Frost/Nixon.
Oh Frank Langella. I love you. This movie is a dramatic darling. A brilliant play on a theatrical piece and a historical landmark. There isn't anything horrible or snark I can say about this movie. Granted since we all know how it goes down its not anything earth shattering but the deft cinematography, the superb acting all around and the little dash of Ron Howard directorial magic make this a fantastically taunt film.
<3
5.07.2009
Un-EX-pectedly poor use of casting.
The Ex.
On paper there is a laundry lists of things that should make this movie excellent:
Jason Bateman: the current reigning king of character acting. Hands down the best of this generation of actors.
Amanda Peet: the understated darling of cinema. Funny and dramatic, beautiful and girl-next-door.
Zach Braff: TV funny man, adorable indie lead. Yummy and seemingly talented.
Amy Poehler: One of the industries funniest women at the moment. Always manages to be perfect no matter how big or small her role.
If you mix these elements together you should have a knock-it-out-of-the-park grand slam of a comedy.
Yet someone The Ex manages to strike out in every scene. Braff is adorable and lovable as the aimless loser Tom. Still when no one believes what Chip Sanders is doing to try and destroy him, Tom's sad attempts to finally prove himself are childish and annoying. Peet is a nice balance in this flick. Her portrayal of the woman in the middle, who doesn't know she is in the middle, was a believable core for the movie. Somehow she was still underutilized and her lack of camera time is one of the many things seriously hurting this movie. Poehler was completely miscast. I don't even know why they would waster her immense talent on her mere three scenes and handful of lines. Pointless and frustrating. Most disappointing though is Bateman. As always he assimilates into the annoying, undermining, conniving Chip Sanders, just beautifully. Still perhaps it was the script or general concept but his character was still not at all satisfying. Even throwing in great big name surprises like Amy Adam and Paul Rudd could not save this sunken ship. It's hard to pinpoint where The Ex goes wrong but I can tell you where it goes right: no where.
Skip Skip Skip.
<3
Great Scott
Trainspotting.
I get this movie is a classic. I get it. Its so UK its scary. The language, the dress, the ridiculousness. So while I say I get it I can also then say I don't like it. I mean seriously I can respect it as a work of film but people who idolize this film they way they do....mmmm hmmmm child they need to get their heads examined. I love the big long speech about what you do and don't want from life and can appreciate how you don't want to get stuck in the stereotypical mode of growing up and modern life. I mean I don't' want to get stuck in such a way either.....but I mean is the only other option heroin addiction???? Mmmmm no.
Sometimes funny. More times gross. Slightly philosophical. Weird as hell.
<3
I get this movie is a classic. I get it. Its so UK its scary. The language, the dress, the ridiculousness. So while I say I get it I can also then say I don't like it. I mean seriously I can respect it as a work of film but people who idolize this film they way they do....mmmm hmmmm child they need to get their heads examined. I love the big long speech about what you do and don't want from life and can appreciate how you don't want to get stuck in the stereotypical mode of growing up and modern life. I mean I don't' want to get stuck in such a way either.....but I mean is the only other option heroin addiction???? Mmmmm no.
Sometimes funny. More times gross. Slightly philosophical. Weird as hell.
<3
A Slowly Satisfying State of Affairs
State of Play.
Advertisements around award seasons often say things like "a sleeper hit", "surprise smash", "amazing ensemble" etc. State of Play manages to be all those things but also is a kick in the pants at the same time. In other words it was wonderfully fantastic.
Very few pieces I've ever shelled out cash (or in this case allowed my handsome escort for the night to dish out for) have ever intrigued me as much as State of Play. I hadn't heard too much about it other than some blurbs on the cast. And thank goodness because it was one of those great cinematic moments where you experience the film as it happens. My major issue with film today isn't necessarily the overused plots, overpaid/under-talented talent or focus on quality of computer graphics over content. No really what I think is slowly spoiling films as a whole is the press junkets, reveal all previews and dead horse beating round of interviews on both morning and late talk shows the weeks following a premiere. It is these things that start to suck the magic marrow right out of the film tin.
