Musical Mondays! NINE

This will likely be the newest musical I review for this feature, but as I just saw it, and would review it anyway, and it's a musical, this seems appropriate.  Nine is based on the stage musical from a few years ago, which was in turn loosely based on the film 8 1/2 by Fellini.  I've never seen the stage version, and I have seen very few Fellini films, and not 8 1/2.  So I went into this film based solely on the strength of the cast and director.  Rob Marshall did a terrific job bringing Chicago to the screen (that will be reviewed soon), so I had high hopes for this.  As it never came to my local theater, I had to wait for Netflix.  However, I'd heard the many unhappy reviews, but took them with a grain of salt given my higher-than-usual tolerance for musicals.  My mom used to say a good measure of a quality musical is whether you leave the theater humming the tunes.  While I did get some of the songs stuck in my head for the evening, Nine was disappointing. 

We meet Guido Contini (a whiny unsympathetic Daniel Day-Lewis), a maestro of Italian cinema in the 1960s.  He's tortured by lack of inspiration for his new film, and seeks it from the many women in high life.  The movie is mostly about the women, and for that I did enjoy it, but they too are kinda whiny and needy.  Most of the story is told through Guido's remembered fantasies about these women.  The ones who weren't were the ones I liked best: Judi Dench and Fergi.  Dench plays Guido's long suffering costumer.  She talks about her start at the Paris nightspot the Folies Bergere.  She tries to keep Guido in line and get his movies made the way he wants them.  A great big sister.  Fergie (from the Black Eyed Peas) plays the whore who Guido met as a child who gave him and his friends a bit of a show and told them how to treat women.  Her song was easily my favorite, and definitely the best sung song of the bunch.  Her voice and raunchy dance number, "Be Italian", were really terrific.  The rest of the women also each sing a song about their relationship with Guido - Marion Cotillard as his wife, Penelope Cruz (in an oddly Oscar nominated role) as his mistress, Sophia Loren as his deceased mother, Nicole Kidman as the actress from his movies, and Kate Hudson as a journalist interviewing him.  All the musical numbers were performed in Guido's head and on the same stage (save one song by his wife) and the sets did invoke the crazy unfinished nature of Guido's mind.  The costumes were also terrific, and I'm surprised weren't even nominated for an Oscar.  Overall, the movie didn't live up to my hopes, and didn't live up to the incredible cast.  Personally, I blame it on Day-Lewis being improperly cast - somehow I sense another actor could pull it off better.  I think Raul Julia and Antonio Bandares played it on Broadway, and that seems like better casting.  2.5 of 5 stars/lambs

"Nobody wins with a headbutt": Paul Blart

I really didn't think I would like Paul Blart: Mall Cop because it looked like all the funny moments were in the commercials (and they were) and I thought most of the jokes were just funny as sight gags (also true) but somehow it all worked out to be a funny movie with a lot of heart. Kevin James (who was also sweet and funny in Hitch) is Blart, riding around on his Segway guarding a mall. He'd rather be in the NJ State Troopers, but physically can't finish the exam. When a group of criminals attempt to take over the mall and steal all the credit card info, it's left to Blart to stop them. He mostly falls on them, trips them or surprises them into unconsciousness, but of course, in the end, saves the day. Totally predictable, but nevertheless enjoyable. Jayma Mays (from "Glee") plays the object of his affection and one of the hostages. 2.5 of 5 lambs/stars

A Single Man: A nod to Colin Firth

I don't have a lot that I liked about the Tom Ford-directed film A Single Man, but I have to say I liked Colin Firth. He did a good job as the newly single 1960s gay professor of literature in LA by showing melancholy, terrible depression, impatience, longing, determination and of course he swam around naked (was it just me, or was that a nod to his famous scene in Pride and Prejudice?). I also liked Ginnifer Goodwin as his neighbor trying to be PC (before it was necessary and was just called manners) and Matthew Goode as his deceased partner who wanted to throw caution to the wind, but knew in the 60s that might not be the easiest thing to do. As for the things I didn't like: the affected color changes characterizing Firth's connection to another person, too much literal "swimming" through his depression, and Julianne Moore's ridiculous over-the-top character. The other thing that bothered me, particularly when someone else pointed it out was how often they told the gorgeous Colin Firth how awful he looked, when we were given no reason to think he didn't look wonderful. It is a terrific story that probably makes a very good book, but the things I liked just barely outweighed the things I didn't. 2.5 of 5 lambs/stars

Two newish releases and two DVDs: The Good, the Bad, and the Meh...

