The Entertainment Weekly Fall Movie Preview issue is my favorite of the entire year. I read it from cover to cover the day it arrives, categorize all the flicks into three lists, and refer back to the issue over the next four months. Most of this year's selections are "maybes;" very few have me ready to head to a theater on the first day. But after making my list, and checking it twice, here's what I have at least mild curiosity about.
1) Burn After Reading (Sept. 12, the Coen brothers' follow-up to No Country for Old Men. However, Variety hated it, and that makes me leery.)
2) The Women (Sept. 12, and Mom and I have a mother/daughter date the next day. We haven't had one of those in a long time.)
3) The Duchess (Sept. 19. Keira Knighley, costumes, and "based on a book." I am so there.)
4) Blindness (Sept. 26. The good news: the casting of Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. The bad news: bad buzz at Cannes. I'm nervous.)
5) Rachel Getting Married (Oct. 3, with Anne Hathaway already receiving critical praise. But is it too much in the "dirty up a pretty girl for an Oscar" vein?)
6) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Oct. 3, featuring the adorable Michael Cera and the equally charming Kat Dennings. Better-than-average teen fare?)
7) Religulous (Oct. 3, the Bill Maher religion documentary. Considering HIS views, this ought to be a hoot, and hopefully intelligent.)
8) Body of Lies (Oct. 10, reuniting Leo and the writer of The Departed, but adding Russell Crowe and HIS buddy Ridley Scott)
9) The Secret Lies of Bees (Oct. 17, as long as it isn't like Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Maybe I should read the book first?)
10) Changeling (Oct. 24. Let the "Angie for Oscar" hype begin. I think she was robbed for A Mighty Heart, so campaigning is A-OK with me.)
11) The Soloist (Nov. 21. Please don't be sappy. Let the Robert Downey Jr. Is Awesome streak win out.)
12) Australia (Nov. 26. I hate everything Baz Luhrmann does, so I ought to avoid this. And yet, it has Hugh Jackman as a romantic lead, and I swoon.)
13) Frost/Nixon (Dec. 5, my No. 1 movie choice of the fall season. I saw the play, I think Michael Sheen is highly underrated, my classmate Patricia and I talk about it every time we see each other.)
14) Doubt (Dec. 12, which is No. 2 on my overall list because I never saw the play.)
15) Reservation Road (Dec. 26, a Leo/Kate reunion that I hope will not be as nausea-inducing as That Freaking Boat Movie.)
All right - your turn. What do you want to see?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Would a Big Screen Have Made a Difference?
We're into August! I started going to the movies a lot this month. It will take some time to review them all.
Rolling Stones fan Tim and I talked about seeing Shine a Light at Lincoln Square in the spring, but the timing never worked out. I thus caught it on DVD about three weeks ago. I can't decide whether I'm glad I saved $15 (we would've seen it on IMAX) or whether I wish I'd seen this jumbo-sized.
1) Shine a Light (Aug. 8, on DVD)
U2:3D, a concert flick released earlier this year, prompted a “you are there” sensation, a desire to wave a lighter during “With or Without You.” Shine a Light, the latest performance documentary about the Rolling Stones, is … a nicely filmed live show. I suspect some of Mick and Keith’s impact was lost on a 13-inch television screen, but director Martin Scorsese - who has shot musical documentaries before (The Last Waltz, The Blues) and explored the Stones’ catalog in several of his feature films - doesn’t make the two nights at New York’s Beacon Theater in 2006 much more than a bonanza of moving cameras. Sure, Bill and Hillary show up (one concert is for Bill’s 60th birthday); Scorsese intersperses clips from Stones’ interviews in the 1960s and 1970s as well as pre-show chatter; and guest musicians from Jack White to Christina Aguilera enliven proceedings. It’s not enough to disguise the fact that we’re watching merely an above-average concert special.
Rolling Stones fan Tim and I talked about seeing Shine a Light at Lincoln Square in the spring, but the timing never worked out. I thus caught it on DVD about three weeks ago. I can't decide whether I'm glad I saved $15 (we would've seen it on IMAX) or whether I wish I'd seen this jumbo-sized.
