Cold Souls 2 1/2 stars. A real disappointment. It's Charlie Kaufman lite sadly without much of the humor or human insight. Paul Giamatti gives a great performance playing "himself" but writer director Sophie Bartes did everything she possibly could to not entertain. The pace is unbearably slow, and the parallel story with the Russian mule isn't set up very well, so the payoff doesn't really matter. It just could've been so much better.
Duplicity 1 star. I think Tony Gilroy is a good writer. He is the primary writer on the Bourne movies, but I think he is a lousy director. Camera work is standard and the split screens he uses are pretty TV lame. Michael Clayton and this have all of the elements of good movies but none of the soul or spirit. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts try to be and say clever things but it all comes off as trying too hard. The plot is so convoluted that at some point I just stopped caring. Who cares about these companies? And who cares that these two exceedingly unlikable paranoid liars will get together?
Fighting 2 1/2 stars.Channing Tatum should go to a vocal coach and change his accent. He's Mark Walhberg 2.0 and I don't know how much we need the first one. Of course his character will have a manager to take him into the world of underground fighting. Of course he'll meet a sweet ethnic girl who he'll change for. Of course he will rise above the crooked dishonesty of the gangsters who run this fight club. Plus, the fighting is no big deal. It's all hand held fists and kicks. It's stupid.
Dragonball Evolution 1 star.Definitely going on the Worst 10 list of the year. It also wasn't really released in the theaters so maybe Fox knew how bad it was too. It's a 70 minute Power Rangers movie with the very annoying actor who played Tom Cruise's son in War of the Worlds. Chow Yun Fat does his best with a nothing role, but shouldn't this movie have been released 6 years ago when people cared about Kung Fu movies? What an embarrassment.
Sunshine Cleaning 3 1/2 stars.There's still something about it. Despite its lack of original thematic material, it all comes together in a great way. Amy Adams is wonderful in the lead, but like I said in my previous review, Emily Blunt gives the monster performance. It's real subtle acting that probably won't get noticed. But if you watch as much movies as I do, you really see what she's doing. Alan Arkin is great as their supportive dad, and all of the crime scene clean up stuff is hysterical and seemingly plausible. A great upper 20s/30 movie.
Indecent Proposal 3 stars.Everyone forgot what a phenomenon this movie was. Everyone was talking about it. Would you sleep with someone for $1 million bucks? Now it's all completely forgotten. Maybe because Demi Moore is fairly forgotten. She was one of the highest paid actresses, but I think her last movie was Mr. Brooks with fellow former star Kevin Costner. Wow is the movie sappy but something about it is still inherently appealing. Can voluntarily consented infidelity be pushed under the rug? Woody Harrelson is really great in his role and I'm still shocked they got Robert Redford to play the billionaire. Adrian Lyne directed Unfaithful and Fatal Attraction as well. It makes sense that he directed this one too.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Sunshine Cleaning, Kill Bill Vol. 1, The Matrix, Speed Racer, Indecent Proposal, Tron, Speed, Blown Away, Double Dare, The Fugitive, Special Thanks to Roy London,The Simpsons Season 12 The Bad: The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Some Kind of Wonderful, Duplicity, Fighting The Ugly: Dragonball Evolution
Trips to the Theater: Cold Souls Actors of the Week: Paul Giamatti, Keanu Reeves, Tommy Lee Jones Directors of the Week: Andrew Davis, The Wachowski Brothers Where'd They Go?: Dennis Hopper?
TRAILERS/CLIPS of the Week: Capitalism: A Love Story.
Inception. The next film from Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan.
4 starsQuentin Tarantino apparently took the better part of the last decade writing Inglourious Basterds, and I think it might be a masterpiece. Might because the true reputation of a film is determined years later, but my goodness it's tremendous.
Not everyone is going to agree. Some will say it's too talky or there are too many subtitles (half of the film is in either French or German since hey, it's set in France and involves Nazis). Some just won't get what the big deal is. I can't speak for anyone but myself and I love movies more than most people will love anything. And I'm going to try to describe what he did that affected me so much, but I don't think I'm going to be successful.
