We enjoyed this fluffy French meringue about a naïve 1950s secretary whose boss enters her in a speed typing competition for its humor, set dressing, and style. Déborah François (mother of The Child (2005)) is adorable and Romain Duris (last blogged in Heartbreaker) ably plays the boss. One could imagine their parts played by Doris Day and Cary Grant. Supporting help comes from Bérénice Bejo (romantic lead in The Artist) as a friend and noted French actress Miou-Miou (Jonah who will be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976) and the classic lesbian drama Entre Nous (1983), among her 89 credits) as Duris' mother.
Director Régis Roinsard and his co-writers Daniel Presley and Romain Compingt make their feature debuts. Roinsard's nomination for a César (French Oscar) for Best First Film should help him make a deal for another.
Apparently there have been speed typing competitions for years but we hadn't heard of them. As a piano student I seldom used the correct fingering out of laziness and avoided typing class in school in the 1960s so as to assure never taking a secretarial job. Then when I had one, briefly, I was a mess. Now I'm up to four fingers and one thumb on computer keyboards, fewer on mobile devices.
The rounded typewriters in the movie are things of beauty, as are the cars--Jack and I do enjoy technology from days gone by.
The music, by Robin Coudert and Emmanuel D'Orlando, is sweet Henry Mancini-style, well-suited to the period. You can listen to clips on the British amazon site, where Coudert's name is shortened to simply Rob. My favorite track, linked here in its entirety, is La machine à écrire by Gilbert Becaud, which is, in the movie, a big production number. It now supersedes Briony by Dario Marianelli from the movie Atonement and this one as the best typing song.
Sorry I didn't write about this when it played locally but we saw it on its last day almost two weeks ago. The DVD release date hasn't yet been announced but you can stream it on netflix right now. Rottentomatoes critics average 73% to audiences' 71 but we liked it. Note for parents: there is one sex scene with nudity (can't really imagine Day and Grant doing that, can we?).
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Don Jon (2013)
This story of a young pornography-addicted man trying to have a relationship with a live woman is a hoot. The feature directing and writing debut of buffed-up star Joseph Gordon-Levitt (last blogged in Premium Rush), it has plenty of laughs, plenty of stars, and a good story with a beginning, middle, and end. Gordon-Levitt wrote the part of the love interest for Scarlett Johansson (most recently in Hitchcock) and was relieved she was able to take it, and take it she does, with a hilarious, gum-chewing New Jersey accent. Gordon-Levitt's Italian-American parents are played to perfection by Tony Danza (best known for his many TV roles starting with Taxi (1978-1983), he played the title role in a little Los Angeles stage production of Fiorello--I saw it and he can sing!) and Glenne Headly (profiled in The Joneses). Supporting strength comes from Julianne Moore (last in What Maisie Knew), a gang of guy friends, a stream of gorgeous women, and cameos by Brie Larson (last in The Spectacular Now) as Jon's sister and by Anne Hathaway and Channing Tatum (I could tell you what they do but that's not how I roll).
You can bet that I, a 60-something female, am not the target demographic for this movie, but I loved it, as did my friends (Jack was unable to meet us Friday so I can't tell you his opinion--I've urged him to see it!).
Nathan Johnson (most recently scored Looper) provides his usual interesting music (clips on amazon), along with a long list of songs.
Critics are averaging a solid 82% to audiences' 70 on rottentomatoes, and this was 9th at the box office last weekend in its third week of release. You don't need a big screen (expected DVD release in January) to enjoy the good, dirty fun.
You can bet that I, a 60-something female, am not the target demographic for this movie, but I loved it, as did my friends (Jack was unable to meet us Friday so I can't tell you his opinion--I've urged him to see it!).
Nathan Johnson (most recently scored Looper) provides his usual interesting music (clips on amazon), along with a long list of songs.
