At turns funny, sweet, and disturbing, this is a story about an overweight small town high school outsider, his mentor, his uncle with dementia, and his damaged friends. Jack said it creeped him out (especially one late scene) but we both liked it, I perhaps more. Jacob Wysocki (he was in the series Huge about a fat camp, starring Nikki Blonsky and Hayley Hasselhoff) is the title character and he's totally believable as a good kid who cares for his uncle James (Creed Bratton, best known as Creed on The Office, but he was also lead guitarist in The Grass Roots in the 60s; he's the one in the stripes on the left in this old video) and tries to stay out of the way, but gets on the radar screen of the assistant principal Mr. Fitzgerald, played by John C. Reilly (after I listed my favorites in Cyrus, he was in Cedar Rapids), who takes a liking to him. Their scenes together are hilarious. The main other kids, Bridger Zadina (some TV episodes) as Chad and Olivia Crocicchia (Katy Gavin on 35 episodes of Rescue Me, more) as Heather, are equally good.
The screenplay is by newcomer Patrick Dewitt from a story by him and director Azazel Jacobs (nothing I've seen but he won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Short in 1997). This movie was nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize: Best Picture earlier this year, but it lost to Another Earth. The music, by Mandy Hoffman, is good, but I can't find any clips for us. Shot in L.A., Pasadena, and Altadena (heads up D.G.!), it gives the feel of a small southwestern town. We have no clue as to why Terri's name is spelled the feminine way.
If you like awkward and cringe-inducement, this is for you. It certainly was for me. And critics agree (rottentomatoes score 88%, though the audiences were less kind at 66%). Have I mentioned he wears pajamas to school every day? Gotta love Terri. Oh, and it's rated R, for themes definitely not suitable for kids.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
One Day (2011)
We wanted to see this because we love Anne Hathaway. We didn't hate it, and we liked her in this story of English chums and their relationship told over twenty-two July 15th's, starting with their graduation from Edinburgh University in 1988. The cinematography by Benoît Delhomme (The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999), The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, more) is gorgeous, as are the locations.
Directed by Lone Scherfig (I wrote about her in An Education) from a script which David Nicholls adapted from his own novel of the same name, it's a little flat and I'm tempted to advise Nicholls to stick to books, but now I see he adapted Blake Morrison's novel into When Did You Last See Your Father (2007), which starred Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent and was good. I wrote about my favorite Hathaway performances in Alice in Wonderland, and then I was less than kind about Love and Other Drugs, which I like better in retrospect. Jim Sturgess was good in 21 (2008) and okay in Across the Universe (2007), which was really about the music, and I haven't seen him in anything else. He and Hathaway seem to lack the chemistry necessary to pull off the evolving relationship between Emma and Dexter.
Rafe Spall (son of prolific actor Timothy), on the other hand, is full of life and awkwardness as Ian the "comedian", and I wished he'd had more screen time, as I did for Patricia Clarkson (profiled in both Whatever Works and Shutter Island) who plays Dexter's mother.
There are lots of fashion faux pas taking us through the passage of years (and trying to make Hathaway look less than the beauty she is) but the time changes are better observed with the songs, listed here, despite a romantic soundtrack by Rachel Portman (discussed in Never Let Me Go), for which I can find no clips. You'll have to be satisfied with the theme played in the locations video link above.
Ninth at the box office last weekend, critics have rated it 34%, audiences 69% on rottentomatoes. Though I regret saying it about Love and Other Drugs, this one can wait until you've seen the others on your list. Or wait for cable. Don't bother on a plane, as you'll miss the beautiful pictures.
Directed by Lone Scherfig (I wrote about her in An Education) from a script which David Nicholls adapted from his own novel of the same name, it's a little flat and I'm tempted to advise Nicholls to stick to books, but now I see he adapted Blake Morrison's novel into When Did You Last See Your Father (2007), which starred Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent and was good. I wrote about my favorite Hathaway performances in Alice in Wonderland, and then I was less than kind about Love and Other Drugs, which I like better in retrospect. Jim Sturgess was good in 21 (2008) and okay in Across the Universe (2007), which was really about the music, and I haven't seen him in anything else. He and Hathaway seem to lack the chemistry necessary to pull off the evolving relationship between Emma and Dexter.
