I have avoided a lot of reviews and done almost no reading about Midnight in Paris. Mostly because I was pretty sure it would never come to a movie theater near me, and also I haven't really been a fan of recent Woody Allen films. Some work, some don't. Manhattan is awesome, I adore Mighty Aphrodite, thought Match Point was pretty goodand that sums up my really positive associations with Allen, though I've seen most of his films. Most of Allen's movies, particularly recently, have used other actors to play the "Woody Allen" role. They nearly always capture his basic personality, but none have done it as charmingly as Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris. It's almost as if Allen finally saw Wilson in a movie and realized he'd found a more plausible, handsome, funnier, "movie star" to play himself on film with young female starlets.
In less capable or articulate hands, this movie might have fallen completely into farce. Instead, it retains charm, humor, and originality enough to make you smile the whole ninety minutes. The story begins to defy summary, but I'll try. Owen Wilson is a Hollywood writer who has come to Paris with his fiancee, Rachel McAdams, and is inspired by the streets of Paris to work on his novel. She thinks very little of his intellectual pursuits, though loves to listen to Michael Sheen and his wife talk about cultural places and ideas. One night Wilson is drunk and takes a walk back to his hotel. After the clock strikes midnight an old-fashioned taxi appears and the partiers inside take him to a party where he meets Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald (Alison Pill - so awesome!! and a VERY likeable Tom Hiddleston, Loki from Thor). He can't really believe what he's seeing, but when he realizes it's actually Cole Porter, he basically says why not, I'm dreaming so I'll enjoy it. Later that night he meets Ernest Hemingway (perfectly captured for comedic effect by Corey Stoll) who says he'll pass Wilson's manuscript on to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) for her opinion.
Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald
Wilson becomes infatuated with this world of 1920s Paris, returning night after night - first attempting to get McAdams to come too, but of course she thinks he's crazy so he goes alone. It's his dream-world. The most perfect place he can imagine being a part of. I can't say I think he's wrong. The number of influential people he meets, particularly as an artists himself, is awesome and not something easily repeatable in our own time. The movie does a terrific job taking us on Wilson's journey, complete with a memorable soundtrack and jokes I could even remember after leaving the theater. There are a lot of diverse characters, and some of the french conversation will be missed by some people (anyone who doesn't speak french or have a good grasp of romance languages will miss about a quarter of the film I think) but that won't actually lessen their enjoyment of the film at all. And if you're not a fan of 1920s literature or art or weren't forced to read a fair amount of it in high school, you'll probably miss some of the references to the notable personalities passing through the scenes, but again, those are just bonus moments rather than the crux of any part of the story.
The blogger formerly known as the Mad Hatter, Ryan asks guests on his podcast a series of questions. One is something along the lines of "what's a movie you wish you'd made". I still remember my own response, Out of Africa just to be a part of recreating 1930s Kenya. So perhaps my own "perfect time" would be actually experiencing 1930s Kenya. Just as in Midnight in Paris Wilson has to convince someone else that the Belle Epoch (1890s Paris) isn't in fact any more perfect than 1920s Paris, I don't need to be convinced that my own "perfect time" isn't any better than the time I'm actually living in. There's a degree of romanticism within the idea of dreaming about living in another time and place, but nearly always that dream comes with stipulations (I'd live in Jane Austen's time but only if I could be rich). And Paris shows us that if we actually live our dreams we can see those stipulations come to life and living our own lives well is a better choice than wishing for something you can't have.
This has to be my favorite Allen film ever made. The best romantic comedy made in years. 5 of 5 stars/lambs
I've been on a break for a few weeks, but I haven't forgotten that last time there was a new winner for the Movie Mashup. Welcome Red!
Last week's clue: A little girl's parents are turned into pigs while another set of future parents meet some crazy friends as they search for a place to live.
Answer: Spirited Away We Go
Leaderboard Hatter - 16
Rachel - 6
James - 4
David, Nick, Dylan - 3
Sebastian, Andrew, Andy, Keith, Red - 1
New Clue: A kid who was fat in high school and in love with the cute girl plots revenge now that he's hot and makes a deal to have lots of sex without strings.
The goal is to figure out the two movies who overlap in some words creating a new movie described by the clue. Leave your answer in the comments. Good luck!
I had heard great things about both of these movies, and was really looking forward to seeing Jane Eyre as I've loved the book since I was a child (books on tape got us through many many car rides, but we didn't have too many - "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "Anne of Green Gables", "Little Women" and "Jane Eyre" in rotation).
Another Year is the story of Tom and Gerri (yes, they've heard the joke before) played by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, an older married couple - he's a geologist and she's a counselor. The story, written and directed by Mike Leigh (so anything can happen) follows Tom and Gerri through the course of a year and it plays more like four related short stories starting with Spring. We meet Mary (Leslie Manville - we need more of her!) Gerri's colleague who can't really seem to get her life together. She's divorced, single, and her current ambition is to buy a car. She relies on Gerri and Tom to be her social life and conscience. In the summer we also meet their son, Joe, who doesn't visit or call as a much as they'd like. Mary always thought she might end up with Joe despite their age differences. In Fall we meet Joe's new girlfriend and see Mary fall apart a little more. And in Winter, Tom's sister-in-law dies and we meet his brother Ronnie (David Bradley - Filch from Harry Potter) and nephew Carl who hates his dad. Ronnie comes to stay with Tom and Gerri for a while and meets Mary and they kind of hit it off in a fairly sad and strange way.
