Rabbit Hole (2010)

Few eyes were dry in the Sunday afternoon screening of this beautiful story of a couple picking up the pieces after losing their four year old. That said, it's not unrelenting, with moments of comic relief and a house to die for (sorry!) with wrap-around porches apparently on the Hudson in Yonkers NY. Nicole Kidman is Oscar nominated for her role as the grieving mother Becca and it's a standout performance, incorporating the prickliness from Margot at the Wedding (2007) without the insanity (my other favorites: Malice (1993), To Die For (1995) (not sorry!), Batman Forever (1995), Practical Magic (1998), and The Human Stain (2003)). Aaron Eckhart (wonderful in Your Friends & Neighbors (1998), Nurse Betty (2000), my personal favorite Thank You for Smoking (2005), No Reservations, Towelhead, and a different Batman movie, The Dark Knight) is also terrific as the father Howie. Becca and Howie are grown-ups, committed to their marriage and their recovery, but it's a long hard road, as anyone who has loved a child can imagine. Dianne Wiest (faves: Hannah and her Sisters (1986), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), both of which earned her Oscars, Independence Day (1983), Parenthood (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Practical Magic, where she played Kidman's aunt, among others) is also great as Becca's mom, and Sandra Oh (best known for Grey's Anatomy, I loved her in Double Happiness (1994), Arli$$ (HBO 1996-2002), Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) and Sideways (2004)) has a low-key cameo.

Director John Cameron Mitchell has strayed far from his last two features--the transgender Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) and the orgiastic Shortbus (2006), both of which he wrote--by picking this Pulitzer Prize winning stage play and getting its writer David Lindsay-Abaire to adapt his own screenplay. It's not your typical stage-to-screen static adaptation, with many cinematic touches, including the sure hand of an artist drawing abstract shapes (more will be revealed).

The classical guitar soundtrack by Anton Sanko is so good I just bought it, even though the tracks are so short I'm considering joining them digitally (you can listen to clips on the amazon page by clicking Play all samples). The song in the trailer is The High Road by Broken Bells. The whole thing is just incredible. Highly recommended.

Razzies nominations 2011

The Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst achievements in movies have been going on for over 30 years. I'll do you a favor and not link to the website, which has annoying popups every time I navigate to a new page. Go to http://razzies.com at your own risk. I can't vouch for these choices, as I've seen only four of them (Burlesque, Little Fockers, The Switch, and Valentine's Day).

WORST PICTURE 
The Bounty Hunter
The Last Airbender
Sex & the City 2
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Vampires Suck

WORST ACTOR
Jack Black, Gulliver's Travels
Gerard Butler, The Bounty Hunter
Ashton Kutcher, Killers and Valentine's Day
Taylor Lautner, Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Robert Pattinson, Remember Me and Twilight Saga: Eclipse

WORST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston, The Bounty Hunter and The Switch
Miley Cyrus, The Last Song
The Four "Gal Pals" (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon), Sex & the City 2
Megan Fox, Jonah Hex
Kristen Stewart, Twilight Saga: Eclipse

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
George Lopez, Marmaduke, The Spy Next Door and Valentine’s Day
Dev Patel, The Last Airbender
Jackson Rathbone, The Last Airbender and Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Rob Schneider, Grown Ups

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Alba, The Killer Inside Me, Little Fockers, Machete, and Valentine’s Day
Cher, Burlesque
Liza Minnelli, Sex & The City 2
Nicola Peltz, The Last Airbender
Barbra Streisand, Little Fockers

WORST EYE-GOUGING MIS-USE OF 3-D (Special category for 2010!)
Cats & Dogs 2: Revenge of Kitty Galore
Clash of The Titans
The Last Airbender
Nutcracker 3-D
Saw 3-D (aka Saw VII)

WORST SCREEN COUPLE / WORST SCREEN ENSEMBLE
Jennifer Aniston & Gerard Butler, The Bounty Hunter
Josh Brolin’s Face & Megan Fox’s Accent, Jonah Hex
The Entire Cast of The Last Airbender
The Entire Cast of Sex & The City 2
The Entire Cast of Twilight Saga: Eclipse

WORST DIRECTOR
Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Vampires Suck
Michael Patrick King, Sex & The City 2
M. Night Shyamalan, The Last Airbender
David Slade, Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables

