Electric Shadow

What I Did on My Cinematic Vacation

February 2, 2006

What I Did on My Cinematic Vacation

Now that most of last year's best movies are actually arriving in most cinemas (not just NY/LA), I've finally seen most of the big-name pictures of the year and feel comfortable rattling off my favorite films of the year. I'm doing so with reservations, such as: Movies I Missed Grizzly Man Munich Mrs. Henderson Presents The New World North Country Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room The Constant Gardener Transamerica Tsotsi The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada I'm sure there a couple of others I hang my head in shame about, but they escape me at the moment. Movies That Didn't Do "It" Crash March of the Penguins The 40 Year-Old Virgin None of these really did it for me. Pick any of the thousand reasons people have been bitching about any of them and you get in the ballpark of my take on them. Crash slammed everything in your face and tried a bit too hard, but I do admire the strong performances in the film and the unvarnished perspectives it exposed. Penguins we'll skip, because I'm already dreading the near-certain win for Documentary Feature it's lined up for, and I don't want to get further disheartened. Virgin had its moments, and it hit some genuine chords, but as a whole it's not as cohesive and repeat-viewable as other comedic fare that came out last year. Signs of the End Times Fantastic Four The Dukes of Hazzard The Man The Perfect Man Monster-in-Law Kicking & Screaming Doom Two for the Money House of Wax Thou Shalt Not Spinoff or Sequelize Deuce Bigalo 2 Miss Congeniality 2 Cheaper By the Dozen 2 The Legend of Zorro XXX: State of the Union Elektra Guess Who Bewitched No more need be said. Let's think happier thoughts, shall we?

The Best of Times

For me, there were twelve movies that really stood out as the best of the best. Ranking them has proven nearly impossible, so I've resolved to list them alphabetically instead. The Big Twelve The Beat That My Heart Skipped Brokeback Mountain Capote Good night, and good luck. A History of Violence Hustle & Flow Match Point Murderball Nine Lives Paradise Now The Squid and The Whale Syriana For the sake of putting all my favorites in one place, I've a nearly-as-long list of movies that were also excellent, but just shy of the creme de la creme. The Contenders 2046 The Aristocrats Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Batman Begins Broken Flowers Camping a la Ferme (Country Meets Hood) Cinderella Man Dear Frankie The Family Stone Green Street Hooligans In Her Shoes Junebug Kontroll Pride & Prejudice RENT Separate Lies Sin City Walk the Line Wedding Crashers Yet other movies turned out to be a lot of fun as a result of the atmosphere I saw them in, whether the people or the immediate circumstances. Stand-Out Experiences Coach Carter Elizabethtown Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Jarhead King Kong Layer Cake The Merchant of Venice Narnia Proof Shopgirl The Wedding Date (believe it or not) That approximates the map of different films I saw this year, and I could wait until the end of time to post this and still miss something, so here it is, for better or worse. As with every year, my life took upturns and downturns that were affected and in some cases heavily impacted by the movies I saw. This year's already turning out to be a whole new can of worms, and I think I like it best that way. This particular entry will end up getting updated from time to time with transcriptions of notes I wrote on these films, as well as photos and other little mementos. This is the closest to a scrapbook as I get, so check back every once in a while.

Oscar noms

January 31, 2006

Oscar noms hit this morning. Without further ado, here are my immediate (jotted down this morning in shorthand) thoughts on the major nominations: BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR The Frontrunner HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE With an Oscar already under his belt for Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki's latest trippy fantasy adventure has been out of theatres for months, but like all of Studio Ghibli's movies, it sticks with people. The Underdog WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT A huge hit with the American and British public, the endearing claymation pair of Wallace and Gromit stand an outside chance of swiping this award from Miyazaki on sympathy (the original models were burned in a fire) and hard work (claymation can take years and years). TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE The Frontrunner MARCH OF THE PENGUINS My mother, an avid National Geographic documentary lover, hated this movie. It bored me out of my skull, and it made insane amounts of money. Why? At the time, it was the only kid-safe movie out, and people took their kids out en masse for a welcome reprieve from the house. It makes it more bearable that Morgan Freeman's voice narrates the thing, but it's epic in boredom. The One That Should Win MURDERBALL This stirring, uplifting story of Quadriplegic (you read that right) Rugby players was painfully overlooked, mostly thanks to its title (the original name of the sport). For anyone who has felt run over by circumstance, this empowering film leaves you feeling as if you could take on the world. DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM STREET FIGHT ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS The Frontrunner KING KONG I find it hard to believe anything can topple the 800-pound gorilla in this category in particular. The motion capture on Kong alone, not to mention the Brontosaur stampede and the T-Rex royal rumble were absolutely stunning. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE WAR OF THE WORLDS ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE) The Frontrunner BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN Composed by the same guy who did The Motorcycle Diaries, Gustavo Santaolalla, one of the most memorable themes in cinema this year comes from this film. THE CONSTANT GARDENER MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA MUNICH PRIDE & PREJUDICE ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG) The Frontrunner "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW I don't even remember the other two songs, let alone do I care about either one's contribution to the film in question. "Pimp" is so vitally integral to H&F's story that you couldn't separate them and have the same movie. "In the Deep" - CRASH "Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR The Frontrunners PARADISE NOW and TSOTSI The first is a powerfully moving tale of two best friends-turned suicide bombers, and the second is the powerfully moving tale of a young gang leader in Johannesburg. Foreign Film is always a toss-up, and this year all I have to go off of is what my industry sources mention. DON'T TELL JOYEUX NOÃƒÂ¨L SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The Frontrunner CRASH A popular pick rather than one chosen on merit, this screenplay is great not for the efficiency of the prose, but for the social impact it has had. Not the best script of the year, or even written by Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby), but it's almost definitely it. The Underdog MATCH POINT No, it has nothing to do with racial strife, or geopolitical fraud, or communist persecution, or even screwed up family relationships. Woody Allen's latest film is the most sharply-written, however, and that still counts for something, doesn't it? GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. THE SQUID AND THE WHALE SYRIANA PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE The Frontrunner Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER This award is a bit of a toss-up, but Weisz's performance is easily the most haunting and indellible of the pack. The Newcomer Amy Adams - JUNEBUG According to most who've seen it, Amy Adams is a good enough reason to see the whole movie, and I agree. Her sweet, nosy southern girl was one of the most charming and disarming performances in recent memory. Catherine Keener - CAPOTE Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE The Frontrunner George Clooney - SYRIANA "Fat Clooney", as many have referred to this part, was one of the most stunning performances Clooney has put on film, and Clooney himself is the new filmmaking golden boy, as 2005 really was his year. Good Night, and Good Luck may not win anything, but Clooney will triumph here. The Guy Who Should Win Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN In recent years, this guy has gotten unrightfully snubbed, first for a nomination for American Splendor and then for Sideways last year. A truly deserving actor who got the SAG Award for this part, which for many actors means more than the Oscar. The Big Surprise William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE Who saw it coming that Hurt's over-the-top, gangster godfather performance in one of the year's most critically-acclaimed films would punch through and take the place on the list most people thought would house Don Cheadle's name? Not me! Matt Dillon - CRASH Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE The Frontrunner Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE She's essentially won every award she could for this part, and March 5th will be no different. Her portrayal of June Carter is touching and authentic, and even for people who aren't fans of all her other work (me), she pulls it all off very well. The Big Surprise Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE Don't get me wrong, I loved Pride & Prejudice, but I never thought for a moment while watching that this was an Oscar-caliber performance. Knightley plays the part, but doesn't nearly blow you away in the way Matthew MacFadyen (Mr. Darcy) and others in the movie do. Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE The Frontrunner Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE With a Golden Globe, SAG Award, and multiple other honors under his belt already, Hoffman is the main contender here. Heath Ledger's Brokeback performance is a big deal compared to his past work, but it's nothing compared to the virtuoso portrait of one of America's greatest writers. The Big Surprise Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW Howard's pair of strong performances in this film and Crash skyrocketed him to the A-list. A truly deserving actor giving a powerful performance in one of 2005's overlooked great movies. Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING The Frontrunner BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN - Ang Lee One of the many awards Brokeback is said to certainly win, director Lee is one of the most versatile auteur voice working today. He's a great director and he has put together a movie that could have been horrible in the wrong hands. The Outside Shot CRASH - Paul Haggis The way Hollywood was rallying around Brokeback for months is what's starting to happen with Crash, so who knows, Haggis may just pick up a statue in place of his movie winning for Best Picture. CAPOTE - Bennett Miller GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. - George Clooney MUNICH - Steven Spielberg BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR The Frontrunner BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN There isn't much more to be said about the awards behemoth that is Brokeback. While I don't see it picking up any acting awards, this one it's a lock for almost certainly. Why do I say almost? The Outside Shot CRASH Crash has seen a major late surge in support and promotion from Lionsgate and the Hollywood community. Go figure, that with a cast of 70something actors, that lots of people across Hollywood are invested in this movie. The blunt racial commentary and strong performances cover up a didactic script and make this movie important socially. The Big HUGE Surprise MUNICH It was widely expected that the fifth nominee for Best Picture would certainly be Walk the Line, but then Spielberg's Munich Olympics opus came in like a thief in the night. Widely criticized, and as a result highly controversial, this movie will pick up viewers as a result of the nomination, but certainly won't win. CAPOTE GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

The Year 2005 In Review: A Preview

January 13, 2006

Next week will feature lists and summary pieces about the past year in film, as we in smaller markets only get to see a clutch of films a few weeks later than those of you lucky (or unlucky, depending) enough to live in NYC or LA. I will say this: I'm shocked the Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven got buried at one cinema in LA for two weeks and no one outside the loop even heard about it. It's at the top of my "All-Time Movies I Liked A Lot and Wanted to Love But Some Studio Prick Decided I Wanted the Choppy Version of Instead of the Real Cut So I Thought a Completely Innocent Director Was at Fault" list. This is made even more criminal in that it's one of the few really solid, successful attempts at a respectful representation of Muslim crusaders. Salahaddin (usually pronounced "Saladin" with a very proper English accent) in particular isn't the fire-breathing satan dragon he's been portrayed as in the past, whether in popular cinema or literature. I wonder if the "Extended Edition" of Gladiator is better than the "Theatrical Cut" that didn't thrill me too much.

Love Tragically

The story of Tristan & Isolde has seen nearly as many permutations as that of Romeo & Juliet, including an excellent opera by Wagner. Conspicuously lacking was a feature film adaptation, which the story can now successfully claim...depending on your taste. The trailer for T&I also illustriously joins the ranks of the "Trailers of Doom", previews that summarize the entire movie in roughly 2-3 1/2 minutes. Good work, marketers, you've managed to make the entire movie relatively unsurprising to anyone who caught the three minute version. My mother actually mentioned she was glad one wouldn't have to waste the money on seeing it, since the ad team did such a good job of showing it to us as a free bonus for seeing Brokeback Mountain. T&I is very well-shot and acted, perfectly designed and costumed, and full of stock characters and story elements you've seen before in the myriad tragic love stories that derived their stories from this one. If you're remotely familiar with what the movie's about, you know what you're going to see. The fight choreography, I must say, is very well-done, for any boyfriends being dragged to see the movie against their will. The violence outweighs the lovin' at nearly a 4:1 ratio. All sorts of weapons are used, from maces and spears to single swords and shields. At one point, we get a tournament fight where the combatants use a single sword and dagger each that blazes by from move to move. The plethora of 18-24 year-old girls sitting around me this afternoon cooed each time James Franco looked dreamy and gasped each time the lovers were betrayed by themselves or forces outside their control. Almost all of them left the auditorium with tears streaming save one particularly cute girl who could be heard saying "am I the only girl who didn't cry" to her date. Sumptuous in composition and not remotely spare in its attention to detail, the strong performances by Sophia Myles, James Franco, and Rufus Sewell, along with the rest of the cast don't change the fact that you can predict what's happens next the whole way through. A few moments that come off unintentionally goofy are entirely forgivable, but it is indeed a story you've seen before. The attention and care paid in the production values let you focus on the story, which doesn't hit you too hard over the head with messages of considering what you are and are not willing to give up for the sake of love. Sometimes, the illogical, ill-advised, and generally disapproved choice is the best one to make for yourself and the one you care for. No matter what, it's better than most all other (non-expanding/platform) new releases out at theatres.