Overall, you keep expecting the movie to make cliched turns and make all the characters turn out great and have happy endings, but that's not Mike Leigh's style. You do see almost everything through Tom and Gerri's happy, contented eyes, but all the other stories have elements of pathos that are hard to ignore or bend to be a happy ending. Great movie with a strong concept executed well by terrific actors. 4 of 5 stars/lambs
**Some spoilers if you don't know the story already** Jane Eyre is Mia Wasikoska's first adult leading role and she takes care of a beloved literary character extremely well. However, it's sadly the leading men in Jamie Bell and Michael Fassbender that make the movie really memorable. Jane Eyre is an orphan forced to live with an aunt to hates her. She's sent to boarding school where the headmaster believes her deceitful and orders the girls not to befriend her. So after she has a miserable childhood, she's pretty excited to get a good job in a fancy estate as a tutor to a little french girl, the ward of Mr. Rochester (Fassbender). There are mysteries in the house, but the housekeeper, Judi Dench is able to explain them away. Over time, even though she is "plain" and poor and Mr. Rochester wealthy and snobbish, they fall in love. However, on their wedding day a man appears to stop the wedding arguing that Mr. Rochester is already married. Bastard. He totally is and has kept his crazy, suicidal wife in the attic (all the mysterious noises) but still wants to marry Jane.
Heartbroken, Jane runs away and is befriended by St John Rivers, the head of the local parish, and his sisters. She becomes the schoolteacher and finally has a home of her own and is dependent on no one. Finally, her evil aunt dies and she finds out that she inherits a TON of money. Of course now Mr. Rivers wants to marry her and take her to India as a missionary. She says no because she doesn't want to be dependent on anyone (and she still loves Rochester). Lots of drama and I'll tell you it does end well, but I won't spoil the finale.
I really really liked this version of the movie. Mia does a great job of being the down and out Jane who expects nothing from life and is suspicious of anything good coming her way. But she can play the smart and witty character at the same time. And the chemistry between Mia and Fassbender was terrific - even between Mia and Bell was great (but more platonic). I really hope we get to see a lot more of all of these actors. The overall cinematography of the film deserves to be nominated - it evokes the creepiness of the forests and English moors and doesn't make the movie rely on a cliched soundtrack to create the mood of unease. Combining that with exceptional costumes, which are consistent throughout (if not historically accurate), I'd be surprised if this movie is completely overlooked come awards season. 4.5 of 5 stars/lambs
This week we finally reached our Cameron Diaz episode - I say finally because she's been on the schedule for months and kept getting shuffled. But once she was on the schedule we'd both started watching her movies so this week she was an easy choice. We have a discussion of new movies, Jane Eyre and Priest, and then future movies coming this fall, with a little controversy of course. Then on to Ms. Diaz. And stay tuned for big announcements during the episode.
New movies seen with Cameron Diaz this week:
Vanilla Sky - I had avoided this one for ages. It was the beginning of Cruise/Cruz and the trailers made it very confusing and more than a little creepy looking. What it actually is probably did defy the trailer experience, so they did the best they could. But I have a lot of trouble seeing what people didn't like about the movie. I really really dug it. It's a romance at heart - what will we do to try to stay with the love of your life? But thrown in with that is a strange crime drama where Cruise, in a Phantom of the Opera mask, is in prison telling his story to Kurt Russell's psychologist and trying to get to the bottom of what happened. It's a good mystery with a terrific arc for Cruise. I actually can't wait to see it again. 4.5 of 5 stars/lambs
Any Given Sunday - Another movie I'd avoided due to its length and the Oliver Stone factor. But the cast wasn't something to be denied during Cameron week. Al Pacino as the coach, James Woods and Matthew Modine as the team doctors, and Dennis Quaid as the older Favre-esque quarterback being replaced by Jamie Foxx's young rookie. Then Diaz as the team owner with her mom Ann-Margaret. It's more about the business of football than you'd ever need to know, but still a fairly compelling story. 3 of 5 stars/lambs
A Life Less Ordinary - Another terrific director (Danny Boyle) and I just missed this one. I blame it on Ewan McGregor's hair. He's a janitor about to be replaced by a robot and kidnaps the boss' daughter (Diaz). However, he's not really a criminal mastermind, and Diaz helps him along as she was kidnapped as a kid. Meanwhile, two angels (Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo) have been tasked with ensuring they fall in love and stay that way. It's a big more complicated than it needs to be, but overall was a lot of fun with depth and humor (if terrible hair).