WORST SCREENPLAY
The Last Airbender, Written by M. Night Shyamalan, based on the TV series created by Michael Dante Dimartino and Brian Konietzko
Little Fockers, Written by John Hamburg and Larry Stuckey, based on characters created by Greg Glenna & Mary Roth Clarke
Sex & The City 2, Written by Michael Patrick King, based on the TV series created by Darren Star
Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer
Vampires Suck, Written by Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer

WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL
Clash of The Titans
The Last Airbender
Sex & The City 2
Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Vampires Suck

Blue Valentine (2010)

The bluest valentine in recent memory, this brilliant, raw portrait of a couple begins with a little girl hollering for her lost dog Megan and continues with her parents, each at the end of his/her rope. Then it cuts back to them single, meeting cute, and falling in love (Ryan Gosling is balding in the "future" and Michelle Williams' face has a tiny bit more padding, slightly shorter hair, plus almost no smiles). Yet they are the same people--he's controlling and perceptive and she's passive-aggressive, but it's two days when they're happy and two days when they're not. Each story progresses, with skillful editing between the two, to a natural conclusion. Williams (after I wrote about her in Wendy and Lucy she had a small part in Shutter Island) is deservedly Oscar-nominated for this role and Gosling was snubbed (he was terrific in everything I've seen: The United States of Leland (2003), Half Nelson (2006) which did earn him an Oscar nomination, Fracture (2007), and Lars and the Real Girl (2007)) due to the high quality of candidates this year (please stop telling me there aren't any good movies out there because there are and there always are). Where was I? Oh right. Faith Wladya plays the adorable little Frankie, sporting a cute short haircut that she got after donating 13 inches of her hair to Locks of Love. Wladya is articulate and probably has a good future in front of her. We couldn't help but notice her wrinkling her nose whenever she's close to her daddy, who almost always has a lit cigarette (perhaps I was projecting). However cute the kid is, though, DO NOT take your kids to see this. Even if they're old enough for the vivid sex scenes (one in particular, with an unusual camera angle, initially got this an NC-17 rating; however the producers appealed and got it changed) they'd be mortified seeing it with you. The script is grown-up. They don't tell us things twice, so pay attention.

It was scheduled to be shot in spring 2008 but delayed because of Heath Ledger's death. Credit goes to the production team for waiting until Williams (Ledger's unmarried widow) was available instead of recasting. This is the second feature for director/co-writer Derek Cianfrance (pronounced SEE-an-frahns) and it's fabulous. After seeing the movie, watch this 21 minute clip with Williams, Gosling, and Charlie Rose (there's a slight spoiler at 11 minutes).

No one is credited for an original score, but most of the songs are by the Brooklyn-based band Grizzly Bear, and a mix can be found on the soundtrack facebook page. Gosling sings You Always Hurt the One You Love (good choice) (listen to it on the trailer), an old song made famous by the Mills Brothers, and this avid imdb reader just submitted a correction, as they have a typo in the song title, printing Ones instead of One, since that's what Gosling sings, and every other blogger has pasted it in. The filmmakers dredged up an old unreleased single called You and Me by Penny and the Quarters. The cinematography is terrific, especially that scene on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Rottentomatoes gives this a high 89% for critics and 82% for audiences. Well deserved but definitely not a date movie for new or bickering couples. Just see it. Oh, but I almost forgot. I was warned that this would cause motion picture motion sickness, so I made a point of sitting in the very last row, where I could see the sides of the wall as well as the screen. Many of the scenes in the "past" are jumpy, but I was okay. Try it.

No Strings Attached (2010)

Finally! A funny and smart date movie that Jack and I can whole-heartedly recommend. Lots of laughs, snappy dialog, gorgeous stars, beautiful locations, love, and sex, as a couple tries to have a purely carnal relationship with no emotional involvement (its working title was F*** Buddies, but the only nudity is Ashton Kutcher's rear end, except, as Jack guessed, he had a butt double. For the record, I am disappointed!). I had forgotten Ivan Reitman was the director until I saw his face, playing the director (uncredited) on the TV-show-within-the-movie, a Glee-type musical. Reitman has the chops to execute a comedy (my favorites: Ghostbusters I and II (1984, 1989, and III is in the works for 2012), Legal Eagles (1986), and Dave (1993)), and, unlike some of the others we've seen lately, doesn't kill it in the process. Written by Elizabeth Meriwether (her feature debut and she apparently has a cameo as a writer on the aforementioned TV show, but it's an in-joke, as nobody outside the production knows what she looks like--her photo isn't even on imdb--wait, I found one) from a story by her and Mike Samonek, it's a joy from beginning to end. My only quibble is the kids cast as the young Adam and Emma (Kutcher and Natalie Portman) don't look anything like the stars. We quickly forgive them for that as we move into the present day and their paths cross again and again. The oh-so-handsome Kutcher (I didn't see Dude, Where's My Car (2000), but watched every episode of That 70's Show) can carry all the scenes he's in whether Adam is clowning around, hung over, unhappy, or angry. We already know Portman can do neurosis (see Black Swan, really, see it!), and in this one her neurosis is cute, plus I liked that both characters have a strong sense of their own boundaries. Top notch supporting cast--Kevin Kline as Adam's father, Greta Gerwig (Greenberg) and Mindy Kaling (the Indian girl on The Office) as Emma's roommates, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges (rap artist, acted in Crash (2004), Hustle & Flow (2005), others) as Adam's friend, Olivia Thirlby (Juno (2007), The Wackness, A Solitary Man) as Emma's sister, among many--bring even more to the screen.