1) Shine a Light (Aug. 8, on DVD)
U2:3D, a concert flick released earlier this year, prompted a “you are there” sensation, a desire to wave a lighter during “With or Without You.” Shine a Light, the latest performance documentary about the Rolling Stones, is … a nicely filmed live show. I suspect some of Mick and Keith’s impact was lost on a 13-inch television screen, but director Martin Scorsese - who has shot musical documentaries before (The Last Waltz, The Blues) and explored the Stones’ catalog in several of his feature films - doesn’t make the two nights at New York’s Beacon Theater in 2006 much more than a bonanza of moving cameras. Sure, Bill and Hillary show up (one concert is for Bill’s 60th birthday); Scorsese intersperses clips from Stones’ interviews in the 1960s and 1970s as well as pre-show chatter; and guest musicians from Jack White to Christina Aguilera enliven proceedings. It’s not enough to disguise the fact that we’re watching merely an above-average concert special.
SU Grad Done Good
Vera Farmiga was in my ETS 226 class in the spring semester of my first year at Syracuse. Therefore, I'm very excited to see her in movies. Imagine, I'm now one degree closer to Matt Damon! If only she appeared in films in which she had meaty roles, or in flicks I liked.
5) Never Forever (July 30, on Netflix instant viewing. The No. 4 movie for July was the previously reviewed The Dark Knight.)
Never Forever can’t quite overcome its squeamish concept befitting a soap opera: Woman’s husband is infertile, he freaks out, she secretly pays another man to get her knocked up, she and sperm donor fall for each other. Vera Farmiga, perhaps best known as the shrink in The Departed, elevates Gina Kim’s tale of marital and maternal desperation as a tightly wound New York suburban housewife looking to placate her Korean Christian in-laws with the heir her husband (David McInnis) cannot provide. Farmiga’s cornflower blues pierce the screen with agony as Sophie tries to save her suicidal husband, with “all-business” numbness while propositioning Korean illegal immigrant Jihah (Ha Jung-woo) to father a child, and with unexpected tenderness as she and Jihah develop feelings for each other and the unborn baby. Farmiga’s intensity and heartbreak nearly save Never Forever from its more awkward moments. Alas, Kim tacks on an unrealistic, pat ending to her complicated story, as if trying to make everything more palatable to the mainstream at the last minute.
5) Never Forever (July 30, on Netflix instant viewing. The No. 4 movie for July was the previously reviewed The Dark Knight.)
Never Forever can’t quite overcome its squeamish concept befitting a soap opera: Woman’s husband is infertile, he freaks out, she secretly pays another man to get her knocked up, she and sperm donor fall for each other. Vera Farmiga, perhaps best known as the shrink in The Departed, elevates Gina Kim’s tale of marital and maternal desperation as a tightly wound New York suburban housewife looking to placate her Korean Christian in-laws with the heir her husband (David McInnis) cannot provide. Farmiga’s cornflower blues pierce the screen with agony as Sophie tries to save her suicidal husband, with “all-business” numbness while propositioning Korean illegal immigrant Jihah (Ha Jung-woo) to father a child, and with unexpected tenderness as she and Jihah develop feelings for each other and the unborn baby. Farmiga’s intensity and heartbreak nearly save Never Forever from its more awkward moments. Alas, Kim tacks on an unrealistic, pat ending to her complicated story, as if trying to make everything more palatable to the mainstream at the last minute.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A Likely Top 10 Pick for 2008
The more I think about The Visitor, the more I like it. Thanks for the recommendation, Brooklyn Jen! Bride Jen, in town for her bachelorette weekend, really enjoyed this, too.
3) The Visitor (July 4; the first July film I saw)
A decade ago, I had a film professor who abused the term “little gem” when describing cinematic character studies, but The Visitor really earns the praise. With his first feature, The Station Agent, and now this follow-up, writer/director Tom McCarthy has become the go-to guy for intimate depictions of ordinary, aloof but lonely men. Here, stunted economics professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) discovers the power of music and connection through an illegal immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his New York apartment. Much of Jenkins’ performance comes from eyes and body language, with such winning moments as his bumbling, tender interactions with Tarek’s mother (Hiam Abbass) and his increasing integration into a drumming lifestyle. Eschewing the usual city depictions in favor of day-t0-day living in the parks, subways and later - sadly - a deportation center in Long Island City, McCarthy has filmed a delicate slice of wonder with some of the richest, deepest acting of the year.