Syriana and The Squid

Just as both movies were leaving town (or so I thought), I caught Syriana and The Squid & The Whale. Both movies shot up the charts in contention as two of my favorites of the year, one probably thanks to the other. I saw the first show of the day of The Squid & The Whale was only seen by about six people other than me. Four of these six were little old women who had a terribly spirited conversation about Splenda and sugar substitutes. Squid shows all the messy details of a divorce, from the outside in and from the inside out. Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney, two actors who are consistently at the top of their game, play the husband and wife who make their kids' lives hell for the majority of the running time as a result of finally deciding their marriage won't work. Noah Baumbach, a sometimes-collaborator of Wes Anderson's, shows the same talent for casting as his colleague, and a similarly bare style that comes off successfully, likely thanks to lower expectations than people have of "the" Royal Tenenbaum. Unfortunately, after an expertly-crafted piece like this one, Noah will be cursed with similar preconceptions. The coping mechanisms the two young men stuck in between their parents develop are darkly comic and spiritedly tragic, thanks to how honest they come off. The elder brother elects to mimic his father while his younger brother clings closer to mom. Throwing a wrench in an already complex machinery, younger brother starts plowing headlong into puberty at the same time. The Squid and The Whale is a story about a young man fighting against himself whose parents don't realize that they're helping hurt him. It isn't terribly import who is the squid and who is the whale.

Playing in the Sandbox

While I waited for Syriana to start, I saw at least twenty or thirty people stream in to the next show of Squid. It seems people have caught on to when movies are leaving town, as Thursday afternoons aren't often that busy. Soderbergh's Traffic is ten times the movie Crash is, and so is Stephen Gaghan's Syriana. Whereas Haggis' movie is super-important because people saw it in droves, Gaghan's is important thanks to its actual content. Syriana is about the soldiers of cultural imperialism and how they're crushing us with ethnocentric, anti-global business policy. The complexity of that sentence's structure is on-par with that of the film itself. For some, that's a major negative, but I'm glad that among a sea of alleged "thinking man's movies," there is one that actually deserves the title. The Molasses-to-Rum interchange from character to character takes time to develop and establish the connections between the ensemble as they relate to the oil trade and each other. Crash uses the "coincidental event" tie as a reason to smash everyone into each others' path, which honestly comes off as pretentious. Syriana sidesteps this pitfall by establishing the players as characters who are already interconnected by the oil business. There is an interconnecting event, but it doesn't try so damned hard to seem important and excessively didactic. Powerfully moving performances abound from Alexander Siddig, George "Fat" Clooney, Matt Damon, Tim Blake Nelson, Chris Cooper, and Amanda Peet (a shocker). One of my favorite notes in the film comes from the wisened lion that is Christopher Plummer. While berating a materialistic marionette prince, he spells out the "friendly relations" between the West and the Middle East almost better than the trailer-featured diatribe from Tim Blake Nelson. The most under-recognized actor of 2005 and even 2004, Jeffrey Wright, gives a fantastic performance as a man struggling under the yoke of racial prejudice. Wright's plight highlights the fact that the civil rights movement only changed surface problems for a bright, innovative black man in America. His work here, in addition to Broken Flowers and The Manchurian Candidate, is just as award-worthy as he was in Angels in America last year. Having Squid to warm my cinematic mind up was useful going into Syriana, as the majority of movies I saw in 2005 didn't make me think to much. Much to my delight, the movie didn't leave town, but rather moved across town to the AMC 20. If you're in Tallahassee or another town where Syriana is hanging on by a thread, be sure to catch it before it disappears.

The Producers: The Movie Musical In Rearview

I saw the adapted adaptation again this past Wednesday night, and I enjoyed it about a hundred times more than I did the first time around. I found myself laughing and carrying on, and giving less of a care about attention to detail than...enjoying the hell out of it? It may have been the company (castmates from a local production of Jane Eyre), or just not caring as much about scrutinizing it, but I found myself having a lot more fun than I think I should have. On a related note, we have our first piece of Arthouse Cowboy reader email: I just finished reading your piece on The Producers and have to take issue with your comment "I've enjoyed the Broadway Cast Recording more as "isn't that funny, they made it a musical" than "it's revolutionized theatre" as some would falsely allege". I know I'm writing this from Australia but I don't know of anyone who has claimed it has revolutionized theatre. I've seen it (on stage) and whilst it was fun, it's a forgettable show with the worst set of lyrics I've encountered in many a year. My reading is that when it opened on Broadway, most critics saw it as a throwback to a fun, silly musical comedy that they don't make anymore and a slap it the face to the bloated English invasion a la Phantom of the Opera (and the less said about that film the better). But revolutionary? Come on! Regards, Warren Jones Me to him: I wholeheartedly agree with where I think you're coming from: the "revolution" comments and others like them come from the same folks I know here in the states who just love the newest thing to death as soon as it opens and herald it as "the show that saved Broadway". The Producers did, unfortunately, revolutionize one thing: ticket prices. The Producers shot prices through the ceiling and did change Broadway, albeit it for the worse. If you love reading or hate reading, feel free to fill my digital ear with comments or criticism.

The Grand Canyon Effect

January 2, 2006

At the age of 13 I saw the Grand Canyon, in person, for the first time. Spring Break was a wasteland of anything to do in suburban Dallas, and the opportunity to go presented itself in an optional school trip to the Four Corners states. The sights I would see, the pictures I brought back, and the money I raked in playing poker would be unforgettable. Arches, Bryce Canyon, and a variety of other National Parks became permanently stamped in my memory, along with the fact that I got along better with the sponsors than with most of the kids on the trip itself. Toward the end of the trip, we set in on the big Kahuna: Grand Canyon in Arizona. Growing up, you hear amazing things about this natural masterwork, and see scads of pictures. By the time you see it in person, whether at thirteen or thirty, it's not nearly as awe-inspiring because you've had all that majesty related to you way ahead of time. By the end of our time in Grand Canyon, the most memorable thing was the price list at the local McDonald's, where their St. Patrick's Day Mint Milkshake cost four bucks and change, while a burger meal cost upwards of seven. What the hell does any of this have to do with Ang Lee's wonderfully-composed Brokeback Mountain? I fell victim to the Grand Canyon Effect when I saw it, as will, I suppose, most of America. Everyone knows in advance what it's about, and that it ends tragically. It's getting too much coverage too fast. Those who are staunch defenders of the film are rushing to quell the far right and naysayers, but at the same time have in effect "let the terrorists win" by watering down the effect for most of the moviegoing public. Tallahassee, a major blue-state city in a predominantly blue county, doesn't get it until January 13 at the earliest. I saw it in Dallas because I was already tired of waiting in November. All that said, Brokeback really holds you and it breaks my heart in the last act, mostly thanks to a few under-recognized performances from Linda Cardellini, Kate Mara, and Roberta Maxwell. Jeff has thankfully had the means to do a lovely writeup and tribute to this lady in the current column on the main page of Elsewhere, which I urge you to read. He's made mention of these women and their vital performances to the film, and I couldn't agree more. Why hasn't anyone picked out Randy Quaid's turn toward the beginning of the film as solid and authentic? The cowboys aren't just homosexuals in a straight-friendly world, they're non-western actors in a western movie, and Quaid brought that immediately to mind. If I were a betting man (and I am), I'd pose a guess that Brokeback, frontrunner though it may seem at the moment, will fall to a sleeping giant in the Picture category. Brokeback, by my estimation, could very easily lose steam, and to be fair, it's wonderful, but I think Match Point has it on overall points. Even though I haven't seen Munich and a few other contenders, I not only call this the best all-around movie I've seen all year, but also the lead contender for Best Picture. If there's one constant I've seen over the years in the Hollywood award dance, it's people changing partners tons of times before the clock strikes. Heath Ledger does great here comparative to his other work for sure, but his performance is nuanced and quiet, emulating but not embodying the part like a Brando or (for a Western vet) Warren Oates would have. Good for Heath, but this doesn't put him in the pantheon like Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Capote does. Jake Gyllenhaal has his moments of strength, but others that reminded me how often I see him giving us lines as Jake with a mustache and age makeup rather than as Jack. Michelle Williams really is the best lead performance in the pic, and Anne Hathaway does a lot more with her part than most critics have given her credit for doing. The acting is very well-done by all accounts, but there are issues of cohesion that linger throughout. You've got Randy Quaid/Roberta Maxwell- level talent and authenticity right next to city boys being a bit out of place. The score threads simply and effectively throughout, and the pictures are pretty as hell, but there are some pieces that don't fit quite right. The kissing at one point reminds me of how Dennis Quaid described how he and his partner in Far From Heaven went about it the wrong way: they were men kissing like kissing was a physical strength contest. Even for being men of that time when there was no Bravo on cable, that kiss just didn't read at all. Little nitpicks like the above don't count too much with a picture that amounts to such a gorgeous big picture as Brokeback, but they make the difference between being on pitch and being just the tiniest bit too sharp.

The Point

Match Point is it, folks. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's the bee's knees, for all intents and purposes. Without going into plot detail, it's relatable, fine-tuned, and surprising (all in multiple ways). It's the best reason for there to be an Ensemble Acting award at the Oscars, it's a return to form (by all accounts) for Woody Allen, and it easily surprises anyone who doesn't read too much about the movie in advance. Issues of love, lust, fidelity, trust, betrayal, materialism, and social class all come up and are all at the forefront of the story. I've wanted to enjoy Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in a movie ever since I started avoiding movies that feature him, and he's very good here. Not one word or gesture coming from him seemed to mischaracterize his role in the least. That second sentence is true of every single actor I can think of in the movie, the ensemble is that good. I've found myself saying "Fuck me, that was good" ever since seeing it last Thursday, 29th December. Woody Allen really hits the mark with what I can honestly say is the worst date movie of the year. Trust me.

The Promise of Gossip

Rumor Has It... had a promising, up-and-coming screenwriter-turned-director (Ted Griffin) attached to it, as well as an extremely bankable cast. There was a direct connection to one of the most iconic popular movies of the 1960's, The Graduate, and everything seemed to be going to plan. Then the director got dumped, some gossips say it was a result of "creative differences with star Jennifer Aniston that amounted to a star trying to direct from the wrong side of the camera, with Aniston wanting it to be more of a vehicle than true to the script she signed on for originally. Griffin got dumped for Rob "Alex & Emma makes us forget he made This is Spinal Tap" Reiner and everything went to shit, apparently. Thanks to the critical press as well as the ticket-buying (who didn't) public, that's precisely what happened. It was up against seven bazillion other things that had many times better quality grades. It couldn't have won if it had tried. Here's the thing: I can appreciate the movie, not only as a student of anthropology, but as an actor who's performed in far-less-than-stellar circumstances. The script itself is an interesting twisted family issues story with a redemptive ending and a novelty premise that (again, allegedly) got completely fucked by one casting choice. Shirley MacLaine makes the most of the mess around her by adapting the character she wanted to play into the goofball surroundings she got stuck with. Your heart shatters along with Mark Ruffalo, but when he isn't around, it's a wacky slapstick escapade. Kevin Costner is so "in" it isn't even funny. Richard Jenkins is always so precise it's a shame no one will see him tear the shit out of this role as Aniston's father. Aniston, meanwhile, is in another movie most of the time. She has moments of genuine empathy, but she completely dumps it out the window in others, playing 'Rachel from Friends" as this character. In the anthropological field, scientists sometimes have tiny shards of complex cultures from which to extrapolate the most intricate of civilizations. In this movie, there are pieces of "what it could have been" all over the place.