A week of vacation thankfully brings lots of movie viewing, not much of high quality though. I saw Valentine's Day and Crazy Heart in theaters, and Post Grad and The Boys are Back on DVD. I'll start with the good, and then you can skip down to the others you're actually interested in.

Crazy Heart was really terrific. Jeff Bridges is definitely going to win his long-deserved Oscar and in my opinion totally deserves it. I really liked this movie, though my movie-viewing partner wasn't convinced. Bridges plays Bad Blake, a semi-washed up, boozy, greasy, charming, talented country musician. He's playing in Santa Fe, and as a favor to the piano player he agrees to an interview by the local music reporter, Maggie Gyllenhaal. Since he puts the moves on everything, he flirts with Gyllenhaal, who seems attracted to him, but is smart enough to know what a one-night stand she'd be. She also has a young son she's concerned about leaving for long. However, Bad Blake is incredibly charming beyond his former star status and she succumbs. However, Blake has to keep touring as he's mostly broke. His former protegee, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell) asks him to open his show, and to write some new material for him to record. They obviously have a tumultuous relationship, but Farrell does a good job seeming sincere in his admiration for his former mentor. This is definitely a cliched movie about what happens to an alcoholic while he attempts to hit bottom, and the people who love him and watch him go down trying not to go with him (Gyllenhall does the best job I've ever seen of the woman in these type of movies - she stays strong and only gives him the single chance he deserves to change his ways and then she leaves). However, because Bridges is so charismatic and charming, I loved watching every minute he was on the screen. And finally, the music is absolutely fantastic. In general, I don't care for watching long scenes where a pretend character sings the pretend songs that made him famous that he sings forever (Walk the Line and Ray were different because I already knew the music and it was the representation of the real artist that was interesting). However, probably because these songs were written or produced or influenced by an actual amazing musician, T-Bone Burnett, the music is a joy to hear and watch performed by Jeff Bridges, Colin Farrell and unknown others. It's great music. There's a line from Bad Blake in the movie that goes something like: "All the great songs sound like you've heard them before" and that basically describes the music. They're good because they resemble the greatest songs of country music. I really liked this movie, 4.5 stars/lambs (missing the .5 for being really cliched about addiction and famous people).

However, Valentine's Day just barely lived up to the hype created around it. While there were some story lines I really enjoyed - Julia Roberts and Bradly Cooper, both on the airplane and on the ground; Anne Hathaway as an adult entertainment provider (by phone) and Topher Grace; and Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Garner as friends and the final scene of the movie. The others were either boring, terrible acting, or both. I hated Taylor Swift every time she was on screen (she's a terrific musician, but NOT an actor), and you could see Taylor Lautner (not an oscar-contender himself) cringing in all their scenes together. The other teenage couple were just boring in their attempt to have sex on Valentine's day. And the Mcpair of Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane were just boring, cute but boring. Jessica Biel's story line about hating Valentine's Day came across more pathetic than empowered, but her relationship with Jamie Foxx was interesting. This ensemble rom-com is MUCH better than last year's He's Just Not that Into You", but it's not as perfect as the casting would suggest. Removing some of the stories and increasing the depth of others would have made for the perfect Valentine's Day treat. 3 of 5 lambs/stars

So you've had the Good and the Meh for this post. There's not much to say about the bad, particularly Post Grad which I actually fast forwarded because NOTHING happened and it was incredibly boring. The cast is pretty impressive with Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford (I love Friday Night Lights so I'll forgive him this attempt to hit the big screen), Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch and J.K. Simmons. Sadly, Bledel graduates from college, has trouble getting a job, is too arrogant to take anything that will make money and lives with her parents. Gilford is in love with Bledel and doesn't want to go to law school until she loves him too, but his dad, Simmons, is forcing him out. Keaton is crazy and Lynch is funny, but that's the entire movie. 1 lamb/star