3) The Visitor (July 4; the first July film I saw)
A decade ago, I had a film professor who abused the term “little gem” when describing cinematic character studies, but The Visitor really earns the praise. With his first feature, The Station Agent, and now this follow-up, writer/director Tom McCarthy has become the go-to guy for intimate depictions of ordinary, aloof but lonely men. Here, stunted economics professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) discovers the power of music and connection through an illegal immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his New York apartment. Much of Jenkins’ performance comes from eyes and body language, with such winning moments as his bumbling, tender interactions with Tarek’s mother (Hiam Abbass) and his increasing integration into a drumming lifestyle. Eschewing the usual city depictions in favor of day-t0-day living in the parks, subways and later - sadly - a deportation center in Long Island City, McCarthy has filmed a delicate slice of wonder with some of the richest, deepest acting of the year.
This Is Your Brain On Drugs
I graduated from high school in 1994, just like Luke and Stephanie in The Wackness. I may have grown up in Boston instead of New York, and I may have been only middle-class, but our lives shouldn't be that dissimilar.
I could not relate to these characters at all.
2) The Wackness (July 25; it's the third movie of the month, though)
A candidate for the worst movie of 2008, The Wackness is so bad that I refused to listen to mid-1990s hip-hop for a week after watching this hell. Writer/director Jonathan Levine uses full-length songs and cultural slang (Giuliani references, Forrest Gump ads, pagers) to advance the film in lieu of plot, dialogue and acting. Then again, the performances are so monotone (perpetually slack-jawed Josh Peck as dope-pushing high-school grad Luke) or absurd (Ben Kingsley, apparently Harvey Keitel's long-lost brother, as Luke's stoned shrink), and the storyline eventually so cliché (rich New Yorkers are messed up and bored!), that perhaps it's best to make Tribe Called Quest do the work. Only Olivia Thirlby, the best friend in Juno, manages to charm as the shrink's stepdaughter and Luke's forbidden-fruit love interest. She’s not reason enough for me to give up my Nas and Wu-Tang Clan boycotts, though - nor can she erase the image of Kingsley kissing flower-child Mary-Kate Olsen …
I could not relate to these characters at all.
2) The Wackness (July 25; it's the third movie of the month, though)
A candidate for the worst movie of 2008, The Wackness is so bad that I refused to listen to mid-1990s hip-hop for a week after watching this hell. Writer/director Jonathan Levine uses full-length songs and cultural slang (Giuliani references, Forrest Gump ads, pagers) to advance the film in lieu of plot, dialogue and acting. Then again, the performances are so monotone (perpetually slack-jawed Josh Peck as dope-pushing high-school grad Luke) or absurd (Ben Kingsley, apparently Harvey Keitel's long-lost brother, as Luke's stoned shrink), and the storyline eventually so cliché (rich New Yorkers are messed up and bored!), that perhaps it's best to make Tribe Called Quest do the work. Only Olivia Thirlby, the best friend in Juno, manages to charm as the shrink's stepdaughter and Luke's forbidden-fruit love interest. She’s not reason enough for me to give up my Nas and Wu-Tang Clan boycotts, though - nor can she erase the image of Kingsley kissing flower-child Mary-Kate Olsen …
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I'm Through June!
Thanks to a self-imposed deadline, I had to finish this review before I left for dinner. Next goal, by the end of the week: Write the three remaining July critiques.
P.S. Sandra, before you say anything, I'd like to note that my parents saw this before I did!
