Jack and I liked a lot this story of an Instagram-obsessed stalker who, surprise, moves west to insinuate herself into a social media star's life. Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen are brilliant as Ingrid and her glossy prey Taylor and were last blogged for The Little Hours and I Saw the Light, respectively. O'Shea Jackson Jr. (made his film debut playing his father Ice Cube in Straight Outta Compton) is also great as Ingrid's neighbor Dan. Pom Klementieff (in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 she played Mantis with antennae on her forehead) makes a cameo as actress Harley Chung towards the end.
Director/co-writer Matt Spicer and co-writer David Branson Smith won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance despite its being the first feature for both men. They were inspired by the movies Single White Female (1992) (it's mentioned in the script) and The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) in which deranged people change themselves to be like their idols. For an independent movie, this has high production values.
The composers are Jonathan Sadoff (new to these pages but scored Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The Meddler, and ten episodes of Impastor) and Nick Thorburn (new to me). Trivia: the character Ingrid's last name is Thorburn. I don't remember the score--this is the last of four movies we saw in four days Labor Day weekend while I was coming down with a cold--but I found this list of songs with play buttons.
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes are averaging 85% and its audiences 79. There are only a few screenings left in these parts but its digital release is estimated for November 2017. You should see it one way or another.
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Okja (2017)
This terrific tale of a Korean girl protecting her hippo-size pet pig from the corporation that bred it was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and went straight to Netflix, its producer. An Seo Hyun (also known as Seo-Hyn Ahn and Seo-hyeon Ahn) is 13 and wonderful as Mija (not her first gig but new to me). Among the large cast we have Tilda Swinton (last blogged for Doctor Strange), Paul Dano (most recently in Youth), Jake Gyllenhaal (last blogged for White House Down, though it was three years before Nocturnal Animals) in a comic/manic role, and Giancarlo Esposito (has been working on screens since age 8 and some of my favorites of his work are Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Night on Earth (1991), 22 episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street (1998-99), Ali (2001) as Cassius Clay Sr., Sherrybaby (2006), 26 episodes of Breaking Bad (2009-11), Rabbit Hole, the voice of Akela in The Jungle Book, Money Monster, nine episodes of Better Call Saul (2017), and narrator in ten of Dear White People, a Netflix series streaming now) the low-key opposite.
Director/co-writer Bong Joon-Ho (has returned to the traditional Korean practice of placing his surname first for this project, unlike in his last one Snowpiercer) and co-writer Jon Ronson (wrote the "inspiration" novel for The Men Who Stare at Goats and makes his feature screenwriting debut here) bring us an indictment of corporate greed and narcissism wrapped in this often funny story that's rated TV-MA (13+) for violence against animals, one riot, and language.
The beautiful photography, especially in the Korean mountains, is thanks to cinematographer Darius Khondji (last shot Irrational Man), masterfully combined with computer graphics of the huge animal who has many dog-like characteristics.
Music credits go to Jaeil Jung and Jemma Burns, both in their feature debuts as composers, though Burns has had dozens of music supervisor jobs. This video, in two parts, shows Jung performing over 20 minutes of the Okja soundtrack.
The movie is in English and Korean with subtitles and closed captions in English are available for all dialogue and do not repeat or block the subtitles. There's one instance of intentional mistranslation, which would be missed by anyone not fluent in both English and Korean, covered in goofs.
Now that Netflix allows members to temporarily download content, I had originally planned to watch this on a cross-country flight, but decided in the first few minutes that I'd want to savor its images and music (I finished the season of House of Cards on the plane instead). So Jack and I enjoyed it in our home theatre last weekend.
It's doing well on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics averaging 85% and audiences at 83. Stick around or fast forward through the credits because there's an entire scene at the end.
Director/co-writer Bong Joon-Ho (has returned to the traditional Korean practice of placing his surname first for this project, unlike in his last one Snowpiercer) and co-writer Jon Ronson (wrote the "inspiration" novel for The Men Who Stare at Goats and makes his feature screenwriting debut here) bring us an indictment of corporate greed and narcissism wrapped in this often funny story that's rated TV-MA (13+) for violence against animals, one riot, and language.
The beautiful photography, especially in the Korean mountains, is thanks to cinematographer Darius Khondji (last shot Irrational Man), masterfully combined with computer graphics of the huge animal who has many dog-like characteristics.
Music credits go to Jaeil Jung and Jemma Burns, both in their feature debuts as composers, though Burns has had dozens of music supervisor jobs. This video, in two parts, shows Jung performing over 20 minutes of the Okja soundtrack.
The movie is in English and Korean with subtitles and closed captions in English are available for all dialogue and do not repeat or block the subtitles. There's one instance of intentional mistranslation, which would be missed by anyone not fluent in both English and Korean, covered in goofs.
