmom (1998), and was in, among others, Life as a House (2001), The United States of Leland (2003), and Into the Wild (2007), all wonderful) has never looked lovelier as one of the many complications in Montgomery's life.

The expression "don't kill the messenger," was written by Sophocles for Oedipus Rex (442 B.C.) and used later by Shakespeare in Henry IV, Part II (1598) and in Antony and Cleopatra (1606-07).

A lot of songs, heavy metal and others, are featured and you can read the list, as well as some history of the making of the movie, in the press kit (no spoilers). It tells us that the role of Colonel Dorset was bigger in the script. It doesn't tell us that the actor who plays the Colonel, Eamonn Walker, was fantastic as Howlin' Wolf in Cadillac Records. Not for kids, The Messenger has nudity, profanity, and death, but also hope. Imdb tells us that a Fort Dix sergeant, Brian Scott, who was a consultant on this movie, was later injured by an IED in Iraq. I couldn't find word of his current condition. The film was shot entirely in New Jersey, including at Fort Dix. Prepare yourself, and then see it. You won't be sorry.

The Young Victoria (2009)

This is not just the love story of Vic and Al (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) but the ultimate coming-of-age tale as the princess matures from petulant child to empowered queen. Luminous Emily Blunt (I wrote about her in Sunshine Cleaning) covers all the emotional and aristocratic bases, and wears most of the magnificent dresses and hats that are likely to garner another Oscar nomination for Sandy Powell (won for Shakespeare in Love (1998) and The Aviator (2004), nominated for The Wings of the Dove (1997) and Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005), among others). It was nice to see most of the dresses and hats in more than one scene, because it is slightly less wasteful and especially because I liked getting another look. 

Here's some trivia about the movie without spoilers. It mentions that Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York (shouldn't she be "former," now that she's divorced from Prince Andrew?), was one of the producers, along with Martin Scorsese, and publishes pictures of Fergie's daughter Beatrice (born in 1988) in a cameo, uncredited, as one of the ladies-in-waiting at her great-great-great-great-grandmother Victoria's coronation. 

Rupert Friend (kind friend to Mrs. Palfrey at the Clarmont, Nazi in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, kept man in Chéri) is adorable as Al, Paul Bettany (friend in A Beautiful Mind (2001), cute tennis player in Wimbledon (2004), psycho in The Da Vinci Code (2006), scary in The Secret Life of Bees) is oily as the "politician" Lord Melbourne, the fabulous Miranda Richardson (Dance with a Stranger (1985), Damage (1992), The Crying Game (1992), Tom & Viv (1994), Spider (2002), The Hours (2002), more) keeps it bottled up as Victoria's mother, Duchess of Kent, and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Body of Lies, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) is fearsome as the controlling Sir Conroy. 

The locations are lush (certainly Fergie helped get some of them booked) and the photography is, too--take note of the many times focus is pulled; I wish I had counted. Take note, also, of the 19th century version of a mixtape that Al sends to Vic. Sinéad O'Connor performs the haunting closing credits song with more whisper than wail, and then we diehards who remain in the theatre hear only birds chirping. That was new. 

Jack says, yes, it's a chick flick, but eminently watchable (a couple in front of us at the ticket booth was considering Leap Year, and the man groaned loudly when he heard its plot, then said she would owe him Avatar if he had to sit through Leap Year). 

For more about Vic's love life, later in life, do see Mrs. Brown (1997) with Judi Dench and Billy Connolly.

Avatar (2009)