3) Wanted (June 29)
A carnival ride come to life, Wanted flaunts its comic-book origins with pride, daring a critic to mock the curving bullets or Angelina Jolie in a skintight leather catsuit balancing atop a speeding train. Yes, Wanted is over the top and then some, as if director Timur Bekmambetov (the Russian films Day Watch and Night Watch) decided to mash up Fight Club and The Matrix. He’s given us a Fraternity of assassins led by a grave Morgan Freeman, a snarky American office drone turned killer (a surprisingly effective James McAvoy, definitely NOT in Narnia), and rats and grittiness (reminiscent of a prior Angie flick, The Bone Collector). While lacking the fun/quality balance of Iron Man, Wanted revels in its kinetic energy, its Tarantino-like violence. As far as amusement-park attractions go, Wanted isn’t quite an Expedtion Everest, but a Musical Express.
P.S. Sandra, before you say anything, I'd like to note that my parents saw this before I did!
3) Wanted (June 29)
A carnival ride come to life, Wanted flaunts its comic-book origins with pride, daring a critic to mock the curving bullets or Angelina Jolie in a skintight leather catsuit balancing atop a speeding train. Yes, Wanted is over the top and then some, as if director Timur Bekmambetov (the Russian films Day Watch and Night Watch) decided to mash up Fight Club and The Matrix. He’s given us a Fraternity of assassins led by a grave Morgan Freeman, a snarky American office drone turned killer (a surprisingly effective James McAvoy, definitely NOT in Narnia), and rats and grittiness (reminiscent of a prior Angie flick, The Bone Collector). While lacking the fun/quality balance of Iron Man, Wanted revels in its kinetic energy, its Tarantino-like violence. As far as amusement-park attractions go, Wanted isn’t quite an Expedtion Everest, but a Musical Express.
This Review, However, IS Irresistible
As I've mentioned before, I love A.O. Scott of the New York Times. He tops himself here with his review of Meryl and friends. I laughed so loudly at work that people stared at me. Then I read parts of it aloud to my co-workers and made them laugh, too.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/movies/18mamm.html?ref=movies
http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/movies/18mamm.html?ref=movies
How Can I Resist You? Well, I Did.
I've skipped ahead to July while I try to say five articulate sentences about my last June feature, Wanted. (One might argue that this would make for more articulate sentences than the entire movie had.) Anyway, after completing my first 4-mile race - on day three of a six-day heat wave, no less - I needed the cinematic equivalent of lemon merengue as a reward. I thought Mamma Mia! would fit the bill. Key word: "thought."
1) Mamma Mia! (July 19; actually, it's the 2008 second movie I saw in July)
Mamma Mia!, based on the Broadway celebration of ABBA songs, made me feel trapped at the world’s longest, loudest slumber party. I was embarrassed as Meryl Streep dithered around like a teenager about her daughter’s (Amanda Seyfried) three possible fathers while James Bond and Mr. Darcy … er, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth … attempted to sing and modeled leather vests. I puzzled over the math in Catherine Johnson’s screenplay (Streep and her lovers are at least 15 years too old for their roles) and wondered why director Phyllida Lloyd - who staged the theatrical version of Mamma Mia! - made the celluloid choreography look so gawky. Mamma Mia! isn’t total hell: Streep turns “The Winner Takes All” into this triumphant, Helen Reddy-esque siren call I actually applauded, and those darn ABBA songs continue to take up residence in my head. Mostly, though, I’m disappointed that Mamma Mia! couldn’t follow in the mid-July musical magic footsteps of last year’s Hairspray.
1) Mamma Mia! (July 19; actually, it's the 2008 second movie I saw in July)
Mamma Mia!, based on the Broadway celebration of ABBA songs, made me feel trapped at the world’s longest, loudest slumber party. I was embarrassed as Meryl Streep dithered around like a teenager about her daughter’s (Amanda Seyfried) three possible fathers while James Bond and Mr. Darcy … er, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth … attempted to sing and modeled leather vests. I puzzled over the math in Catherine Johnson’s screenplay (Streep and her lovers are at least 15 years too old for their roles) and wondered why director Phyllida Lloyd - who staged the theatrical version of Mamma Mia! - made the celluloid choreography look so gawky. Mamma Mia! isn’t total hell: Streep turns “The Winner Takes All” into this triumphant, Helen Reddy-esque siren call I actually applauded, and those darn ABBA songs continue to take up residence in my head. Mostly, though, I’m disappointed that Mamma Mia! couldn’t follow in the mid-July musical magic footsteps of last year’s Hairspray.
