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Sweet, Sweet Hanging

23 Mar

In I Love You, Man, Paul Rudd plays Peter, that probably all-too-common guy who is so whipped that all his friends are his girlfriend’s girl friends and he has no guy friends to call his own. So when he proposes and needs to fill out his wedding party, Peter is at a loss. His family tries to set him up on “man dates,” but those all go predictably awry. Then one day, Peter meets Sydney (Jason Segel), and his life becomes more complete. These two hit it off instantly, and proceed to bond over fish tacos and a love for the band Rush.

Led by the thoroughly likable performances of Rudd and Segel — who are joined by a supporting cast that includes Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jon Favreau, some of the Best Week Ever players, and the Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno — I Love You, Man is, to borrow Sydney’s term, delightful. Though heightened for comic effect, Peter’s predicament rings true, and the two guys’ chemistry just feels very real. To put it most simply, I Love You, Man is totally sweet, easy, fun, winning, and it just works. This is a movie that will charm audiences for a long time. I’m giving I Love You, Man a B+.

Who’s Gaming Who?

22 Mar

All is not what it seems in Duplicity, writer/director Tony Gilroy’s followup to the Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton.

Set in the world of corporate espionage, Duplicity follows Ray and Claire (Clive Owen and Julia Roberts), former MI-6 and CIA agents who team up to pull off a scam involving two competing drug companies.

But who can be trusted when there’s so much at stake?

Are Ray and Claire really on the same page or are they looking out for themselves, and will the plan really come together without anyone finding out? Continue reading →

There’s More to This Story

20 Mar

So that explains it. A year ago, I noticed some strange graffiti on a wall near the Star Market in Allston. My post was picked up on Universalhub.com and Boston.com, and all kinds of people came to this site to see what all the fuss was about. Well, 12 months later, I’ve found out in the Improper Bostonian of all places that the supposed film criticism was not that at all, but a reference to a Demetri Martin joke. Well, I guess that explains it. And don’t I feel silly now.

A Bit of a Mess

20 Mar

Sometimes a movie is pleasant and all, but it just feels pointless. So it is with Sunshine Cleaning. The story of Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams), a young woman who starts her own crime-scene cleanup business with the help of her slacker sister, Norah (Emily Blunt), Cleaning was one of the finds at the Sundance Film Festival more than a year ago. The film was produced by the same folks who produced Little Miss Sunshine, and like that film, Cleaning also stars Alan Arkin as a cantankerous old man who has a good relationship with his grandchild. But a similar name and costar are really all these two movies have in common, and that’s probably why it took so long for the film to actually hit theaters. Cleaning has very little of the charm and emotion that Little Miss had, despite having Amy Adams in the lead. There’s a pretty creepy subplot involving Norah and the daughter of a deceased woman, and Rose just, well, I never really felt like I wanted to root for her. The movie’s not a total mess or anything, but it’s definitely not as quirky as it thinks it is. I expect the fate of Sunshine Cleaning will be much like the scenes Rose and Norah clean up, with nary a trace of it left in just a couple hours. I’m giving the movie a C+.

It’s No Joke

8 Mar

If you’re one of those people who think movies provide an escape in tough times, then by all means, stay far away from Watchmen. Based on the popular graphic novel (which Time magazine ranked as one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century), Watchmen tells the unconventional story of a group of superheroes who live in an alternate version of reality: the year is 1985, Richard Nixon is still president (he’s won a fifth term), and superheroes have been banned. No wonder most of them have a pretty bleak outlook on the world. Narrated by the most pessimistic of them all, Rorschach, the story centers on a looming threat of nuclear war with the Russians. What role will (or can) our heroes have in stopping this? And will they find out who is trying to kill them before it’s too late?

Not that there’s anything wrong with conventional superhero movies, but for some reason Hollywood thinks we want to see something on the flipside right now. Here’s the thing, though: even Hancock had some laughs and didn’t take itself soooo seriously. Watchmen is a super-serious affair, with a very downbeat tone, and some heroes who aren’t really fighting for good. I don’t have a problem with unconventional stuff like that, or with the fact that this is based on a comic book. But perhaps there’s a reason I couldn’t really get into the graphic novel when I tried to read it last year, despite repeated attempts. And I think that reason is that the story’s just not terribly engaging or compelling, and the characters are not very likable. For example, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre (Patrick Wilson and Malin Akerman, respectively) are actually pretty lame.

Which is not to say the movie’s awful. The actors all make valiant attempts to wring some credibility from the material — Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), for all his character’s pessimism, gives the most notable performance (even if his face is obscured by a mask for most of the film). And the dark look notwithstanding, there are some impressive visual elements in the film, including the neat opening credits sequence. (No, I don’t include Dr. Manhattan’s junk in the list of “impressive visual elements.” We see more of his thang than we did of Jason Segel’s in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I mean, really. I know it’s CGI, but can’t the guy at least wear a thong or something? Even the Hulk wears shorts.) Ultimately, I just didn’t find Watchmen to be as fun, cool, or enjoyable as I’d hoped. It’s much ado about nothing, and that’s why I’m only giving it a C.

Squirrel!

6 Mar

Of all the movies coming out this year, few have excited me more than the new Pixar release, Up, because … well, watch the new trailer for yourself (preferably in HD) and you’ll see that it’s one of Pixar’s brightest and most colorful films ever. The balloons alone make this worth the price of admission. Up comes out May 29.

http://l.yimg.com/cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/fop/embedflv/swf/fop.swf

Il Ya Un Problem?

2 Mar

Forget that this video is entirely en Francais. Just watch Emma Thompson cringe and then rush on stage — in the middle of an awards ceremony!! — to try and help the totally clueless and very nervous French actress Julie Ferrier with her dress.