Feeling Minnesota - This impressively awful. Keanu Reeves has just been released from jail and is attending his brother's wedding (outdoors in Minnesota in winter?) of Vincent D'Onfrio and his "prize" Diaz. He found out some accounting snafus for the mob and they rewarded him with Diaz. She doesn't like him and screws around with Reeves, a lot. Then of course there's a long drawn out mob-like mystery trying to get her back and find the money the mob lost. Ridiculous. She almost won me over after she dies and comes back to life (Camille did), but sadly it didn't help. 1.5 of 5 stars/lambs
Very Bad Things - I'm convinced movie titles can be a bit prophetic. This was really really really bad. Staring Jon Favreau as a man engaged to Diaz and on his way to Vegas for his bachelor weekend with Daniel Stern, Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, and Leland Orser. While there Piven accidentally kills a prostitute while having sex with her. When a security guard comes to investigate they kill him too. Eventually they start killing each other, and Diaz gets in on the action in a Bridezilla attempt at the perfect wedding. Don't watch this. 1 of 5 stars/lambs
The Green Hornet - Seth Rogan wrote this, and it's pretty easy to tell because he DOESN'T STOP TALKING!As a comic book/super hero movie it's pretty interesting, but no super hero is better because he talks criminals to death. Kato is not a bad side-kick given his ability to develop interesting weapons, but that's about it. As part of the love triangle between the two, Diaz does a good job holding up her part of the equation. Basically fairly blah. 2.5 of 5 stars/lambs
I don't think this was meant to be the start of a meme, but perhaps by continuing it here, it will become one. Simon at Screen Insight put together his Top 5 'Friends' Episodes after seeing Andy Buckle's Film Emporium's Top 10 'Seinfeld' episodes. So I thought I'd take my own favorite TV show (after 'Friends') and create my own Top 10 list. There was recently a post over at The Matinee talking about the decline of the Top 5 list. I would argue that one perspective he left out that probably will always sustain the Top 5 (or 10) and that's nostalgia for a favored topic/show/movie/actor. While I could argue with Simon that there are different episodes that should make up the Top 5 'Friends' episodes, I'm fine with his choices because I'm a huge fan and just reading where his funny bone was tickled is enough for me. That's the spirit in which I write this list.
Honorable Mention - Isaac and Ishmael (Season 3 Episode 1) - This is the only completely stand alone episode of the series. It references nothing you'd need to know from any other episode and furthers no other plots. It's the response to 9/11 episode and as the world changed, The West Wing decided to incorporate that into their political story without making it change the world within it. Talking about all aspects of terrorism and terrorists and with plenty of the typical West Wing history lessons, it's a wonderful episode and always makes me cry. Everyone gets to shine for just a moment without any single character running the show
# 10 - Shibboleth (Season 2 Episode 8) - There are a lot of episodes that deal with faith during the course of this show. But this episode deals specifically with Chinese Christian refugees. However, the part that I really like throughout the episode is Bartlett's obsession with Thanksgiving. The holiday episodes of this show usually deal with them peripherally, but they face it head on here.
#9 - 20 Hours in America (parts I and II) (Season 4 Episode 1 and 2) - There are a lot of two-part episodes, at least one per season, and they often create some of the best stories of the series. This kicks off Bartlett's re-election campaign with a trip across the country where Toby, Josh and Donna get left behind by the motorcade. We watch them try to get back to DC while arguing over how the campaign is going. There's also my favorite speech in this episode about halfway through the second part referencing a catastrophe at a college - it's the music underneath that I really love.
#8 - Take This Sabbath Day (Season 1 Episode 14) - This is Marlee Matlin's first episode as a campaign manager. Overall, the President is trying to decide whether or not to commute a death sentence and what it will mean if he does it just because he (as a Catholic) doesn't believe in the death penalty. There's a scene with Karl Malden as his former parish priest that gets me every time.
#7 - The Stackhouse Fillibuster (Season 2 Episode 17) - This is a fairly unique episode because there is voice-over. Each of the senior staff are writing letters to people describing their recent days that have led to the first filibuster of the term. It's a particularly long filibuster by a Senator for no obvious reason. Over the course of the night they figure out how to help the Senator and what he's actually trying to accomplish with the tactic. It's a lot of information about how our government should and often does work, but done in a really creative way.
#6 - No Exit (Season 5 Episode 20) - One of The West Wing's best qualities is when they force people to have lengthy conversations when all else has stopped (like during a catastrophe). In this one (in a nod to Sartre) people are forced to stay in rooms when an airborne toxin is detected. Most also happen to be in rooms with people they dislike or don't know and for a change, things don't resolve particularly well. Mary McCormack has arrived as a new NSA staffer and fights really well with Josh.
#5 - Undecideds (Season 7 Episode 8) - There aren't a lot of stand alone episodes from the final 2 seasons. They're fairly continuous from episode to episode, but this one has a throwback moment to the quality of the first seasons (under Aaron Sorkin) where Matt Santos is trying to figure out how to be both a Presidential candidate and a Latino representing his race. Watching him struggle hits home for anyone who wants to be both a representative of their group and to stand above being identified solely by that group. And the speech his gives at the end is awesome.
#4 - In the Shadow of Two Gunman Part I and II - This is the origin episode and starts the second season. When I loan my DVDs to people I always give them the first disc of the second season with the first season because the cliff hanger at the end of the first season is impossible to stop at. This episode shows how Bartlett got into the race to be President and how the rest of his staff got hired - you get to see what they were each doing before they joined the campaign. It's a really really terrific episode with lots of action and quickness interspersed with information where everyone tells their story.