Making a List, and Checking It Twice
I'm suffering writer's block while composing my Wanted review. In the meantime, I figured I'd jot down a list of what I have even a passing desire to see. Feel free to share your reviews or what you want to watch. The only rule: NO MOCKING!
1) Brideshead Revisited - Despite its English pedicree, literay background, and the existence of Emma Thompson, I haven't run out to see this, and now it's almost gone. My friend Josee said she was having difficulty getting into the book. Still, I'm curious.
2) Death Race - My classmate Patricia and I think Jason Statham is HOT. Plot is irrelevant. I'll be seeing it for free with her Sept. 2, thanks to AMC MovieWatch rewards.
3) The House Bunny - It looks like a lesser Legally Blonde, but still cute. (That makes sense, as the screenwriters are the same.) A good girls night out or an afternoon matinee.
4) Man on Wire - A huge hit at Tribeca, a New York documentary ... why haven't I seen this yet? Well, if a certain best friend of mine didn't have such a busy life (ahem, TIM) ... seriously, we're looking at Wednesday.
5) Tell No One - The Boston Herald compared this French drama to Laura (my No. 2 all-time); the New York Times name-checked North by Northwest (another of my top 10). The only thing that's stopped me from going to Lincoln Plaza, the art theater by Central Park: As I learned while watching The Seventh Seal last weekend, I can't concentrate on subtitled films after long runs.
6) Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Woody Allen and I have a very hit-and-miss relationship, overwhelmingly in the latter category. This doesn't look like typical Woody, though, giving me some hope.
1) Brideshead Revisited - Despite its English pedicree, literay background, and the existence of Emma Thompson, I haven't run out to see this, and now it's almost gone. My friend Josee said she was having difficulty getting into the book. Still, I'm curious.
2) Death Race - My classmate Patricia and I think Jason Statham is HOT. Plot is irrelevant. I'll be seeing it for free with her Sept. 2, thanks to AMC MovieWatch rewards.
3) The House Bunny - It looks like a lesser Legally Blonde, but still cute. (That makes sense, as the screenwriters are the same.) A good girls night out or an afternoon matinee.
4) Man on Wire - A huge hit at Tribeca, a New York documentary ... why haven't I seen this yet? Well, if a certain best friend of mine didn't have such a busy life (ahem, TIM) ... seriously, we're looking at Wednesday.
5) Tell No One - The Boston Herald compared this French drama to Laura (my No. 2 all-time); the New York Times name-checked North by Northwest (another of my top 10). The only thing that's stopped me from going to Lincoln Plaza, the art theater by Central Park: As I learned while watching The Seventh Seal last weekend, I can't concentrate on subtitled films after long runs.
6) Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Woody Allen and I have a very hit-and-miss relationship, overwhelmingly in the latter category. This doesn't look like typical Woody, though, giving me some hope.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
A postscript to April 28
2) Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot - now in theaters (June 27)
I love question-and-answer sessions.
It turns out the music rights weren’t finalized when Adam Yauch screened the basketball documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. http://womanonfilm.blogspot.com/2008/04/tribeca-dispatch-monday-april-28.html
My favorite musical sequence, “Hypnotize,” disappeared from the final cut! I asked Yauch at the Q&A on the 27th; apparently, the estate that holds the rights to the sample in the Notorious B.I.G. joint wouldn’t grant permission for use in the film. Even a Beastie Boy doesn’t have all the sway. Wow!
I love question-and-answer sessions.
It turns out the music rights weren’t finalized when Adam Yauch screened the basketball documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. http://womanonfilm.blogspot.com/2008/04/tribeca-dispatch-monday-april-28.html
My favorite musical sequence, “Hypnotize,” disappeared from the final cut! I asked Yauch at the Q&A on the 27th; apparently, the estate that holds the rights to the sample in the Notorious B.I.G. joint wouldn’t grant permission for use in the film. Even a Beastie Boy doesn’t have all the sway. Wow!