The Producers: The Movie Musical in Six Minutes

I love good musicals. I love Mel Brooks humor. I love The Producers (1968). I love farce. This new vintage isn't to my taste. People howled in the evening show I saw of the Mel Brooks-produced, frankensteined musical last week in Garland's new AMC Firewheel 18 with a couple friends. I had a couple laughs out loud, but not more than one and a half times, to be really honest. You lose something going from the stage to the screen, notably jokes about intermission, the audience, and so on. You can approximate some of these, but they're never as funny as they are live. The cameos from Michael McKean, Jon Lovitz, Richard Kind, Andrea Martin, and even camera-conscious Jai Rodriguez (a Broadway replacement Carmen Ghia and one of the Queer Eye feloows) tickled me more than most of the movie did. Nathan Lane's "Betrayed" number was more entertaining than the movie that preceded it, summarizing the whole thing in under six minutes. Will Ferrell could only do so much to keep the movie entertaining too. The man's a mad raving genius in the right role. Gary Beach and Roger Bart were in another movie entirely: one I wish I'd gotten to see, because it seemed absolutely hilarious. I've enjoyed the Broadway Cast Recording more as "isn't that funny, they made it a musical" than "it's revolutionized theatre" as some would falsely allege. It revolutionized ticket prices, and for the absolute worst. If this was going to be the year of the movie musical comeback, we're screwed.

Ode to an Abomination: Grandma's Boy

I resist dedicating the time to a full review of the new AdamSandlerCo movie, but had to make mention of how horrible it is, since it opens Friday. God, I just can't do it. I want to write more, but that's just helping them.

Friday, December 30, 2005 at 12:17 AM

December 29, 2005

Please Hold

I've got gobs of new material that's filled a number of pages in my notebook and a whole load of photos to share, but the circumstances of making the 14 hour drive from Dallas to Tallahassee in the morning have put those journalistic endeavors on hold. I wrote that in boldface to make sure you read it as sincere...or pitiable, who cares. For reference, these are the features you can expect in the new year: Reviews of The Producers (a shrugger...wasn't great, wasn't entirely horrible either, but needed an intermission), Brokeback Mountain (Grand Canyon Effect), and the thoroughly excellent Match Point, which doesn't require snarky parentheses. Talking at the Movies with Mom, Editions 2 and 3 (Brokeback and Match Point) A new list for each major post, including an addendum to The Ones That Got Away. Overlooked actors, the Unseen piece broken into chunks, and a host of other little "Year in Review" bits. I desperately ened to sleep. Good night, folks. See you in 2006.

Ones That Got Away

As seems to happen every year, there's a clutch of movies that make it to theatres, but for one reason or another (didn't come to town, was in town for a week, etc.), I didn't see. The list is composed of movies that I wanted to see, so as to not include stuff that didn't sound remotely interesting or that I didn't mind catching on DVD. In a year full of movies like Paradise Now and The Aristocrats playing to near-empty (and at times empty save for one person) houses, there are plenty of great flicks that slipped through the cracks for me and most of America. Mondovino As much as wine's popularity surged after Sideways hit big with mainstream and arthouse audiences alike, it's slightly surprising this allegedly fascinating doc about the business of wine making, bottling, and delivering didn't get the kind of release or notice as other docs did later on in 2005. The Beautiful Country Bai Ling, recently more famous for singing badly on VH1's "But Can They Sing" along with the likes of Morgan Fairchild and Joe Pantoliano, apparently gives a fantastic turn in this "now it's here, now it's gone" release from earlier in the year. From what I hear, sumptuous visuals meshed with a fascinating immigrant story made this a Terrence Malick movie without the Malick. Me & You & Everyone We Know One of the many notable directorial debuts of 2005 had heaps of acclaim before most people even saw it. Now available on DVD, Miranda July's film focuses on the difficulty in interpersonal connection in the modern world. An unemployed shoe salesman (John Hawkes) meets a lonely performance artist (Miranda July) and finds himself completely engrossed in someone he barely knows. Breakfast on Pluto Neil Jordan's latest sees Cillian Murphy taking his third "off-beat" type role in as many movies (Batman Begins, Red Eye). Murphy plays Kitten Braden, a foster child who leaves behind small-town Ireland for big city life in London. Kitten becomes a cabaret singer and meets all manner of people in 1960s/70s London, with the turbulence of the times and terrorism swirling around her. Supporting turns by fantastic actors such as Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, and Stephen Rea make this one I was sorry not to see while home. Last Days I heard extremely mixed notices on this pseudo-bio-slice-of-life/death Kurt Cobain piece from Gus Van Sant. I'll never really forgive the waste that was the 1998 Psycho remake, but Van Sant still completely won me over with Good Will Hunting and Drugstore Cowboy and a few other films to the point that I'll give him a chance no matter what might not come out quite right. Oddly, as much as I like Gus, I've still not seen Gerry or Elephant, though I'd very much like to very soon. This list may be shorter than expected, but the reason is that other films belong to a list to be posted on Thursday, The Unseen: Movies You Didn't Know You Missed in '05. Come back for thoughts on Ushpizin, (Green Street) Hooligans, The Comedians of Comedy, Where the Truth Lies Hustle & Flow, Dear Frankie, The Great Raid, Prozac Nation, Dominion: A Prequel to the Exorcist, Tarnation, Saint Ralph, and Little Manhattan. I'd have posted all of these today, but the list goes and goes, and I find myself continuing to add to it.

2005's Last Bang: Back in Dallas

This is the time of the year for upheaval, and more so than previous years, I've been hit by the Upheaval Fairy, so I apologize for the multi-week disappearance. Most of that time, I haven't had consistent access to the net, let alone time to type things out. This week provides me a great opportunity to get back on track and ahead. Have a great time with your loved ones and look for frequent updates over the next week. With the year coming to a close, the next few days see the release of a big group of movies that I've yet to see. Before compiling a year-end list as so many already have, I've got some work yet to do, though the next few days will see the posting of lists that this fact has no bearing on whatsoever. Expect Ones That Got Away, a list of the notable movies I missed this year, as well as The Unseen (movies no one got to see) on Tuesday. Thursday I've got a sneak of Woody Allen's Match Point that I'm greatly looking forward to seeing. I'll likely shoot something up that night, with a more substantive piece following early next week.

Talking at the Movies

King Kong "Okay, this is a bit excessive." -a pretty girl (the completely out of my league type) sitting just down the row at King Kong, during the three T-Rex/Kong pas de quatre in a canopy of vines Same Girl: "Why did you take me to movie with all those spiders in it?" Her Date: "I swear, I didn't know. Let's see something else this weekend, how about The Family Stone?" Girl: "Yeah, that looks really funny." -the girl from above and her date, under the mistaken impression The Family Stone is all screwball comedy The Family Stone during the trailer for Ice Age 2 Me: "I heard this movie was packed on its opening weekend while Kong was pretty sparse." My Mother: "Kong is Kong, who cares. It is what it is." during the trailer for Tristan & Isolde Mom: "Glad there's no reason to waste money on it now, they just showed us the whole movie." Mom: "Okay, we get it, the house is a cage and they're all animals, stop showing us shots of the house." Mom: "Wow." -repeated throughout

Kinship and Social Chaos (Talking @ the Movies vol.2)

I caught The Family Stone just a few days ago with my mother, so I'll preface my capsule review with a transcription (from notes) of the conversation we had afterward, continued a few days yet later. There are some minor spoilers sprinkled throughout, so be aware. Mom: "That was the best cast I've seen in a long time." Me: "You mean they not only looked like they were blood, but felt like they were too?" Mom: "Yes, it felt very authentic, and extremely well-directed. The script could have made it really stupid if it weren't so well-acted and directed." Me: "You mean the partner-swap thing?" Mom: "Oh yes." Me: "As soon as Claire Danes showed up, I said, 'oh, no. I was starting to really like this a whole lot.' and then everything turned out fine." Mom: "And the brother--" Me: "Luke Wilson?" Mom: "I'm sure you would know his name better than I would." Me: "He's a really fantastic actor. I heard they were originally looking at him for the lead." Mom: "Oh, he was much better as the brother, he was a fantastic foil." Me: "Did you catch Amy wearing those rings at the end there?" Mom: "Oh yes, that was one of my favorite little touches. That's where the expert direction really shows, in those little details that aren't thrown in you face." Me: "That girl, Rachel McAdams, is a really fantastic actress, I've become a big fan of hers. She more than held her own opposite Diane Keaton, who's one of my all-time favorite actors." Mom: "Well what a great job they did of being each other. Amy was her mom but younger. They were both so wonderful." Me: "I'm glad Craig T. Nelson got this gig, he was always really undervalued until he did The Incredibles." Mom: "Overall, just wonderful." A couple days later... Me: "What did you like most about the movie, now that it's had some time to sink in? What really got you the most?" Mom: "I think the part lots of people will be really affected by is the scene with the scars in bed." Me: "Jesus, yes, that wrecked me." Mom: "I think it made a statement about all the families that have suffered and dealt with Breast Cancer, since it's really turned into something of an epidemic. The movie did a great job of striking at the heart of the concept of an ideal American woman being a Tyson chicken: all breast and thighs. Diane Keaton's character is all about what makes a real woman." Me: "Everett's breakdown with his mom was the part that really got to me the most." Mom: "Different things get to different people." Me: "There's something for everyone more than usual." Mom: "I definitely have to agree. Just great all around. You know, that Jessica Parker girl did such a fantastic job of embodying that uptight, back-East type. It sounds cheap to say, but it was really spot-on casting. I just had some problems with the cinematography. Sometimes there were moves I just didn't understand, in terms of what we were supposed to be looking at." I don't have too much else to add that Dr. Deyoe-Chiullan (Mom) and I didn't go over above, but for what it's worth, the trailers still terribly misrepresent this movie as some kind of slapstick balls-to-the-wall romp. I am very glad to see it playing strongly even in the face of Kong and The Lion, The Witch, and the Jesus Allegory in the Wardrobe. As soon as it can be on network TV for the holidays, this will become a perennial favorite on the video racks.

