We both like Steves Carell and Buscemi but they didn't really do it for us in this story of stuck-in-the-80s magicians struggling for their Las Vegas careers. Carell's (last in Hope Springs) character is annoying, but not in a Michael Scott way, and Buscemi's is kinda pathetic (even though he's normally so good, e.g. in New York Stories (1989), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Living in Oblivion, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), Fargo (1996), Trees Lounge (1996) which he also wrote and directed, Kansas City (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), Ghost World (2001), Romance and Cigarettes, Delirious (2006), Interview (2007), Youth in Revolt, and the serieses The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, just to name a lot). Jim Carrey (most recently in these pages in I Love You Phillip Morris) plays a crazy competitor who is somewhat funnier but he can't save this, despite no shortage of supporting cast members, including Alan Arkin (last in Argo), Olivia Wilde (People Like Us), James Gandolfini (Zero Dark Thirty), Jay Mohr (Hereafter), and more. David Copperfield appears briefly but worked behind the scenes.
The writing team of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Horrible Bosses) may be to blame (I spotted a cameo by Daley as a paramedic, recognizing him from Freaks and Geeks), or maybe it's the story by them, Tyler Mitchell and Chad Kultgen (feature debut for both), or maybe director Don Scardino (a lot of TV, including 38 episodes of 30 Rock) let this founder.
Often we like movies with low ratings such as this (38% critics/63 audiences on rottentomatoes) but not this time. Wait for cable, record it on your DVR, watch the beginning, maybe a half hour, skip 45 minutes or so, and watch the end, including the bonus.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
As a fan since childhood of all the Oz books I eagerly anticipated and enjoyed (as did Jack) this prequel to The Wizard of Oz, with material drawn from many of the lesser-known books. It's a spectacle in 3D, perhaps not spectacular, but the visuals are wonderful. As I was driving to the theatre three weeks ago, I heard an NPR reviewer basically panning it but he liked the opening sequence in black and white. The b/w opening is delightful, including the steampunk credits, shown here (the youtube version inexplicably compressed side to side even more than the intentionally cropped version on the big screen). The first act shows James Franco's (last in these pages in Rise of the Planet of the Apes) Oscar Diggs (nicknamed Oz) in his former life as a Kansas magician/con man who gets into a hot air balloon just as a tornado sweeps by. Then, just as in the 1939 classic, the screen fills with highly saturated color, Glinda travels by bubble power, there's a yellow brick road leading to the Emerald City, and some scary witches. Though there was a lot of talk about MGM's copyrights on, say, flying monkeys leading them to substitute flying baboons in this picture, it seemed to us many of the original movie's touches are there anyway. And, though I knew from the L. Frank Baum books that there were three other kinds of Oz people besides Munchkins (Quadlings, Winkies, and Gillikins), the screenwriters decided to change Gillikins to Tinkers, with skills to match. Oh well, it makes for some terrific gadgets.
Franco is cute as Oz, as is Zach Braff (his first role was a tiny one in Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) (scroll down for a still), but he's best known for 175 episodes of Scrubs (2001-10), The Last Kiss (2006), and of course Garden State (2004) which he directed, wrote, and starred) as his sidekick Frank in Kansas and Finley the flying monkey (!) in Oz, but the witches really stand out. Michelle Williams (most recently in Take This Waltz) ever reliable as evanescent Glinda (I can't imagine earthy Blake Lively in the role--see trivia), Mila Kunis (I wrote nicer things about Black Swan than I did about Ted) as Theodora, and especially Rachel Weisz (The Brothers Bloom preferable to The Lovely Bones) as her sister Evanora. And Kim told me her daughter Zoe recognized child actress Joey King as the girl in the wheelchair and the voice of the China Princess. I could have done with less weeping from her (not Zoe).
Director Sam Raimi (I've liked the four I've seen: A Simple Plan (1998) and all three Spider-Men (2002, 04, 07)) uses his experience with horror and fantasy to good effect, pun intended, from the screenplay co-written by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) and Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards (2000) but not the awful sequel), the latter of whom is credited with the story. And I see on imdb that a sequel to this one is in the works. They'll probably leave out the striped stockings.