Writer/director/editor James Cameron pushes the envelope once more with eye-popping special effects dramatizing a heart-rending story of a paraplegic soldier who is given the opportunity to walk again in the body of his 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned, part-human, part-alien avatar. My first 3D movie (I had seen 2 IMAXes, but not with glasses) was a humdinger, mitigating my fear of heights (lucky, since the creatures and the humans spent a third of the movie teetering next to unimaginably deep drops). In fact, my favorite part was the air ballet at approximately the 1:10 mark of this VERY LONG (2:40) movie. Here's a 10 minute video, "The Making of: Avatar," which showcases the air ballet and describes how the animators were able to capture the actors' facial expressions even in the action sequences. I suggest waiting until after you see the movie to watch the video. Some readers will not be surprised that I loved the color palette of blue, green, and purple (according to a long list of trademarks on imdb, Cameron is known for using lots of blue) used on the planet Pandora. Cameron burst on the scene with The Terminator (1984 and the sequel in 1991), cast Sigourney Weaver as an action star in Aliens (1986), and won 3 Oscars for Titanic (1997): picture, director, and editing. Sam Worthington, as the paraplegic Jake, isn't a newcomer, but he is to me. He does a fine job here, in and out of blue-face. Weaver (some of my faves: unhappy 60s housewife in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm (1997), the first lady in Dave (1993), and, of course, the "bony-a$$" boss in Working Girl (1988)) plays the cigarette-smoking, straight-talking scientist who is head of the avatar program when she's human and a teacher of the Na'vi natives when she's not. Zoe Saldana (Star Trek) is wonderful as the almost feline Na'vi princess Neytiri. CCH Pounder (perhaps better known to my readers for her TV work on The Shield and Law & Order, she starred in one of my all-time favorite movies, Bagdad Cafe (aka Out of Rosenheim, 1987) and I'm always happy to see or hear her on screen) plays the Na'vi queen/shaman Mo'at. Speaking of apostrophes, Cameron hired a linguist to develop the Na'vi language. Stephen Lang, who played a general in The Men Who Stare at Goats, plays a colonel whose scars give him good hair in this one.

Jack's eyes can't register the 3D effects, as a result of the treatment for strabismus (misaligned eyes) that was the latest technology in the 1950s. The 3D glasses effectively merged the images for him, but he felt no need to duck the objects that I saw hurtling from the screen. This gave him more opportunity to concentrate on the story, which he said was a combination of Dances With Wolves (1990), Transformers (TV and film 1984-2009), and Top Gun (1986). I believe him, but have seen only the last (I was tempted by Dances With Wolves but wasn't dedicated enough in 1990 to watch a 3½ hour movie). He also commented that the United States is never mentioned but Worthington's and Lang's characters are said to be marines, and the expressions "jarhead" and "oo-ra" are used amusingly.

James Horner's soundtrack makes excellent use of human voices in chorus. I suspect that most video-gaming geeks will want to see this more than once, as will all the sci-fi fanatics. Themes of diplomacy, corporate greed, science vs. military, money vs. nature, progress vs. tradition, spirituality, and resurrection broaden its appeal, and we have quite the crowd-pleaser. For this viewer, the battles could have been been shorter, but the effects kept us engaged the whole time. We both enjoyed it immensely. Cameron and his third ex-wife (he has four!) Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) are already competitors for the Directors Guild of America top award, and are sure to be in the running at the Oscars in a few weeks.

ALSO: Word to the wise--this isn't for every kid. There's a high body count, and some of the dead are folks we viewers care about.

81 "anticipated" movies for 2010

Only my fellow movie geeks will be interested in this post from a fellow movie blog. I sometimes check The Playlist for research on movie music, and recently I put it on my "reading list" of blogs to follow, so whenever I post (today I updated the awards list with the Producers Guild nominations) I see what's new. They (there's a whole committee of contributors) have outdone themselves with an insiders' list of upcoming movies that is so long I decided to post it now and read it later.

The Proposal (2009)

This comedy about a mean boss bribing her harried assistant into marrying her for a green card wasn't on Jack's or my must-see list but I decided to watch it after it got a few nominations. There are some laughs and pretty location shots (with various Massachusetts locales standing in for Alaska), but this is definitely not art.

Sandra Bullock, just named (by theatre owners) the top Hollywood box office star for 2009, has two other releases this year (I mean LAST year) though I've seen neither (The Blind Side has garnered her further nominations). I liked Bullock in her breakout performance in Speed (1994); in the comedies While You Were Sleeping (1995), Hope Floats (1998), Practical Magic (1998 - and I also loved the Alice Hoffman novel), and Miss Congeniality (2000); and dramas 28 Days (2000), Crash (2004), and Infamous (2006); among others. Ryan Reynolds (Amy knows him best for Just Friends (2005); I liked him in Waiting... (2005); Definitely, Maybe (2008) which was a guilty pleasure; and the ensemble of Adventureland) definitely had the harried part down, but maybe it was a little one-dimensional.