Plenty of good songs (here are some tracks and the most complete list), and those locations--Adam's mid-century house in the hills, the Santa Barbara Biltmore, the farmer's market next to the water with a view of Disney Hall in L.A., that vintage BMW (I wish I still had a car with that giant rear windshield)--you name it, it's stunning. Be careful when searching for this on imdb. There are nine other movies with this title from 1997-2003. Number one at the box office last week, this one has not been embraced by critics, who are giving it a 50% on rottentomatoes, as opposed to the audience's 72% (the tomatometer registers fresh at 60% and above, and rotten below that). I don't care. You know that. I'm just happy we saw something we enjoyed.

The Dilemma (2010)

Ron Howard leaps back into comedy directing Vince Vaughn and Kevin James--sounds like a winner--where Vaughn sees James' wife kissing someone else and can't make a decision on his next move because the two are best friends and business partners. We expected to like it but found it uneven. Howard's comedies have been genius (Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984), Gung Ho (1986), Parenthood (1989), Edtv (1999)), and his dramas brilliant (Cocoon (1985), The Paper (1994), Cinderella Man (2005), Frost/Nixon, and A Beautiful Mind (2001), which won him two Oscars, just to name my favorites in both categories). Recently, on an episode of the Sundance Channel series Iconoclasts Howard took us behind the scenes for a few shots from this very movie. He was really proud of it. I guess he was just off his game. Or perhaps it was screenwriter Allan Loeb (the predictable The Switch and unfortunate Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, though I liked 21 (2008)). Vaughn is versatile enough for both comedy and drama (my faves: the hilarious Swingers (1996), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), the intense drama Return to Paradise (1998), Clay Pigeons (1998), Made (2001), Thumbsucker (2005), Be Cool (2005), Wedding Crashers (2005), The Break-Up (2006), and Four Christmases). I didn't see Kevin James' TV work, but he's a funny enough guy. Winona Ryder (after I wrote about her in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, she had a small part in Star Trek and a pivotal role in Black Swan) and Jennifer Connelly (I picked my faves in He's Just Not That Into You) are too angry and earnest, respectively, to carry the comedic tone. The always dependable Queen Latifah has a couple of funny scenes with a resolution that just completely falls flat.

We did enjoy the soundtrack (listen to some of the songs here and read the list here), the predictably high production values (shot entirely in the Chicago metro area), and had a few laughs here and there. We didn't hate it but we sure didn't love it. Sorry, Opie!

Nora's Will (Cinco dias sin Nora - 2008)

Opening recently in these parts, this Mexican story of a man dealing with the suicide of his ex-wife just before Passover is funny and poignant. Its Spanish title is Five Days Without Nora, but the English title is a nice double entendre, since Nora is demanding even after death, having planned the pesach dinner to the nth degree. The feature debut of Mexican-Jewish director/writer/editor/producer Mariana Chenillo is assured and has earned her more work. After you see it, read this interview (contains spoilers) in which she talks about taking many elements of the fictional story from the lives of her own grandparents. Star Fernando Luján (new to me, he has over 100 acting credits, starting in 1953, when he was 15 years old) has a wonderful screen presence--dry and sarcastic yet sweet and playful with his granddaughters.

Great music, fabulous mid-century set dressing in the apartments (not to mention the lovely old lace tablecloth and silver pattern), and good acting make this a must see. Plus it has quite a lot of discussion and preparation of food; so it's going on the list of food movies.