Now that Netflix allows members to temporarily download content, I had originally planned to watch this on a cross-country flight, but decided in the first few minutes that I'd want to savor its images and music (I finished the season of House of Cards on the plane instead). So Jack and I enjoyed it in our home theatre last weekend.
It's doing well on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics averaging 85% and audiences at 83. Stick around or fast forward through the credits because there's an entire scene at the end.
Logan Lucky (2017)
Jack and I thoroughly enjoyed this action comedy about West Virginians plotting to rob an actual NASCAR race in Charlotte, North Carolina. Adam Driver, Channing Tatum, and Riley Keough play the Logan siblings in order from least to most wily. Driver was last blogged for Paterson; Tatum was most recently in these pages for my catch-up post on White House Down which was released years before Hail, Caesar!; and Keough, Elvis's granddaughter, makes here an impressive follow-up to American Honey. Daniel Craig (last blogged for Spectre) is terrific as accomplice Joe Bang with a bleach blond flat-top and Appalachian accent--his on-screen credit is prefaced with "and introducing."
Plenty of supporting actors add to the mix, including Katie Holmes (some of my faves are her first movie The Ice Storm (1997), Wonder Boys (2000), Phone Booth (2002), Pieces of April (2003), Batman Begins (2005), Thank You for Smoking (2005), and Woman in Gold) as Tatum's ex-wife; Farrah Mackenzie as their daughter, with big eyes like Holmes's; Hilary Swank (last in The Homesman) as a humorless FBI agent, and a trio of Hollywood royalty: Jack Quaid (son of Dennis & Meg Ryan) and Brian Gleeson (brother of Domhnall and son of Brendan) (both young men are new to me) play Fish and Sam Bang, also accomplices, and Katherine Waterston (she's the daughter of Sam and was most recently in Steve Jobs) plays Sylvia, who has a terrible bowl haircut. I'd like to forget Seth MacFarlane (last blogged for A Million Ways to Die in the West) as an arrogant Englishman in a bad wig.
Director Steven Soderbergh supposedly retired from Hollywood after Side Effects in 2013 (after that he helmed the series The Knick and the TV movie Behind the Candelabra) so this is a comeback of sorts, independently financed (more on that). He often uses pseudonyms when he edits (Mary Ann Bernard) and shoots (Peter Andrews) (the movie was shot during the actual Coca-Cola 600 race) but this time he takes credit for those jobs, according to imdb. However, some people believe that screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (who has no other credits) may be he. Others think it's his wife Jules Asner (ex-daughter-in-law of Ed). No one is quite sure who wrote this movie, though Soderbergh insists that Rebecca Blunt is a real first-time screenwriter. Here's an article that says it's Asner.
David Holmes (scored '71) is credited with the soundtrack but mostly we noticed the wonderful songs, 24 of which are listed here with play buttons. The official soundtrack has 16 tracks. The music is but one similarity to O Brother Where Art Thou (2000).
Rotten Tomatoes' critics are still applauding this with an average of 92%. Their audiences are cooler with 76. We had a great time last weekend and stayed, as usual, until the end of the credits to be rewarded with a small written bonus.
Plenty of supporting actors add to the mix, including Katie Holmes (some of my faves are her first movie The Ice Storm (1997), Wonder Boys (2000), Phone Booth (2002), Pieces of April (2003), Batman Begins (2005), Thank You for Smoking (2005), and Woman in Gold) as Tatum's ex-wife; Farrah Mackenzie as their daughter, with big eyes like Holmes's; Hilary Swank (last in The Homesman) as a humorless FBI agent, and a trio of Hollywood royalty: Jack Quaid (son of Dennis & Meg Ryan) and Brian Gleeson (brother of Domhnall and son of Brendan) (both young men are new to me) play Fish and Sam Bang, also accomplices, and Katherine Waterston (she's the daughter of Sam and was most recently in Steve Jobs) plays Sylvia, who has a terrible bowl haircut. I'd like to forget Seth MacFarlane (last blogged for A Million Ways to Die in the West) as an arrogant Englishman in a bad wig.
Director Steven Soderbergh supposedly retired from Hollywood after Side Effects in 2013 (after that he helmed the series The Knick and the TV movie Behind the Candelabra) so this is a comeback of sorts, independently financed (more on that). He often uses pseudonyms when he edits (Mary Ann Bernard) and shoots (Peter Andrews) (the movie was shot during the actual Coca-Cola 600 race) but this time he takes credit for those jobs, according to imdb. However, some people believe that screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (who has no other credits) may be he. Others think it's his wife Jules Asner (ex-daughter-in-law of Ed). No one is quite sure who wrote this movie, though Soderbergh insists that Rebecca Blunt is a real first-time screenwriter. Here's an article that says it's Asner.
