The Skeleton Twins (2014)

We loved this dark comedy about estranged fraternal twins (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig) who have more in common than they realize. It surprised us with its depth. Hader is amazing as gay brother Milo, with body language that is spot on. Wiig is good as always as straight sister Maggie. They were SNL players together and acted together in Adventureland. Hader (nominated for a Gotham Best Actor Award for this role) was last blogged in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby and Wiig was mentioned in How to Train Your Dragon 2 and blogged with a link in Her. Luke Wilson (I liked and liked him in Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), Legally Blonde (2001), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Old School (2003), The Family Stone (2005), and 15 episodes of Enlightened) is playing his usual aw-shucks kind of regular guy but Ty Burrell (most recently the voice of Mr. Peabody in Mr. Peabody & Sherman) is outstanding in a supporting but pivotal role. Joanna Gleeson (I didn't know she's the daughter of Monty Hall! I enjoyed her work in Heartburn (1986), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), If These Walls Could Talk (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), The Wedding Planner (2001), and numerous TV appearances) explains a lot as the twins' mother. We saw it two weeks ago when it was in town for a short run.

Director Craig Johnson has made two other movies, one of which starred Mark Duplass who, with his brother Jay, last produced The Do-Deca-Pentathalon, which is about siblings as well. The Duplass Brothers are among the producers of this one and their twenty fingerprints are all over it. Johnson co-wrote the screenplay with Mark Heyman and it's Heyman's second feature (his first was Black Swan!). At Sundance early this year the script won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. I see more prizes in the future.

A short clip of the nice score by Nathan Larson (most recently scored Don Jon) can be sampled here--it says "soudntrack"--but no further links to the music can be found online. However, the pop songs can mostly be heard on this page. There's a lip-sync scene that is not to be missed.

In fact the whole movie is not to be missed. Rated 87% from critics and 83 from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, it is scheduled to be released on DVD December 15, 2015.

Last Vegas (2013)

I liked this story about Kevin Kline, Robert De Niro, and Morgan Freeman having a bachelor party for their lifelong friend Michael Douglas before he marries a woman less than half his age. Silly fun with the men, plus Mary Steenburgen and more, acting up. I saw it late in 2013 and, in researching something else, just noticed I forgot to write about it. I like an accurate count so here it is.

St. Vincent (2014)

Jack and I loved this (mostly) comedy with Bill Murray as cantankerous Vin who finds redemption babysitting a middle schooler next door to his Brooklyn home. Deserved Oscar buzz for Murray is but one reason you should see this. Melissa McCarthy is terrific playing it straight as the boy's mother, Naomi Watts is hilarious as the pregnant Russian hooker, and now-11-year-old Jaeden Lieberher is adorable as the boy. Murray (last blogged for a small part in The Grand Budapest Hotel, referenced with a link in The Monuments Men) has been showing us for years he's more than a slapstick comedian, and his range in this is way broader than in Lost in Translation (2003) for which he was Oscar nominated. Jack and I agree that this is one of McCarthy's (last in the mediocre Tammy) best roles--we love her slapstick out-of-control characters, but this one is solid. Watts (most recently in The Impossible) almost never does comedy but she's up to the task--there's a sight gag at her place of business that made us laugh out loud. And Chris O'Dowd (most recently in Calvary) has some wonderful scenes (and lines) as a priest/teacher.

Theodore Melfi (commercials, music videos, and one earlier feature unknown to me) directs to his own sparkling script, which does NOT include the line, "Get off my lawn!" Theodore Shapiro (last scored The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) gives us a jaunty soundtrack which can be sampled on soundcloud, but you're more likely to remember the 60s hits such as Somebody to Love, One Toke Over the Line, and Shelter from the Storm (videos available here).

At the age of 63, Jack and I often refer to ourselves as geezers, but we're kind of joking. Rolling Stone referred to Murray's character as an "old coot." The character is 68 (maybe coot-adjacent), Murray is 64. The magazine also adds that Murray's singing along to the Dylan tune over the end credits is worth "double the price of admission," and we concur. 75% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes may be "certified Fresh" but it's a bit tepid--82% from audiences is getting there--for this wonderful movie. See it!