#3 - The Supremes - A really really terrific episode that shows all the creativity you can have when you're making up a political universe and have innovative ideas that could potentially happen in the real world if the real world didn't actually include politicians. Glenn Close guest stars as a liberal judge being considered for the Supreme Court. However, given the difficulty in getting people through the Senate confirmation process they've realized anyone with strong political convictions can no longer get confirmed. A creative solution presents itself and we see a long discussion of the Supreme Court.
#2 - Two Cathedrals (Season 2 Episode 22 - Another flashback episode preceding Bartlett's confirmation of re-election. It's just after Mrs. Landingham (Kathryn Joosten) is killed. We see the first time she meets Bartlett in high school and the kind of kid he was that led to the man he became. He talks to God in Latin in a terrific sequence in the Cathedral after her funeral. A young Mrs. Landingham played by Kirsten Nelson does a great job of capturing Joosten's acting style we love. It was a sad day losing Mrs. Landingham, but she's sent off in a terrific episode.
#1 - Evidence of Things Not Seen (Season 4 Episode 19) - My favorite episode of the entire series. It's a lot of talking - the staff is meeting to play poker on a Friday night. However, Bartlett needs to talk to the Russian President to resolve a crashed spy-plane. And the White House is shot at and is put under lock-down, forcing people to stay in certain places and keep talking to each other. And throughout the episode, CJ is always trying to convince her colleagues that you can stand an egg on end during the equinox to a lot of humor. Oh, and Mathew Perry guest stars as a new counsel applicant. You can see why they chose Perry and Bradley Whitford to star in Sorkin's next show. Oh, and Joshua Malina has arrived to stay. Love him!
Hey guys - first, I have to say I'm going on hiatus for a least a week, perhaps two. I've started my new job and I'm pretty sure I should be working hard for the next few weeks. There won't be any Wednesday movie mashup but I'll try to keep posting the Reel Insight updates for the next few weeks. So I'm not going anywhere, I'm happy, healthy and gainfully employed.
For our 59th episode, the man formerly known as the Mad Hatter (now he's just Ryan - YAY!) joins us and drops a pretty big announcement. Go check out his new and improved site at The Matinee. We discussed the lovely and amazing Zooey Deschanel. Our advice for her is to stop making bad indie movies since she's more than capable of making awesome movies of any variety. The finale of "Twin Peaks" is discussed and we chat about a little more Captain America, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Crazy Stupid Love.
Oh, and there's a special announcement too! Check it out.
New movies seen just for Ms. Deschanel:
The Go-Getter - This was terrible. A young man steals a car and befriends its owner (Deschanel) over her cell phone, which was left in the car. He goes on a journey searching for his older brother to tell him their mom died. Lou Taylor Pucci (Thumbsucker) plays the lead and isn't a Paul Dano or Patrick Fugit, but both of those might have improved this movie. BORING. 1 of 5 stars/lambs
The Good Life - This time Patrick Fugit was in the film, but doesn't play the lead. That's left to Mark Webber who is a young man with no hair, and seemingly no future, but with the world on his shoulders. He falls for Zooey who is obviously a little screwed up, but she eventually makes him see that he doesn't have to take care of everybody around him (a mom who lets the electricity get turned off on Christmas, a family who has almost nothing, and a friend who owns a movie theater, but can't remember to pop the popcorn without help anymore). Some good moments, but overall not good. 2 of 5 stars/lambs
Gigantic - I have trouble figuring out what this movie was really about. It seems like a set of really odd characters who all interact, but actually have no story. Paul Dano plays a luxury mattress salesman who has always dreamed of adopting an Asian baby. John Goodman comes in to buy a bed, but he travels lying down in cars. His daughter (Deschanel) comes to arrange for the mattress delivery and hits it off with Dano. That's about all I can figure out happened. After that I lost interest. 2.5 of 5 stars/lambs
Flakes - This movie was really great, mostly because it didn't try to be anything more than it was. It didn't try to be more quirky, it didn't try to tell a "real" story. It just tells the story of a "cereal bar" where the owner (Christopher Lloyd in his pajamas) and the manager (Aaron Stanford - Pyro from X-Men) and their customers talk about "vintage cereals" and the perfect combination of cereal. Much like a High Fidelity or any cliched version of a comic book store, this story took on breakfast cereal. Zooey plays Aaron's quirky artistic girlfriend who just wants him to get back to playing music. So to "help" him, she tries to sabotage the store by helping a competitor douche across the street. There's a little down and dirty commercial rivalry, but overall the movie is very cute and a particularly nerdy brand of original. 4 of 5 stars/lambs
Hatter came back to the top again with a fairly random connection of movies. Not sure anyone can catch him at this point, but the race for second place is going strong.
Last week's clue: A famous actor goes off the rails to become a rapper while a man can talk to the dead. Answer: I'm Still HereAFTER
Leaderboard Hatter - 16
Rachel - 6
James - 4
David, Nick, Dylan - 3
Sebastian, Andrew, Andy, Keith - 1
New clue: A little girl's parents are turned into pigs while another set of future parents meet some crazy friends as they search for a place to live.
The goal is to figure out the two movies who overlap in some words creating a new movie described by the clue. Leave your answer in the comments. Good luck!