The Gorilla Abides

There's not much that's not already been said about Kong. I also found myself in a half-empty theatre, along with most of America. The first hour or 70 minutes or so is long, but the amount of character development is strong. I couldn't imagine watching it three times in a weekend, as friends did for Jackson's Rings films or tons of girls I knew when I was 14 saw Titanic. I've studied Anthropology at FSU for the last four years, and I'll be damned if they didn't do some outstanding, awe-inspiring animal behavior animation. Just as the amazement would start to wane during each sequence, I'd be surprised to find myself saying "how much longer is this gonna go?" time after time. I love visual spectacle, and am fully capable of making the unpopular choice and proclaim my enjoyment of a movie regardless of its (often major) flaws. So many sequences started awakening the 8-year-old inside me, but just as often, I felt compelled to tug on mom's shirt and ask if we can have popcorn. The Bronto Run sequence was dazzling, and was supposed to be entirely implausible, but I still found myself wondering how there weren't more puddles of people after it was all done. Upon repeat viewings, I'm sure it'll grow on me. Dont' get me wrong, I really enjoyed the majority of it a whole lot, especially Jack Black and Andy Serkis' performance as Kong himself was virtuoso. My date had to ask if I was okay near the end when the big monkey lost his fight. That escape of breath just before he falls really killed me, and in the best parts of the movie, it did feel like I was awash in my younger years all over again. Don't let anyone tell you the movie's no good, but don't go in expecting a world-shattering, perfect adventure movie. Oh, and for the record, I dig all the chatter about Heart of Darkness.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005 at 11:07 PM

December 27, 2005

Ones That Got Away

2005's Last Shot: Back in Dallas

December 25, 2005

Talking at the Movies

Kinship and Social Chaos (Talking @ the Movies vol.2)

The Gorilla Abides

The Importance of Being Prejudiced

December 3, 2005

Every Jane Austen-ite girl I know anticipated this newest adaptation of Pride & Prejudice with dread. Colin Firth's interpretation of Darcy to them epitomized everything anyone could do with the character in the BBC miniseries, in addition to it providing them all they could wish for in an exceptionally literal translation of a novel.

The line outside the Regal Governor's Square 16, which we promptly left for the AMC 20 at the other mall.

I personally recognized the marvelous acting done by Firth and Jennifer Ehle in the miniseries, but it wasn't as entrancing to me as, say, the French TV miniseries version of The Count of Monte Cristo. I could appreciate it, but it doesn't inspire the rabid rewatchability felt by so many Austen-ites. The new film version really fires on all cylinders for me though. Matthew MacFadyen's Darcy is exceptionally well-sculpted and relatable, and the supporting cast more than do their part. Keira Knightley doesn't defy any expectations per se, but she does play the part of Lizzie Bennett very capably. Donald Sutherland plays Mr. Bennett quietly and authentically, never going for the stereotypical father part, and though Brenda Blethyn goes the other direction, playing Mrs. Bennett extremely high-energy, her tack on the character is constantly entertaining. Jena Malone pops in as a delightfully oblivious sister Lydia, one among a family that--heaven forbid--actually resemble one another. Judi Dench walks in sometime past the halfway point, raising the stakes as she always does. Just a week or so ago, I re-watched to 2002 Importance of Being Earnest with her as Lady Catherine's spiritual cousin, Lady Bracknell. She may end up a nominee in the Supporting Actress category rather than Lead Actress, but who knows as this point. As a whole, the movie left my friend Aaron and I, both single guys in a "He's Not That Into You"-world, moderately deflated afterward. We both immediately said something to the effect of "I wish women would let you be 'bewitched by [them], body and soul" and the two female friends with us merely sighed and made swooning sounds about how pretty MacFadyen was. The only hangups I had were related to suspending the disbelief of the time period and the propriety associated with it, not because I don't believe that's how it was, but because I've seen this sort of "society separates us" type story many, many times. Let's face it, most movies set in this time period are exclusively about this topic; however, this one does manage the material very well.

Cowboy On the Street

Black Friday: n. (1) the day after Thanksgiving, (2) typically the busiest shopping day of the year, (3) depending on your point of view, a pox on humanity

The line outside the Tallahassee Best Buy early Friday morning.

Regardless of definition 3, there were a couple unbeatable deals on gifts I bought for people that I knew no one else wanted. The side benefit would be standing in lines with soccer moms and other types who could give me a different angle on holiday movies. One lady was really an art cinema enthusiast who saw In Her Shoes for the millisecond it was in town first-run. She was looking the most forward to Narnia and The Family Stone just for the cast, not taking particularly to the trailer or poster. A woman behind us actually made a sound of disgust about that poster. Good job marketing, you've upset the red-staters. A sherriff's deputy I met at the mall said he and the family don't go out to the movies too much, mostly getting DVDs from Blockbuster.com. He said the DVDs don't replace them going to the movies, there just isn't a lot it's worth taking the small kids to see. He did say they were really eager to take the kids to see The Polar Express at the local IMAX, and IMAX was the best reason to take the kids, because they love it. He was really surprised to hear King Kong wasn't going IMAX, but Harry Potter was instead. That fact along meant that he might wait for video. Who knew IMAX was that big a deal to some people who don't usually go to the Mall-O-Plex.

A New Lease

Rent begins by setting the "4th wall" on fire and throwing it out the window. Regardless of what a big pile of critics are saying, Rent will continue to be well-regarded for a long while partly thanks to the genuine undercurrent of challenging expectations and authority. In Shakespeare's time, there was no such thing as the fourth wall acting teacher after acting teacher tries to convince us prevents actors in character from knowing there's an audience ten feet away. Soliloquies in Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, and countless other classics are meant to be personal moments for characters to have a side conversation with him or herself as well as the audience. "Shall I heare more, or shall I speake at this?" is directed at the audience just as "Seasons of Love" is at the outset of Chris Columbus' rather impressive adaptation of Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize-winning opus. Part of the reason that this one song, moreso than any other in the show, is singled out as the show's signature, is that it's the catchy thesis of every single character's journey from "December 24th, 1989" to the final, lasting image of the movie. Alleging that "Rent is more dated than Hair," or that it's "no Chicago" (both said by Leah Rosen among many others) not only misrepresents the film's message and outs a bunch of critics as being as shortsighted as cable news networks...not to mention the preposterous idea that Chicago was worthy of all the praise it got in the first place.

Rent: The Matinee Experience

I personally enjoy Rent's music and the show as performed live (I've only seen tours), but in its live performance, you really have to be prepared for digesting a multi-course meal. Columbus' film makes the narrative leaner and more easy to digest. I'm a big stickler for faithful adaptation, but not at the cost of the accessibility of the material. "Contact" and "Goodbye Love" are two of the more notable omissions from the film score, in addition to shorter snips here and there throughout. Similar to the recent Harry Potter movie, friends who were much bigger RENTheads than I didn't really notice until they consciously thought about it. Speaking of RENTheads, they are precisely the group I was most worried about going in to see the movie. RENTheads have a habit of singing along to the music in cars, in hallways, at Karaoke night, on a boat, and in your house. Just like eating Green Eggs and Ham, they'll sing the score anywhere, any time. Hell, I've done it, but some of these folks are serious about their right to sing "One Song, Glory" in restaurants that don't have Karaoke going on at the time. I went to see Rent twice on opening day. Not because I'm a massive RENThead, but because, for a variety of reasons, I think it's a very important film and wanted to gauge multiple reactions. I saw the early show with my friend Aaron, who had never heard the music, seen the show, or anything. He enjoyed the movie a great deal, but had the bad fortune to sit next to one of the more virulent RENTheads in the audience. She recited lines before they were spoken, as well as lyrics.

Aaron Pagel: collegiate actor, producer, good guy, and Pac-Man champion.

People brought their 2-8 year olds, and no one left. Jesse L. Martin and Adam Pascal, moreso than anyone else, got a huge reaction from the crowd every time the show was theirs. I was also struck by how definitively "end of the 20th Century" it was when Mark (Anthony Rapp) says "smile for Ted Koppel, officer." The film is dated in a good way, capturing the spirit of multiple generations at once. The audience's hearts heaved in unison at the funeral as soon as Martin reached the end of the first line, wailing an undulating "youuu" to the congregation. There was laughter at the somewhat Bon Jovi music video-style car approaching shot of Roger, and a young man a couple rows behind me called out "anyone have any tissues" as the credits rolled. Lots of content smiles greeted me in the lobby as I walked past everyone else. See the film at a cinema with a decent sound system, or high belting notes will crack, and the bass will be fuzzy, as it was at Tallahassee's AMC 20.

The Late Show

The late show was full of obnoxious RENTheads, with a number singing (not quietly) along with the movie. I wasn't the only person annoyed by this, with a couple people audibly saying "no singing" throughout. The Nokia ski commercial telling people to shut off their phones got applause. Whoever cut it really has hit the thing on the head. Thank you for keeping us awake, whoever you are. "Tango: Maureen: killed like crazy, and when at first watch, the little tags after the end of songs felt a bit like applause breaks, this time, I'd further broken down my expectations and read them as codas, putting a nice button on the number. The lag after "Santa Fe" (the song, not the sequence) was a bit empty, regardless. Hilariously, in the middle of "La Vie Boheme", a small gang of Abercrombie & Fitch wearing trust fund babies got up and left. The themes are so simple and universal that they transcend the term "dated" and more accurately could be called "timeless". The rage of the Gen-X crowd and the complacency of the Boomers came through strikingly and genuinely, the "us" versus "them" division that has blurred severely with the homogenization of the two during the corporatization of America and the rest of the world. RENT, good or bad as it may do in the box office, will live on as a definitive end-of-an-era story.

Harry Potter and the Cinematic Event Theory

November 23, 2005

As an arthouse snob/cineaste/film enthusiast/you name it, I should be able to resist these massive opening weekend blockbuster events, but the Anthropologist in me won't let me miss this once in a blue moon case study opportunity. I don't read the books, and save the breath needed to tell me I should, because it only helps reinforce the fact that I won't do it under duress. An ex from high school nearly assaulted me when I told her it wasn't "my cup of tea, I prefer Oolong or Earl Grey". The audacity of enjoying science fiction and fantasy and not managing to like J.K. Rowling's pedagogic penchant for highlighting her foreshadowing with floodlights rather than flashlights! Unacceptable! As a twentysomething looking for friendship as well as romantic companionship, I can forgive a whole lot in terms of taste, and will even pay to take a girl out to a movie I can smell from a thousand paces. I can shut off my critical allergy to bad movies and just enjoy schlock for schlock's sake. A girl doesn't need to know who Fellini or Anontioni are, much less Bresson or Peckinpah. I can deal with an inexperienced filmgoer whose idea of foreign films was shaped by Amelie and Y tu mama tambien and doesn't understand why foreign films can't just be overdubbed. Women who are rabid about Potter are another story. These ladies are like the majority of Austen and Wilde devotees before them: there is a certain way to appreciate the material (theirs) and virtually no other. I've rarely felt as physically threatened as when I disclose my personal misgivings about Rowling's writing style. I'm assaulted with everything from "you have no taste" to "you've no idea what you're missing" to "then what do you read?". The movies are a different story for me, though. Better put, they've grown on me. I refused to spend money to see Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets in theatres, I was so unimpressed with the first couple books (far as I got through the second one). Seeing them later on DVD, I felt the first two are a bit lumpy in places (more due to source material than Chris Columbus' directorial skills, in my opinion), but Cuaron's third installment got me onboard for the movies through the end. Mike Newell has kept me interested with the beefiest installment yet. I honestly could have waited a week or a month, but I could feel something going on here, something bigger than other movies released this year. Unlike the third movie, this one was going to be a full-on Event. This one was gonna be as big as Spider-Man, and bigger than the first flick. There just haven't been many major movies people have anticipating like this one in 2005. People are still looking for escapism just as much as they were three years ago (moreso, I'd wager), and almost no one has stepped up to the plate. Narnia and King Kong will change that, of course. Potter fans number in the millions across the globe, and the fourth book's release marked the point of major crossover for the franchise. The first movie was coming out months later, and despite what people may tell you in polite conversation, that's when most people really jumped on the bandwagon. The movie was another big jump-on point, where folks would watch the movie and then go buy the books, skipping right on to book 2, "reading" the first one on-screen. I found it humorous that, like a Jane Austen adaptation, this controversial (among ultra-purists) adaptation featured a big social dance scene. The band that plays in this scene is a very interesting cross-section of members of Radiohead and Pulp, and for the first time made me interested in listening to tracks on a Potter soundtrack. Superfluity aside, the new Potter plays teen angst very well, and only has a few spots that made we want to shout the Python catchphrase "Get on with it!". Unneeded establishing shots and the terrificly anticlimactic tease of seeing four fights with dragons and only getting one stuck out, but there were surely a couple other things that made me audibly sigh. Is Potter the end-all, be-all of modern fantasy? Of course not, but it's far from Dungeons & Dragons for sure, and manages to entertain on the screen very capably. The best thing the series has done is help push audience interest in fantasy material while at the same time improving mediocre fantasy fiction writing in its translation to the screen. In other news, the series has caused a massive surge in sales of FSU scarves, which are garnet and gold, same color and style as Gryffindor/Hogwarts scarves.