Frozen (2013)

I liked the animated musical of the cursed girl who accidentally freezes her hometown and runs away until her sister sets off to rescue her, featuring the awesome vocal chops of Idina Menzel as the former and Kristen Bell as the latter. It's all quite pleasant and funny in spots. It's based on Hans Christian Andersen's story The Snow Queen, but Disney wisely decided to make the queen likable instead of a villain. Good choice, as it won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars and Golden Globes, among 61 wins and 43 nominations. I recorded it on cable in July and watched it two and a half weeks ago, the day after I broke my foot (among many many more hours of video--feeling pretty low that Sunday). As it happened, I had also just watched several little girls bellowing Let It Go into their parents' (my friends') cameras on Facebook.

As is my wont, I'll give you some of my favorites of Bell (I didn't see any versions of Veronica Mars but I quite liked her in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), its sort-of-sequel Get Him to the Greek (tiny part), another small part in Safety Not Guaranteed, co-starring in her real-life husband Dax Shepard's Hit and Run, three episodes of Parks and Recreation, and 36 of House of Lies--the parental ratings range between Frozen and House of Lies is vast) and Menzel (on Broadway in Wicked (Amy and I were moved to tears by her opening song), on the big screen in Rent (2005) and Enchanted, and on the small screen in Glee). Plenty of other talents provide voices but I'll let it go this time.

Oh, and this is where I get to publish my theory about John Travolta's mangling of Menzel's name at the Oscars in February. We've since learned that he's dyslexic. I maintain he didn't say Adele Dazeem, he actually said Adele Nazeem--he got all the consonants, but in the wrong order.

Nobody needs my advice on this movie--many parents have watched it multiple times and some have been happy to do so.

Tracks (2013)

Jack and I loved this, "based on the remarkable true, story" of Robyn Davidson who walked 1700 miles across Australia over about nine months in 1977, with her dog Diggity and some camels. Mia Wasikowska's intensity is just right as anti-social Robyn. Don't be misled by the poster of her (last blogged in Only Lovers Left Alive) with Adam Driver (most recently in This Is Where I Leave You), this isn't a romance--Robyn has trouble letting people in. The real Robyn turned 27 in 1977 and has led a remarkable life. Apparently this story has been in development longer than Wasikowska, now 25, has been alive. Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman were each once considered for the lead. I don't want to discount Driver's performance--he's good as usual, this time as photographer Rick who does all he can to help Robyn in her solo quest. It's fun to see photos of the real Robyn and Rick, who happen to closely resemble the actors, at the end credits.

Directed with an even hand by John Curran (covered in Stone) and magnificently shot by Mandy Walker (Lantana (2001), Shattered Glass (2003), Australia), this movie has a few nominations and I imagine more will follow. The screenplay was adapted from Davidson's memoir of the same name by Marion Nelson in her debut. Plenty of girl power both on the screen and off.

The dreamy music by Garth Stevenson can be sampled on youtube or purchased at the retailer of your choice. And we enjoyed the judicious use of Hoagy Carmichael singing his hit song Stardust. Rotten Tomatoes' critics average 81% and audiences 76. Go see it on the big screen.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)

Jack and I didn't love this contemporary tale of lost love following a tragedy (not revealed until about a half hour in). Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy are great actors, but the movie made us work a bit harder than we wanted. See the end of the title ": Them"? Originally there were two features, ": Her" and ": Him", at 90 and 100 minutes respectively, which both premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2013, apparently telling the same story from the perspective of each partner. This one is those two edited together, at 123 minutes, premiering at Cannes in May of 2014 and released in the US in September. It's noteworthy to me that on the movie's official website the two previous chapters are discussed but ": Them" has been removed from the title. I think it's fair to tell you that Chastain's character is named Eleanor Rigby, and in the movie's production notes it says that her name's purpose is to underscore the generation gap between boomers (her parents) and their kids.