Rafe Spall (son of prolific actor Timothy), on the other hand, is full of life and awkwardness as Ian the "comedian", and I wished he'd had more screen time, as I did for Patricia Clarkson (profiled in both Whatever Works and Shutter Island) who plays Dexter's mother.
There are lots of fashion faux pas taking us through the passage of years (and trying to make Hathaway look less than the beauty she is) but the time changes are better observed with the songs, listed here, despite a romantic soundtrack by Rachel Portman (discussed in Never Let Me Go), for which I can find no clips. You'll have to be satisfied with the theme played in the locations video link above.
Ninth at the box office last weekend, critics have rated it 34%, audiences 69% on rottentomatoes. Though I regret saying it about Love and Other Drugs, this one can wait until you've seen the others on your list. Or wait for cable. Don't bother on a plane, as you'll miss the beautiful pictures.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Another Earth (2011)
We thought this story about a girl who "does something unforgivable" at a time when an apparent clone of our planet suddenly appears in the sky was powerful and were glad we saw it Thursday on its last night after one week on one screen here. Co-written by director Mike Cahill (one documentary before this) and star Brit Marling (she collaborated on his documentary and wrote another script last year) it all seems quite believable because the very human drama eclipses, you should forgive the expression, the science fiction. William Mapother (he played Ethan, who was one of The Others, on Lost) is very good as John, as is Marling as the girl, Rhoda.
The fabulous music is by Fall on Your Sword, which is the duo of Will Bates and Phil Mossman (founding member of LCD Soundsystem). You can listen to one track here, another here, listen to clips from the whole thing on the amazon page, and listen to a song by The Cinematic Orchestra here.
With one nomination (Grand Jury Prize) and two wins (Special Jury Prize and Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film prize) at Sundance (somehow I missed posting about those winners, so I will begin that now) earlier this year, this is well worth your time. Save it to your netflix queue.
The fabulous music is by Fall on Your Sword, which is the duo of Will Bates and Phil Mossman (founding member of LCD Soundsystem). You can listen to one track here, another here, listen to clips from the whole thing on the amazon page, and listen to a song by The Cinematic Orchestra here.
With one nomination (Grand Jury Prize) and two wins (Special Jury Prize and Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film prize) at Sundance (somehow I missed posting about those winners, so I will begin that now) earlier this year, this is well worth your time. Save it to your netflix queue.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
We were eager to see this and were not disappointed, despite my having seen none of the previous versions and Jack's having seen only the 1968 original. It's great fun to watch computer generated (CG) apes swinging, jumping, climbing, and, surprise, there's a human story for James Franco, who plays a scientist working on a cure for his father's (John Lithgow) Alzheimer's. Busy Franco (I wrote some about him in Milk, then we saw him in the 2010 releases Date Night, Eat Pray Love, Howl, and his Oscar nominated turn in 127 Hours) is earnest as Will, who acts fatherly towards his dad as well as towards the genetically enhanced ape Caesar. Andy Serkis, who has played dozens of human roles, few of which I've seen, performs the motion capture for Caesar's CG and did the same honors as Gollum/Smeagol in The Lord of the Rings series (2001, 02, 03) (as well as two upcoming Hobbit movies now filming) and the title character in King Kong (2005), and it's startling how human these apes appear on the screen. In fact, it had me giggling many times. This video will give you some insight into how it was done, with no spoilers if you have seen the trailer. Lithgow (my favorites: The World According to Garp (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Footloose (1984), 139 episodes of 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001), and a scary series arc on Dexter in 2009) is wonderful as the poor old dad and David Oyelowo (he's English of Nigerian descent) is crafty as the CEO of Will's research facility. Also ably supporting are Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger) as Will's love interest, Brian Cox (profiled in Red) as the head of the animal shelter, Tom Felton (best known as Draco Malfoy in all the Harry Potter movies) as his cruel son Dodge who works with him, and Tyler Labine (I watched all of the very silly and probably deservedly canceled Sons of Tucson) as the sympathetic ape handler. There are many connections regarding names that you can find in this trivia page. Jack spotted one of the two Charlton Heston appearances and whispered to me the relevance of the name Cornelia during the movie the other day.
Rupert Wyatt (new to me, and check the trivia link above for the list of directors considered before he got the gig) directs the script by Amanda Silver (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992)) and her husband Rick Jaffa (nothing I've seen). There is more trivia on the wikipedia page under References to original film series, but it's loaded with spoilers, so best to read it after you see the movie.