Critics are averaging a solid 82% to audiences' 70 on rottentomatoes, and this was 9th at the box office last weekend in its third week of release. You don't need a big screen (expected DVD release in January) to enjoy the good, dirty fun.
Gravity (2013)
A special effects tour de force, this movie about two astronauts drifting in space after a collision would be better, in my opinion, with more story, but that's not stopping most people from loving it. George Clooney (last blogged in The Descendants) apparently helped with script and plays one of the astronauts but it's Sandra Bullock's (most recently in The Heat) show all around. Some of the time she's outfitted in spacesuits and some of the time she's in fetching underwear showing off hard work with a trainer on her glutes. The views of earth, even better than in Elysium, are quite spectacular.
Director/co-writer Alfonso Cuarón (his adaptation of A Little Princess (1995) was good, of Great Expectations (1998) less so, of Children of Men (2006) brilliant, and Y Tu Mamá También (2001), co-written with his brother Carlos, equally wonderful--Alfonso was Oscar-nominated for co-writing the latter two) directed the actors with their faces in lit boxes, had them move around to their marks, and then filled in the rest with special effects. The complexity of the project (of which the last tidbit is just a small part) made this a many-years-long production, with some of those years in zero financing, kinda like zero gravity. Carlos Cuarón (Rudo y Cursi) co-wrote this one with his brother as well.
We knew it would be scary, having seen the trailer many times. Jack agreed it was scary, but not as scary as Toddlers & Tiaras.
This is one picture where you might want to spring for the premium screen--we saw it last week in 3D IMAX. Those prone to motion picture motion sickness (I've made a the running list of MPMS movies) should sit at the back, though. And be prepared to put your fingers in your ears at the beginning and end. As I write, I'm listening to the soundtrack on youtube. Start with number 1, about which one poster commented it's "SO LOUD...then it just goes silent." That person thought it was a good thing. Jack and I felt assaulted by the volume. So be prepared. I'm glad that now I have my computer's volume control available because I'm quite enjoying the sounds by Steven Price, in his third feature film composing gig. The few additional songs are listed on imdb.
There's been a lot of Oscar buzz floating around Gravity so you should probably see it on as big a screen as you can while it's still playing at a theatre near you. That said, with rottentomatoes critics weighing in at 97% and audiences at 89, this is #1 at the box office in its second week, so see your indie films first and get to this before the end of the month.
Director/co-writer Alfonso Cuarón (his adaptation of A Little Princess (1995) was good, of Great Expectations (1998) less so, of Children of Men (2006) brilliant, and Y Tu Mamá También (2001), co-written with his brother Carlos, equally wonderful--Alfonso was Oscar-nominated for co-writing the latter two) directed the actors with their faces in lit boxes, had them move around to their marks, and then filled in the rest with special effects. The complexity of the project (of which the last tidbit is just a small part) made this a many-years-long production, with some of those years in zero financing, kinda like zero gravity. Carlos Cuarón (Rudo y Cursi) co-wrote this one with his brother as well.
We knew it would be scary, having seen the trailer many times. Jack agreed it was scary, but not as scary as Toddlers & Tiaras.
This is one picture where you might want to spring for the premium screen--we saw it last week in 3D IMAX. Those prone to motion picture motion sickness (I've made a the running list of MPMS movies) should sit at the back, though. And be prepared to put your fingers in your ears at the beginning and end. As I write, I'm listening to the soundtrack on youtube. Start with number 1, about which one poster commented it's "SO LOUD...then it just goes silent." That person thought it was a good thing. Jack and I felt assaulted by the volume. So be prepared. I'm glad that now I have my computer's volume control available because I'm quite enjoying the sounds by Steven Price, in his third feature film composing gig. The few additional songs are listed on imdb.
There's been a lot of Oscar buzz floating around Gravity so you should probably see it on as big a screen as you can while it's still playing at a theatre near you. That said, with rottentomatoes critics weighing in at 97% and audiences at 89, this is #1 at the box office in its second week, so see your indie films first and get to this before the end of the month.