Chastain (last blogged in Zero Dark Thirty) covers all the bases, going from radiant to depressed to resolute in the blink of an eye and McAvoy (most recently in X-Men: Days of Future Past) shows no less range. Plenty of talent supports, including William Hurt (I loved his Oscar-winning Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), his nominated Children of a Lesser God (1986), Broadcast News (1987), and A History of Violence (2005), as well as his work in Altered States (1980), Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Woody Allen's Alice (1980), Smoke (1995), Michael (1996), The King (2005), Mr. Brooks (2007), Into the Wild (2007), Vantage Point (2008), and The Incredible Hulk (2008)), Isabelle Huppert (last in Home), Viola Davis (most recently in Get On Up), Bill Hader (last in Clear History), and Ciaràn Hinds (most recently in the short film The Shore), among others. My favorite line is Davis's, as Chastain's professor: "You must really hate the Beatles."

Director/writer Ned Benson's first features were the twins :Her and :Him and I expect we'll see more from him after two Cannes nominations for this one.

For afflicted with Motion Picture Motion Sickness (MPMS), there are some incidences of the camera bouncing as the operator seems to run after an actor but the picture is steady most of the time. We saw this two weeks ago on its penultimate night here. I can't remember the music by Son Lux AKA Ryan Nott and it's not showing up in my searches.

We're on a roll with the fourth picture in a row of Rotten Tomatoes' critics agreeing with us. This one averages 62% with audiences less tepid at 71. If you happen to see it and loved it, write me and we'll discuss.

Pride (2014)

Absolutely fabulous, this is based on the true story of Lesbians and Gays Supporting the Miners in 1984 London and Wales. We laughed, I cried, we loved it. During the prolonged miners' strike, Mark Ashton, a young gay Brit, saw the parallels between the two groups' struggles and organized the highly unlikely alliance. Ben Schnetzer (wonderful in The Book Thief, though I failed to mention him as the Jewish refugee) turns in a powerful performance as Mark, and I never would have guessed he's American. The movie starts and ends with closeted Joe AKA Bromley, the one completely fictional character, who is played to naive perfection by George MacKay (last blogged in Defiance). The others in the LGSM group are Dominic West (I didn't see his 60 episodes of The Wire, but he's been recognized as part of the ensemble of Chicago (2002), and was good in Mona Lisa Smile (2003) and the mini-series The Hour (2011)) as flamboyant Jonathan, Andrew Scott as brooding Gethin, Joseph Gilgun as quiet Mike, and Faye Marsay as practical Steph (the latter three are new to me but not to the profession).

Representing the elders of the Welsh contingent we have heavy hitters Imelda Staunton (most recently in Another Year) as Hefina, Bill Nighy (last in About Time) as Cliff, Paddy Considine (most recently in The World's End) as Dai, and Menna Trussler (a veteran I haven't seen before but will surely notice from here on) as Gwen, to name a few.

Stage director Matthew Warchus (Tony for  God of Carnage (2009), nominated for Art (1998), True West (2000), and The Norman Conquests (2009)) directs his second feature in 15 years with this first-rate script by Stephen Bereford (a stage and TV actor) in his writing debut, expertly combining comedy with drama.

Pride won the Queer Palm Award at Cannes earlier this year in the fifth outing (ha!) of the award. There's a youtube video about the real story, called Dancing in Dulais. I haven't watched it yet but I will.

Some of the visuals that tickled us were the ubiquitous instances of garish wallpaper in the homes, and aerial shots of the characters' frequent crossings of the Severn Bridge between England and Wales, not to mention the hair and wardrobe crimes of that era.

The soundtrack contains a great selection of 80s dance tunes, which can be streamed here, including a few instrumentals by the movie's composer Christopher Nightingale.

Jack and I aren't the only ones loving this one--Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are averaging 93%. To paraphrase a line from late in the movie, you'll love this whether you're gay, straight, or haven't made up your mind yet.

Love Is Strange (2014)

We liked a lot this story of long-time life partners Ben and George whose marriage results in George's getting fired from his job at a Catholic school and their losing their Manhattan apartment. John Lithgow and Alfred Molina shine under the direction of co-writer Ira Sachs (I missed his Independent Spirit Award nominated Keep the Lights On (2012) but very much liked Married Life (2007)), who wed his partner as soon as it became legal in New York in 2011. Mauricio Zacharias co-wrote Keep the Lights On and this, among others.