The exciting soundtrack, composed by Patrick Doyle, has been released on CD, and you can hear it by starting with this link and progressing as suggested.
As noted above, we liked this a lot. The battle on the Golden Gate bridge is alone worth the price of admission, though the Muir Woods sequences are also captivating.
Rupert Wyatt (new to me, and check the trivia link above for the list of directors considered before he got the gig) directs the script by Amanda Silver (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992)) and her husband Rick Jaffa (nothing I've seen). There is more trivia on the wikipedia page under References to original film series, but it's loaded with spoilers, so best to read it after you see the movie.
The exciting soundtrack, composed by Patrick Doyle, has been released on CD, and you can hear it by starting with this link and progressing as suggested.
As noted above, we liked this a lot. The battle on the Golden Gate bridge is alone worth the price of admission, though the Muir Woods sequences are also captivating.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011)
Amy, Christiana, and I really liked this documentary featuring colorful reporter David Carr and others discussing the venerable newspaper and its struggle to stay active in this age of digital media. This is the second movie Amy chose to see with me while she was home in July but Jack couldn't make it that day. Some have noted that there are no female employees at the paper interviewed, but it turns out they all refused to be included. In fact, it was originally going to be just about Carr, but then he asked not to be the entire focus, so they broadened the scope.
Director/writer/producer/cinematographer Andrew Rossi has made two other documentaries that I haven't seen, but composer Paul Brill scored the docs Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, No Woman, No Cry, and Freakonomics, among others.
The netflix release date is still unknown, so save it and then later you can help me answer my question: When did Carl Bernstein start to look like Jimmy Carter?
The netflix release date is still unknown, so save it and then later you can help me answer my question: When did Carl Bernstein start to look like Jimmy Carter?
Monday, August 22, 2011
Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
Jack and I had a lot of fun at this over-the-top high-concept movie that is exactly what it says. There's a lot of testosterone, violence, and explosions; plenty of laughs; magnificent photography; a wonderful soundtrack; and Daniel Craig's physique perfectly framed in his trousers, chaps, and vest, just to name a few aspects one or both of us liked (see if you can guess who). We don't get why the haters (critics 45%, audiences 55% on rottentomatoes) are making such a fuss and taking this parody way too seriously. Sure, five credited writers (and a story by two of them plus one more) can signal trouble (in such cases there have been more writers whose names didn't make their ways to the screen), but this isn't supposed to be high-brow! It's cowboys and aliens, people, lighten up. Seventeen producers (beginning with Steven Spielberg, including director Jon Favreau, Ron Howard, his business partner Brian Grazer, and the three writers who aren't credited with the story) no longer sets a record, because that's held by Get Low with twenty-three. Released about six weeks after Spielberg's Falling Skies TV series began, there are some similarities, including various sticky things.
The cast is also huge. Apparently, after Robert Downey Jr. dropped out as the lead, Jake, Craig (I wrote about him in Defiance, he's James Bond in Quantum of Solace and others, and soon to be seen as Mikael Blomqvist in the Dragon Tattoo remakes) was chosen for his cursory resemblance to Steve McQueen, a consummate cowboy, though I don't think McQueen pursed his lips like that. Harrison Ford (hard to pick my favorites but I'll go with American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars IV-V (1977 and 80), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Blade Runner (1982), Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986), Working Girl (1988), Regarding Henry (1991), and The Fugitive (1993)) as Dolarhyde delivers his many funny lines completely straight, and both Craig and Ford look completely comfortable riding horses. In fact, Ford told Dave Letterman he liked his horse from this movie so much, he bought it after the show wrapped. Paul Dano (after I wrote about him in Taking Woodstock he was in Meek's Cutoff) is powerfully pathetic as Percy, Jodi's hero Clancy Brown (of his 187 credits, many are voiceovers and TV, he was in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Informant!, to name two) is a bit earnest, but his character is the preacher Meachum who is expected to teach 'em, Keith Carradine (my faves are Nashville (1975), Welcome to L.A. (1976), Choose Me (1984), Trouble in Mind (1985), The Moderns (1988), Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996) (those seven are among my favorite movies of all time!), and his series arc on Dexter as Special Agent Lundy) is Sheriff Taggart, Sam Rockwell (after I wrote about him in Moon he was in Iron Man 2) has some comic moments as Doc and three women have lines: Olivia Wilde (she took a few months off from House to shoot this) has the most as Ella (that woman really needs a cheeseburger), Ana de la Reguera only has a few as Doc's wife, and Abigail Spencer (the schoolteacher in Mad Men) is the woman in Jake's dream. Favreau, now known as director of both Iron Man movies, is gaining experience in this campy violence genre. I wrote about cinematographer Matthew Libatique for his Oscar-nominated work on Black Swan, and here the daytime desert shots, especially, are breathtaking.