Moving On To June
1) My Blueberry Nights (June 15)
I forgot I'd even seen this until I was going through my movie diary to write all these five-sentence reviews. It's a god thing I write down what I watch.
Norah Jones’ pop-jazz standards are creamy, gorgeous - but downright drowsy after a bit. The same applies to the languid road-trip drama in which she makes her acting debut, Wong Kar-Wai’s My Blueberry Nights. Not much happens: Heartbroken by a boyfriend, Elizabeth (Jones) leaves New York and ends up first in Memphis, then out West, where more takes place around her than to her. Jones doesn’t have the experience to give the sketchily written Elizabeth any depth, a circumstance made most glaring against a vibrant Natalie Portman as a blond Vegas con artist. As most Wong films are, My Blueberry Nights is really pretty, though: Melting desserts and honky-tonk bars never looked so seductive.
I forgot I'd even seen this until I was going through my movie diary to write all these five-sentence reviews. It's a god thing I write down what I watch.
Norah Jones’ pop-jazz standards are creamy, gorgeous - but downright drowsy after a bit. The same applies to the languid road-trip drama in which she makes her acting debut, Wong Kar-Wai’s My Blueberry Nights. Not much happens: Heartbroken by a boyfriend, Elizabeth (Jones) leaves New York and ends up first in Memphis, then out West, where more takes place around her than to her. Jones doesn’t have the experience to give the sketchily written Elizabeth any depth, a circumstance made most glaring against a vibrant Natalie Portman as a blond Vegas con artist. As most Wong films are, My Blueberry Nights is really pretty, though: Melting desserts and honky-tonk bars never looked so seductive.
The Best Movie I've Seen This Summer
4) Bigger, Stronger, Faster* (May 31)
I've decided to make an effort to see Tribeca flicks if they make it to theaters. Here's one. P.S. The tiny text after the star says "the side effects of being American."
For those who remember when Michael Moore wasn’t about his image, when he just wanted to educate and entertain, I give you Christopher Bell and his raucous steroid documentary, Bigger, Stronger, Faster*. First-time director Bell attacks the American culture of winning at any cost: Patton, Rocky, Hulk Hogan, the amphetamine-using Air Force. But Bell also comes to the world of steroids firsthand: His body-building brothers use them, influenced by their supposedly pure childhood wrestling heroes, and he’s obviously conflicted about society’s message versus his familial feelings. Bell doesn’t make direct judgments, instead using varied talking heads, statistics, and animation to illustrate the hypocrisy surrounding performance enhancers - the congressman who called the steroid hearings doesn’t even know what drugs are banned; no one’s ever done a study on steroids’ long-term effects; a cold supplement with a prohibited substance didn’t keep Carl Lewis out of the 1988 Olympics. By the end of this difficult, fascinating film, I could pay Bell the ultimate compliment: I’m willing to re-examine my views on performance enhancers.
I've decided to make an effort to see Tribeca flicks if they make it to theaters. Here's one. P.S. The tiny text after the star says "the side effects of being American."
For those who remember when Michael Moore wasn’t about his image, when he just wanted to educate and entertain, I give you Christopher Bell and his raucous steroid documentary, Bigger, Stronger, Faster*. First-time director Bell attacks the American culture of winning at any cost: Patton, Rocky, Hulk Hogan, the amphetamine-using Air Force. But Bell also comes to the world of steroids firsthand: His body-building brothers use them, influenced by their supposedly pure childhood wrestling heroes, and he’s obviously conflicted about society’s message versus his familial feelings. Bell doesn’t make direct judgments, instead using varied talking heads, statistics, and animation to illustrate the hypocrisy surrounding performance enhancers - the congressman who called the steroid hearings doesn’t even know what drugs are banned; no one’s ever done a study on steroids’ long-term effects; a cold supplement with a prohibited substance didn’t keep Carl Lewis out of the 1988 Olympics. By the end of this difficult, fascinating film, I could pay Bell the ultimate compliment: I’m willing to re-examine my views on performance enhancers.
I Can't Help But Wonder ... Do They Still Matter?