The Boys are Back is slightly better, just not great. Clive Owen plays a recently widowed sports reporter father in Australia who has to figure out how to raise his 5-year old son. However, he's also got a 14-year old son from a previous marriage that he realizes he's abandoned. His attempts to be a working father are heart felt and well intentioned, but of course don't work. This movie has been done in other place and in other ways where child-rearing is left to the children and the dad's theory of no rules always back fires. The actor who plays Owen's older son Harry, George MacKay, could have been Ron Weasley if he'd been older when they started. Totally looks the part so I had trouble taking his angst seriously. However, it's not terrible, just Meh. 2.5 of 5 lambs/stars

Dear John: Nicholas Sparks latest movie

I'll admit it: The Notebook is one of my favorite movies. However, the newest movie adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel is not quite up to par, and in this instance, I blame the film maker rather than the material. I haven't read any of Sparks' books except The Notebook, but that was years before the movie was made. However, I've seen and enjoyed 4 (yes 4) of the movies made from his books. Since they're all basically the same premise, I'll just give you the details of each in the order I enjoyed them and why.

The Notebook stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as Noah and Allie, who fall in love even though he's a poor local boy and she's a posh city girl. Her mother secretly keeps them apart by holding back all the letters Noah writes when they separate. Allie falls in love with another, James Marsden, and agrees to marry him. Noah works to fulfill his dreams of renovating an old plantation house, and when his picture appears in the paper, Allie has doubts that her love has disappeared. They reunite, and all is well. The terrific chemistry between them, and the beautiful scenery in the North Carolina coastal areas make the film a joy to watch and romantic. Also, there's quite a twist at the end that's easy to see coming, but still heartwarming, and played by marvelous actors.

Next comes Dear John, starring Channing Tatem and Amanda Seyfried in the same roles as The Notebook, posh, educated city girl, and local boy in the army. They fall in love over the two weeks he's on leave, and then write letters for what should be his last year of service. However, 9/11 gets in the way, and he re-enlists, and she decides she can't wait for him forever. She sends him a "dear John" aka break-up letter (ironically, his name is John), and he is devastated. Of course they ultimately find each other again years later. The best part of this movie is the various subplots, particularly John's father played brilliantly by Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins. He's a single dad who has never been able to communicate with his son. It's only meeting Seyfried that John understands his dad has Asperger's Syndrome and they begin to work towards a better relationship. Since this is a new release, I'll give it the 2.5 of 5 stars/lambs

A Walk to Remember varies only slightly from the rough boy/posh girl relationship. This time they're in high school, and she has leukemia and doesn't really care what people think of the odd ways she dresses or talks. Shane West is a popular kid forced to hang out with her while doing the musical. West and Mandy Moore do good job convincing us they're falling in love. It's sad just like all the others, though as it doesn't end happily, it's more of a tear-jerker than just a romantic movie.

Finally, Nights in Rodanthe is a grown-up offering from Sparks. Diane Lane plays a divorced woman who agrees to housesit a Bed and Breakfast on the North Carolina coast for a friend one weekend. Only one guest is expected: Richard Gere, a single doctor coming to seek forgiveness from a local family after he failed to save their mother. Lane and Gere get stranded at the house when a hurricane approaches, and of course, they too fall in love. Gere finds forgiveness won't come from the family, but finding love is better. He goes to work with his son in Latin America, writing letters to Lane, promising to return. It also doesn't end well, and for that reason, it's my least favorite.

So, what do most Sparks movies have in common? 1. Socially unequal couples fall in love in very short periods of time. 2. Though socially diverse, they are both very literate and enjoy sending letters. 3. Bad things will occur to keep the couple apart, but sometimes it all ends well. 4. All are fun to watch.