I had no interest in seeing this movie - I didn't particularly enjoy the previous incarnations of this series, but mostly for the odd effects and terrible makeup and even costumes. But they definitely had their place in the pop/cult culture, so when a friend eagerly suggested spending the afternoon in the AC watching this, I agreed. And since he's pretty much always right, this was a really great way to spend the afternoon.
James Franco plays Will Rodman, a molecular biologist trying to find a cure for his father's (John Lithgow) Alzheimers. He works in a lab, that has come really far with a gene therapy treatment that shows promise in chimps. However, the movie opens with his big presentation to the board of directors about starting human trials and is interrupted by a rogue chimp who goes crazy and ruins all his plans. The project is shut down and they're sent back to the drawing board. Franco ends up taking home a baby chimp and raising it at home with his dad. Caesar was in utero when his mom got the drugs and it made him really really smart and has a lot of fun living with Franco and Lithgow. Meanwhile Franco's been trying to get his cure up and running again, and violating all kinds of ethics by bringing home the drug to test on his dad. It does start out like a terrible science experiment waiting to go awry. However, the movie rises just a bit above its B-movie schlock roots by having a real life problem move Caesar to a "sanctuary" where he becomes the leader of the other apes. Caesar manages to educate the other apes (with a little help from stolen proto-type drugs from Franco's company) and rig a jailbreak because he's had it with the terrible treatment of his fellow apes by humans. That's when all hell breaks loose.
It's a relatively simple movie concept that actually sets up the story for the Heston version of Planet of the Apes quite well (haven't seen the Mark Wahlberg version so I'm not sure where it fits with that one). I won't explain the details, but suffice it to say there are direct links between them that set it up without whacking you over the head with it. And I'm happy to say the CGI has made leaps and bounds to reach this point where it's neither distracting nor annoying. Andy Serkis repeats his amazing motion capture acting from The Lord of the Rings' Gollem as Caesar and it really makes the whole experience worthwhile. You can actually see the changes within the apes without them looking too human.
The story is totally crazy from a science perspective, but much of the science stays within the plausible (until they had chimps and gorillas swinging through trees and jumping from 5th story windows) so I wasn't bothered by that fact and got to sit back and enjoy the craziness that was apes taking over San Francisco. If you had any desire to see this, you won't be disappointed, it lives up to its predecessor's and exceeds them in all tech respects. And John Lithgow and Franco keep up their streak of good work, which for particularly shallow characters they do have great relationships with other characters, even apes. Sadly Frieda Pinto and Tom Felton are barely window dressing and ignores their previous success. 3.5 lambs/stars (it's not higher because it's apes acting, how amazing can that be?)
I'm a serious "completionist". I will be seeing the final Twilight movies because I've seen the others. I don't give up on a series until it breaks my heart (i.e. kills a character I thought should live). That was my main motivation for going to see Captain America, as he'll be a character in Joss Whedon's The Avengers next summer and I fully intend to see that. Thankfully I was very pleased with the film. Armed with thoughts on what a hero is or should be, I really liked seeing his origin story.
In case you aren't a comic book fan, here's Steve Rogers' story. He desperately wants to serve in WWII, but has too many health issues, as well as being a shrimp, keeping him out. One day Stanley Tucci takes an interest in him for a special project, injecting him with drugs that hopefully turn him into a super soldier. After the serum, he's grown about 8 inches, and has huge muscles without working out. Sadly, Tucci is unable to replicate the whole process and Steve Rogers is the only one. The government decides he's best suited to help raise money for the war, so they put him in a costume and he becomes "Captain America". Thankfully, Steve Rogers has a little more spunk than just being a circus pony, and manages to stage a rescue of his buddy behind enemy lines.
This was where the film really becomes a superhero type movie - he's got his techy side-kick in Howard Stark (yes, Iron Man's relative played by Dominic Cooper) and a sassy lady-friend in Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). They fight the bad guys together, along with some real life soldiers (lots of character actors you'll recognize and spend time itching to figure out how they are). Oh, and the bad guys are awesome. I am willing to propose that Hugo Weaving play the bad guy in all movies - he's really really great as the over the top Nazi who becomes known as Red Skull when he is cut off from Hitler and has to kill lots and lots of people. (And while I'm at it, Tommy Lee Jones is a really great military guy too - smart ass goes a long way for him). I anticipated Red Skull's makeup being really creepy, but it was really well done and didn't bring a red Voldemort to mind until very near the end when he whispered something. He was bad-ass fighting. We know he can act without being able to see his face particularly well (see V for Vendetta) and he used his teeth quite well to act crazy (but not in a Jim Carrey The Mask kind of way, much more subtle). There were a few moments before Rogers became Capt. that the CGI was distracting with Chris Evans' face on a smaller guy's body, but overall, that worked well too.