The Trailer Hitch

Prior to every tentpole release, there's some sort of big-deal trailers that play. After the demise of the site's Trailer Trash column, I thought I might start running a recurring feature similar to Talking at the Movies, but about trailers seen theatrically and online. I'll throw down a couple sentences, perhaps a few notable quotables (forgive the cheap rhyme), and it'll be over before you notice. In person, an audience gives you a great insight into how the unwashed hordes are reacting to what 90% of them (I'm assuming here) base their cinematic choices on week to week. This installment is broken down into sections, but future ones will be more singularly-focused.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Monster House A CGI animated movie from Zemeckis and Spielberg (producing) about a man-eating house. Spooky but goofy and cutesy. Good crowd response, it'll sell some tickets. Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Great job done here, in summarizing the entire plot in a matter of about three minutes. These are the movies Martin and Levy do so they can afford to do their Shopgirl's and A Might Wind's. King Kong "Yeah yeah, PJ!" and "Holy shit, that's gonna be awesome!" were overheard, and the trailer is also ill of Here's The Whole Damn Movie Disease. Looks sharp and gorgeous, and I've got faith. Superman Returns "Oh my God, are you kidding?" "Have they completely run out of ideas?" "Bo-ring" (as said by Homer Simpson) "Poor Christopher Reeve, why won't they leave him alone". Not a good trailer for this at all, and not even on-par with Batman Begins's teaser. The Superman logo looks more plastic-y and Disney-esque than ever. Tease with an image of Kate Bosworth for the girlies and Spacey for everyone on earth that'll have an aneurysm when they find out he's playing Luthor. Take this thing back to the drawing board, even though the voiceover is a good touch, trash the rest. How do you make an audience full of people unenthusiastic about one of the biggest, most adored superheroes ever? This trailer is a great roadmap. Lady in the Water Shyamalan's return was greeted with groans and cheers, but more groans. "A Bedtime Story"? Are we serious here? I'm one of the minority who really liked Unbreakable, so here's hoping we don't get another movie that's based on one twist we expect coming from the trailer. Signs creeped me out, even with its corny trimmings in places. I'm gonna hold out hope for this one. Happy Feet Return of the Penguins, for the love of...you've gotta be kidding me. Robin Williams and surely a bunch of other celebs voice on this thing, which will certainly make a ton of money. Kids don't see stuff like Zathura, but all of them will see this...shoot me now. Over the Hedge This looks bloody horrible. Good voice matches to animals, but that doesn't make this a reason to sit in a cinema for an hour point five. The Shaggy Dog "So Disney needs to make a new version of all their tired old ideas for each generation now?" -Eric Hurst (Artistic Director, Theatre a la Carte) That says it all, except for the fact that this trailer also suffers from Whole Damn Movie Disease.

At Walk the Line

Casanova I just hope the swordplay makes this worth it. This is definitely not the award contender starring Heath Ledger, just something released to get women in seats while on holidays. Munich Eric Bana, Daniel Craig (the new James Bond), Geoffrey Rush, and Stephen Spielberg's names will be on everyone's lips come the end of the year. This movie is gonna end up being a big deal, no matter how good or bad people say it is. The middle-agers and up, who have been drawn out by Good Night, and Good Luck. as well as Capote in their limited releases will go out in droves to see something they were "there for", even though for almost all of them, it was by way of TV. Tony Kushner's name on it seals the deal for me, and just reminds me of how much I wish they'd released Angels in America theatrically before HBO-ing it.

Recent Apple Trailers

The Break Up Affair buzz will lead this one to a higher take than it probably deserves, but at least we didn't see all the jokes in the trailer, just one reasonably flat one. Hostel Just watching this trailer makes me writhe in my seat. Eli Roth getting a chance to go as grotesque and grimy as Saw intrigues me, but the general public will see "Saw clone", but maybe they'll give it a chance while waiting to waste money on Saw III. The World's Fastest Indian Anthony Hopkins plays a man from New Zealand with a wickedly fast motorbike. For once, he isn't "the professor" or "the guide" or "the wise one"! Cheers for movies based on remarkable true events. Let's hope it's as good as the trailer allows us to believe. Mrs. Henderson Presents As fluffy as this looks, it'll entertain and play well to a wartime (though that isn't how it feels day in day out, eh?) audience. Every mom will take her daughter over the holidays while father takes son to the strip club. Bloodrayne According to people I know have watched it, on the House of the Dead DVD commentary track, director Uwe Boll compares his seminal Trash Epic to cinema classics such as Gone With the Wind and...Schindler's List. Why are people giving this guy multiple tens of millions to make terrible junk and skittish about giving Chris Columbus (or anyone for that matter) as much as they need to make Rent? Answer: the world isn't fair. Duane Hopwood David Schwimmer is Ross from Friends, but is a drunk with a kid. I'd like to see him do something new, and I think America agrees. First Descent For once, an extreme sports movie trailer makes me interested to see it. Drop the best snowboarders in the world in dangerous, uncharted snowboarding territory, and show one of them snowboarding through an avalanche, and you have my attention. This'll catch people on ESPN, but I don't see it making a lot at the box office. Ellie Parker Struggling Actress: The Movie. In a world...where the movie is shot on DV, and the trailer looks like it's a fourth-generation bootleg off a VHS tape, it still looks like a movie it's easy to pass on. The Libertine Johnny Depp. Sex. Period costumes. Controversy. Every Depp-lusting fanatic in the states only needed the first two to advance their heart rate, but the last two make it even better. The Fountain Wow, that was fast. That's really all one can say, yes? Grandma's Boy What the hell is this mess supposed to be about, exactly? Videogames and a guy pretending that he's sleeping with a trio of old ladies doth not a compelling concept make. To 3am on HBO with you! Big Momma's House 2 We don't need this. I can't believe I watched it.

Talking at the Movies: Separate Lies & Good Night, and Good Luck

November 14, 2005

after Separate Lies....

A Wife: "That poor man."
Her Husband: "Well honey, he was sorta a asshole."
Me: "Who? Bill or James?"
The Wife: "Both."
The Husband: "The kid? He was a sonuvabitch, but the older fella, his wife never really gave a rat's a--"
The Wife: "Harold, let's go."
The Husband: "What? Oh, fine."

Me: "What'd you think?"
Older Lady Who Obviously Hadn't Had a Chat With a Guy My Age in a Long While: "It was sad, but it was smart, and it ended real good."

Me: "What'd you think?"
The Girl My Age: "Like, it gives you a lot to think about. I really had no idea like, you know, where it was going. You know?"

After exiting the theatre, I overheard her starting the "we need to talk" conversation with some hapless bastard on her cell phone.

Good Night, and Good Luck.

after the film....
"I forgot McCarthy was that much of a bastard."

"That's the best movie I've seen in a long time."

"I wish they made a TV show like that, then I'd have somethin to watch."

Older Jewish Lady Who Stayed For the Credits: "Did ya like it?"
Me: "Yes, very much
Older Jewish Lady: "Ya should bring awl yeh friends teh see this moovie, sweetie. Then maybe they learn somethin, yeh?"
Me: "I'll do my best."

The Flood

November 14, 2005

This part of the year is always replete with Oscar bait and would-be's in disproportionate numbers. Awards Season 2005 has definitively started with a smash-bang group of films, but how much is too much? My concern is that too many big films happen at once, and as a result, too many get ignored. If there's one good thing that came out of Gladiator winning Best Picture was changing the perception that an early-year film could be eligible for top prizes. The Big Fade, as described so long ago by Jeff Wells in this site's main column, is in full effect, not simply because DVDs and TV are luring people away, but because all the good movies of 2005 have been held for the last two months of the year. Below are some capsule reviews (some more in-depth than others) from the past few weeks. I've been MIA for a couple weeks dealing with the paying part of my occupational life and coming off a run acting in a Stephen Sondheim musical, so things have been far from normal. Regularity returns this week.

Capote

Phillip Seymour Hoffman electrifies and stings as the famous writer, thereby making this the tortured soul movie people will be talking about for years. In an early scene, Capote entertains a room of party guests and that room extended into the 1/4-packed house (a rarity in Tallahassee's Miracle 5) I sat in last week. Hoffman's Capote had everyone in the palm of his hand for the entire runtime. At first, the audience fell victim to his compulsive lies, not wanting to believe he so blatantly deceived and hurt so many close to him. Toward the end, knowing chuckles and chortles peppered the audience just as Truman's series of lies were sprinkled all along the path to the completion of In Cold Blood Capote is as much a cautionary tale as a biopic. To relate the story of Truman Capote's greatest success and failure in the style of a favorite children's story would be to say "the boy cried wolf and got eaten whole". Capote not only ups the ante for 2005 as a high quality film year, but it stands as one of the best films of this decade thus far. The movie is sharp without being hard-edged, elegiac without making you want to slit your wrists like The Weather Man. Capote reminds us of the dire consequences of balancing how much we alternately invest and feed off of those we make the subject of our work. Bennett Miller and Dan Futterman (best known to many as Val, the son of the Genie from Aladdin and stepson of Max Bialystock version 2.0 in The Birdcage) have made a fantastic debut as a team, and I hope they keep the good work up after their first phenomenal success.

Good Night, and Good Luck.

George Clooney knocks it out of the park, choosing not to toss around his editorial weight and wedge himself in as the star role of the film, instead making way for the most substantial work we've gotten to see out of David Strathairn. For a couple decades, Starthairn has been a go-to supporting actor who never fails to impress with his effortless, organic acting style. Strathairn disappears into the part, as has been said previously, but the different perspective I offer is that people in my demographic (18-24) see Strathairn's Murrow as that generation's version of what Jon Stewart of the Daily Show is for us. He shot straight and wasn't afraid to make people in power look bad through clever wordplay. The difference between Murrow and Stewart is, of course, their tone. Murrow held fast to the officious and businesslike side of responsible journalism, whereas Stewart's seemingly frivolous or cheeky approach trivializes his "fake news" broadcast to the elder folks who wagged their "you don't know anything about this" fingers at me after overhearing me comment how accurate the film was. It's a touch lonely to be so far detached from two different generations in this way, knowing more about the earlier 20th Century than my peers, but rebuked as a "know nothing" by my elders since I wasn't there to witness it all. I promise to carry on the tradition and hang that over the heads of the twentysomethings who are around when I'm in my fifties. Good Night dramatizes the Red Scare in the most digestible, easily-absorbed way I've yet seen to communicate the dangers of fanaticism to my peers. While other critics may say the film will be remembered as "good but not great," this is the movie that will change the way formative adult and young adult minds perceive this New Cold War world we've lived in for a few years now. The citizens who experienced the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, and the War on Communism all stand to learn something from each other, and this is the only movie on the radar that could provoke that conversation into existence.