Hannah Arendt (2012)
This bio-pic about the German writer who covered the trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann is very good, featuring a powerful and award-winning performance by Barbara Sukowa in the title role. I keep humming "don't know much about history..." because this taught me a few things. Sukowa isn't familiar to me even though she was in at least two movies I've seen, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001) and Romance & Cigarettes. Janet McTeer (last blogged in Albert Nobbs) lends some much-needed comic relief as author Mary McCarthy, Arendt's closest American friend. Jack and I knew the face of the actor playing New Yorker editor William Shawn, Nicholas Woodeson, but didn't know why. Research shows he was in Topsy-Turvy (1999), Hysteria, Skyfall, and more. I was touched by the portrayal of the sweet relationship Arendt had with her husband Heinrich Blücher (that made her Frau Blücher--ha!).
Director/co-writer Margarethe von Trotta has directed 14 features since 1975 but I missed them all. I could tell by the pacing, though, that she's a seasoned professional, and this project has added to her list of awards and nominations. Von Trotta shared writing duties with Pam Katz. I liked the music by André Mergenthaler but can't find any tracks online to share.
Arendt breaks my Rule #13, convincingly chain smoking and fully extinguishing her cigarette in one scene. It's a wonder the real Arendt made it to age 69 if she smoked as much as Sukowa does in the movie.
The movie is in English, German, and Hebrew (all translated in subtitles, except the word meschugge, which means crazy in Yiddish). Critics are averaging 88% and audiences 76 on rottentomatoes. Check it out at your local independent theatre.
Director/co-writer Margarethe von Trotta has directed 14 features since 1975 but I missed them all. I could tell by the pacing, though, that she's a seasoned professional, and this project has added to her list of awards and nominations. Von Trotta shared writing duties with Pam Katz. I liked the music by André Mergenthaler but can't find any tracks online to share.
Arendt breaks my Rule #13, convincingly chain smoking and fully extinguishing her cigarette in one scene. It's a wonder the real Arendt made it to age 69 if she smoked as much as Sukowa does in the movie.
The movie is in English, German, and Hebrew (all translated in subtitles, except the word meschugge, which means crazy in Yiddish). Critics are averaging 88% and audiences 76 on rottentomatoes. Check it out at your local independent theatre.
Monday, October 7, 2013
The Family (2013)
We laughed watching this farce about a Brooklyn Mafia family acting up in witness protection in a French village, but I started checking my watch in the third act. I was more disappointed than Jack at the squandering of Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tommy Lee Jones by director/co-writer Luc Besson (Léon: The Professional (AKA The Professional - 1994) (it was then-13 year old Natalie Portman's feature debut) and The Fifth Element (1997) were spectacular action pictures--I've seen no others, not La Femme Nikita (1990) nor the two Taken movies (2008 and 2012), which he co-wrote).
My favorite moment in the trailer is when Pfeiffer (last blogged in People Like Us) actually flinches at the explosion behind her, breaking my newest rule. But for most of the movie, she and De Niro (most recently in The Silver Linings Playbook) pretty much phone in impressions of their other mob roles. Jones (last in Lincoln) does the same as the patient CIA operative pleading with them not to blow their cover. The teenage kids, played by Dianna Agron (Glee, Burlesque) and John D'Leo (he was in The Wrestler and Wanderlust, among others, in parts too small to mention) have some good bits with rage and deviousness, respectively. You might recognize some of the actors playing their fellow mob men.
Besson and Michael Caleo (he wrote one other script which I didn't see) based their screenplay on the novel Malavita (often translated as Badfellas) by Tonino Benacquista, himself a scriptwriter (co-wrote Read My Lips (Sure mes lèvres - 2001), a wonderful thriller about a deaf woman pulled into crime). Martin Scorsese is one of the producers of The Family and, at one point, De Niro and Jones watch Goodfellas (1990).