The classic odd-couple story morphs into a fish-out-of-water story when Bullock's spike-heeled/pencil-skirted character travels to an island in the 49th state. Supporting cast, including Betty White (Golden Girls (1985-92), The Practice and Boston Legal (2004-8), much more), Mary Steenburgen (some of my faves: Melvin and Howard (1980) which won her an Oscar, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982), Parenthood (1989), Back to the Future III (1990), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Casa de los babys (2003), and Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-9)), Aasif Mandvi (Spider-Man 2 (2004)), and, most notably The Office's Oscar Nuñez, playing a flamboyant party boy, do the best they can with the tools they've got. Director Anne Fletcher moved up from dancing (Flintstones and The Mask in 1994, more) to choreographing (The Wedding Planner (2001), Down with Love (2003), Six Feet Under (2001-5), The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005), more) to directing the dance movie Step Up (2006), then 27 Dresses (2008), and now this. Pete Chiarelli has no prior writing credits.

I watched this DVD during two sessions on my indoor bike. After the first session I was encouraged, but after the second, not so much. It has its moments, but doesn't sustain for 108 minutes. It's not a complete waste of time, but recommended mostly for die-hard Bullock and/or Reynolds fans.

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)

This drama, about a corrupt, drug-addicted cop post-Katrina, directed by Werner Herzog, is not for beginners. Herzog is an auteur, like Woody Allen or Robert Altman, and I wanted to be sure to see his latest work, but I later realized that I am a beginner, as is Jack, and hadn't seen anything of his, though I had heard great things about Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampire (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Grizzly Man (2005), and Rescue Dawn (2006) (the last two are on my netflix queue, which has almost 200 movies on it). The Abel Ferrara movie, Bad Lieutenant (1992), is another one about which I have heard good things but did not see. Read here what Ferrara and Herzog commented about the connection between the two. Nicolas Cage (won Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas (1995), nominated for Adaptation (2002); also great in Birdy (1984), Moonstruck and Raising Arizona (both 1987), Wild at Heart (1990), Matchstick Men (2003), The Weather Man (2005), others) fully conveys the derangement of the titular lieutenant with a back injury, holding one shoulder higher than the other for probably 115 of the movie's 122 minutes. In addition to the talented Cage (you all know he was born Nicolas Coppola, nephew of Francis, right?), Herzog assembled a talented supporting cast, including Eva Mendes (Training Day (2001), Hitch (2005), the bombshell in The Women, and more), Val Kilmer (I liked Top Gun (1986), The Doors (1991), Tombstone (1993), Batman Forever (1995), and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)) who gets little to do here, independent film regular Fairuza Balk (Gas, Food Lodging (1992), Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), Almost Famous (2000), more), Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Blue Velvet (1986), Lord of the Rings II-III (2002-3), HBO's Deadwood), and 19 year old Denzel Whitaker (no relation to Forest Whitaker nor Denzel Washington, he made a splash in The Great Debaters (2007)). My favorite was seeing Jennifer Coolidge, best known for comedy (Legally Blonde I-II (2001 & 3); the Christopher Guest oeuvre: Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006); and Soul Men, to name a few) playing it straight as an alcoholic.

This is an intense movie-going experience with creative cinematography, for which Peter Zeitlinger is nominated for this year's Independent Spirit Awards. The soundtrack is by a favorite composer of mine, Mark Isham (My One and Only, The Times of Harvey Milk, more Isham details are in the latter post), but I wasn't particularly moved by this one. Many people have loved this movie (Roger Ebert 4 stars out of 4 (major spoiler alert for the Ebert review), 7.2 out of 10 on imdb, 75% on rottentomatoes) but we were more in the camp of Rolling Stone's Peter Travers (warning, this review contains minor spoilers) who gave it 2½ stars out of 4. Despite the lack of a Humane Society announcement, we are hopeful that no iguanas nor alligators were harmed in the making of this motion picture.