This wonderful documentary about the Chinese artist/dissident will leave you feeling grateful for America's rights to free speech and perhaps wishing, as I did, you had known about him all along. Director/writer/producer/cinematographer/sound recordist Alison Klayman is also credited as narrator, editor, and camera operator on a 2011 Frontline episode about Ai, but actually shadowed the artist from 2008-2011 for this one, her debut in every category. We can only hope she finds another subject about which she is as passionate for her next project.
Winner of the Documentary Special Jury Prize and nominated for the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, it deserves its high ratings on rottentomatoes (97 critics/89 audiences). Save it to your netflix queue for its eventual DVD release.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Cosmopolis (2012)
Hated it. Robert Pattinson (first appeared in these pages for Water for Elephants) rides around New York in his limo, occasionally getting out, in pursuit of a bad haircut and, possibly, meaning to his life. There isn't any. Jack and I found it pointless, even though I have long been a fan of director/writer David Cronenberg (covered in A Dangerous Method). Rottentomatoes' critics give this adaptation of the Don Delillo novel 64% but its audiences are more in line with us at 47. Surprisingly, it was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes earlier this year. There's no accounting for taste.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Hit & Run (2012)
We liked this one a lot. It's a car chase movie combined with a romantic comedy between modern, evolved adults. I'm a big fan of Dax Shepard (Crosby on Parenthood, was in Baby Mama (2008) and more) and he wrote the script and co-directs with David Palmer, as they did on another project. Kristen Bell, Shepard's real-life fiancée, plays his girlfriend here. They talked about the movie on Jimmy Kimmel in this video. It's an independent movie made with a $2 million budget (that's low, believe it or not), half of which went to music rights (clips here). Shepard, a car buff, provides the awesome onscreen muscle cars from his own collection AND does his own driving. Don't try those fishtails yourself, kids!
Also in the cast are Joy Bryant, who plays Crosby's girlfriend on Parenthood, Tom Arnold as a dumb cop, and Bradley Cooper in unfortunate dreadlocks. This has gotten bad reviews (45% critics, 58% audiences on rottentomatoes). We still enjoyed it two weeks ago and you can now on the big screen or later at home.
It's just a few minutes before midnight, and I'm celebrating an anniversary. Four years ago today, 9/3/08, I saw Brideshead Revisited and wrote the first entry in this blog. As of today I have seen 502 distinct feature films in those four years. This is number 500 (still catching up, as usual). Including the 21 I saw before that date and wrote up after, 521 are summarized as of right now. See my index for the running total.
Also in the cast are Joy Bryant, who plays Crosby's girlfriend on Parenthood, Tom Arnold as a dumb cop, and Bradley Cooper in unfortunate dreadlocks. This has gotten bad reviews (45% critics, 58% audiences on rottentomatoes). We still enjoyed it two weeks ago and you can now on the big screen or later at home.
It's just a few minutes before midnight, and I'm celebrating an anniversary. Four years ago today, 9/3/08, I saw Brideshead Revisited and wrote the first entry in this blog. As of today I have seen 502 distinct feature films in those four years. This is number 500 (still catching up, as usual). Including the 21 I saw before that date and wrote up after, 521 are summarized as of right now. See my index for the running total.
The Queen of Versailles (2012)
At once hilarious and horrifying, this documentary about Jackie and David Siegel, conspicuous consumers, and their fall from prosperity had Jack and me laughing and groaning at their antics. The actual palace at Versailles inspired the 100,000 square foot mansion they began building in Florida when their timeshare company was at its peak. The epitome of nouveau riche, this couple proves that money can't buy class. We almost feel sorry for Jackie. Almost.
This is director Lauren Greenfield's second feature length documentary. The first, Thin (2006), which we didn't see, was nominated for an Emmy (it was on HBO). Both were nominated for the Grand Jury prize at Sundance and this one won her the Sundance Documentary Directing Award.
The composer, Jeff Beal, came to my attention back in 2000, when I bought the soundtrack to Pollock after seeing the trailer a dozen or so times. I listen to it often. He's scored other movies but is perhaps best known for the TV shows Monk, Medium, Carnivàle, Ugly Betty, and more. You can listen to clips from this movie on the amazon page, and move around that site to hear others of his soundtracks.