The soundtrack includes 20 songs and an original score by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine, clips of which can be previewed on the album's amazon page. The brothers' website has longer clips, more interesting than the clips on amazon.
My favorite moment in the trailer is when Pfeiffer (last blogged in People Like Us) actually flinches at the explosion behind her, breaking my newest rule. But for most of the movie, she and De Niro (most recently in The Silver Linings Playbook) pretty much phone in impressions of their other mob roles. Jones (last in Lincoln) does the same as the patient CIA operative pleading with them not to blow their cover. The teenage kids, played by Dianna Agron (Glee, Burlesque) and John D'Leo (he was in The Wrestler and Wanderlust, among others, in parts too small to mention) have some good bits with rage and deviousness, respectively. You might recognize some of the actors playing their fellow mob men.
Besson and Michael Caleo (he wrote one other script which I didn't see) based their screenplay on the novel Malavita (often translated as Badfellas) by Tonino Benacquista, himself a scriptwriter (co-wrote Read My Lips (Sure mes lèvres - 2001), a wonderful thriller about a deaf woman pulled into crime). Martin Scorsese is one of the producers of The Family and, at one point, De Niro and Jones watch Goodfellas (1990).
The soundtrack includes 20 songs and an original score by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine, clips of which can be previewed on the album's amazon page. The brothers' website has longer clips, more interesting than the clips on amazon.
We saw this its opening weekend, in mid-September, and it's now thirteenth at the box office, despite averaging 33% critics and 47 audiences on rottentomatoes. I suggest waiting for it to air on free cable.
Rule #15 for movies and television
When a villain is responsible for an explosion, the camera shows him/her in the foreground walking toward the camera with the explosion in the background, and the villain seldom reacts to the loud noise. See the complete list of rules here.
In a World... (2013)
Outstanding! Lead actress Lake Bell makes her feature directing and writing debut with this hilarious yet thoughtful comedy about a woman trying to break into the boys' club of movie trailer voiceovers. I first noticed Bell in her recurring role as Sally in four episodes of The Practice, and 14 of its spin-off Boston Legal. Then I liked her as the bitchy trophy wife in It's Complicated. The script is rich with human interest, relationships, and jokes (she won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance for it), the directing is fluid, and her acting, as Carol, is just right. Michaela Watkins (last blogged in Wanderlust, she had a small part in Enough Said, which I failed to mention, and is in the new series Trophy Wife, which I haven't decided if I like yet and neither does my DVR, which has been erasing shows I want to save. Grrrr) departs from her usual one-note ditzes as Carol's sister Dani. Even more surprising is Rob Corddry (most recently in The Way Way Back) as Dani's husband Moe, in a fully-developed role. Fred Melamed (last in A Serious Man) is funny as Carol and Dani's arrogant father Sam, Demetri Martin (Contagion) is sweet as recording engineer Louis who has a crush on Carol, Ken Marino (was in and co-wrote Wanderlust) is equally funny and arrogant as voice-over artist Gustav, and Tig Notaro (she's a comedian and This American Life contributor--here is her page on the TAL site) and Nick Offerman (We're the Millers) are good as other studio employees.
The real "In a World..." man, Don LaFontaine, who died in 2008, is shown in archive footage over, for a change, the opening credits. You may enjoy a funny bit he did on the Jay Leno show. Look for cameos from Eva Longoria, Geena Davis, and Cameron Diaz (uncredited near the end). And apparently Bell does the voice of Sam's agent. At under a million dollars, this is a "low budget" movie that was completed in 20 days.
Oh, almost forgot the negative reference to Ohio: Rule #8.
There are lots of songs and a nice soundtrack by Ryan Miller (Safety Not Guaranteed), 18 minutes of which are available for your listening pleasure on youtube.
Critics average 91% and audiences 84 on rottentomatoes. We loved this today. You will, too.