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie, and think he'll make a pretty good addition to The Avengers next summer, but I will say this felt a little more like a place holder than a well-developed movie. We didn't know much about Steve Rogers either before or after becoming Captain America. He got beat up a lot and had a good understanding of how to fight, but he wasn't particularly deep. Yes, heroic, and definitely not dull, but we know so much more about the backstory for all the other Avengers (except Hawkeye? Why doesn't he get a movie?) and even a fair amount about SHEILD, but Steve felt pretty flat. Not bad, just not quite up to snuff and since he's supposed to be the leader, I guess, that might come back to bite them in the ass. Either way, I'll definitely be there to see what they do. 4 of 5 stars/lambs
Well, well. Dylan's moving up the leaderboard all over the place. If I were a lesser person, I might exclude him from my game for taking over the lead over at Keith's game. But I will rise above.
Last week's clue: A high school kid gets over his girlfriend dumping him by skiing while a high school teacher attempts to inspire his students with unconventional lessons.
Answer: Better Off Dead Poets Society
Leaderboard
Hatter - 15
Rachel - 6
James - 4
David, Nick, Dylan - 3
Sebastian, Andrew, Andy, Keith - 1
New clue: A famous actor goes off the rails to become a rapper while a man can talk to the dead.
The goal is to figure out the two movies who overlap in some words creating a new movie described by the clue. Leave your answer in the comments. Good luck!
This was probably the most anticipated movie of the year for me. I loved the book last year and have recommended it to everyone. I even got to listen to the audiobook with Octavia Spencer reading the character she brings to life on the screen. So I was well prepared going into this to thoroughly enjoy it and more than a little nervous it couldn't live up to my hopes. I find in situations like this that it's rare a movie can actually live up to your expectations, but if it does a good job outside of what you expected, whether or not it met your hopes, doesn't really matter. That was the case with The Help.
Based on the Kathryn Stockett novel, The Help is the story of two sets of Southern women in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963-1964. One is the black women who work as maids for the other set of white women. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) wants to be a writer and she's been advised by a NYC book editor (Mary Steenbergen) to write about something that bothers her. When her good friend Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) decides to start the "Home Help Sanitation Initiative" (a fancy term for making separate but equal bathrooms in private homes that aren't particularly separate and are definitely unequal), Skeeter has had enough. She wants to write about what's it's like to be "The Help" and enlists the assistance of another friend's maid, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis). Aibileen has been raising white children and cleaning for white families her whole life. But after her son dies, she's had enough of holding back, and agrees to help Skeeter. They enlist the help of Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer, who deserves whatever awards she might get, but I'm sure this movie will be ignored) a smart-ass maid who has been fired by Hilly and can't get work anywhere, except with a crazy hillbilly woman outside of town, Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain).
Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny begin to record their stories. They are aware of the total danger of what they're doing - it's illegal in Mississippi to engage in this kind of behavior, or at the very least incredibly dangerous. This is brought home, quite literally to within a few blocks of Aibileen and Minny's homes when Medgar Evers is shot on his doorstep. The movie focuses on both the social difficulties in what they're doing and their need to do it - to tell another side of the story. Skeeter has never been a beauty - just ask her mother (Allison Janney) - but she's been willing to play along with the expectations of her to find a husband and be part of the Junior League and have a family. But now she wants this too. The novel does a better job showing how hard Skeeter has to work to get everything done and what a social pariah she becomes after she finds out what her friends are like to their maids and can't keep her thoughts to herself anymore. However, Hilly is the President of the Junior League and a prominent member of Jackson society and the bossiest bitch you've ever met.
I don't want to spoil the major twist (but Sissy Spacek is really really funny) but know that not everything ends particularly well. When I read the book, I kept waiting for some sort of extreme violence to happen if they got caught, and I will spoil it and say the violence you might expect, thankfully, does not come. It doesn't end in a perfect bow, but there's definitely the triumph of the human spirit that you're hoping for by the end.
The acting throughout is spectacular. Viola Davis is a perfect blend of joy - she really adores the babies she's raising - and beaten down. I was nervous she wouldn't be able to play as old as the character in the book seems, but she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and the movie shows it pretty well. Octavia Spencer has the perfect wise-cracking attitude and knowing eyebrows to stare down just about anyone who gets in her way, though she carries the fear of helplessness around with her everywhere. Emma Stone's role is more of the uniting character, but the movie does a better job than the book in making her character seem real. Emma Stone is beautiful - so making Skeeter seem much less attractive than her friends is not an easy task, but they did it particularly well but showing how difficult she finds it to conform, from her insanely curly hair to keeping her mouth shut with men. My only complaint with her performance is the dropping of her accent from time to time. She can't be a New England/California smart-ass when her character's never left Mississippi. But it's infrequent enough not to be distracting. The rest of the supporting cast, particularly Allison Janney and Cicely Tyson (as the maid who raised Skeeter) are terrific. The men in the movie are mostly superfluous, but Chris Lowell (I recognized him from "Private Practice" ) does a good job as the guy going after Skeeter.
Overall, the movie is a perfect summer movie (it's hot in Mississippi evidently) with some stand-out performances and will leave you feeling better about the world we live in today, but perhaps a bit reminded of where we come from and how far we have to go. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 5 of 5 stars/lambs
A new guest! David from Hoping for Something to Hope For was our guest. He won the opportunity by playing our Anniversary Trivia game! And he chose a favorite and remarkably prolific actor to discuss - John Cusack - making him and Joan the first sibling pair we've covered (make note for the next Anniversary!). We also talk about Cowboys and Aliens, Thor and more discussion of Captain America. Rachel and I are ALMOST finished with Twin Peaks, so please bear with us, we'll get there. Have a listen and tell us what you think. We love when you do that.