Did you hear about the Morgans?: Review

I know there are a lot of haters out there in blog land for the new romantic comedy, Did you hear about the Morgans? with Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant, and chances are they won't like the movie, regardless of my review. However, for the people willing to watch a movie BEFORE they decide they hate it, this review's for you. Did you hear about the Morgans? is the story of a separated couple Meryl and Paul Morgan who witness a murder and have to be protected from the escaped murderer. I'm guessing you can figure all that out from the commercials. While it does follow several movie cliches - the fish out of water (city mouse/country mouse) and the bickering couple that make amends, the movie does avoid offending either the city or country people. The Morgans are New York City people, transported to super-rural Wyoming, and their ignorance of rural life is played for laughs rather than mocking the rural people for not having the big-city options, like a lot of other movies. As a bickering couple, they spend a lot of time watching Grant attempt to make-up to his wife with gifts and apologies and such. Advice from the couple taking care of them (Mary Steenburgen and Sam Elliot) is seen as wise and important (even though they're mostly teasing the city couple). However, the couple that steals the show for their few scenes is Elizabeth Moss (from "Mad Men") and Jesse Liebman (in his first movie according to Imdb) as Meryl and Paul's assistants. They basically dislike each other but have to plan their bosses lives with each other. Moss is terrific as a shrew bossy know it all, and Liebman as the bumbling but sweet foil for her.
Overall, a good romantic comedy without anything problematic or particularly wonderful. Right in the middle. 2.5. of 5 Lambs/stars

Random round-up!

Last weekend, it was snowing and cozy by the fire, so I watched a bunch of movies, the first from a Netflix DVD, and the others from the Netflix Watch Instantly feature on Roku. All were surprisingly good movies, perfect for a quiet weekend.

Away We Go stars SNL alum Maya Rudolph and The Office's John Krasinski as expectant parents. They've moved to be near his parents for the birth of their baby, only to be told his parents - Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels - are moving to Belgium. Untethered by either family or jobs, they decide to find a new place to live near people they know. Thus begins a journey of some of the most extreme characters ever. Allison Janney is a vulgar ex-boss in Tuscon, Maggie Gyllenhaal is an over the top mother in Wisconsin, and Melanie Lynsky is a perfect mom of lots of adopted kids in Montreal. We watch Rudolph and Krasinski's voyage to find a place to live, as well as discover what kind of parents they want and DON'T want to be. Their dialogue provides most of the humor of the movie, quick and sharp, as they discuss the crazies they thought they might want to live near. I thought it was a really good, very original movie, carefully constructed to avoid cliche, but almost misses the mark. It could easily have been really boring, but the strength of the cast makes the movie thoroughly enjoyable. 4 of 5 stars/lambs

The next movie we watched is How About You, a movie Netflix recommended to me and they were right and I enjoyed it. It's about an Irish assisted living facility run by Kate. She's struggling to keep it together when her long-term residents scare off any potential new clients coming to visit. Her ne'erdowell sister Ellie, comes to mooch off of her and gets a job helping clean the home. When their mom gets sick at Christmas, Kate has to leave to take care of her, but can't find a place for 4 residents who have nowhere else to go (they've been banned from other homes). Ellie says she's stay and take care of them for the holidays. The residents are a hoot. Vanessa Redgrave plays an aging actress who remembers a terrific career that never was, and dances around demanding more olives for her martinis and making people jump to her whim. Two sisters - Imelda Staunton and older sis Brenda Fricker - live at the home to escape their childhood struggles (slowly revealed during the movie) and harp on any perceived slight from the staff. Fricker even makes Staunton wear an eye patch after Ellie throws a piece of toast at her. The final person to complete their holiday quintet of lonely hearts is well known British actor Joss Ackland (I spent most of the movie trying to remember where I'd heard his voice before), a widowed, former alcoholic judge. None of them are friends and none of them will give an inch to make life easier for Ellie. Ackland insists on breakfast in his room at 6 am, the others want specific foods at the regular breakfast time. They all run around making life hard for Ellie, but as it takes place at Christmas, you can figure out that all will end well, and it does. A small heartwarming movie with lots of character. 3.5 of 5 stars/lambs