3) Sex and the City: The Movie (May 30)
I was very opposed to seeing this for a long time, but marathon TV viewing parties with my co-workers changed my mind.
I didn’t think we needed a two-hour-plus feature continuing the adventures of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and company, as the series ended in 2o04 (I REALLY wish Carrie picked herself); still, my friend Michelle and I (and many bedazzled women) saw Sex and the City: The Movie on opening night.
Garnier Fructis should have created a dye to cover the film’s obvious television roots, as writer/director Michael Patrick King can’t make the flick feel like anything more than five consecutive shows. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Carrie have more balanced, complex storylines than Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and especially the shafted Charlotte (Kristin Davis); subsequently, Nixon and Parker give the movie’s most complete, nuanced performances.
In spite of my complaints (the ending, AGAIN!), I had a great time: Whatever the screen size, Sex and the City addresses love, relationships, friendships, and even New York with a directness and honesty that feel ripped from my most intimate life. Sex and the City: The Movie is like a class reunion: somewhat unnecessary, but a blast once you’re there.
I was very opposed to seeing this for a long time, but marathon TV viewing parties with my co-workers changed my mind.
I didn’t think we needed a two-hour-plus feature continuing the adventures of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and company, as the series ended in 2o04 (I REALLY wish Carrie picked herself); still, my friend Michelle and I (and many bedazzled women) saw Sex and the City: The Movie on opening night.
Garnier Fructis should have created a dye to cover the film’s obvious television roots, as writer/director Michael Patrick King can’t make the flick feel like anything more than five consecutive shows. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Carrie have more balanced, complex storylines than Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and especially the shafted Charlotte (Kristin Davis); subsequently, Nixon and Parker give the movie’s most complete, nuanced performances.
In spite of my complaints (the ending, AGAIN!), I had a great time: Whatever the screen size, Sex and the City addresses love, relationships, friendships, and even New York with a directness and honesty that feel ripped from my most intimate life. Sex and the City: The Movie is like a class reunion: somewhat unnecessary, but a blast once you’re there.
Light Vs. Dark
2) (or Iron Man [May 13] and The Dark Knight [July 29])
I like my superhero flicks to have quality filmmaking - but I also want them to have an element of fun. That’s why I respect The Dark Knight, but I came away from Iron Man positively alive.
The essence of Iron Man, my favorite feature of this genre since the first two Spider-Man movies, comes when Tony Stark (the treat that is Robert Downey Jr.) tries on his amped-up suit of armor for the first time. Tony may be a billionaire inventor with women and toys galore, but put him in a shiny red gadget-laden suit, and his giddiness while zooming airborne crosses all economic classes. In those moments, Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau have created pure movie magic. Iron Man isn’t just about dazzling special effects: Stark has a definable arc, going from a pro-military, Bush-like weapons designer to a world savior of a different model, and Downey Jr.’s wit and smarts complement his character. Only the climactic battle with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) disappoints, two robots clanking together clumsily like some outtake from a Star Wars movie.
While Iron Man proves you can make a summer movie with both playfulness and a point, The Dark Knight seems to know only ponderousness. The sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins brings director Christopher Nolan and Caped Crusader Christian Bale back to Gotham (a sleek-looking Chicago) for an increased dose of mayhem and malevolence, this time led by the Joker (the late Heath Ledger, as much of an evil marvel as you’ve heard). Nolan said he wanted to create a crime epic, and The Dark Knight has psychology and political-science lessons to spare: on vigilantism and copycats, on the search for the person to “save” us - if this is even attainable. It’s almost Shakespearian in its approach to tragedy, yet it’s so black it’s draining, with none of the poetry of the Bard to ease the message. In fact, what I remember most fondly about the film is Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score, its incessant foreboding and distant sirens literally making me bolt up in nervous anticipation.
Yes, Ledger deserves an Oscar nomination - but you know? So does Downey Jr. He IS Iron Man, and I can’t wait to see what he and Favreau come up with next. As for Batman, wake me up when he’s obtained some antidepressants.
I like my superhero flicks to have quality filmmaking - but I also want them to have an element of fun. That’s why I respect The Dark Knight, but I came away from Iron Man positively alive.