Separate Lies

Occasionally, the local arthouse will fall prey to Grammar Gremlins, by which I mean to say the title spelled/punctuated on their marquee does not correspond to an actual movie playing. After purchasing my ticket to Separate Lives, I asked the girl in the box office if she realized the marquee was misspelled, and she said "that's what the computer says" which naturally means computers now rule the world of cinema. I can't wait to see Harry Pooter and the Giblet of Fires. Similar to my experience seeing Shopgirl the second time (the first was a packed advance screening), Proof, and countless other movies at the Miracle 5, I was surrounded by around ten retirees. In a rare occurance, however, a girl my age sat just behind me. This can easily be fodder for all manner of entertainment, depending on how chatty the girl in question is and how wrong the movie is for her sensibilities. She was exceptionally captivated, as was everyone there. Separate Lies is the feature directorial debut of Julian Fellowes, the brilliant screenwriter of Gosford Park. All these new directors this year have restored my faith that studios are in fact looking for new talent and not just stumbling across it by accident. At the heart of the movie, appropriately enough, lay a hopelessly tangled series of lies that keep misleading you to think the movie will lead you somewhere you expect to be led. Thankfully, Fellowes' especial talent for the written word as applied to dramatic device shines here, and though a couple expected turns take place, he keeps you guessing until it ends. The script flows like an exquisitely-structured english play, but with the added advantage and dimension the cinema provides. Separate Lies could just as easily have been a hit West End drama, but I'm dearly glad I could watch Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, and Rupert Everett up-close and not imagine what it would've been like had I the money for a plane ticket and a ticket in a West End playhouse. Not to be outshined by the above-the-bill players, Linda Bassett turns in an inspired performance as housekeeper Maggie. Best known in Britain for her stage career, Bassett has also appeared in Calendar Girls and The Hours. In all her screen appearances, she manages the task of neither fading into the background nor presenting too obtrusive a presence each time. Bassett respresents one part of a masterfully assembled supporting cast, including John Neville (the West End's original Alfie), David Harewood (the humorous Prince of Morocco in Radford's Merchant of Venice, as well as Hermione Norris and John Warnaby (both understated and effective as Wilkinson's coworkers). The story itself presents a lesson many people my age won't learn until they get to be in their 30's or 40's: it isn't enough to simply say that you're happy. Wilkinson ought to be under consideration come award time, provided enough Academy members see this movie.

Talking at the Movies: Shopgirl & King Kong Trailer

November 4, 2005

Shopgirl

"That's creepy"
-over and over and over throughout

"Mirabelle has really bad taste in clothes"

"I mean, he's kind of cute, but he's way too old for her."
-on Steve Martin's Ray Porter

Girl 1: "What'd she say?"
Girl 2: "I don't know."
Me: "Fellatio."
Girl 2: "What's that?"
Girl 1: "Something sexual."
Girl 2: "I'll look it up later."
Me: "It means giving head."
Girl 1: "Oh, I know what that is."

"'Now I'm your watch', what kind of line is that?"

Ray Porter: "You look beautiful."
Girl 1: "Yeah, no shit."

"It was good, it was just strange."

Girl 1: "Oh my god is he hairy!"
-on Jason Schwartzmann

later-
Girl 1: "Watch him still be hairy."
Girl 2: "Oh my god, is he hairier?"
Girl 1: "Oh Jesus, he is."
Girl 2: "Well, nobody's perfect."

Kong Trailer

afterward-
"Oh shit, bro, that movie's gonna fuckin' <em>own</em>."

Kong takes a wing off a plane
"Aw hell yeah, fuckin' hell yeah is what I'm sayin'."

"People really do talk this way."
-me, to a friend next to me

I hate modern slang-grammar. That's just an observation.

The New(est) Wave

November 4, 2005

Jake Gyllenhaal is getting parts that he likes, and as a result, his work is improving. Donnie Darko really made him a name, but he moved on to projects like Bubble Boy and The Good Girl/Lovely and Amazing (in which he played very similar type characters. The Day After Tomorrow marked the project that he likely despised the most, but made him a "name" in the mass market recognizability game. If all actors could be so lucky to break away from the type assigned to them by whichever casting director doomed them to play "the little Jewish guy" or "the shy plain girl" or "the mother", actors would be happier people all around. Proof was a baby step away from the sensitive Child of the Millenium type he had been playing. I didn't buy him as an upper-level math grad student, and kept wanting Tobey Maguire in the part (my guess is he was too busy doing Spider-Man 2). Jake has his intellectual qualities, but not enough of that geekitas for me to believe he's studied string theory. There's something that is more distinctly him that hasn't been dug into. Well, until very recently, that is. Jake Gyllenhaal and guys like Peter Saarsgard (as Jeff mentioned just today) are finally being given the material that really properly shows them off on a consistent basis. Jarhead and Brokeback Mountain provide Jake with the kind of meat that really gives us a look at what Jake has available underneath all the shy, pretty late-teen junk he's been thrown through most of his career. I haven't seen Brokeback yet, but Jarhead I saw on Tuesday at an advance screening.

Cracking into Jarhead

We had near-record attendance (in terms of those turned away) for Jarhead. People started lining up at 3:30pm for a 7pm screening. My weekend prediction: Jarhead wins big. Attached to the print of Jarhead was a very important trailer, one I think is going to make up a lot of minds early on about what they're going to see around Christmas. King Kong made a surprise visit to the screen, and there were cheers and gasps throughout the audience. People are still loving their escapism, and though Jack Black was initially met with chuckles of "holy shit the School of Rock guy", everyone shut up and quick. I was disappointed that they gave us tasty chunks of (I suppose) most of the film, but I enjoyed the whole thing. Jarhead holds the uncommon honor of keeping our entire audience silent throughout its entire runtime. It is rare to see an undergrad audience not checking their text messages every couple minutes or whispering to their friends. Around the time the boys were called up for active duty in Iraq, I had a moment of perspective shift. I was 8 years old when all this was happening. I remember Schwartzkopf on the TV, preventing me from seeing evening TV shows I was too young to watch (Alfred Hitchcock Presents comes to mind), and being relatively bored watching all the coverage. I remember all the right-wingers-in-training wearing the Soddumb Insane shirts and so on, not knowing why they hated The Enemy, but knowing they were towelheads and evil and savages. I remember nothing of substance from the "over there" side of things (thanks CNN), but I pick up new, vivid memories of the "over here" every once in a while. Gunner Palace and Occupation: Dreamland, in addition to countless other films about Iraq I or Iraq II, will never get the exposure this decidedly un-Full Metal Jacket film will get. The biggest complaint I've heard is that people don't think it's enough like that film, or Coppolla's Vietnam film, or Malick's Vietnam film. No matter what, comparing this movie to a Vietnam movie is an effort in futility. As similar as the two wars/actions/failures may be in a number of ways, they are significantly different conflicts. Comparing Vietnam flicks to Gulf War ones is like comparing bananas to bagels. Particularly affecting are scenes of lost long-distance love, for their realism and how close to home they hit me. My favorite line, which could have been muddled with the word "like", was "the earth is bleeding". Jarhead is about the cocktease of war that was Gulf War I for Marines. If you want the boom-ka-bang type of movie the trailer leads you to believe you're gonna see, you'll be disappointed.

One Night Stand with a Shopgirl

Shopgirl is too adult for the 18-24 crowd to get. Too many people my age have slept with one, maybe two people, often (believe it or not) even none. I kept hearing people talking about how creepy Steve Martin's Ray Porter character was. Yes, finding out Mirabelle's address and sending her gloves was a rather stalkerish first move, but it was far removed from how terribly scary Jason Schwartzmann's Jeremy could be for most of the runtime. I think the movie really does work, but it doesn't leave you satisfied like a full-serving romantic comedy full of preservatives to keep it from spoiling. For me, that's a good thing, but audiences have really been trained for a number of years to accept some fallacious, idealistic sense of romantic resolution. I loved the novella, and even invested in the audiobook. Martin has crafted a story that encapsulates a certain nugget of these peoples' lives, and it doesn't try too hard to expose too much of who they are. It does what it needs to do and gets it over with. Curiously, I spoke to people who thought the "pacing" was off. The same people disliked the "pacing" of Broken Flowers, and I think they really meant "it wasn't 80 minutes long, and didn't have a Top 40 soundtrack". Speaking of, I also heard complaints that the soundtrack was "creepy". Do I just like creepy movies, or are these kids (my peers) just not okay with the world being a shitty place on a regular basis? One of my favorite parts of the movie involved Rebecca Pidgeon (also in the cast of The Spanish Prisoner with Martin) as an old flame. Very dark, very seedy, very real. More thoughts after the weekend.

Country Meets Hood (Camping a la Ferme)

October 19, 2005

Saturday night, I had the pleasure to attend the US premiere of a French film that needs to be seen elsewhere on US shores, and not just on video or at festivals. I couldn't stand the idea of an American remake either, so it straight up just has to get released.

The man-boys of Camping a la ferme.

Camping a la Ferme (translated as Country Meets Hood) follows a French social worker named Amar and a six pack of juvenile delinquents he takes on a community service trip to the French countryside. Amar's charges range from a cell phone-addicted city boy to a couple hip-hop enthusiasts and a recent convert to Islam. Another of the boys is thrust upon Amar by a mother who professes prison to be the only solution for her son, and all of them are resistant to hard work and reforming themselves. The journey they all follow would remind most people my age of the dynamic present in The Breakfast Club, but with stark cultural and racial overtones. The six boys all start out despising one another, but grow to understand and respect where they all came from (Algeria, France, Sicily, Austria, and a couple more places are named). Do not, however, mistake this as some fluff "social message" movie by any means. The boys use language and insults that are at once crude and entirely believable coming from the mouths of modern youths. Amar himself got into social work because he himself was in the boys' position once as well, and glimpses into that Amar come through at times in hilariously smart and naughty jokes that he tells.

The Mayor (Nadine Marcovici), Amar (Roschdy Zem), Assane (Aghmane Ibersiene), and Mr. 72 Seasons (Robert Rollis), who has harvested all 72 of those years.

Amar and the boys arrive at the farm of the fetching Anais, her disabled younger brother Leo, and their prejudiced father only to find their tents not in their van. After an awkward exchange and an act of good faith, the boys bunk down in the barn. From that very moment, their lives begin to be directly affected by their immersion in how this "other half" lives. Hard work, raging hormones, and hidden benevolent natures mix together and by the end form a very different image of these young men than we'd initially expect. Too often in the United States, we see film released for a "wide" (mostly white) or an "urban" (black), or an "artsy" (discerning) crowd. The crowd Saturday night was full of french speakers, english speakers, spanish speakers, and even a number who'd never seen a film in french other than Amelie. No one I spoke to afterward so much as had a minor criticism of the film, and most praised it as "having the balls American films usually don't" or something to that effect. Country Meets Hood chooses to say what we consider inappropriate and provocative and plays it all off as naturally as we all experience it in our everyday lives. It's rare to see a film in any language as up-front with the issue of racial strife, especially in the alleged Age of Tolerance we live in currently. I'm sure there are minor plot holes he more cynical among us would chastise me for missing, or a performance that was played too broadly, but the audience was too wrapped up in the social dynamics of the plot for it to bother them. Screenwriter and French government minister Azouz Begag was present for the screening, and made a short introduction to the film in addition to holding a lively Q&A afterward. Mr. Begag's visit was sponsored by FSU's Winthrop-King Institute for French and Francophone Studies, who had previously sponsored a screening of Begag's Le gone du Chabaa (The Kid from Chabaa or Shantytown Kid). Begag's first film script (Chabaa) was inspired by his own experience growing up impoverished, and this film reflects his impression of France as an adult looking in to the lives of this generation of ethnic minorities coming of age in France.