The Heart Specialist (2006) released 2011

Mostly caught up on the potential Oscar nominees, Jack and I enjoyed this refreshing medical comedy about an arrogant Harvard-educated intern, a doctor/stand-up comic, and his girlfriend. Brian White (arrogant car salesman Marcus on TNT's Men of a Certain Age) plays the intern, Zoe Saldana (Uhura in Star Trek, Neytiri in Avatar) the girlfriend, and Wood Harris (new to me, he's been in a number of TV shows and movies) the doctor/comic. We have no idea why it took five years to get released (it was originally titled The Ways of All Flesh--good decision to chuck that name for a comedy). It's no accident this premiered on MLK weekend: though director/writer Dennis Cooper (producer/writer on Miami Vice (1986-87), Chicago Hope (1994-95), and a few more) is white, the cast is predominantly not, with cameos by Jasmine Guy (A Different World (1987-1993), singer Mya, Ed Asner (I wrote in my post on Up that he had about 200 acting credits--now it's 272!), and the hilarious Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons (1975-1985), 227 (1985-1990), more), among others. The beach location shots (the movie takes place in Florida) have an interesting color saturation.

Four of the eight other people in the theatre with us loved it, laughing uproariously. The other four were quiet, but they were even older than we are and maybe they couldn't understand it all. This is not on netflix's radar screen as a forthcoming DVD, but is playing all around the country, as listed on its official site. Completely suitable for TV if you don't catch it on the big screen, it's pretty fun (83% of audience members agree, while all three critics on rottentomatoes hated it).

The Green Hornet (2010)

More suitable for a summer popcorn movie than January Oscar season, this has a lot of laughs, a kick-ass soundtrack, cartoony battles in 3-D, really fun gadgets, and is perhaps a respite from some of the serious films now and upcoming on local screens. With Seth Rogen as an unlikely slacker action hero, and Taiwanese music star Jay Chou as his brainy sidekick, this radio-drama-turned-TV-show-turned-movie-turned-comic-book-series-turned-21st-century-high-concept seems to have made the journey from 1936 to 2011 just fine (here's some history of the franchise from the New York Times). Back to my more comfortable place as the volunteer "critic" who likes movies more than the critics who pan everything yet still get paid, I had a good time, as did Jack, watching this on opening day, Friday. Not a big Rogen fan (I liked Superbad (2007), The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005), Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000), Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Funny People; hated Pineapple Express and Observe and Report), I wasn't as bothered as much as usual by his character Britt Reid, though he was immature start to finish. Chou is adorable as Kato, the mechanical genius/inventor/martial arts expert/cappuccino maker. Jack's favorite line was, "I thought Kato was the pool boy?" Apparently Kato Kaelin, O.J. Simpson's pool-boy-houseguest, adopted his nickname from the original Green Hornet.

There are many trademarks of quirky French director Michel Gondry (his features Human Nature (2001), The Science of Sleep (2006), and Be Kind Rewind (2008) showed much imagination but paled in comparison to his brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)) (according to the above history, he was attached then detached then reattached to the project), for example, cluttered sets full of tiny details and low ceilings made for 3-D. In fact, I thought it was fun to see what Gondry could do with a big budget for hi-tech effects, cool picture cars, and lots of property damage. Our favorite gadget is the turntable in the back seat. Jack had a friend in college who had a factory-installed record player that played 45s in place of the glove compartment. Our favorite stunt is the car in the elevator--worth the price of admission right there.

Apparently Rogen used his power as producer/writer/star to make a few decisions that Gondry didn't want to make, e.g. the use of Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise for source music, which they play on the car turntable while barreling though the streets of L.A. This link has that song (showing Michelle Pfeiffer in a clip from Dangerous Minds (1995)) and six more in the list of 15 songs in the movie, and once again imdb comes through with the same 15. No soundtrack CD release has been announced, despite the big names on the list plus a score by James Newton Howard (I wrote about him in Salt).

The critics are hatin' on this one, though not as bad as the aforementioned Country Strong or Little Fockers. But we wonder, with its 43% critics' rating on rottentomatoes, why the synopsis line on that page is so wrong. Did they even see it? We're glad we did. The pop art credits are awesome and you should stay in your seat just to watch them. And wait a few more minutes after that to hear Chou rapping in Chinese.