Like any good movie, it's more than the sum of its parts. There's Brad Pitt's dead on hillbilly performance, there's the incredibly written set up and payoff of the character of Shosanna Dreyfus who we meet in the beginning of the film, there is the brilliant sequence in the basement bar where we meet Diane Kruger's Marlene Dietrich-esque character Bridget Von Hammersmark, and in terms of an overall cast, I don't think there will be a better group of actors in one film this year.
First and foremost of which is German actor Christoph Waltz who absolutely steals the show as SS Col. Hans Landa. The Jew Hunter. Landa will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable film villains and his performance should win the Oscar. Tarantino out did himself with Landa's dialogue and monologues. It's one of the most original characters I've ever experienced in a movie.
The next actor I think of is Melanie Laurent who is stunning, playing a French Jew who owns a cinema. She is slowly plotting her own personal revenge against the Nazis. The cast is a mighty strange one with Mike Meyers in a very good cameo as a British General, Til Schweiger who I recognize from a few action movies is just mesmerizing as Hugo Stiglitz a former German officer who loves killing Nazis, and Hostel director Eli Roth plays The Bear Jew Donnie Donowitz. I was scratching my head when the cast list initially came out, but they all make total sense in the world of the film.
It also helps that Tarantino has written one mother of a script. Again, maybe some just won't get it, but the things he does here are bold and big. For example, we spend two minutes in the opening sequence talking about milk and watching Hans Landa drink an entire glass of it. Within the same scene we listen to another genius bizarro Tarantino speech about people's different feelings about rats vs. squirrels. But somehow all of this works as any movie should. I was emotionally invested. I cared about the mission, I cared about the Basterds, I deeply cared about Shosanna Dreyfus and her not-so-relationship with Nazi hero Frederick Zoller (what a dweeb). I cared about it all. Tarantino loves tension and it built and built for me as the movie went on. They talk and talk and talk about Donnie beating Nazis to death with his baseball bat. When he finally does, the tension finally releases in such a huge (and fairly disgusting) way. I wanted to cheer.
Movies can be easy mindless fun. They can be Happy Meals for the whole family. But there is much room for art and artists and Tarantino is still one of the most exciting. He doesn't play in pretentious art house areas though. This is still a World War II film, only it involves people and a plot that only he cares about. Forget landing on Omaha Beach, I want to follow a completely fictional story about an elite group of Jewish-American soldiers scalping Nazi heads. And it all has this spirit that is alive. It's fun, it is funny, and after the phenomenal last line was spoken, I did something I never do which is to join the audience and break out in applause. There is also so much of Tarantino's intimidating love for film (the final set piece takes place in a movie theater). Subtle moments like a throwaway line about how the French respect directors or a British officer talking about the difference between German cinema of the 20s vs. the 40s. It's his world. It's Tarantino's World War II. It's the Nazi movie to end all Nazi movies.
Driving home from the midnight screening, I was very sure I had seen something special. I hope you guys feel that way too. But here's how I know how much it means to me. I don't want to hear anyone's opinions about it. Don't tell me what you thought. My own feelings about it are the only ones I want to have. And I want to keep it that way.
DVDs Watched this Week: The Good: Adventureland, Tyson, Gigantic, The Bodyguard, Play it to the Bone, Felicity Seasons 1-4, The Killer, Point Break The Bad: I am Legend The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: Inglourious Basterds Actors of the Week: Zooey Deschanel, Kristin Stewart, Ian Gomez, Christoph Waltz Directors of the Week: James Toback, Quentin Tarantino Where'd They Go?: Gary Busey?
TRAILERS/CLIPS of the Week: Avatar.12 years after Titanic comes out, James Cameron makes another film.
The Hurt Locker 4 stars.Intense. Who in their right mind would volunteer to be a bomb technician in Iraq? Every day a freaking scary day. Kathryn Bigelow directed a great movie called Strange Days, a good movie called Point Break, but she also directed a clunker called K-19: The Widowmaker. Still, she directs the hell out of this one. There isn't too much plot in The Hurt Locker, but there are 5 jaw drop amazing sequences where this bomb squad attempts to diffuse various incendiary devices. My favorite is the one with the sniper and the package of capri sun. It's a sweaty palm cover your eyes white knuckler of a movie. Don't blink or you'll miss Evangeline Lilly(Kate from Lost) in a tiny but significant role. Great cameos by Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, and David Morse. It's days later and I still can't get the movie out of my head.