The music is classic Danny Elfman, with choral bits and a big string-filled orchestra. I'm listening to it as I type, because someone was kind enough to post the entire hour plus soundtrack on youtube, and I'm hoping I'll be finished before it's done playing (yes, but for proofreading). There is a recurring theme that makes me think of parts of the classic tune Fools Rush In.
Rottentomatoes' averages are 61 critics/66 audiences. This isn't great art but we had fun. Too bad nobody shouted, "Who rang that bell?!"
Franco is cute as Oz, as is Zach Braff (his first role was a tiny one in Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) (scroll down for a still), but he's best known for 175 episodes of Scrubs (2001-10), The Last Kiss (2006), and of course Garden State (2004) which he directed, wrote, and starred) as his sidekick Frank in Kansas and Finley the flying monkey (!) in Oz, but the witches really stand out. Michelle Williams (most recently in Take This Waltz) ever reliable as evanescent Glinda (I can't imagine earthy Blake Lively in the role--see trivia), Mila Kunis (I wrote nicer things about Black Swan than I did about Ted) as Theodora, and especially Rachel Weisz (The Brothers Bloom preferable to The Lovely Bones) as her sister Evanora. And Kim told me her daughter Zoe recognized child actress Joey King as the girl in the wheelchair and the voice of the China Princess. I could have done with less weeping from her (not Zoe).
Director Sam Raimi (I've liked the four I've seen: A Simple Plan (1998) and all three Spider-Men (2002, 04, 07)) uses his experience with horror and fantasy to good effect, pun intended, from the screenplay co-written by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) and Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards (2000) but not the awful sequel), the latter of whom is credited with the story. And I see on imdb that a sequel to this one is in the works. They'll probably leave out the striped stockings.
The music is classic Danny Elfman, with choral bits and a big string-filled orchestra. I'm listening to it as I type, because someone was kind enough to post the entire hour plus soundtrack on youtube, and I'm hoping I'll be finished before it's done playing (yes, but for proofreading). There is a recurring theme that makes me think of parts of the classic tune Fools Rush In.
Rottentomatoes' averages are 61 critics/66 audiences. This isn't great art but we had fun. Too bad nobody shouted, "Who rang that bell?!"
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Admission (2013)
Reviews have been tepid but Jack and I enjoyed this story of a neurotic Princeton admissions officer who crosses paths with a counselor from a progressive country school. Tina Fey's (30 Rock has ended since I wrote about her in Date Night) Portia is more real than Liz Lemon, but there are some similarities, e.g. nerdy, impulsive professional woman with relationship and other issues.
Jack thought this was one of Paul Rudd's better performances (he didn't see This is 40 with me) and we usually like Rudd anyway. His character John's goofy grin is used to good effect, also as usual. Apparently it was as much a thrill for Lily Tomlin (my favorites include Nashville (1973) for which she was Oscar-nominated, The Late Show (1977), Nine to Five (1980), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) of which I watched the second half a month ago way too late at night, All of Me (1984), Big Business (1988), The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1991), Short Cuts (1993), Flirting with Disaster (1996), and Krippendorf's Tribe (1998)) to work with Fey as the other way around--they are both ground-breaking writers and actresses. Sometime in the late 1980s I happened to spy Tomlin having a drink at a bar in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. I had already had a few myself and so I went up to her to say I was a big fan. "Of what, exactly?" she demanded. "Um, um, I loved your stage show of Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe," I stammered. "Well, then, you're a fan of Jane Wagner over there. She wrote it. What did you like?" I don't remember what I said but I know I wanted a trap door to escape right about then (there's a trap door gag or three in this movie). Regardless of her brusqueness with me, a tongue-tied fan (yes, kids, I get shy around greatness, especially when I was younger), Tomlin is an icon of feminism, a trait she brings to her character as Portia's mother Susannah. It was her idea for Susannah to have a tattoo of Bella Abzug, one of the founding mothers of the modern Women's Movement.
Supporting strength comes from Michael Sheen (last in these pages in Midnight in Paris), Wallace Shawn (profiled in A Late Quartet), teenage Nat Wolff (the son of Polly Draper from thirtysomething--coincidentally she had a small part in Side Effects--and musician Michael Wolff, Nat wrote songs for a TV series The Naked Brothers Band in which he starred with his brother Alex), and young Travaris Spears in his feature debut. Special note must be made of a funny one-note performance by Sonya Walger (Penny on Lost, Caroline on Tell Me You Love Me, others) as the Virginia Woolf Scholar.