Lithgow (last blogged in The Campaign) and Molina (covered in An Education) give us sympathetic portrayals of older men set in their ways but determined to go with the flow under duress. Also under duress are Marisa Tomei's (most recently in Parental Guidance) Kate--a stay-at-home writer whose work is disturbed by her husband's uncle Ben living with them--and Charlie Tahan's (I've seen some of his movies but can't say that I recall him) Joey, a moody teenager. Jack recognized Darren Burrows, who plays Kate's husband/Joey's father Elliott, from his work on Northern Exposure.

No composer is listed but clips of the music, mostly classical, can be found on the amazon page. And with 33 producers, this one goes into my producers plethora category. The current leader The Butler, however, will be hard to beat with 39.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are in agreement with Jack and me, averaging 97% for this one. Do see this before it leaves town.

The Trip to Italy (2014)

Yummy and hilarious, this sequel to The Trip brings back Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon improvising versions of themselves eating six luscious meals in six glorious Italian locations from Liguria to Capri, all the while bantering, doing impressions, and reciting poetry with music from Verdi to Alanis Morissette. It's directed again by Michael Winterbottom.

Obviously this goes on my running list of food movies.

I don't read reviews before seeing movies, but this one, from The New Yorker, doesn't give anything away and may even add to your enjoyment, mentioning that Coogan may be best known in this country for Philomena, and that the comedians' voices are outstanding.

Finally! Rotten Tomatoes' critics are in line with Jack and me, averaging 87%. Their audiences are more like the audience in the last line of the New Yorker review at 61%.

We saw this last week just before it closed locally. Sorry I couldn't get it written up before then. But never fear--it's coming out on DVD on December 23, just in time for Christmas!

This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

We liked a lot this comedy about four adult children forced to hang out together after their father's death. The wonderful and plentiful cast brings the good story to life. Jason Bateman, Tiny Fey, Corey Stoll, Adam Driver, and Jane Fonda do justice to the siblings and their mother (last blogged in Bad Words, Admission, Midnight in Paris, Frances Ha, and Better Living Through Chemistry, respectively, and Stoll was particularly good in House of Cards), aided by Rose Byrne (The Place Beyond the Pines), Abigail Spencer (Rectify, Cowboys & Aliens), Kathryn Hahn (also in Bad Words), Connie Britton (profiled in The Fitzgerald Family Christmas), Timothy Olyphant (I didn't see Deadwood, Damages, nor Justified, but I liked The Safety of Objects (2001) and Catch and Release (2006)), Dax Shepard (Hit & Run), and Ben Schwartz (also in Better Living Through Chemistry). Though it's first Bateman's story, this is a true ensemble picture, in the manner of director Robert Altman's work. In fact, the movie family's name is Altman, having been changed from Foxman in Jonathan Tropper's 2010 novel. I can only hope that Tropper, who adapted his own book in his feature debut, had Robert Altman in mind. Fun trivia: the mother in the novel worked out to Jane Fonda tapes. In the movie, she's played by Jane Fonda.

We saw this on vacation on a rainy day in New York a couple of weeks ago, just as we saw director Shawn Levy's Date Night, which also featured Tina Fey, on vacation four years ago.

The light breezy music is courtesy of Michael Giacchino (most recently blogged in Star Trek Into Darkness). Here's a sample.

More haters are hating in Rotten Tomatoes' 42% critics, but 69% from audiences is more in line with the movie being #7 at the box office in its third week.

The Congress (2013)

This cynical movie NOT about politics, taking place in a dystopian Hollywood, about an insecure actress named Robin Wright who sells the digital rights to her image in order to support herself and her family is extremely weird and hard to follow, especially in the second half which is animated. Robin Wright (last blogged in A Most Wanted Man) plays this version of herself in the live-action part, her voice in the animated part, and sings a couple of songs on the soundtrack (see below). Harvey Keitel (most recently in Moonrise Kingdom),  Danny Huston (last in Hitchcock), and Paul Giamatti (most recently in The Amazing Spider-Man 2) add to the mayhem live and drawn, and Jack picked up the voice of Jon Hamm (Million Dollar Arm) in the second half as the nice guy.