I Love You, Man 4 stars. I gotta talk about Jason Segel(Forgetting Sarah Marshall) who gives a masterful fine line performance as Sydney Fife, the bold guy to Paul Rudd's reserved nice one. The idea of the carpe diem character is not a new one, but his take on it is completely original. It's a subtle, great performance that is diamond precise in its execution. All of this technical acting analysis aside, it's a funny movie. Big laughs, lots of warmth, and tons of funny characters doing and saying funny things. And considering the bits of broad comedy(someone does projectile vomit), everyone acts like a human being. Rashida Jones is sweet, Jon Favreau is a hilarious a-hole, and Lou Ferrigno wants everyone to think of him as a person not the Hulk. Gotta go rent it.
Fragments 2 stars.There are too many of these movies. 7, 8, 9 characters, intersecting lives, intersecting stories. This one centers around a shooting at a restaurant but it's a nothing message film. Kate Beckinsale, Forrest Whitaker, Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, and others. What are they doing in this movie? None of it is compelling. It's a glorified Lifetime movie.
Tyson 3 stars. I was never really interested in Mike Tyson beyond his classic Nintendo video game and yet I easily know all of the major events of his life. Robin Givens, Buster Douglas, Holyfield's ear, Lennix knocking the crap out of him. All of that material is covered here, but it isn't third person news. Iron Mike is very open and very honest (the film was shot as he was completing drug rehab) and his frankness is what makes this film constantly interesting. I felt in awe of him in the beginning(the archive fight footage is insane) and at the end I felt very sad for him. He says at one point that there's a hole in him that all of the fame and money didn't fill and he's still trying to fill it. It's also somewhat strange seeing a documentary whose subject is only 40 years old and who has a lot of life left. But maybe that's the point.
Adventureland 3 stars.Very unexpectedly good. From the director of Superbad, but I think it's better than Superbad. Not as funny, but a lot more heart and a lot of great characters. The 80s theme park stuff is fun as long as it stays real and not too broad(Bill Hader's mustache like all mustaches is ridiculous). Ryan Reynolds gives a nice supporting performance as the cool older guy who has to work with 20 year olds all day. Kristin Stewart is getting better and better as an actress and her character is much deeper than Bella from Twilight. Like I said, unexpectedly good considering movies with lots of scenes of people drinking at a party in someone's house are almost all bad. But as soon as it ended, I wanted to watch it again.
Gigantic 3 stars.If you like the trailer, you'll like the movie. It captures a lot of what the film is like. Slightly off center dialogue, slightly off center everything. I'm not really sure what it's truly meant to be about, but it's a very enjoyable hipster/geek romance with very enjoyable characters. Zooey is lovely, Paul Dano is good again. There are two scenes that have no business being in the film and seem a little like the writer was trying too hard to be original. But overall I really enjoyed it.
DVDs Watched this Week:
The Good: I Love You Man, Watchmen, RockNRolla, Jaws, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, LA Confidential The Bad: None The Ugly: None
Trips to the Theater: The Hurt Locker, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Actors of the Week: Jason Segel, Paul Rudd Directors of the Week: Zach Snyder, Kathryn Bigelow
TRAILERS/CLIPS of the Week: Don't You Forget About Me. A documentary on John Hughes.
DVDs Watched this Week:
The Good: Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Pineapple Express, Glengarry Glen Ross, I Could Never be Your Woman, About Last Night..., Confidence, Hollywoodland, Spanglish, Tomb Raider, Flight of the Conchords Season 2, Edmond, The Dark Knight, Ferris Bueller's Day Off The Bad: Harry and Tonto, Apartment Zero, Fragments, The Wedding Party The Ugly: Johnny Dangerously
Trips to the Theater: None Actors of the Week: Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Jemaine Clement Directors of the Week: Judd Apatow, Amy Heckerling, John Hughes Where'd They Go?:Julia Stiles?