Amar's community service trip doesn't resemble the story or style of Au hasard Balthazar in any way aside from the presence of a donkey, I promise.

Begag prefaced the film by relating to the audience what he considers France's biggest problem: ethnic divides along geographic boundaries. The greatest benefit any French youth could experience, no matter his or her background, is to go out and meet these "others". Just as white suburbanites seem to have an ingrained fear of anyone any more naturally dark-skinned than they are, ethnic minorities are equally as scared of the whites living on their version of "the other side." The film represents Begag's effort to get these youths from vastly different backgrounds to go out and meet one another, crossing geographic and cultural borders, no matter how difficult it may seem at first. The nuance of the dialogue is every bit as rich as that in the french language, evident in the fine attention to detail throughout the picture. Subtle touches keep the film lively. One of the boys wears a jacket emblazoned with the image and name of Tony Montana from Scarface (a nod to hip-hop culture's influence on Europe), or the priest who forever has yet another funeral to perform in the sleepy country town full of old people. Sex relations and flirting are portrayed every bit as awkward as in real life, just as spontaneous and believably ridiculous. There are a couple minute cuts that could be made to trim a couple shots that linger a bit too long, but that's the sign of having to try finding something to really criticize. The most deeply-felt scene in the movie centers around a men's gathering where they discuss the meaning of love. The terrible deficiency highlighted most in this scene is the lack of father figures in so many boys' lives, as even the oldest among them (Amar) relates to the others as peers. The whole group of them lack a central male guide, so they rely upon one another as a group instead. Among my favorite bits of info dropped at the post-show Q&A was a potential concept for a followup, which, when you finish watching the film, you want it to be precisely as Begag described it. Camping a la ferme opened on 29 June in Europe on 205 screens, coming in 5th behind Madagascar, Les poupees russes (:the Russian Puppets", a sequel to L'auberge Espagnole in its third week), Batman Begins, and Star Wars III. Only Madagascar and Poupees had higher per-screen averages that week, and in the following week, Camping maintained its position with a drop of just over 10%, outdoing Star Wars. It could be a hit here, I really think so. This movie needs to play in more festivals across the states. Someone pick it up, please...even as a straight to DVD.

Talking at the Movies: Domino

October 16, 2005

"Oh, shit, do I need a smoke."
-after the movie, after a friend asked the guy what he wanted to go do

"How do all those people hit all that C4 with bullets and none of it explodes?"

"Dude, it's just a fucking movie, relax. Who cares?"

"I care."
-two guys debating whether or not everyone should have died at one point

"Oh my God do I wanna do that Puerto Rican guy. Ay papi."

"Isn't he Venezuelan?"

"Nah, he's Cuban, man."
-some hispanic girls just as the credits rolled

"He shot him in the arm. Twice."

"That guy's lying."

"Oh, shit, she was naked, bro."
-our audience narrator

"Should I add Chinegro to the list, or Hispasian?"
-a friend commenting on the race/ethnicity choices in the post-show report he was filling out

The Big Fade Strikes Back

October 14, 2005

People are going to the movies less and less as the national economy slides further into recession and as gas prices soar. On last week's Ebert & Roeper, Roger Ebert made mention of how films like Me and You and Everyone We Know are great to catch on DVD since they don't reach every market. I immediately thought "no one in those markets wants to pay for the gas it takes to go downtown." If you look at attendance of and participation in local theatre where I live (Tallahassee, FL), it proves this point rather admirably. People are carpooling to rehearsals ten minutes from home, but around a year ago, the only place you carpooled to was a show out in Quincy (a 20-30 minute drive, depending on route and traffic). Similarly, we suspect lower than expected attendance could be the price hike and spotty availability of gas. No one wants to go out for the afternoon and not be able to fill up on the way home, it seems. I'd suspect this trend is carrying over across activities, particularly when it comes to cinema attendance. I was outright surprised to find the Wallace and Gromit movie pulled in less than $20 million, and so were the analysts. Everyone's staying home with Netflix or the TiVo, and I can't blame them. It cost me a little over $40 to fill my tank last week. There went my cinema budget for the month.

Elizabethtown in the Rearview

Upon further reflection, unless you can dig into that last third of Elizabethtown, the first two acts really just don't work. The Suicide Machine, the stage play choices made by the actors, and the stalkish weirdness of Kirsten Dunst's Claire add up to a big "uh huh, right" without that grounding sequence toward the end. We all have portions of our life that play out like an absurd French farce (not that the French are farcical, but they write the best, usually) and only resolve themselves in modern workplace farces (Clerks, Office Space). The way I see it, that's what Crowe is going for: this guy's life is a ridiculous series of detached, self-aware absurdities that are nowhere near who he is in his most personal memories. Drew's flashbacks feel like a different film than the one surrounding it for a reason. Once we close in on the end of Act II, with the memorial service, the real Drew Baylor is starting to settle in, and it works. We all like him, just like that out-of-place line in the trailer. All that said, spend your money on it. Go see it with people or by yourself, I think it'd work both ways.

Domino

On the other hand, consider whether or not to spend money on Domino. We advance screened it on Tuesday at FSU, and the audience was decidedly mixed. Everyone either loved it or hated it. Tony Scott's followup to Man on Fire leaves something to be desired, to say the least. He's used many of the same dirty, widely-varied photography style from that film, to wonderful effect. It looks fucking amazing, but it feels like not enough of the two visions behind it. Richard Kelly is one of the most talented filmmakers working, a testament of which is the popular cult behind Donnie Darko, a film drowned by the distributors. His vision of this story seems based in this woman's extraordinary life being a thrilling, chilling moral tale told like a drug flashback. I completely went along for the ride, under the impression that it was all over the map and obviously almost completely an invented story, like young children concoct amazing, fantastic stories about how something happened. These stories are much like those told by war veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. In a Greek and Roman Epics class I took a couple years ago, I forwarded the theory that The Odyssey is written from Odysseus' perspective and is a result of Post-Traumatic Stress rather than what happened in the corporeal world. Domino's story is a mix of these two halves of what I'll call the Fantastic Story Theory, leaning much more heavily into the realm of the child's fantastic story. I never felt moved or involved with these characters, though. Man on Fire touched people on a personal level, and I invested myself in everything they were going through, from the smallest characters to the principals. I never cared what happened next. Keira Knightley has an outstanding amount of potential, demonstrated in this movie (unlike everything else I've seen her in). She's really "in" and playing the little girl who doesn't want to be told what to do, but with a gun. The much-maligned Keira isn't as deserving of the harsh criticism she's received, as being "talentless", for sure, and in her defense, her casting and placement by so many directors has been completely off. Many of those who've highly praised Good Night, and Good Luck have mentioned their delight in George Clooney playing a supporting "character" part. I think Clooney's done an excellent job as a lead, but I really relish the idea of seeing him chew on something more concentrated. This is exactly what I think Keira's career needs. She's become ultra-successful and ultra-popular with the kids, but if she wants to still be around in her 50's, she needs to chew on something that isn't a lead and connects with her. She needs to play a jilted lover, or better yet, a perfectly well-intentioned person who can't seem to please anyone. To the public, this is her bad-girl role that proved she could do nasty things and say nasty things and dodge the extremely thoughtful, happy person I read and am told she is in reality. Do I think she was bad, did she break the movie? No, but she didn't make it for me either. The shock value of the sweet, smart girl playing this part wasn't it for me. She played it very well, and to the best of her ability. Everyone else there seemed to dig it just fine. As I said earlier, some of the best work I've seen her do. She's lovely and all, but I want to see her do something that tears my heart out. I guess where I'm going is, "all right, Ms Knightley, let's see what you can really do." I want to see her tackle something where she has the chance to really make people sit up and take notice. Everyone saw this with the advance opinion that this is her "rebellious movie", and that's too bad. I've got to admit I did too, but that's how it's being pitched to the general public. I'll give her a pass on Pride and Prejudice, passing that up would have been like saying "no, I dreamed of doing that part since I was a kid, but I can't bring myself to do it." Do something dangerous and play those scary things you're dealing with but might not want to face. After the show, I was asked what I thought by a friend. I told him I thought liked it, but I wasn't really sure why. It certainly wasn't a waste of two hours, but it felt like I was watching two visions overtop of one another. There's something to be said for talented directors who are writers (Paul Haggis) giving material to a director (Eastwood) and coming up with something stirring, but I wonder what this movie would have been like with Kelly directing it. The way it turned out it felt like someone new drawing Spider-Man comics when I'd really prefer John Romita doing it. That comic book reference is for those who get it (I'm sure Kelly himself would). It's silly and/or childish to be particular with your tastes, but I really wish I coulda seen Kelly's Domino. Regardless, I still enjoyed myself. The script still felt like it came through pretty un-fucked-with. I should also note that someone got a big cup of liquor past the studio security guys. Don't you dare bring in a cell phone, but so sue me, bring on the 151.

Talking at the Movies: Elizabethtown

October 6, 2005

"That's creepy..."

-a girl three down from me, when people in the neighborhood point the way "home" for Drew as he drives toward the family house

"That battery would be dead by---oh...."
-most of the audience, said as soon as Drew reaches to plug his cell into the charger, lest it die on him

"That was so real"
-the girl sitting to my right with her boyfriend, who wept through most of the movie, and steadily doing so from the moment Drew speaks in front of the crowd

"I bet that soundtrack is like eleven CDs"
-a girl in front of me as she got up to leave at the beginning of the credits

Goin' Down to Elizabethtown

October 6, 2005

I don't know what people saw at Toronto, but with a few exceptions, Elizabethtown exceeded expectations. That isn't to say it doesn't have a few problems, but the last third makes me really, REALLY want to love it. The screening last night at Tallahassee's AMC 20 started off on an odd note, as the projection staff set the screen for a Scope print, which is the wrong aspect ratio for a movie shot Flat. The first five minutes was pretty badly marred by the fact that Orlando Bloom's face looked twice as wide as it ought to have been. I'll take the tradeoff of not having to sit through trailers, though.

My ticket to the 80-90% full Wednesday night sneak of Elizabethtown
Orlando Bloom's series of "I'm fine"'s didn't feel organic, along with line deliveries in spots throughout. I'm sure the problem most people will have is him acting in a movie without the benefit of a bow and elf ears. He's not doing what people expect, similar to Johnny Depp's Wonka this summer. You get used to seeing a particular aesthetic on the screen, and it's tough to shake. Bloom does win it over a little way in though. I didn't buy Susan Sarandon and Judy Greer until much later. The scenes peppered throughout the movie (until things get semi-serious) that feature them are played too theatrical. In particular, the departure at the airport felt disingenuous, as if either there was something missing. Once we got to the memorial service, their stuff felt more like the performances that make me love watching both women time and time again. The phone call while Drew had to ask "mother....LISTEN--focus" worked, and the phone call before did to some degree. I often found myself wondering how much better a lot of the dialogue would have worked in the theatre than in a film. I don't think this is a result of the words being unsuited to film, but how they were delivered. Of course, take that observation with a grain of salt, coming from an actor. To be clear, I didn't just enjoy the movie. Upon further reflection last night, I really loved the movie. Is it perfect? No, but I love it in spite of its faults. There's more than enough good here to outweigh the bad. Other bits that felt off included the $972 million dollar spent on this one shoe line and the preoccupation with this one suit. If the blue/brown argument got settled once we saw the grey suit in the coffin, where was the scene where that compromise was reached? Where was that half-minute exchange? It felt like it just got dropped. A couple friends asked where the road trip came from, but they must have not paid attention to the frequent references to "we were planning on taking a road trip from Elizabethtown to Oregon" comments made throughout. I don't believe in the term "return to form" for directors in most cases, just as I don't believe in "career comeback" for actors. These terms indicate pariah-level fucking-up, to the degree of Drew's Big Fiasco. Vanilla Sky was not the greatest movie ever made, but there were far too many expectations of it going in, thanks to the biggest marquee name in the business. Some may think that movie is Cameron's Big Fiasco, and possibly even Mr. Crowe himself.