Country Strong (2010)

I had eagerly anticipated this and the music was great--Gwyneth Paltrow and Garrett Hedlund are good singers!--but I was ultimately disappointed in the tale of a dissolute country star, her cold husband/manager, her warm guy friend/muse, and her naive young rival. Perhaps director/writer Shana Feste needs more experience (this is her second feature and I didn't see her first, The Greatest (2009)), or maybe my expectations were just too high. One example of my complaints: I found no scripted explanation for the withholding attitude of the husband James, played by country star Tim McGraw (a brother in Four Christmases and the husband in The Blind Side, among others) in a non-singing part. Leighton Meester's (I've never seen Gossip Girl) cotton-candy character Chiles just plain annoyed me, both in the beginning when she was supposed to, as well as later when we were supposed to like her. I usually like Paltrow (I picked my favorites in Iron Man 2, and later enjoyed her singing in Glee) but here, as Kitty Kanter, she keeps crying and crying--enough already. Hedlund (played one of the Four Brothers (2005) with Mark Wahlberg, and more) is handsome and engaging as Beau, but his character just changes with no real explanation.

Although country music is seldom my first choice of genre, I like it a lot when it's done well, and whenever Paltrow is behind the mic the movie picks up considerably. Same for Hedlund, whose rich low notes should have been used more (as in his first song, Chances Are). Original music by Michael Brook (co-composer of Into the Wild (2007) with Eddie Vedder and Kaki King, solo composer on An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Sugar, The Fighter, and more) adds extra spice. For music clips, go to this blog post (if you don't want spoilers, don't read the list, just click on the videos) which lists 39 tracks. Imdb has 38 (the missing one is If You See Me Getting Smaller by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson) but more detail about each one. Two of the songs have been nominated for awards, Coming Home and Country Strong.

Jack was pleased to see the scenes set in Austin (which he visited often when his daughter lived there), with touches such as Lone Star beer, "the national beer of Texas," in one bar, but we noticed later that the movie was shot entirely in Tennessee.

We didn't check the rottentomatoes tomatometer before we saw this, but I looked during the movie. It was at 17% approval for critics. It has now soared to 19%, making it the fourth worst reviewed movie on the list today. Audiences are giving it an average of 49. My suggestion: wait for it to be free on network or cable, then record it on your DVR, fast forward through the tears and tantrums, and watch the rest.

My Dog Tulip (2009)

Judy and I loved this charming animated feature about a curmudgeon and his "bitch," a German shepherd named Tulip. It's suitable for anyone old enough to know the basics of mating, as the last third is devoted to Tulip's sex life. Christopher Plummer voices the English author J.R. Ackerly, who wrote the book on which the movie is based, with supreme detachment and intellectualism (I chose my favorites of Plummer's work when I wrote about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus). Isabella Rossellini and Lynn Redgrave (1943-2010) have supporting roles as the voices of the veterinarian and Ackerly's sister, respectively. The Brits refer to German Shepherds as Alsatians--David was bitten by one when he was a child and never trusted the breed after that. In fact, unless you already love one, you are unlikely to want to adopt one after watching the antics of the incorrigible Tulip. Directed, written, and animated by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger and edited by Paul, the drawing is somewhat Thurber-like, especially a section in the middle, which has a signature of Solomon Pavel, as I recall (I haven't found anything to explain why). Tulip barks a lot and is occasionally anthropomorphized, including in this clip about social vs. necessary urination.

The music by John Avarese is quite wonderful. You can see the trailer and read about everyone, as well as the "paperless" computer technology, in the press kit, to be found in the DOWNLOADS section (lower left) of the official site. Once you've caught up on this year's potential Oscar nominees, check this one out. You'll be glad you did.

True Grit (2010)

Amy, Jack, Christiana, Simi, and I all liked this enormously, more than I expected. Surprisingly funny, not as blood-soaked as the Coen brothers' usual action, this remake of the revenge Western boasts breathtaking cinematography, plenty of historical set dressing, and old fashioned grammar ("I do not" instead of "I don't"). Amy said today that she particularly liked the character of 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld in her feature debut) and enjoyed Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges--I wrote about him in some detail in The Men Who Stare at Goats, then he was in How To Lose Friends & Alienate People and subsequently won his Oscar for Crazy Heart), when he proved to be trustworthy despite his bad habits. For a completely different side of young Miss Steinfeld, watch this excerpt of George Lopez's talk show. We had heard Matt Damon (he was in Invictus and Hereafter after I wrote about him in The Informant!) was going to be funny in it, and he did not disappoint. This is another feather in the cap of the versatile Josh Brolin (covered in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger) whose character Tom Chaney is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Ethan and Joel Coen (see my post on A Serious Man, and do see that movie) adapted this screenplay directly from the book by Charles Portis, and I am told it is different from the John Wayne/Kim Darby 1969 version, but I can not vouch for that, because I have not seen the older movie, nor have I read the book.