People are bound to say Wright is "brave" for appearing middle aged--her actual age is 48 and the character is 44. In the second half she's 64, bent and skinny, with gray hair in a bun and a loose matronly dress. Give me a break. Director Ari Folman (the animated documentary Waltz With Bashir) is 59 but he has no clue about aging. With its central theme of Wright's inability to find work, this was clearly made either before or with no knowledge of her tour de force in the House of Cards series.

The animated part, with doses of R Crumb, Ralph Bakshi, old Disney, and Monty Python is literally trippy--I had to look up why she hallucinated (she drank the tap water) in research about the Stanislaw Lem novel from which Folman adapted the screenplay. The novel also includes a 164 story hotel in which "The Congress," a trade show, takes place, and where we saw cartoons of, among others, Grace Jones, Yoko Ono, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Queen Elizabeth. It's only because I took notes after seeing it four weeks ago that I can give you this much info.

I do like composer Max Richter (last scored The Lunchbox) and you can listen to tracks from the movie, beginning with Wright's two songs, and more by him here.

I've had it with Rotten Tomatoes (or critics in general). They dislike so many movies that I/we like, including the last two I just summarized, and this one, at 76% critics and 63 audiences (what hallucinogenics are they on?), is practically a rave but Jack and I do not urge you to see it!

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (2013)

Great fun! This documentary of the ritzy Manhattan department store has flash, celebrity, and creativity to the max, plus more than a soupçon of gossip and humor. Directed by Matthew Miele (new to me, he has a doc about Tiffany's coming next year) with music composed by Parov Stelar (listen to some videos on his website) it's not just for retailers. The store window sequences are worth the price of admission. And admission may be free, since it's available streaming on netflix right now (I saw it in August but just remembered to add it to the blog). If you don't have a netflix account you can rent it on amazon for $2.99 (free viewing on amazon prime isn't showing up).

Haters on Rotten Tomatoes have it at 49% critics and 41 audiences. I don't know what they saw but it must have been something else. Watch the trailer on the the official website for a taste, check out the whole hour and 34 minutes, and then let me know what you think.

My Old Lady (2014)

Jack and I enjoyed this tale of a prickly American loser who finds that the Paris apartment he just inherited comes with a nonagenarian and her daughter. Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith, and Kristin Scott Thomas are in top form and the establishing shots are beautiful, breaking my rule #2 about the Eiffel Tower. Kline (last blogged in Joe Papp in Five Acts and Darling Companion) pronounces every word with such care it's always a pleasure to listen to him. I did find it hard to swallow that his character is supposed to be 57 (Kline's birthdate is 10/24/47) but it was worth it to enjoy his darkly comic moodiness. Thomas (most recently in Nowhere Boy) is a more believable 57 (5/24/60) and brings in her reliable skills and flawless French (she's been living in France since her late teens). Dame Smith (last in Quartet) simply employs body language and subtracts makeup to add a few years (12/28/34) and can do no wrong.

When I lived in Boston in the late 70s-early 80s, playwright Israel Horovitz, a Massachusetts native, was much revered. He wrote the adaptation of his play and here makes his fiction directorial debut, following a documentary. Trivia: he is the father of Beastie Boy Adam. Jack did comment that the movie seemed awfully play-like, i.e. static, but I didn't feel that way. The lovely cinematography is credited to Michel Amathieu and the production design to Pierre-François Limbosch.

The French viager tradition, a sort of reverse mortgage explained here, is cause for much of the humor. The movie could benefit from subtitles; I was glad I understood a bit of French here and there.

As I write this I'm listening to clips from Mark Orton's (most recently scored Nebraska) sprightly soundtrack on amazon. Stay in the room to hear the end of the music over the credits. You'll be rewarded by important bonuses, one tying up a loose end in the plot.

Rotten Tomatoes' averages are too low, at 56% critics and 61% audiences. We liked and recommend it.

Milestone alert! This marks the 700th movie I have watched for the first time since beginning the blog September 3, 2008, or six years and one month ago. Who's counting? I am.