Director Paul Weitz' last picture Being Flynn has been mentioned many times by reviewers. I wish they would realize that, though this isn't as serious as that one, it's not supposed to be a rollicking comedy, so they should stop complaining that there aren't enough jokes. There are plenty, but this one is a dramedy, folks. Karen Croner adapted Jean Hanff Korelitz' novel, not to the letter, according to the author, but with complete approval. Korelitz attended Dartmouth which is in central New Hampshire. Portia and John are Dartmouth alums and my only quibble is that there's a lot of driving back and forth between southern New Hampshire and Princeton, which, according to google maps, would take nearly five hours without traffic, yet they seem to get it done very quickly and at a moment's notice.
When we saw this on Friday, opening day, its rottentomatoes average was in the 30s. Tonight it's at 44 critics/58 audiences. Opening weekend isn't over for a few minutes so the numbers may go up tomorrow. We recommend this for fans of Fey, Rudd, Tomlin, and most anyone who remembers what it's like to apply for college.
Director Paul Weitz' last picture Being Flynn has been mentioned many times by reviewers. I wish they would realize that, though this isn't as serious as that one, it's not supposed to be a rollicking comedy, so they should stop complaining that there aren't enough jokes. There are plenty, but this one is a dramedy, folks. Karen Croner adapted Jean Hanff Korelitz' novel, not to the letter, according to the author, but with complete approval. Korelitz attended Dartmouth which is in central New Hampshire. Portia and John are Dartmouth alums and my only quibble is that there's a lot of driving back and forth between southern New Hampshire and Princeton, which, according to google maps, would take nearly five hours without traffic, yet they seem to get it done very quickly and at a moment's notice.
There are plenty of songs, listed here (including one by a Princeton a cappella group). But, for a change, the album has the score composed by Steven Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) in which he acted as well, Station Agent (2003), In Good Company (2004) which was directed/written by Weitz), and The Savages (2007), to name some of my faves). You can preview eleven tracks in their entirety and read about it on this link.
When we saw this on Friday, opening day, its rottentomatoes average was in the 30s. Tonight it's at 44 critics/58 audiences. Opening weekend isn't over for a few minutes so the numbers may go up tomorrow. We recommend this for fans of Fey, Rudd, Tomlin, and most anyone who remembers what it's like to apply for college.
Lore (2012)
Really good, really sad, this story of a pubescent girl leading her 4 siblings cross country after her Nazi parents' arrest at the end of WWII stayed with us, especially the performance of newcomer Saskia Rosendahl (19 when it was filmed) in the title role. Lore's staunch belief in the Nazi propaganda she's been taught makes her a less than sympathetic heroine, adding to the complexity of the moviegoers' experience. The other children are great, too, even the infant Peter, who slowly screws up his face to cry at one particular pivotal moment (poor kid cries a lot during the movie. I always wonder: do they pinch those tiny actors?).
Director/co-writer Cate Shortland (new to me but she made some shorts, some TV, one feature, and a TV movie before this in her native Australia) adapts, with co-writer Robin Mukherjee (more TV series, one feature, and some plays), the novel The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert. The movie is in German with English subtitles and is a UK/Australia/Germany production. Australia submitted it as its official Academy Award contender. Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (Animal Kingdom, more) won some festival awards for the artful pictures.
The haunting soundtrack by Max Richter (Waltz with Bashir, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the song On the Nature of Daylight, that was in Stranger than Fiction (2006) and Shutter Island) can't be had in this country, but you can hear clips on Australian iTunes and youtube.
With ratings averaging 93% critic and 75 audiences on rottentomatoes, this is worth your time when you can find a way to be cheerful afterwards. We saw it a week ago and I think it will play another 5 days down the street.
Director/co-writer Cate Shortland (new to me but she made some shorts, some TV, one feature, and a TV movie before this in her native Australia) adapts, with co-writer Robin Mukherjee (more TV series, one feature, and some plays), the novel The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert. The movie is in German with English subtitles and is a UK/Australia/Germany production. Australia submitted it as its official Academy Award contender. Cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (Animal Kingdom, more) won some festival awards for the artful pictures.
The haunting soundtrack by Max Richter (Waltz with Bashir, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the song On the Nature of Daylight, that was in Stranger than Fiction (2006) and Shutter Island) can't be had in this country, but you can hear clips on Australian iTunes and youtube.