Rottentomatoes reviewers agree wholeheartedly, averaging 94% to their audiences' 77. Understandably, David Siegel is angry and wants the movie closed because it suggests that he is hurting financially. He says it's all lies. It's on only one screen here now, two weeks after we saw it, but, unless Siegel can get an injunction, it'll be a popular DVD.
This is director Lauren Greenfield's second feature length documentary. The first, Thin (2006), which we didn't see, was nominated for an Emmy (it was on HBO). Both were nominated for the Grand Jury prize at Sundance and this one won her the Sundance Documentary Directing Award.
The composer, Jeff Beal, came to my attention back in 2000, when I bought the soundtrack to Pollock after seeing the trailer a dozen or so times. I listen to it often. He's scored other movies but is perhaps best known for the TV shows Monk, Medium, Carnivàle, Ugly Betty, and more. You can listen to clips from this movie on the amazon page, and move around that site to hear others of his soundtracks.
Rottentomatoes reviewers agree wholeheartedly, averaging 94% to their audiences' 77. Understandably, David Siegel is angry and wants the movie closed because it suggests that he is hurting financially. He says it's all lies. It's on only one screen here now, two weeks after we saw it, but, unless Siegel can get an injunction, it'll be a popular DVD.
Ruby Sparks (2012)
I expected to like this fantasy about a writer who falls in love with his character when she appears in the flesh. I did! So did Jack but Amy, not so much. Paul Dano (last in these pages in Being Flynn) co-stars with his real-life partner Zoe Kazan (most recently in Meek's Cutoff), who wrote the script, her first. With Chris Messina (covered in Julie & Julia, where he played Julie's husband, he is getting more and more roles these days) as Dano's brother, Elliott Gould (profiled in Contagion) as his shrink, Annette Bening (last in The Kids Are All Right) and Antonio Banderas (Haywire) as his free-spirited mother and stepfather, it moves along quite nicely and ends just when it should.
Directed by the married team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and a bunch of music videos, the movie takes an honest look at relationships, even as its premise is unreal. You can watch this featurette about the two couples working together.
The wardrobe and production design are arty and so is the music is by Nick Urata, of the band DeVotchKa. You can listen to one whole track here, download another here, a third here, and listen to clips from the whole album on the amazon page. I thought I counted 22 songs in the credits when we saw this on the 15th, but only four by artists other than Urata are listed on the album.
For my regular readers, babetteflix rule #8 is broken and rule #14 is in play, both in the trailer. Here's the whole list.
You don't have to take my word for it--rottentomatoes' audiences disagree with Amy and give it 82%, while critics weigh in at 79%. This is well worth your time, big screen or small.
Directed by the married team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and a bunch of music videos, the movie takes an honest look at relationships, even as its premise is unreal. You can watch this featurette about the two couples working together.
The wardrobe and production design are arty and so is the music is by Nick Urata, of the band DeVotchKa. You can listen to one whole track here, download another here, a third here, and listen to clips from the whole album on the amazon page. I thought I counted 22 songs in the credits when we saw this on the 15th, but only four by artists other than Urata are listed on the album.
For my regular readers, babetteflix rule #8 is broken and rule #14 is in play, both in the trailer. Here's the whole list.
You don't have to take my word for it--rottentomatoes' audiences disagree with Amy and give it 82%, while critics weigh in at 79%. This is well worth your time, big screen or small.