The thrilling music is by Harry Gregson-Williams, who co-scored Chicken Run (2000) and The Town, and by himself composed for Phone Booth (2002), Gone Baby Gone (2007), Unstoppable, and many others. As I write this I am playing in the background the entire soundtrack, available on itunes and other places, starting with this youtube link and proceeding numerically to the last track (17). Jack also thought he recognized a Civil War tune, Just Before the Battle, Mother, played by a saloon piano player, but no list of songs was in the credits.
To summarize: this is a popcorn flick full of action, violence, loud noises, and improbable juxtapositions. If you hate that stuff, you'll hate this. If you like it, we think you might enjoy yourself.
This is the 400th movie about which I've written on babetteflix in three years minus twelve days. I have three more in draft mode and will get to them eventually. Be patient!
The cast is also huge. Apparently, after Robert Downey Jr. dropped out as the lead, Jake, Craig (I wrote about him in Defiance, he's James Bond in Quantum of Solace and others, and soon to be seen as Mikael Blomqvist in the Dragon Tattoo remakes) was chosen for his cursory resemblance to Steve McQueen, a consummate cowboy, though I don't think McQueen pursed his lips like that. Harrison Ford (hard to pick my favorites but I'll go with American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars IV-V (1977 and 80), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Blade Runner (1982), Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986), Working Girl (1988), Regarding Henry (1991), and The Fugitive (1993)) as Dolarhyde delivers his many funny lines completely straight, and both Craig and Ford look completely comfortable riding horses. In fact, Ford told Dave Letterman he liked his horse from this movie so much, he bought it after the show wrapped. Paul Dano (after I wrote about him in Taking Woodstock he was in Meek's Cutoff) is powerfully pathetic as Percy, Jodi's hero Clancy Brown (of his 187 credits, many are voiceovers and TV, he was in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Informant!, to name two) is a bit earnest, but his character is the preacher Meachum who is expected to teach 'em, Keith Carradine (my faves are Nashville (1975), Welcome to L.A. (1976), Choose Me (1984), Trouble in Mind (1985), The Moderns (1988), Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996) (those seven are among my favorite movies of all time!), and his series arc on Dexter as Special Agent Lundy) is Sheriff Taggart, Sam Rockwell (after I wrote about him in Moon he was in Iron Man 2) has some comic moments as Doc and three women have lines: Olivia Wilde (she took a few months off from House to shoot this) has the most as Ella (that woman really needs a cheeseburger), Ana de la Reguera only has a few as Doc's wife, and Abigail Spencer (the schoolteacher in Mad Men) is the woman in Jake's dream. Favreau, now known as director of both Iron Man movies, is gaining experience in this campy violence genre. I wrote about cinematographer Matthew Libatique for his Oscar-nominated work on Black Swan, and here the daytime desert shots, especially, are breathtaking.
The thrilling music is by Harry Gregson-Williams, who co-scored Chicken Run (2000) and The Town, and by himself composed for Phone Booth (2002), Gone Baby Gone (2007), Unstoppable, and many others. As I write this I am playing in the background the entire soundtrack, available on itunes and other places, starting with this youtube link and proceeding numerically to the last track (17). Jack also thought he recognized a Civil War tune, Just Before the Battle, Mother, played by a saloon piano player, but no list of songs was in the credits.
To summarize: this is a popcorn flick full of action, violence, loud noises, and improbable juxtapositions. If you hate that stuff, you'll hate this. If you like it, we think you might enjoy yourself.