With ratings averaging 93% critic and 75 audiences on rottentomatoes, this is worth your time when you can find a way to be cheerful afterwards. We saw it a week ago and I think it will play another 5 days down the street.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
TEN movies in one post
2012 Oscar-nominated shorts; Amour; Barbara; From Nothing, Something; Identity Thief; Magic Mike; Movie 43; Price Check; Side Effects; Starlet.
Side Effects (2013). Jack and I were captivated by this thriller about a woman on a roller coaster from her anxiety meds, said to be director Steven Soderbergh's final picture. Rooney Mara is outstanding as mood-swinging Emily; Jude Law terrific as her cutting-edge new psychiatrist Dr. Banks, Catherine Zeta-Jones scary as her tightly-wound old shrink Dr. Siebert, and Channing Tatum doesn't have many scenes as Emily's loving husband Martin.
Identity Thief (2013). Slapstick hilarity (CPA (Jason Bateman) goes after white trash woman (Melissa McCarthy) who stole his identity for serial shopping sprees) that would have benefited from removing all traces of sentiment. We went opening day and enjoyed it immensely nonetheless.
Movie 43 (2013). Tasteless, offensive, puerile, and occasionally funny, this collection of silly shorts, loaded with penis and poop jokes, will be better seen on DVD and/or when you can skip parts. That being said, I laughed like a loon at Kate Winslet's comic-horror at a single sight gag in The Catch. Try not to learn the gag before you see it. Chock-full of stars, behind and in front of cameras.
2012 Oscar-nominated live action and animated shorts. Our favorite live action one is Curfew, a very dark comedy about a man on the edge brought back by a child-care request from his sister. Here's the trailer. I hope it wins. The others are Death of a Shadow, Henry, Buzkashi Boys, and Asad. When the Disney logo began the fifth animated one, Paperman, I said to Jack, "I hope it loses." But it is my favorite--a love story with flying papers. Close second is Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare. The other nominees are Adam and Dog, Fresh Guacamole, and Head Over Heels. Added to the program are three honorable mentions: Abiogenesis, Dripped, and The Gruffalo's Child, a sequel to the 2010 nominee. Noteworthy that the only animated short with dialog is the last one.
From Nothing, Something (2012). Filmmaker Tim Cawley, in a pre-recorded introduction, cited It Might Get Loud as inspiration for this documentary about the creative process. Far reaching. But accurate. We loved it as well.
Magic Mike (2012). An older Soderbergh picture we watched on demand, this was nominated for (but lost) a People's Choice Award, and has earned Matthew McConaughey a bunch of awards and nominations as the owner/head stripper of a Florida night spot. Apparently based on star Channing Tatum's pre-Hollywood life as a male stripper. Alex Pettyfer stars as the novice Tatum trains.
Starlet (2012). The best of the three I saw at an independent film festival in January. Dree Hemingway (Mariel's daughter) stars as flakey 21-year-old Jane, who befriends an elderly lady after an encounter at a yard sale. Jane's chihuahua is named Starlet. Lest you think this is a sweet movie about a girl, a granny, and a puppy, be forewarned there is a graphic sex scene with full nudity about 2/3 of the way through. Won one Independent Spirit Award and nominated for another. Will induce MPMS.
Price Check (2012). Parker Posey is, in Jack's words, never afraid to commit, and here she is stark raving mad as a driven grocery executive. Unfortunately her co-star, Eric Mabius, is bland and ruins the movie.
Barbara (2012). Judy and I didn't love this 1980s period piece about the titular doctor who has been banished from the city to a rural hospital in East Germany. But the Eastern European acquaintances we talked to after the screening loved it and said it was spot on.