Rule #14 for movies and TV
When a modern character jumps in the water, there is almost never any consequence to the cell phone that he or she is undoubtedly carrying. See the complete list here.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
The Campaign (2012)
There are plenty of laughs in this silly story about two nincompoops battling for a North Carolina congressional seat, with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, well suited to the roles of corrupt incumbent and his naive challenger. Amy chose it and I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but all three of us had a good time. The two stars were last mentioned in the blog in Casa di mi Padre and The Hangover Part II, respectively. Fun support comes from John Lithgow (profiled in Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Dan Aykroyd (best known to us boomers for 97 episodes of Saturday Night Live from 1975-2009, he was also notable in The Blues Brothers (1980 & 2000), Trading Places (1983), Ghostbusters (1984 & 1989), Dragnet (1987), Driving Miss Daisy (1989) which earned him an Oscar nomination, Chaplin (1992), and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), to name some of my favorites) as the one-percenters who try to puppeteer the election, Jason Sudeikis (covered in Horrible Bosses) as Ferrell's harried campaign manager, and Dylan McDermott (first came to my attention as Julia Roberts' husband in Steel Magnolias (1989), then did good work in, among others, In the Line of Fire (1993), Home for the Holidays (1995), 'Til There Was You (1997), and, of course, 147 episodes of The Practice (1997-2004). Fun fact: he remains close with Eve Ensler, who wrote The Vagina Monologues, even though she's no longer his stepmother) as the intense advisor to Galifianakis.
The soundtrack is by the composer for Hope Springs, Theodore Shapiro (here's a clip), and the list of songs is here.
It's been three weeks since we saw it, so I don't remember much more. You can definitely wait for cable (rottentomatoes is tepid on this one: 66% critics, 57% audiences) but if you like the stars you'll probably enjoy it.
The soundtrack is by the composer for Hope Springs, Theodore Shapiro (here's a clip), and the list of songs is here.
It's been three weeks since we saw it, so I don't remember much more. You can definitely wait for cable (rottentomatoes is tepid on this one: 66% critics, 57% audiences) but if you like the stars you'll probably enjoy it.
Hope Springs (2012)
We both liked this lightweight comedy with heavyweight actors Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones in the story of a 60-something couple looking to return passion to their stale marriage. Streep (last in these pages in her Oscar-winning performance as The Iron Lady) creates a new voice--a high, insecure one--and she and Jones (Men in Black III, so much more) give us the familiarity and frustration that come with a relationship such as this one, written by first-time screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, who wrote two episodes of the intense, serious, couples-therapy drama series Tell Me You Love Me. Steve Carell (most recently in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) seeks no laughs, playing it absolutely straight as the couples counselor.
The publicity materials all say "from the director of The Devil Wears Prada" (2006), but they could recognize David Frankel for the pleasant The Big Year. He certainly is good at bringing high production values, even in this setting that ranges from chain stores such as Coldwater Creek, Econo-Lodge, and Barnes & Noble to the quaint Maine town where the couple visits the counselor.
The soundtrack by Prada and Big Year composer Theodore Shapiro isn't available, but you can look at this list of songs.
Jack picked this three weeks ago, expecting it was tops on my list. It wasn't but we were both pleasantly surprised by our reaction. On rottentomatoes the averages were 73% critics and 67% audiences, so still fresh. It's still playing in this neck of the woods. If you want to see it or even if someone needs to drag you to it, you will probably be entertained.
The publicity materials all say "from the director of The Devil Wears Prada" (2006), but they could recognize David Frankel for the pleasant The Big Year. He certainly is good at bringing high production values, even in this setting that ranges from chain stores such as Coldwater Creek, Econo-Lodge, and Barnes & Noble to the quaint Maine town where the couple visits the counselor.
The soundtrack by Prada and Big Year composer Theodore Shapiro isn't available, but you can look at this list of songs.
Jack picked this three weeks ago, expecting it was tops on my list. It wasn't but we were both pleasantly surprised by our reaction. On rottentomatoes the averages were 73% critics and 67% audiences, so still fresh. It's still playing in this neck of the woods. If you want to see it or even if someone needs to drag you to it, you will probably be entertained.