New movies with John Cusack:
The Grifters - This came out in 1990 and Angelica Huston was a big star and Annette Bening was really making her mark, and John Cusack was graduating from teen star. Those are my only rationale behind the casting of this kooky movie that tries really hard to be serious, but I found to be really over the top, both in the violence and creepiness. I like grifter movies, and this one didn't do a good job bringing us in on the grifting (a complicated odds-fixing scheme) and loses us for most of it. 2 of 5 stars
The Sure Thing - I was recommended this by a college friend recently and was super excited to check it out. And, Julie, you're totally right, I really liked it. A very 80s version of It Happened One Night (check that one out too - BEST of the genre), it stars Cusack and Daphne Zuniga (Princess Vespa from Spaceballs) who are in English class together at a "Northeastern Ivy League School" and hate each other. They end up sharing a ride to LA - Cusack to meet "The Sure Thing" his friend Anthony Edwards has set up for him, and Zuniga to see her stuffy boyfriend. Of course shenanigans ensue and they have to rely on each other. It's super cute, and they're both charming and relatable. It doesn't really do anything new, but good fun. 4 of 5 stars/lambs
Better Off Dead - Personally, I found this movie way too quirky to be funny. I know it's adored by many, but I just don't get the appeal. 1 of 5 stars/lambs
Eight Men Out - The story of the "Black Sox", players on the Chicago White Sox who took money from the mob to "throw" the 1919 World Series. Shoeless Joe Jackson among them (and future star of Field of Dreams, those two films would make a TERRIFIC double feature). The movie follows each of the players and shows some of their internal conflict about taking the money, tarnishing their reputations and the game of baseball. It was good, but didn't blow me away and with all the drama it had to work with, I'm surprised it wasn't more dramatic. 3 of 5 stars/lambs
One Crazy Summer - Should have been called One Crazy Week since all the action wraps up in a week, and then text on the screen wraps up the rest of the summer. Cusack is going to Nantucket for the summer with friends. He meets Demi Moore on her way to claim an inherited house that owes $2000 on the mortgage or she loses the house. She has a week to raise the money singing in clubs and Cusack and his friends help her. It ultimately comes down to winning a regatta against the rich kids (including Jeremy Piven). Very typical 80s teen comedy, completely with Bobcat Goldthwait. 2 of 5 stars/lambs
Some plane movies are better than others. If you travel at a hard time of year for movies, chances are you'll be reading your book on the plane instead of checking out The Astronaut Farmer (I got screwed with that one once). However, I had a terrific plane ride to Hawaii and got to see some terrific movies and here's the first.
Never Let Me Go was a movie I'd heard good and meh things about. I knew the basic premise - it's a world where they've figured out how to harvest organs and prolong the lives of people, except for the organ donors of course. We follow 3 kids, Tommy, Kathy, and Ruth. They all go to a boarding school in England that is particularly strange since they never ever mention their families. It seems like they've been at the school forever. The eeriness just continues, but it's hard to pinpoint what's off until a ball goes outside the fence during a game and no one goes after it. They don't leave the grounds ever. Kathy has a crush on Tommy (and is the narrator) but when we see them a bit more grown up (now as Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightly and Carey Mulligan) Ruth is now with Tommy and we watch Kathy (Mulligan) pine for him a bit and try to figure out what her life is about.
They have now figured out that they were "grown" to be organ donors for other people and they might get to "donate" (is it a donation if it's something you need yourself?) three or four times and then they'll die. They're so matter of fact about it all, and they all want to do their "job" the best they can. Kathy has become a care-giver which puts off her first donation a while and she helps other people through their donations. One day she runs into Ruth after a donation and they decide to go try and find Tommy and Ruth apologizes for stealing him when they were kids.
I'm not sure I can do this movie justice with just an explanation. The reason I've been using quotes around so many things because they're so normal in this world that it's just another word, but to see them doing these morally objectionable things and being okay with it was pretty hard to watch. There's a quote that we used on Reel Insight a little while ago that explains a lot of what still puzzles me about this movie. It's said by the school headmistress about why they had art class: "We didn't have to look into your souls, we had to see if you had souls at all" and describes the crux of the movie. However, the movie seems to waffle between wanting to be a love story between Tommy and Kathy and whether they'll overcome the obstacles to their relationship (i.e. dying) and being a moral story about using some people to save others. Sadly, the movie doesn't quite commit to being either, but that doesn't trouble my overall opinion of the film. There are lots of statements that really make you think about the attitude of the person saying it as well as the moral implications of what they're saying. Well written, just not committed to fully realizing either story (which is okay, just not my preference). I really want to see it again and just watch how it's made. The colors are gorgeous and the tone of the film works beautifully, particularly with Mulligan's quiet acting. 4 of 5 stars/lambs
And Hatter returns to take another one. Well done. And Keith did a good job trying to get there fast, but better luck next time.
Last week's clue: A man tries to save the last pregnant female on earth while sanitation workers attempt to solve a crime.