Sorry, readers. I promised myself I wouldn't complain anymore about how far behind I was in writing. But here I am with too many, it seems, to catch up. If and when I write more about each title, I'll link the postings to this page. Be sure to watch not only the Oscars on Sunday night February 24 (and/or go to your neighborhood Oscar party), but also the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday the 23rd on IFC at 10pm Pacific and rerun at 10pm Eastern.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Rust and Bone (De rouille et d'os - 2012)
We really liked this powerful story of a two people rebuilding their lives--a single father of a 5 year old and a woman who loses both legs in an accident at Marineland on the French Riviera where she trains killer whales. While understandably scary and sad, it's not depressing. The gory details of the accident are offscreen, but the man's boxing career ensures this isn't a blood-free movie. You can infer from my comments in the last post, Quartet, that I believe the man, Ali, is the protagonist, and Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts (new to me) is great as the guy trying to grow up. However he has only one of the 28 nominations and wins on the imdb list which is more extensive than mine. Marion Cotillard (she was working on The Dark Knight Rises concurrently with this one--think back to her character in that one, and know that she had given birth in May 2011, started Dark Knight in July, and added her starring role in Rust and Bone before the other was finished) has one win (Hollywood Film Fest) and six nominations, including Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice, and Golden Globe, for her role as Stéphanie. Here's where I need to insert a shout out to the digital effects team, inexplicably nominated for nothing. We see her foreshortened legs a lot and they look totally real. No effects are needed for this talented actress to convince us of her emotions, though. Supporting strength comes from adorable little Armand Verdure as Ali's son Sam and Corinne Masiero as Ali's older sister who takes them in.
Director/co-writer Jacques Audiard and co-writer Thomas Bidegain (same jobs on A Prophet) have artfully merged two short stories by Craig Davidson: "Rust and Bone" about a boxer and "Rocket Ride" about a man losing his legs, but Audiard has said he had enough men in A Prophet so made Stéphanie female. Audiard also preferred a boxer to an actor for the part of Ali, but settled on Schoenaerts, who is both.
There really is a Marineland in Antibes, and the production was allowed to shoot there, both with full audiences and after hours, as well as in neighboring Cannes and the magnificent beaches in the area. For some snowy scenes at the end they went to Belgium.
Director/co-writer Jacques Audiard and co-writer Thomas Bidegain (same jobs on A Prophet) have artfully merged two short stories by Craig Davidson: "Rust and Bone" about a boxer and "Rocket Ride" about a man losing his legs, but Audiard has said he had enough men in A Prophet so made Stéphanie female. Audiard also preferred a boxer to an actor for the part of Ali, but settled on Schoenaerts, who is both.
There really is a Marineland in Antibes, and the production was allowed to shoot there, both with full audiences and after hours, as well as in neighboring Cannes and the magnificent beaches in the area. For some snowy scenes at the end they went to Belgium.
Once again, composer Alexandre Desplat (most recently blogged in Zero Dark Thirty; in the last four years I've seen 18 of the 31 projects he has scored and there have been 143 since he started in 1985) provides the soundtrack. When does this guy sleep? There are also a number of songs, every one in English, on the soundtrack. You can listen to long clips on this site. The Katy Perry song Firework is featured as well but not listed anywhere. I guess they figured they didn't need to help her sell it.
As fast as everyone talks you'll be glad there are subtitles. Rated 81% by critics and audiences alike on rottentomatoes, this is well worth your time.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Quartet (2012)
Our quintet of "young" (post-1950) boomers loved this story of a home for retired musicians that gets disrupted by the arrival of a diva who sang opera with three of the others and was married to one. Dame Maggie Smith (profiled in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Golden Globe-nominated for her role, is wonderful as the brooding, vain Jean, resplendent in her makeup, ash blonde coiffure, and pumps. Jack and I are big fans of Billy Connolly (covered in Brave), whom we loved watching crack jokes as the lecherous Wilf, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the British Independent Film Awards. Pauline Collins (last in these pages in Albert Nobbs) is adorable as the ditzy Cissy and Sir Tom Courtenay (Oscar-nominated for Doctor Zhivago (1965) and The Dresser (1983), and won The British Academy's Most Promising Newcomer for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), among his dozens of accomplishments) is arguably the star (my rule, not hard and fast, is that the first person you see on screen is usually the protagonist) as Reg, Jean's ex-husband, who loves teaching his opera class to teen-agers. Yo La Tengo named a song after him but didn't put his name in the lyrics, only Julie Christie's (his co-star in Zhivago) and Eleanor Bron's (as far as I can tell Bron never worked with him, but, like Christie, was a sexy English actress in the 1960s and beyond). The reason young Dr. Cogan looked so familiar to us is that the actress, Sheridan Smith, was notable as the saucy maid in Hysteria. Michael Gambon (last in Fantastic Mr. Fox) also shines as a male diva (divus?) who is directing the home's annual Verdi birthday gala.