Thankfully State of Play indeed played its cards right by keeping itself just under the radar. The casting is a wet dream for anyone seriously into good acting. They managed to draw enough talent to put the bottoms in the seats. Russell Crowe brings the drama and intrigue, Helen Mirren gets you your Oscar crowd and older brackett, Rachel McAdams gets you all of your young men and serious admiring film women, Ben Affleck gets you those former Bennifer lovers and those intrigued if he can do anything other than mediocre rom-coms. Then you toss in a mix of the great B to A list character actors of the day, Viola Davis, Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn. Could it get any better? Oh yes, my film darlings it can. Not only does the casting do wonders but the script has more brilliant tension and twists than well any other cliche I could put on the end of this sentence. It's only fault I can find is that it is not an original script. But if you are going to adapt anything you might as well adapt from the BBC because its hard to go wrong there. But considering Brad Pitt was first choice to be the lead.....that fault is overlooked by the wonderful recasting!
If you fail to see this movie I assure you that you fail to see one of the handful of truly excellent dramas for the 2000's.
Advertisements around award seasons often say things like "a sleeper hit", "surprise smash", "amazing ensemble" etc. State of Play manages to be all those things but also is a kick in the pants at the same time. In other words it was wonderfully fantastic.
Very few pieces I've ever shelled out cash (or in this case allowed my handsome escort for the night to dish out for) have ever intrigued me as much as State of Play. I hadn't heard too much about it other than some blurbs on the cast. And thank goodness because it was one of those great cinematic moments where you experience the film as it happens. My major issue with film today isn't necessarily the overused plots, overpaid/under-talented talent or focus on quality of computer graphics over content. No really what I think is slowly spoiling films as a whole is the press junkets, reveal all previews and dead horse beating round of interviews on both morning and late talk shows the weeks following a premiere. It is these things that start to suck the magic marrow right out of the film tin.
Thankfully State of Play indeed played its cards right by keeping itself just under the radar. The casting is a wet dream for anyone seriously into good acting. They managed to draw enough talent to put the bottoms in the seats. Russell Crowe brings the drama and intrigue, Helen Mirren gets you your Oscar crowd and older brackett, Rachel McAdams gets you all of your young men and serious admiring film women, Ben Affleck gets you those former Bennifer lovers and those intrigued if he can do anything other than mediocre rom-coms. Then you toss in a mix of the great B to A list character actors of the day, Viola Davis, Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn. Could it get any better? Oh yes, my film darlings it can. Not only does the casting do wonders but the script has more brilliant tension and twists than well any other cliche I could put on the end of this sentence. It's only fault I can find is that it is not an original script. But if you are going to adapt anything you might as well adapt from the BBC because its hard to go wrong there. But considering Brad Pitt was first choice to be the lead.....that fault is overlooked by the wonderful recasting!
If you fail to see this movie I assure you that you fail to see one of the handful of truly excellent dramas for the 2000's.
Ruining Trips to Mexico as much as the Swine Flu
The Ruins.
This young indie/B list cast and the mysterious terror in the trailer looked interesting enough to see. All in all I didn't find the film too disappointing. I was not aware it was a book til after I watched it and I feel the book perhaps goes into more detail on the plot and is possibly then more satisfying. . .?
It had bumps and jumps and plenty of drama. The concept of that is lurking in the ruins is very interesting and shot well enough to actually hold some suspense. The acting was good enough to pass, its one of those situations where you are pretty sure you would be hysterical too so you can let some of the melodramatics slide. I'm still not really sure what exactly its supposed to be though. The ending was interesting and not exactly what I expected yet not fully satisfying as the body of work had been.
Worth a look if you haven't seen the book. From what I've since heard the book actually has a different plot unfolding than the film so that would be worth a read too!
<3
This young indie/B list cast and the mysterious terror in the trailer looked interesting enough to see. All in all I didn't find the film too disappointing. I was not aware it was a book til after I watched it and I feel the book perhaps goes into more detail on the plot and is possibly then more satisfying. . .?
It had bumps and jumps and plenty of drama. The concept of that is lurking in the ruins is very interesting and shot well enough to actually hold some suspense. The acting was good enough to pass, its one of those situations where you are pretty sure you would be hysterical too so you can let some of the melodramatics slide. I'm still not really sure what exactly its supposed to be though. The ending was interesting and not exactly what I expected yet not fully satisfying as the body of work had been.
Worth a look if you haven't seen the book. From what I've since heard the book actually has a different plot unfolding than the film so that would be worth a read too!
<3
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