This is the 400th movie about which I've written on babetteflix in three years minus twelve days. I have three more in draft mode and will get to them eventually. Be patient!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Help (2011)
Loved the book (me), loved the movie (Jack and me). In case you've been living in a cave, this is the story of black maids in 1960s suburban Mississippi and the white girl who decides to help them tell their stories. Viola Davis is fabulous as Aibileen, Octavia Spencer chews the scenery as Minny, while Emma Stone shines as Skeeter, the 24 year old idealist who writes the book. Certain topics make me weepy, and prejudicial injustice is one of them. Don't get me wrong, I like to cry in movies, so I had a ball. Jack wondered if I was coming down with a cold because of all the sniffling! Emma Stone (just seen in Crazy, Stupid, Love.) may have first billing, and she's good, but this movie belongs to Davis and Spencer. I'm so glad to see Davis in a starring role, after her single scene in Doubt got her an Oscar nomination and she has had such success with other small roles (It's Kind of a Funny Story, State of Play, Eat Pray Love, and my personal favorite, as free spirit painter and conwoman Lynda P. Frazier on United States of Tara), and she may get another nomination for this. Spencer also deserves a nomination, and she will be no overnight success, as she has been working steadily since 1996 (90 roles, including colorful cameos in The Soloist and Dinner for Schmucks). According to Wikipedia, she is friends with Kathryn Stockett, whose novel was faithfully adapted into this movie by director Tate Taylor (also a friend), and Stockett based Minny on Spencer's outspoken habits. Taylor has done some acting, and directed one other feature, Pretty Ugly People (2008) with Spencer and Allison Janney among others. Janney (after I profiled her in Away We Go she was in Life During Wartime and a whole lot of TV shows) is predictably good as Skeeter's mom. Then we have Bryce Dallas Howard (small part in Hereafter, bigger one in Spider-Man 3 (2007) as Gwen, and other things I haven't seen), who is terrific as the hateful big-haired Hilly and Jessica Chastain (last seen as a delicate redhead in The Tree of Life) is also wonderful as the persistent and ebullient bottle blonde Celia. Sissy Spacek (I wrote about her in Get Low) is hilarious as Hilly's mom, as is 4'11" Mr. Leslie Jordan (Boston Legal, more) as the newspaper editor. Chris Lowell, who plays Stuart, will be familiar to fans of Private Practice, on which he played the hunky Dell. Twins Emma and Eleanor Henry are adorable and spot-on as little Mae Mobley, and that's Cicely Tyson playing Constantine with prosthetic teeth.
I won't be surprised if this movie also gets nominations for production design, wardrobe (big crinolines) and the aforementioned hairdos. Jack and I think there should be a category for picture cars, too. The vintage automobiles in this are cherry, dude.
My hero Thomas Newman (I wrote about him in the last paragraph of The Adjustment Bureau) has composed a moving soundtrack, due to be released September 13. You can listen to clips on iTunes, even though "Aibileen" is misspelled. Then there are a lot of songs, more than the 12 that are already out on the other soundtrack album. Clips are available on amazon.
Not just for chicks, this flick is powerful and we recommend it.
I won't be surprised if this movie also gets nominations for production design, wardrobe (big crinolines) and the aforementioned hairdos. Jack and I think there should be a category for picture cars, too. The vintage automobiles in this are cherry, dude.
My hero Thomas Newman (I wrote about him in the last paragraph of The Adjustment Bureau) has composed a moving soundtrack, due to be released September 13. You can listen to clips on iTunes, even though "Aibileen" is misspelled. Then there are a lot of songs, more than the 12 that are already out on the other soundtrack album. Clips are available on amazon.
Not just for chicks, this flick is powerful and we recommend it.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A Better Life (2011)
Sad and hopeful at the same time, this tale of Carlos, a gardener with no green card and single father of 14 year old Luis was Amy's choice a few weeks ago and she, Jack, and I liked it a lot. Demián Bichir (Esteban on Weeds) is wonderful as Carlos and José Julián's Luis promises more good things from him. Director Chris Weitz (About a Boy (2002), more, including one of the Twilight movies) has crafted a delicately balanced drama from a story by Roger L. Simon (novel and script for The Big Fix (1978), co-wrote the script for Roger Mazursky's Scenes from a Mall (1991) which starred Woody Allen and Bette Midler, among other projects) and screenplay by Eric Eason.
Prolific composer Alexandre Desplat (details in both The Ghost Writer and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, plus The King's Speech and Tree of Life) provides a beautiful score, potential for another Oscar nomination (four so far). Go to the amazon page and click Play all samples.
If you have time, you may be able to catch this at the dollar theatre. Otherwise, save it in your netflix queue for its future DVD release.