David Holmes (scored '71) is credited with the soundtrack but mostly we noticed the wonderful songs, 24 of which are listed here with play buttons. The official soundtrack has 16 tracks. The music is but one similarity to O Brother Where Art Thou (2000).
Thursday, September 7, 2017
The Trip to Spain (2017)
Ann and I loved this third installment of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon road-tripping, comedic riffing, and gourmet eating, following 2014's The Trip to Italy and 2010's The Trip (northern England). All three movies were directed by Michael Winterbottom, all three are adapted or edited from (I'm not quite sure which) six-episode BBC serieses of the same names also directed by Winterbottom, and all three men were last blogged for The Trip to Italy.
Once again a lot of the dialogue in this mock-umentary is improvised, including their impressions of Michael Caine, Mick Jaggar, and various James Bondses. There's some drama, but Ann, who watched the other two movies more recently than I, reminded me that particularly Coogan's version of himself had a fair amount of drama in the previous installments. Some viewers have complained about the ending, but you'll have to let me know that you've seen it before I discuss it with you.
It did seem to both of us (Jack was busy last Sunday) that there was less food this time around. Still, it's going on my list of Random food movies.
Cinematographer James Clarke steps in for his feature debut after one documentary also helmed by Winterbottom and one TV episode, and the photography is still magnificent.
The song list isn't available but I found this spotify playlist from all three movies for your and my entertainment.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics are averaging 83% and its audiences 72. See it on the big screen if you can.
Once again a lot of the dialogue in this mock-umentary is improvised, including their impressions of Michael Caine, Mick Jaggar, and various James Bondses. There's some drama, but Ann, who watched the other two movies more recently than I, reminded me that particularly Coogan's version of himself had a fair amount of drama in the previous installments. Some viewers have complained about the ending, but you'll have to let me know that you've seen it before I discuss it with you.
It did seem to both of us (Jack was busy last Sunday) that there was less food this time around. Still, it's going on my list of Random food movies.
Cinematographer James Clarke steps in for his feature debut after one documentary also helmed by Winterbottom and one TV episode, and the photography is still magnificent.
The song list isn't available but I found this spotify playlist from all three movies for your and my entertainment.
Rotten Tomatoes' critics are averaging 83% and its audiences 72. See it on the big screen if you can.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Brigsby Bear (2017)
Jack and I liked a lot this story of James, a 20-something man living with his parents in a bunker and obsessed with a children's TV show starring a person in a cartoonish bear suit. This is a comedy, though there is a hint of drama, as James leaves the bunker and the plot thickens.
Star and co-writer Kyle Mooney (best known for acting in 84 episodes of Saturday Night Live) makes his feature writing debut, sharing screenplay credit with Kevin Costello in his debut, period, with a script owing more to The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt than Room, with a few hints of Blast from the Past (1999).
Also featured are Mark Hamill (after I mentioned him in Kingsmen: The Secret Service he came back as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Jane Adams (last blogged for Restless) as James' parents. Outside the bunker we have Greg Kinnear (after Thin Ice I enjoyed his starring role in the now-cancelled series Rake), Matt Walsh (58 episodes of Veep as bumbling Mike McLintock), Michaela Watkins (since In a World... I've enjoyed her performances in nine episodes of Enlightened, Enough Said, 22 episodes of Trophy Wife, five of Transparent, and 36 of Casual), Ryan Simpkins (a teenage girl, she was in A Single Man and The House, though not mentioned by me in either), Claire Danes (after Temple Grandin she's best known for 74 episodes of Homeland--I really need to catch up on that one). Mooney's SNL colleague Beck Bennett has a small part and his former colleague Andy Samberg (last blogged for Celeste and Jesse Forever) is one of the producers and makes a cameo.
Director Dave McCary has written for 54 SNL episodes and directed nine and here makes his feature directing debut.
David Wingo's (he scored Loving) terrific soundtrack can be streamed in its entirety on spotify.
Pay no attention to the hating critics on Rotten Tomatoes who are averaging only 79%. Heed instead its audiences who come in at 91. We thought it was great. Sadly, it will be gone from this area's big screens tomorrow, but is available for pre-order on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and YouTube. Watch for it.
Star and co-writer Kyle Mooney (best known for acting in 84 episodes of Saturday Night Live) makes his feature writing debut, sharing screenplay credit with Kevin Costello in his debut, period, with a script owing more to The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt than Room, with a few hints of Blast from the Past (1999).
Director Dave McCary has written for 54 SNL episodes and directed nine and here makes his feature directing debut.
David Wingo's (he scored Loving) terrific soundtrack can be streamed in its entirety on spotify.