Sleepwalk with Me (2012)
Absolutely delightful, this semi-autobiographical movie from comedian Mike Birbiglia about his relationship, his career, and his dangerous sleep disorder, hits all the right notes. Birbiglia surrounds himself with a highly professional cast, co-directs, co-wrote the script, and stars as the leading man with a name even sillier than his own: Matt Pandamiglio. Birbiglia and co-director Seth Barrish (apparently a renowned acting coach and theatre director) make their feature directing debuts from the script they wrote with Ira Glass (creator of the long-lived radio and short-lived TV serieses of This American Life) and Joe Birbiglia, Mike's brother. Mike began talking about his sleep disorder in an award-winning off-Broadway one-man show in 2008, recorded an excerpt as a "chapter" of This American Life, which brought Glass in as producer of this movie, and turned it into a best-selling book, Sleepwalk with Me & Other Painfully True Stories (I'm not totally certain of the chronology of these events). You can hear the TAL chapter from this link, but be forewarned that the attached movie trailer contains spoilers and I imagine the chapter will, too.
Lauren Ambrose (covered in Wanderlust) co-stars as Matt's lovely, understanding, but perplexed girlfriend and gets to sing (beautifully!) late in the movie, accompanied by Loudon Wainwright III on ukulele (I had no idea she is a classically trained singer, has her own band, and will star as Fanny Brice in a Funny Girl revival on Broadway). James Rebhorn (a popular character actor, he never stars but always makes an impression--here's his filmography) and Carol Kane (so many to chose--my favorites include Hester Street (1975) for which she was Oscar-nominated but lost to Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Annie Hall (1977), 16 episodes of Taxi which earned her two Emmy Awards, The Princess Bride (1987), Scrooged (1988), My Blue Heaven (1990), and, of course, her first role, in the final sequence of Carnal Knowledge (1971) as Art Garfunkel's young hippie girlfriend) play his parents, loving but annoying and, therefore, a source of comedy. Supporting strength also comes from Alex Karpovsky (Ray on the series Girls), Kristen Schaal (Liz Lemon's nemesis Hazel on 30 Rock, Dinner for Schmucks, more), comedian Marc Maron, and an actual sleep disorder doctor named William Dement. This is not Birbiglia's first time onscreen, having acted in Cedar Rapids where I didn't notice him, Your Sister's Sister where I did, and one episode (so far) of Girls, among a few. He's now working on the screenplay based on his next one-man show, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend.
I looked for clips of the music by Andrew Hollander but googling sleepwalk with me soundtrack got clips from Birbiglia's one-man show. However one song from this movie and plenty of other work from Hollander is available on his website.
This indie movie is doing well and is moving around the country (here's a schedule) which is why I'm once again going out of order from my ever-growing list of movies yet unwritten. Do go see it and watch for Ira Glass' cameo as the wedding photographer.
Lauren Ambrose (covered in Wanderlust) co-stars as Matt's lovely, understanding, but perplexed girlfriend and gets to sing (beautifully!) late in the movie, accompanied by Loudon Wainwright III on ukulele (I had no idea she is a classically trained singer, has her own band, and will star as Fanny Brice in a Funny Girl revival on Broadway). James Rebhorn (a popular character actor, he never stars but always makes an impression--here's his filmography) and Carol Kane (so many to chose--my favorites include Hester Street (1975) for which she was Oscar-nominated but lost to Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Annie Hall (1977), 16 episodes of Taxi which earned her two Emmy Awards, The Princess Bride (1987), Scrooged (1988), My Blue Heaven (1990), and, of course, her first role, in the final sequence of Carnal Knowledge (1971) as Art Garfunkel's young hippie girlfriend) play his parents, loving but annoying and, therefore, a source of comedy. Supporting strength also comes from Alex Karpovsky (Ray on the series Girls), Kristen Schaal (Liz Lemon's nemesis Hazel on 30 Rock, Dinner for Schmucks, more), comedian Marc Maron, and an actual sleep disorder doctor named William Dement. This is not Birbiglia's first time onscreen, having acted in Cedar Rapids where I didn't notice him, Your Sister's Sister where I did, and one episode (so far) of Girls, among a few. He's now working on the screenplay based on his next one-man show, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend.
I looked for clips of the music by Andrew Hollander but googling sleepwalk with me soundtrack got clips from Birbiglia's one-man show. However one song from this movie and plenty of other work from Hollander is available on his website.
This indie movie is doing well and is moving around the country (here's a schedule) which is why I'm once again going out of order from my ever-growing list of movies yet unwritten. Do go see it and watch for Ira Glass' cameo as the wedding photographer.
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