The rest of the cast is filled out with actual retired professional musicians, many of whom are named and pictured in their youth during the credits, so don't leave early! The grand mansion is divine and I'm glad there are a few aerial shots of it. Not as big as Downton Abbey, but quite lovely.
Much of the delightful music comes from the players (many of the pieces are on this site, albeit performed by others), all rehearsing for the gala, although Alexandre Desplat (most recently in Zero Dark Thirty) is credited as the movie's composer for the tunes he contributed. This page will play short clips from the soundtrack album, including the Desplat tracks. Film student note: when you see the source of the music onscreen, e.g. the players, the radio, the turntable, it's called source music. Speaking of which, you may recall my post on Les Misérables in which I said I don't like opera. I loved the singing in this one, so I guess I do like opera (just not the sung dialogue). For those keeping track, there's a lot of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado, and the piece that the four are planning for the gala is Bella figlia dell'amore, from Act 3 of Rigoletto. You can listen on the continuation of the first link in this paragraph and watch for a potential Joan Sutherland wardrobe malfunction.
78 year old screenwriter Ronald Harwood (Oscar winner for The Pianist (2002), Oscar-nominated for The Dresser and the wonderful The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007); others I've enjoyed were the Julie Andrews vehicle A Fine Romance (1992), Annette Bening's triumph Being Julia (2004), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), and Australia) (he also wrote Courtenay's screen debut Private Potter (1962), but I didn't see it) adapts his 1999 stage play. I don't think you'll mind this mild spoiler: after it was over Mike turned to me and said, "I'm so glad nobody died!"
At 75, Dustin Hoffman (in detail in Barney's Version) makes his directorial debut (he doesn't appear), and has won the Hollywood Film Festival Breakthrough and Chicago Film Fest Audience Choice Awards, as well as this movie having been chosen as one of last year's ten best from the National Board of Review. Rottentomatoes' critics average 80%. Which makes it all the more maddening that our local paper once again chose to print a negative review of this charming movie. Make a point of seeing it! Not to be confused with A Late Quartet, which is also outstanding. Catch this one on the big screen for the sets and locations and get a DVD of the other.
The rest of the cast is filled out with actual retired professional musicians, many of whom are named and pictured in their youth during the credits, so don't leave early! The grand mansion is divine and I'm glad there are a few aerial shots of it. Not as big as Downton Abbey, but quite lovely.
Much of the delightful music comes from the players (many of the pieces are on this site, albeit performed by others), all rehearsing for the gala, although Alexandre Desplat (most recently in Zero Dark Thirty) is credited as the movie's composer for the tunes he contributed. This page will play short clips from the soundtrack album, including the Desplat tracks. Film student note: when you see the source of the music onscreen, e.g. the players, the radio, the turntable, it's called source music. Speaking of which, you may recall my post on Les Misérables in which I said I don't like opera. I loved the singing in this one, so I guess I do like opera (just not the sung dialogue). For those keeping track, there's a lot of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado, and the piece that the four are planning for the gala is Bella figlia dell'amore, from Act 3 of Rigoletto. You can listen on the continuation of the first link in this paragraph and watch for a potential Joan Sutherland wardrobe malfunction.
78 year old screenwriter Ronald Harwood (Oscar winner for The Pianist (2002), Oscar-nominated for The Dresser and the wonderful The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007); others I've enjoyed were the Julie Andrews vehicle A Fine Romance (1992), Annette Bening's triumph Being Julia (2004), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), and Australia) (he also wrote Courtenay's screen debut Private Potter (1962), but I didn't see it) adapts his 1999 stage play. I don't think you'll mind this mild spoiler: after it was over Mike turned to me and said, "I'm so glad nobody died!"
At 75, Dustin Hoffman (in detail in Barney's Version) makes his directorial debut (he doesn't appear), and has won the Hollywood Film Festival Breakthrough and Chicago Film Fest Audience Choice Awards, as well as this movie having been chosen as one of last year's ten best from the National Board of Review. Rottentomatoes' critics average 80%. Which makes it all the more maddening that our local paper once again chose to print a negative review of this charming movie. Make a point of seeing it! Not to be confused with A Late Quartet, which is also outstanding. Catch this one on the big screen for the sets and locations and get a DVD of the other.
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