Unfortunately the lovely Carter Burwell soundtrack is not eligible for an Oscar, as the Academy has deemed it too derivative of the old American folk songs it mimics, but you can listen to parts of it here, and for more, go here and follow the links with the same picture.

You really do not need me to tell you to see this. Despite the tepid review in my local newspaper, 95% of critics and 90% of audience members polled in rottentomatoes have helped push this past Little Fockers to number one at the box office last weekend. Certain to be nominated for many more awards beyond the ones it has already, True Grit is worth your time and money. For some interesting trivia (recommended for reading after seeing the movie), see the official Paramount site, select STORY and then Stunts & Horses (the other tabs are fascinating as well). Oh, and in case you did not know, editor Roderick Jaynes is a pseudonym for Ethan and Joel Coen.

The King's Speech (2010)

Long live The King. Amy and I expected to love it and did (Jack couldn't make it). The story of England's King George VI overcoming his stammer in the 1930s with the help of a therapist has deep sentiment, plenty of laughs, gorgeous cinematography, fabulous sets, locations, costumes, classical music, and absolutely no blood. This is the holiday movie we needed (Amy's holiday has been extended this winter). Although David Seidler's (my favorite of his mostly-for-TV work is the feature Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), directed by Francis Coppola) first-rate script is ineligible, due to the fine print, for a Writers' Guild Award nomination, it has been nominated for several other awards, and is likely to get an Oscar nod, as are star Colin Firth (after I wrote about him in Easy Virtue, he shone in A Single Man, and would have gotten the Oscar last year if not for Jeff Bridges--which puts him in a good spot for this year), director Tom Hooper (the Helen Mirren TV-movie Elizabeth I (2005), The Damned United), co-star Geoffrey Rush (I chose my favorites when I wrote about Bran Nue Dae) who is listed as one of the producers, composer Alexandre Desplat (I wrote about him in The Ghost Writer and opened my post on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with a discussion of Desplat's music), cinematographer Danny Cohen (a lot of TV movies and Pirate Radio, among others), costume designer Jenny Beavan (Oscar winner for A Room with a View (1985), nominated for The Bostonians (1984, Maurice (1987), Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Anna and the King (1999), and Gosford Park (2001), many other wins and nominations, including a nomination by her own Guild for Sherlock Holmes), and production designer Eve Stewart (Oscar nominated for the wonderful Topsy-Turvy (1999), and worked on Saving Grace (2000), De-Lovely (2004), Vera Drake (2004), Becoming Jane (2007), Elizabeth I, and The Damned United, to name a few). Beavan's costumes, especially the king's mother's exquisite beaded numbers, reminded me of the Oscar-nominated costumes in The Wings of the Dove (1997), many of which were worn in that movie by Helena Bonham Carter, who is regal yet loving as the elder Queen Elizabeth (George VI's wife and mother of the current queen) in this one.

We saw this Monday, and I apologize for not getting the words on the page sooner, but I've been busy helping Amy prepare for the trip of a lifetime (which will not include the United Kingdom). She leaves tomorrow, Saturday. But back to the movie. I reckon all film buffs will be seeing this one with or without my recommendation. I do recommend it most whole-heartedly.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010)

Christiana has read all the books and seen all the movies. Amy (and I) had not, but she wanted to go so they let me tag along. I had a five word summary all set until I asked Amy her opinion. She loved it. I was bored and had trouble understanding all the words, due to a raggedy print at the multiplex and a sniffling woman sitting right next to me (impelling me to drink a packet of vitamin C immediately on my return home). I had checked my list of nominations and winners before leaving, and was awaiting great cinematography and excellent music. Nope, still bored. Even the juxtaposition of the medieval magical style of dress and set design with modern London didn't perk me up much. My favorite part was the animated sequence about 2 hours into the 2:30 movie, which explained the meaning of "Deathly Hallows." Director David Yates (I quite liked his HBO movie The Girl in the Café (2005)) has assembled a huge cast (with my smart phone lit up inside my purse, I looked up the names of the many distinguished actors collecting paychecks from this penultimate spectacle in the Potter franchise).

You all know I'm too wordy to post a summary of only five words, but if I did, they would be: Better if you're a fan.