The real "In a World..." man, Don LaFontaine, who died in 2008, is shown in archive footage over, for a change, the opening credits. You may enjoy a funny bit he did on the Jay Leno show. Look for cameos from Eva Longoria, Geena Davis, and Cameron Diaz (uncredited near the end). And apparently Bell does the voice of Sam's agent. At under a million dollars, this is a "low budget" movie that was completed in 20 days.
Oh, almost forgot the negative reference to Ohio: Rule #8.
There are lots of songs and a nice soundtrack by Ryan Miller (Safety Not Guaranteed), 18 minutes of which are available for your listening pleasure on youtube.
Critics average 91% and audiences 84 on rottentomatoes. We loved this today. You will, too.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Enough Said (2013)
Jack and I loved this comedy about dating, divorce, and communication. It's not a laugh riot but pure entertainment for those of us north of the 18-35 demographic. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is marvelous as the insecure divorcée Eva who has great chemistry with Albert, played by James Gandolfini in his penultimate role before he died at 51 a few months ago (he was last blogged in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and his final movie is expected to be released next year). Louis-Dreyfus started on Saturday Night Live (1982-85), made her film debut in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), worked again with Woody Allen in Deconstructing Harry (1997) as Judy Davis' alter-ego while she racked up six Emmy nominations and one win for 172 episodes of Seinfeld (1990-98) plus four SAG award wins and more, then her 88 episodes of The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006-10) earned her four Emmy nominations and one win, and she just won her second Emmy for the lead actress in the HBO series Veep. Catherine Keener (recently in A Late Quartet), who is a regular for this director (more on that in a moment), is the perfect choice as the poet Marianne who turns out to be Albert's prickly ex-wife. Top-notch support comes from Toni Collette (last in The Way Way Back) as Eva's best friend Sarah and Ben Falcone (he's worked a fair amount but so far is best known for his small role in Bridesmaids and being Melissa McCarthy's real-life husband) as Sarah's husband, among others.
Director/writer Nicole Holofcener (won the Robert Altman Award for an ensemble picture at the Independent Spirit Awards for Please Give, among other wins) just keeps getting better at making movies about complicated relationships between modern, grown-up, if not always mature, urban folks.
Kudos to costume designer Leah Katznelson for the fabulous wardrobe, including funky masseuse outfits worn by the petite Louis-Dreyfus. Oh, and an inside joke for Seinfeld junkies: the actor who plays Eva's ex-husband, Toby Huss, dated Louis-Dreyfus' character Elaine in one 1997 episode of Seinfeld.
Twelve songs are listed on imdb and the composer is Marcelo Zarvos (Friends with Kids). You can preview clips from his dreamy score on iTunes. I would have considered buying it, but its 35 minutes are divided into 29 tracks, which isn't so dreamy.
You don't need to take my word(s) for it--critics have averaged 95% and audiences 82 on rottentomatoes. Be sure to see it, even though one friend said it made him want to never have a relationship again!
Director/writer Nicole Holofcener (won the Robert Altman Award for an ensemble picture at the Independent Spirit Awards for Please Give, among other wins) just keeps getting better at making movies about complicated relationships between modern, grown-up, if not always mature, urban folks.
Kudos to costume designer Leah Katznelson for the fabulous wardrobe, including funky masseuse outfits worn by the petite Louis-Dreyfus. Oh, and an inside joke for Seinfeld junkies: the actor who plays Eva's ex-husband, Toby Huss, dated Louis-Dreyfus' character Elaine in one 1997 episode of Seinfeld.
Twelve songs are listed on imdb and the composer is Marcelo Zarvos (Friends with Kids). You can preview clips from his dreamy score on iTunes. I would have considered buying it, but its 35 minutes are divided into 29 tracks, which isn't so dreamy.
You don't need to take my word(s) for it--critics have averaged 95% and audiences 82 on rottentomatoes. Be sure to see it, even though one friend said it made him want to never have a relationship again!
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