Sean Penn looks amused too, and there’s certainly a nervous, um, tittering coming from the audience.

I don’t have a clue what this woman is talking about (I don’t think she knows either), but this is pretty classic blooper-reel stuff.

I tell you, if the Oscars this year were anything like this, I might have enjoyed them more.

(Thanks to Jeff Wells for, ahem, the tip.) Continue reading →

Stuck in the Middle

2 Mar

Joaquin Phoenix is such a great actor that it’s really a shame he had to pull that bizarre act on David Letterman a couple weeks ago. In his new film, Two Lovers, he gives such an impressive performance — just as he did in other films, including Walk the Line and Gladiator — that it’s hard to believe the actor and the rapper wannabe are one and the same person. Or … maybe that’s just proof of how versatile he really is.

In Two Lovers, Phoenix plays Leonard, who has moved back in with his parents in the decidedly unhip Russian Jewish neighborhood of Brighton Beach following his break-up with his fiancee. To keep busy and keep his mind off his heartbreak, Leonard works in his father’s cleaners, which his father is planning to merge with the owner of another cleaners. Actually, there’s another merger at work: Leonard is fixed up with Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), whose father owns the other cleaners. A relationship with Sandra promises stability, comfort, and emotional rescue. But that’s when Leonard meets Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), who has moved into the building where Leonard lives. Leonard is instantly drawn to the hip, beautiful, vivacious Michelle, and she sparks his personality. But while Leonard is crushing on Michelle, she is involved in a self-destructive affair with a married man. And we always want the ones we can’t have, right? The two women possess opposite qualities, and Leonard is attracted to them for different reasons. So he is faced with a choice: will it be love or lust?

As noted, Phoenix is really terrific here. He gives a sensitive, emotional, totally believable performance. He doesn’t hit a single false note. The two women are also very good, though Shaw certainly comes across better than Paltrow. I like how director James Gray films the Manhattan and Brighton Beach scenes differently, so as to emphasize how much more exciting Michelle’s life is. And I also appreciated how the film avoids the cliche of having the two women meet, thus forcing Leonard to make his big choice. What happens here happens organically, naturally. Is it an easy decision? No. But it’s a testament to the writing and to Phoenix’s performance that it all feels very real. I’m giving Two Lovers an A–.

Movies I’ve Seen (2008 Releases)

25 Feb

(click on the link for my review)

1. CLOVERFIELD

2. U23D

3. VINCE VAUGHN’S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW

4. JUMPER

5. VANTAGE POINT

6. BE KIND REWIND

7. CHICAGO 10

8. LEATHERHEADS

9. SHINE A LIGHT

10. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

11. SMART PEOPLE

12. BABY MAMA

13. AMERICAN TEEN

14. HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY

15. MADE OF HONOR

16. 21

17. IRON MAN

18. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

19. SEX AND THE CITY

20. YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN

21. THE INCREDIBLE HULK

22. WALL-E

23. HANCOCK

24. MAMMA MIA!

25. THE WACKNESS

26. THE DARK KNIGHT

27. STEP BROTHERS

28. SWING VOTE

29. PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

30. MAN ON WIRE

31. TROPIC THUNDER

32. VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

33. BURN AFTER READING

34. RELIGULOUS

35. NICK & NORA’S INFINITE PLAYLIST

36. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

37. W.

38. SEX DRIVE

39. CHANGELING

40. ROLE MODELS

41. SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK

42. QUANTUM OF SOLACE

43. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

44. MILK

45. AUSTRALIA

46. CADILLAC RECORDS

47. DOUBT

48. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

49. FROST/NIXON

50. THE WRESTLER

51. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

52. MARLEY & ME

53. GRAN TORINO

54. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

55. LAST CHANCE HARVEY

56. THE READER

Not an Easy Read

15 Feb

A movie that explores guilt, secrets, and an illicit affair between an older woman and a younger man, The Reader certainly is provocative. The film tells the story of Michael Berg (played by David Kross and Ralph Fiennes), who meets Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) in 1958, when he is only 15, and begins an affair with her that lasts a summer. Hanna is turned on when Michael reads to her, so he pleasures her by reading The Odyssey, Huckleberry Finn, and other books. Then one day Hanna disappears. When she resurfaces 10 years later, she is on trial for crimes committed when she was a guard during the Holocaust. Michael, now a law student, must grapple with what he knows about Hanna, and must decide whether to divulge a secret that could hold the key to whether Hanna is found innocent or guilty.

In her Oscar-nominated role, Winslet is quite good. Maybe not blow-you-away good, but she’s quite effective in the role of a mysterious woman who puts her personal pride ahead of all else. (She’s as good here as she is in Revolutionary Road). I wish she looked more believable, though; when Hanna is older, she still looks like the 33-year-old Winslet, just with a lot of obviously caked-on makeup. Kross is also very good, but it takes a leap of faith to believe his aging as well; he looks the same at 15 as he does at 25, and then at 35 all of a sudden he looks like Ralph Fiennes.

Makeup aside, The Reader is a very good movie and I liked it. I thought the premise could have been handled differently, in a way that would have been more dramatic, but the high-minded, quiet tone here reflects Hannah’s inner turmoil and Michael’s conflicted feelings well. I felt uncomfortable being sympathetic toward Hanna, and I think that’s more a problem of casting, because Winslet doesn’t make it easy to dislike her, no matter how good her performance is.

Also, since I saw The Reader so late, after the Oscar nominations had been announced, I couldn’t help but judge it with its accolades in mind. Would I have named it one of the top five films of the year? No. The Dark Knight should have gotten The Reader‘s slot. This is a good movie to be sure, but I’m only going to give it a B+.

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