One of the more indellible images from Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown is what I'd call Crowe's ultimate "lifetrack". Not a slice of life or a soundtrack, but a really rich mix of the two. That's the story Crowe knows and tells the best. It's his signature. His rhythm as a filmmaker follows the flow of good music, and his best movies play like suburban operas, big stories in small settings with big juicy themes. I touched on the Southern definition of kinship in my writeup of Junebug, and though I don't want to repeat myself too much, I'd be remiss if I didn't address how subtly and at once blatantly Crowe comments on it here. When Drew (Bloom) arrives in Kentucky, he's stepped into another world entirely. All these people embrace him as if he's just come back from war a hero, but you figure they'd greet him the same way if he had merely gone to the store and they'd all happened to be around. Drew begins looking for who he's related to, who he knows well, and he spends a large chunk of the flick denying the fact that he doesn't really know anyone well, including himself. He's got genetics in common with these people, but that's about it. You've got the Aunt who's big on genealogy, the father and his son who don't understand each other at all (Drew's uncle and cousin), and the little boy who screams louder than you'd think a human child could. Southern Touching Syndrome is especially evident in all of the vigorous hugging Drew receives from people outside his direct family group. Chuck, of "Chuck & Cindy: The Wedding" demonstrates not only this phenomena, but also gives us a great example of grief conferral, where he reacts to the news of Mitch Baylor's death as if he'd known the man. Kirsten Dunst has a rather pronounced accent in her first few scenes and it softens out over time, just as Orlando Bloom picks up hints of one as the movie rolls. Is Crowe saying the South is infectious? Does it seep in and change you by degrees, or do we just assimilate whatever we're around, and Drew just happens to be there during the movie's slice of his life. I'm sure people have used the "q" word to describe Claire's (Dunst) personality, but I don't think that quite gets it. Sure, she's weird and awkward, but she gradually moves out of that into the most alluring girl I've yet seen her play on film. Claire is a young woman who probably flies on all those planes and has all those single-serving friends and encounters because she's been hurt too many times in the past to try for anything lasting with another person. She gives Drew a moment when they meet, and she "knows people" well enough that she can see in him a similar fear of being hurt. Drew insists that he doesn't cry, and I don't believe that happens until very long into the runtime of the picture, and that instant is just as cathartic for the audience as it is for him. I really dug that this movie, largely about the death of a guy's dad, didn't stay in the Mope Zone for more than a couple brief moments at a time. It's much too easy to classify this as a "finding yourself" journey. Drew's real struggle is finding the presence of others within himself. Drew gets who he is at a certain point, and what that 42-hour mixtape really leads him to is the realization that he isn't as alone as he thought he has always been. He knew he had an abiding love for his father, but the connection between that relationship and the words "I love you daddy" was what ate at him the most. Crowe has put together one of the best narrative endings I've seen in a while, where most people in the cinema were asking "is that it?" not because they were unimpressed, but rather as a result of the end sneaking up and pleasantly surprising them. Elizabethtown sails at just under 2 hours, and could best be summed up as "you're never sure where you're going until you get there," and I for one am glad I took the trip. There are parts of many great films that don't work perfectly, but that's fine for a movie that pays off, and Elizabethtown does. Now all I want is to know what Crowe would put on a 42-hour mixtape.
Looting the Marketplace of Ideas
Wow, does the trailer alternately ruin surprises and mess up the dynamic of jokes in this flick. The "IIIII like you" line works fine in context, but the trailer makes you expect schmaltz to the max. I'm disappointed that the marketing guys missed the chance to do something really novel with the poster: align it like a landscape portrait, using the shot of Drew & Claire overlooking the river. If they watched any of the movie, they'd get the picture-taking motif (the way Claire does it) and that shot was much more emblematic of the film than Bloom & Dunst sitting on a couch dressed for a funeral. Is this movie getting marketed toward MTV Generation 2:The Sequel? I don't think so. It's in a bad spot opening next Friday (10/14) against The Fog, a pretty solid contender for 18-24s' dollars, so I worry about it getting buried under that and Domino. I don't want it to fizzle like Hustle & Flow undeservedly did.

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The Beat Regal Skipped

October 2, 2005

After six days in town, Regal pulled The Beat That My Heart Skipped from Tallahassee's Miracle 5, missing yet another opportunity to build an audience. Putting an arthouse movie in any town for only six days is the best recipe for failure at the box office. The second (and third, and fourth) week is integral to the life of movies that don't get ads on national cable nets like MTV or especially network play. The death sentence seems to be effectively carried out around the country for anything that isn't a premature performer (first weekend-dependent) to its studio or the chain theatre companies, all two of them. Home for art movies has moved from the interesting, earthy side of town to the newly-renovated shtetl of DVD-istan. Not only did we get Beat 10 weeks after its first release weekend, but it disappeared before most people who'd care knew it was playing. The Beat That My Heart Skipped tugs on the fact most men don't want to admit: we are who we are. No man is the degree of superhero he thinks he is, and we all are disposed toward descending into a world where we find ourselves fully submerged in a murky soup of our own vices. Audiard remakes one of my favorite movies all my pals have never seen, Fingers, with considerable skill and precision. The protagonist Tom (Romain Duris) shares a relationship with one woman in particular that to me ventures less into the realm of a Type A/B/C/D relationship Character One has with Character Four in Standard Plot #36, but strays from serving the traditional needs of the dramatic plot in the details. This is where Beat's personality really shines through. It isn't the piece that you play, but the style in which you stroke the keys. Everyone has the same notes available to them, but no two people play them the same way. One look, in particular, I would classify as the "we shouldn't, but for another reason entirely, we really really should," and it forms the basis for the aforementioned relationship. That look that starts as a glance, and is instead held. It crackles with a suddenly thick, full current of crackling heat, and it takes no more than a few simple words to catalyze. When you give someone that look and you can feel them returning by the way your breathing shifts, there's little to do to prevent the people involved from sooner than later tearing one another's clothes off. Resisting such an urge requires some of the greatest powers of restraint in human history. In another rare instance, this movie's soundtrack features prominently in its effectiveness in portraying a grimy, never-quite clean atmosphere. Without the signature track by The Kills, as well as the specific classical piano selections, the movie would not be nearly the surgically-precise animal that makes it so good. Each of these reviews/reactions I post feel more like eulogies than announcements, and it furthers the feeling that I'm writing about movies not in the hope they'll be seen as they ought (in cinemas), but at home on HBO, DVD, or (god forbid) PPV. We've become a three-letter acronym culture.
East Meets West
Eastern imports like Hero, Zhang Ziyi, and Asian movies remakes have been steadily becoming more prevalent than Jackie Chan or his string of movies ever did; however, there are a number of major misses in my mind. 1. Hero taking nearly 2 1/2 years to make it to American shores The proximity of this movie's and House of Flying Daggers' American release hurt both movies (more House than Hero), making the operatic melodrama and the operatic, melodramatic national epic seem even more similar than they already were. All the swords and Zhang Ziyi in peoples' faces overloaded the American public in the same way they OD'd on Jude Law last year. 2. Zhang Ziyi is being sold as the only Chinese actress the studios are willing to push Back when Farewell My Concubine was a big push for Foreign Film, Gong Li (arguably one of the hugest of huge marquee names in China) was at the forefront of the ad campaign. Maggie Cheung and Gong Li mean nothing likely because they weren't "the Chinese girl in Rush Hour". Hollywood needs to branch out from the one or two requisite "spanish", "asian", and "british" names they'll put on a poster or feature in a trailer. 3. Remaking Asian movies and missing the boat, so to speak Shall We Dance epitomized this, I think in the kneejerk casting of Richard Gere, as he has been since Pretty Woman. He's a proven quantity to the women of America that he's a businessman with a heart and cute dimples. If they wanted to properly build an audience, they would have gone against type with a guy who looks the part like John O'Hurley. I remember hearing they were gonna remake it and guessed to a friend they'd use Gere, and a few days later catching an episode of Seinfeld. I remarked to the same friend that were "the guy playing J. Peterman" able to drop the Radio Voice, he'd have the look down for it for sure. Fast forward to this summer, and O'Hurley has won the hearts and ratings of America's women (and a few of us men) who watched Dancing With the Stars, in which he advanced to the finals over The New Kids on the Block's Joey McIntire, among others. When we were in the vast cinematic and televised summer wasteland, this guy became the clever, determined man we all wanted to see in Richard Gere throughout all of Shall We Dance's runtime. Late-Breaking News...John O'Hurley is making his Broadway debut this January, taking over the role of Billy Flynn from Huey Lewis in the New York production of Chicago. Who's the bankable name now? Everyone had seen that Richard Gere story, and I'm sure that's why no one went. Additionally, no one makes movies properly for the over-24 crowd anymore, and this presents yet another stunning example of that fact. Gems like Zhou Yu's Train and Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall...and Spring are getting acquired, but at once they're being turned away from port in favor of the old product. When are the businessmen going to learn the lesson taught by Steve Jobs in the last few years? No one wants last year's iPod, let alone 1989's Pretty Woman Edition iPod, so why the hell do the studios keep ordering the models that don't sell? Ah yes, now I remember why less and less are going to theatres and more are buying and renting DVDs...Hollywood won't let go of a failing business model.
Fresh Meat Schedule
I'm going with a version of the way Jeff has shifted up his schedule, so you'll see a couple new posts a week, where bits and bobs will be added as they come. Watch for some images to be added later this evening, along with a couple other notes. Wednesday, I'll be seeing an advance show of Elizabethtown, and I hope the new cut works better than the infamous Toronto Cut. Watch for a fresh column then. I'm slowly working up a piece on book adaptations that I'll be putting in on an off week, so watch for that.
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David Lean's Talking at the Movies: Lawrence of Arabia

September 26, 2005

"AUDA ABU TAYI: Aqabaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

GUY'S COMPUTER: (WINDOWS NOISE!!!!!!)"

"I don't like Dryden, he's a little bitch, like Rumsfeld."

"God this is depressing"
-after the boy drowns in quicksand

"I really like how they don't force him into the sensitive hero bullshit."

"God, like, what is his <em>issue</em>?"
-after Lawrence orders the "No prisoners" charge

"Oh come on, like they had road signs."
-after the camera catches a road sign for Damascus

"I'm glad it wasn't hopeless, but it stayed real and stuff."
-a student exiting the theatre

"So, was he like...gay?"
-a very confused girl who was text messaging throughout the almost four hours of runtime

"That was like, the worst 3 1/2 hour experience of my life...ever."

"There were things I didn't understand, like why it ended the way it did, but it was really interesting."

Tags Lawrence of Arabia, Talking at the Movies

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