Answer: Children of Men at Work
Leaderboard
Hatter - 15
Rachel - 6
James - 4
David, Nick - 3
Dylan - 2 Sebastian, Andrew, Andy, Keith - 1
New clue: A high school kid gets over his girlfriend dumping him by skiing while a high school teacher attempts to inspire his students with unconventional lessons.
The goal is to figure out the two movies who overlap in some words creating a new movie described by the clue. Leave your answer in the comments. Good luck!
One of the reasons I like watching historical dramas, pretty much of any type, is because there's always someone who did something relatively small that changed the world in a big way. Sometimes it comes at great personal cost (assassination is the highest price to prove what you're doing probably changed the world) or sometimes it's just to make your own life a little easier, but it changes the lives of others as well. When those dramas fill a gap in my own knowledge, particular a gap I wasn't aware was there in the first place, I find the need to tell the world about them.
Made in Dagenham was a movie I originally got from Netflix only because I adore Sally B. Hawkins from Happy-Go-Lucky (which is a whole other story, but I highly recommend it, particularly when she learns to tango). When I saw that it was a little bit like Norma Rae, I knew I had to see it. And, as is usually the case with well made historical dramas, this one tells a story that brings the main characters to life without making you feel like you're missing many parts of the story because it doesn't feel like real life or characters that are larger than life.
Sally B. Hawkins plays Rita O'Grady, a wife and mother of two in 1968 who also works at the Ford Motor Plant that sews together the seats for the cars. She's asked to lead the group when they make demands to be reclassified as semi-skilled labor rather than unskilled, and the pay that goes with it which leads to a strike and the demand for equal pay with the men at the same plant. We see the suffering they have to go through trying to get the rest of the unions to support them and the work stoppage. Ultimately they meet with the Secretary of State Barbara Castle (Miranda Richardson) who speaks the same language as the men - "Go back to work and someday it'll get better". The best they're able to negotiate to go back to work is 92% of what men make, with the hope that Equal pay becomes law in the future (it did in 1970 in England). The men at Ford (represented by Richard Schiff) complain the same old whine "the economy will collapse if we pay women the same", but luckily Mrs. Castle stands up for the women both in the press and for the government.
It's a really great movie with some 60's music as the soundtrack, and terrific actresses filling out the supporting cast besides Richardson, Rosamund Pike has some terrific scenes as a fellow mother with a son in the same class as Hawkins. Pike talks about how she used to love to read history because she saw people changing the world, and it motivates Hawkins onto the last step of her fight. Many people talk about who would play them in the movie of their life - well if I were a British brunette, I would seriously want Sally B. Hawkins to play me. She speaks with the same tremble in her voice I know I would have trying to argue for what I believe to be a right that I'm being denied, but with a forcefulness that you must take her seriously as a person, and not dwell on the fact that she's a woman. I highly recommend this movie. 4.5 of 5 stars/lambs
This is one of my favorite episodes of late - we recorded it early and at night, so margaritas were present! Of course that made the whole thing more fun (and even provides for a bonus star of the week after the credits!). We discuss The Ramen Girl, Captain America and of course "Twin Peaks". Then our wonderful star of the week - Mrs. Tim Burton - who had a tempestuous past with her other leading actors that gets discussed too. Lots of fun was had by all.
Note - we've been having a bit of trouble with podomatic, so download or listen to the episodes directly from this page if necessary!
Lady Jane - This movie really appealed to me as I adore The Tudors, and this fits in right after Edward VII takes over from Henry VIII, and passes the crown to Lady Jane Grey (HBC), his cousin, rather than his half sisters - the Catholic Mary and Protestant Elizabeth. Of course, that means there are a lot of plots against Jane and her husband Guilford Dudley (and very young Cary Elwes). The movie seems to take a lot of liberties with their relationship (they hated each other, but in the movie eventually fall in love and want to rule together). The super-overdramatic score makes the whole movie a bit crazy, but it fills a gap in the Kings and Queens of England story particularly well given she only served 9 days! 3 of 5 stars/lambs
Sixty Six - HBC stars as the mother of Bernie Reubens, a young invisible Jewish boy about to have his Bar Mitzvah, which he assumes will be the greatest day of his life. Unfortunately, 1966 is the year of the world cup, and the Bar Mitzvah is scheduled for the same day as the finals. Bernie is convinced no one will come so he prays for England to not make the finals. To complicate things his father's grocery store fails and he has to find new work. His dad (Eddie Marsan) is an odd OCD father who has never really gotten his son. So with little money, the plans for the Bar Mitzvah keep getting smaller and smaller. You really feel bad for Bernie and his attempts to find identity by making a big deal out of becoming a man. A very sweet coming of age/sports story as Bernie becomes obsessed with soccer following England's progress. 2.5 of 5 stars/lambs
A Room with A View - Based on the book by E.M. Forster, in her first major movie, HBC plays Lucy Honeychurch who is visiting Florence with her chaperone (Maggie Smith) and they meet very nice men who swap rooms with them so they may have a view of Florence. This complicates HBC's marriage plans back in England when she gets engaged to a VERY effeminate Daniel Day-Lewis. A good movie, particularly if you like British dramas. But somewhat slow-paced if you're not into that kind of thing. 4/5 stars/lambs