To follow up this sweet charming movie, we watched a French film about a former prisoner trying to find her way in the world after her release. I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) stars Kristin Scott Thomas as Juliette, just getting out of prison after 15 years and moving in with her sister's family. I won't spoil anything about what she was in prison for, which is slowly revealed throughout the movie, as other people reveal what they think they know about what happened and how they treat her because of their misconceptions. However, the movie isn't really about her reintroduction to society, but to her family and friends. She has been silent for so many years that they don't know her or anything about what happened to send her to prison. The movie is terrific - you'll just have to believe me. The story they tell will sit with you and make you think a lot about what you might have done differently if you'd been in Juliette's situation. 4.5 stars/lamsb

The final movie I only saw to try to prove that Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) can act. Sadly, she can't act any differently than Hermione's personality allows, even in a non-Harry Potter movie. Ballet Shoes is based on a children's chapter book that follows three orphaned little girls who grow up in 1920s London and to help the family that raised them they join a theater academy and each go on to different fields, acting, dance, etc. It was a decent movie for little girls, but not terrific acting or a good story. 2.5 stars/lambs

Ballet Shoes
I've Loved You So Long
How About You
Away We Go

Short review: New Moon (that Twilight sequel)

So much has been written about New Moon already, and I don't think that many people who read my blog care much about the new Twilight: New Moon movie so I won't post much. I liked the first movie more than I expected, so I read the books, which I liked less than expected, although I couldn't put them down (I also can't put down a bag of Pirate's Booty - that doesn't mean it's quality food). There were a few things I did like about the movie (beside staring at cute semi-naked guys). The movie did a good job convincing me that Jacob (the Native American kid who turns into a werewolf) might be a legitimate love interest for Bella, which it did much better than the book. Also better than the book was the movie's ability to scrub some of the teen angst and broken-heart isolation that Bella suffers after Edward leaves. The story was compelling, and I liked the set up for the next film. Decent entertainment, but not a terrific movie (and the acting is still pretty bad). 2.5 of 5 Lambs/Stars.

DVD Roundup

I'll start with a movie I've reviewed before, and just recently watched several times on DVD - the incomparable Juno. Lately I've not been interested enough in most of the movies I've seen to bother with any additional material on the DVD, but as I wrote before, there's just something about Juno that you want to know more about the actors or characters. The gag reel on the DVD is terrific, as you'd expect from these amazing comedic actors - with Jason Batemen making fun of Arrested Development. Also, the deleted scenes were perfectly edited out, but great additions to the DVD. Still a 5 star movie.The second movie I saw on DVD is Ed Harris' Appaloosa, a standard western with several very classic male stereotypes very well played by Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons, a somewhat unique female character (either a horribly played character by Renee Zellweger or a horrible character well-played, I can't really decide) and a story that starts out great but falls off the rails. To get other perspectives, here's the link to the LAMBs opinions back when it was in theaters. Harris and Mortensen are legal guns for hire that have arrived in Appaloosa to rid the town of the notorious bad guy Randall Bragg (Irons). They make the rules and eventually get enough evidence to arrest Bragg, and spend a lot of time keeping him alive and arrested long enough to stand trial. Meanwhile, an odd young woman, Mrs. French (Zellweger) arrives in town looking for a man. She hooks up with Harris who thinks he loves her and the movie sort of follows her hooking up with any dominant stallion-type man who might protect her. What I meant by somewhat unique about her character is that rarely have we seen women so subtly switch between men. She's certainly a whore trying to live respectably, but doesn't bother with the niceties of breaking up with one man while pursuing another. Not a very stereotypical female character in westerns. The main reason to watch Appaloosa is Viggo Mortensen. He has a weird facial hair situation that seems appropriate to the time and place, but it's his subtle loyalty to Harris' leader and his own sense of right and wrong appearing to lead him too. I'd give it 2.5 stars/Lambs, for poor editing (should have been about 20 minutes shorter) and Zellweger's bad acting.