Prolific composer Alexandre Desplat (details in both The Ghost Writer and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, plus The King's Speech and Tree of Life) provides a beautiful score, potential for another Oscar nomination (four so far). Go to the amazon page and click Play all samples.
If you have time, you may be able to catch this at the dollar theatre. Otherwise, save it in your netflix queue for its future DVD release.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
Lots of fun and somehow sweet, this story of Steve Carell finding his manly confidence with the help of womanizer Ryan Gosling has laughs, groans, and punctuation in its title. Carell (after I listed my favorites in Date Night, he was in Dinner for Schmucks) is adorable as awkward Cal and Gosling (more details in my post on Blue Valentine, after which he was great in All Good Things) is predictably smooth as Jacob. Julianne Moore (my faves are listed in A Single Man, other mentions in Chloe, and she was terrific in The Kids Are All Right) and Emma Stone (I still need to see Easy A (2010), loved Zombieland, and plan to see The Help, maybe tomorrow) are their smart, funny women, although Jacob has too many others to count, and Marisa Tomei (after I wrote about her in Cyrus she was in The Lincoln Lawyer) has a hilarious turn as someone Cal meets in the trendy pick-up bar he and Jacob frequent.
This is the sophomore effort of directing team Glenn Ficarra and John Requa after the excellent I Love You Phillip Morris and it's really good. The crisp screenplay is by Dan Fogelman (Tangled; I haven't seen Cars (2006)).
I counted 34 songs as the credits rolled but the official soundtrack lists only 12, though someone wrote in to the link above with a thirteenth. Composers Christophe Beck (after I wrote about him in Cedar Rapids he scored The Hangover II; his website hasn't been updated to include tracks from this one) and Nick Urata (he scored Phillip Morris) are both credited.
Sorry I've been away from these pages for so long--vacation and other obligations have intervened. I'll be filling in the gaps for a while and the posts may be shorter (which may please some of you!). Please be patient and keep reading!
This is the sophomore effort of directing team Glenn Ficarra and John Requa after the excellent I Love You Phillip Morris and it's really good. The crisp screenplay is by Dan Fogelman (Tangled; I haven't seen Cars (2006)).
I counted 34 songs as the credits rolled but the official soundtrack lists only 12, though someone wrote in to the link above with a thirteenth. Composers Christophe Beck (after I wrote about him in Cedar Rapids he scored The Hangover II; his website hasn't been updated to include tracks from this one) and Nick Urata (he scored Phillip Morris) are both credited.
Sorry I've been away from these pages for so long--vacation and other obligations have intervened. I'll be filling in the gaps for a while and the posts may be shorter (which may please some of you!). Please be patient and keep reading!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Trip (2010)
Funny, a little poignant, with beautiful scenery and delicious looking food, this trip takes Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon across northern England eating, chatting, doing impressions of their favorite actors, and entertaining us for a delightful week condensed into under 2 hours. Already a Coogan fan, I loved watching him squirm as yet another vain, insecure character (I wrote about my favorites in In the Loop and also enjoyed him in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Hamlet 2, and The Other Guys, among others), this time playing a version of himself. I'd never seen Brydon before but he's a great foil to Coogan and vice versa. It's noteworthy that no writer is listed in the credits, so it must have been improvised. They must be good friends in real life. At the very least, they were in the British mini-series of the same name that inspired this movie, also directed by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People, Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005) which also starred Coogan, A Mighty Heart (2007), more).
Leave it to imdb fans to give us the exact itinerary for those wanting to visit the fine restaurants in the movie. This is getting its rightful place on my list of food movies for peeks into kitchens and gorgeous platings.
Acclaimed composer Michael Nyman (The Piano (1993), Man on Wire, and many more) provides delectable piano music but remains uncredited on imdb. His name, however, was on the screen for some of the shortest credits ever. Here's a clip.
This will be shown locally for another week. Go see it and have a good meal before or after!
Leave it to imdb fans to give us the exact itinerary for those wanting to visit the fine restaurants in the movie. This is getting its rightful place on my list of food movies for peeks into kitchens and gorgeous platings.
Acclaimed composer Michael Nyman (The Piano (1993), Man on Wire, and many more) provides delectable piano music but remains uncredited on imdb. His name, however, was on the screen for some of the shortest credits ever. Here's a clip.
This will be shown locally for another week. Go see it and have a good meal before or after!
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