The essence of Iron Man, my favorite feature of this genre since the first two Spider-Man movies, comes when Tony Stark (the treat that is Robert Downey Jr.) tries on his amped-up suit of armor for the first time. Tony may be a billionaire inventor with women and toys galore, but put him in a shiny red gadget-laden suit, and his giddiness while zooming airborne crosses all economic classes. In those moments, Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau have created pure movie magic. Iron Man isn’t just about dazzling special effects: Stark has a definable arc, going from a pro-military, Bush-like weapons designer to a world savior of a different model, and Downey Jr.’s wit and smarts complement his character. Only the climactic battle with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) disappoints, two robots clanking together clumsily like some outtake from a Star Wars movie.
While Iron Man proves you can make a summer movie with both playfulness and a point, The Dark Knight seems to know only ponderousness. The sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins brings director Christopher Nolan and Caped Crusader Christian Bale back to Gotham (a sleek-looking Chicago) for an increased dose of mayhem and malevolence, this time led by the Joker (the late Heath Ledger, as much of an evil marvel as you’ve heard). Nolan said he wanted to create a crime epic, and The Dark Knight has psychology and political-science lessons to spare: on vigilantism and copycats, on the search for the person to “save” us - if this is even attainable. It’s almost Shakespearian in its approach to tragedy, yet it’s so black it’s draining, with none of the poetry of the Bard to ease the message. In fact, what I remember most fondly about the film is Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score, its incessant foreboding and distant sirens literally making me bolt up in nervous anticipation.
Yes, Ledger deserves an Oscar nomination - but you know? So does Downey Jr. He IS Iron Man, and I can’t wait to see what he and Favreau come up with next. As for Batman, wake me up when he’s obtained some antidepressants.
Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger!
I have been a horribly remorse blogger this summer. I took up running in the middle of May, and being the Type A personality I am, I’ve become kind of obsessive about it. I also hadn’t been to a lot of movies until early August, so very little inspired me to write. Now, though, I’m presenting myself with a challenge: Review every 2008 release I’ve seen in a theater or on DVD since the Tribeca Film Festival ended May 4 … in a maximum of five sentences per film. Gulp.
1) Then She Found Me (May 9)
Helen Hunt hasn’t stitched her writing and directorial debut, Then She Found Me, as neatly as one might hope, but the thought and care that went into the filmmaking bind the flick through any messiness. Hunt’s April Epner yearns to be a mother - a situation complicated by the end of her marriage to fellow teacher Ben (Matthew Broderick), a burgeoning relationship with a high-strung Colin Firth and the sudden reappearance of her birth mother, a drama-queen talk-show host (a relatively restrained Better Midler). Hunt doesn’t manage the emotions or storylines that steadily, but what she struggles with structurally she makes up for in details: a financially appropriate wardrobe for each character, for example, or visible strain as April’s emotional cauldron boils. Hunt also depicts something rarely seen in contemporary cinema: an openly observant Jewish woman, and April’s emphasis on her faith is deeply moving. Seek out Then She Found Me because, ultimately, it has something to say: about identity, religion, the many forms of motherhood, and what it means to be a woman.
1) Then She Found Me (May 9)
Helen Hunt hasn’t stitched her writing and directorial debut, Then She Found Me, as neatly as one might hope, but the thought and care that went into the filmmaking bind the flick through any messiness. Hunt’s April Epner yearns to be a mother - a situation complicated by the end of her marriage to fellow teacher Ben (Matthew Broderick), a burgeoning relationship with a high-strung Colin Firth and the sudden reappearance of her birth mother, a drama-queen talk-show host (a relatively restrained Better Midler). Hunt doesn’t manage the emotions or storylines that steadily, but what she struggles with structurally she makes up for in details: a financially appropriate wardrobe for each character, for example, or visible strain as April’s emotional cauldron boils. Hunt also depicts something rarely seen in contemporary cinema: an openly observant Jewish woman, and April’s emphasis on her faith is deeply moving. Seek out Then She Found Me because, ultimately, it has something to say: about identity, religion, the many forms of motherhood, and what it means to be a woman.
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