Funny People 3 stars. I'm torn. The first hour and a half is ridiculously good. Huge laughs, great character stuff, and a look at stand up comedians that really feels inside. The details of a comedian's life don't feel made up, they feel very real. Adam Sandler is once again good in a movie not produced or written by him and thinking about it, I never realized how sad a lot of his characters are. The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer, George Simmons, these are sad dudes. Though the real standout in this one is Seth Rogen who deserves an Oscar nom for supporting actor he's so good in the role of Ira Wright, a wanna-be standup who ends up becoming George's personal assistant. The scene where he can't believe the girl he was going to go on a date with has slept with his roommate as well as all of the ones in Marin County where he's trying to do the right thing are phenomenally well acted. It's a fantastic character.
But then the last hour of the movie comes and sets up way too much too late and the movie doesn't have the time to payoff everything. I can't criticize too much because director Judd Apatow is truly trying for something meaningful here. It's Cameron Crowe/James L. Brooks territory and it just comes down to the fact that the movie is too long(2.5 hours is way too much for this material) and yet it feels like it ends without satisfying closure. Maybe there's too much in the beginning. I personally think almost all of the scenes with the roommates could've been deleted. Still, there are huge laughs. Tons of laughs. I mean, I can't call a movie bad when it's so funny. That Ikea joke is just murder. I'm going to actually see it again to try to grasp what really works and what doesn't. But I have great respect for Judd Apatow. 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up. He's a great writer and he's becoming a better director. Btw, how in the world did he get Steven Spielberg's cinematographer Janusz Kaminski to work on this movie? Eric Bana must've promised a Munich reunion party.
Fast&Furious 0 stars.Will I possibly see a worse film this year? If I do, it would be a major accomplishment. WTF is going on here? First, the action is video game ridiculous. I mean, a tanker truck is rolling toward you on fire and somehow Vin can time when he needs to hit the gas so the truck will pass right over him. Then there are the "dramatic" scenes which are weighed down by lead bricks of bad dialogue and bad acting that suck all of the energy out of a movie whose title includes the word fast. Justin Lin should be embarrassed by this POS. Who the hell cares about anything that is going on with anything in this movie? And don't get me started on the last scene which is the teaser for the next film. Just like in the first movie, Paul Walker is apparently the most irresponsible cop in history.
Horsemen 1 star. It's this straight to video horror/killer flick with Dennis Quaid and Ziyi Zhang. I rented it because she was in it and because director Jonas Akerlund has done some f'd up music videos including Madonna's classic Ray of Light. I don't know what happens to these music video directors, but they cannot make a decent 2 hour movie. It's tedious, it's cliche, it's a bad movie.
Tokyo! 2 stars.Three short films about Tokyo from three different directors. I don't think this format has ever really worked. We don't like 45 minute sort of films, we want 2 hour real films. Michel Gondry does a segment and that's why I rented it, but the behind the scenes documentary was more interesting than his actual movie.
Coraline 2 stars. A disappointment. Maybe I'm not a teenage girl so I won't connect with alienated Coraline entering a parallel universe where everyone has buttons for eyes. It feels a lot like Beetlejuice but that movie's 20 years old.
The Great Buck Howard 2 stars. I don't know. What's there to really talk about? There's nothing particularly special about it. Colin Hanks is not really that great, Malkovich is playing such a unlikeable guy that it's hard to want to spend time with him, Emily Blunt is kind of wasted in a role that is beneath her abilities and Tom Hanks shows up in a cameo that just made me think, "Hey there's Tom Hanks." Sorry Play Tone Films. I still really like That Thing You Do.
Cold Souls 2 1/2 stars. A real disappointment. It's Charlie Kaufman lite sadly without much of the humor or human insight. Paul Giamatti gives a great performance playing "himself" but writer director Sophie Bartes did everything she possibly could to not entertain. The pace is unbearably slow, and the parallel story with the Russian mule isn't set up very well, so the payoff doesn't really matter. It just could've been so much better.