Pay no attention to the hating critics on Rotten Tomatoes who are averaging only 79%. Heed instead its audiences who come in at 91. We thought it was great. Sadly, it will be gone from this area's big screens tomorrow, but is available for pre-order on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and YouTube. Watch for it.
The Glass Castle (2017)
Jack and I liked this powerful story, based on a memoir, of a straight-laced woman remembering her nomadic childhood with her mostly cheerful alcoholic father, hippie mother, and three siblings. We expect nominations, especially for Woody Harrelson (last blogged for Wilson) as the father Rex. Brie Larson (most recently in these pages for her Oscar-winning performance in Room) is tense as adult Jeannette and Ella Anderson and Chandler Head (coincidentally both were in The Boss though I didn't mention them) are wonderful as young and youngest Jeannette, respectively. Naomi Watts (last in The Book of Henry) is predictably wonderful as Jeannette's mother Rose Mary and Max Greenfield (most recently in Hello, My Name Is Doris) well cast as Jeannette's fiancé David. Special note for the performance of Robin Bartlett (of her dozens of credits the more noteworthy ones include Sophie's Choice (1982) as Lillian Grossman, Lean on Me (1989) as Mrs. Elliott, Postcards from the Edge (1990) as Aretha, 46 episodes of Mad About You as Debbie Buchanan, Dangerous Minds (1995) as Mrs. Carla Nichols, Shutter Island as Bridget Kearns, and Inside Llewyn Davis as Lillian Gorfein) as Rex's terrifying mother Erma in Welch, West Virginia. On a personal note, Bartlett was in my elementary school class in Manhattan but I have never looked her up once I started seeing her in movies. I doubt she would remember me.
There are some thematic similarities to Mosquito Coast (1986) and Captain Fantastic (although both of those were fiction), and, as it happens Charlie Shotwell, who plays young Brian, and Shree Crooks, who plays young Maureen, were both in Captain Fantastic as well.
This is the third feature for director/co-writer Destin Daniel Cretton, who won lots of awards for himself and Larson for his second, Short Term 12 (2013), which I intended to see. Co-writer Andrew Lanham co-wrote another produced screenplay with Cretton but we missed that one, too. Jeannette Walls' 1989 memoir, also titled The Glass Castle, was a New York Times best seller for five years.
Joel P. West's nice soundtrack can be streamed starting with this track and following along with the ones with the same image. I also appreciated Darla Hawn's cover of the Cole Porter tune Don't Fence Me In.
Rotten Tomatoes' numbers are not very good, with critics averaging 49 and audiences a bit better at 78. I wonder if it would have fared better if Larson had cracked a few more smiles. Look at this photo of Walls, a former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, smiling more in one shot than Larson does in the entire movie. We liked it anyway two weeks ago. It's still playing widely in these parts and its DVD release is estimated for November, 2017.
There are some thematic similarities to Mosquito Coast (1986) and Captain Fantastic (although both of those were fiction), and, as it happens Charlie Shotwell, who plays young Brian, and Shree Crooks, who plays young Maureen, were both in Captain Fantastic as well.
This is the third feature for director/co-writer Destin Daniel Cretton, who won lots of awards for himself and Larson for his second, Short Term 12 (2013), which I intended to see. Co-writer Andrew Lanham co-wrote another produced screenplay with Cretton but we missed that one, too. Jeannette Walls' 1989 memoir, also titled The Glass Castle, was a New York Times best seller for five years.
Rotten Tomatoes' numbers are not very good, with critics averaging 49 and audiences a bit better at 78. I wonder if it would have fared better if Larson had cracked a few more smiles. Look at this photo of Walls, a former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, smiling more in one shot than Larson does in the entire movie. We liked it anyway two weeks ago. It's still playing widely in these parts and its DVD release is estimated for November, 2017.
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (2016)
Jack and I loved this documentary streaming on Hulu about the historic band and their too few live appearances. It's well-paced with wonderful stills, cleaned up film/video, remixed music tracks, and interviews with the Fab Four and quite a few others. Director Ron Howard was last blogged for The Dilemma.
We watched it at home two weeks ago. It won the Best Music Film Grammy and is nominated for three Emmys (awards on September 17), among many other wins and nominations. We, and Rotten Tomatoes (averaging 95% critics and 89 audiences), strongly recommend this to all music fans. Our Hulu subscription shows commercials, but there weren't any for the hour and 45 mounts of play time.
We watched it at home two weeks ago. It won the Best Music Film Grammy and is nominated for three Emmys (awards on September 17), among many other wins and nominations. We, and Rotten Tomatoes (averaging 95% critics and 89 audiences), strongly recommend this to all music fans. Our Hulu subscription shows commercials, but there weren't any for the hour and 45 mounts of play time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)