My latest Sympatico/MSN gallery is up, using the Kate-and-Leo reunion in “Revolutionary Road” to explore a few other recent productions that put proven co-stars back together.
I decided to do the honorable thing, and leave “Runaway Bride” out of it. It’s just better for everyone.
Welcome to 2009, everybody — I spent New Year’s Day taking it easy, thanks to a combination of two large writing deadlines and the currently vicious Toronto winter. Turns out you don’t really need to go outside at all, if you’ve got the appropriate provisions and a Blu-ray disc of “Rio Bravo”.
Only one film opens today, and it’s “Revolutionary Road“, Sam Mendes’ much-credentialed new film. Not only is it based on one of the key American novels of the mid-20th century, but it’s also the long-awaited reunion of “Titanic” stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as a miserable suburban couple grappling with ennui and unrealized dreams.
Basically, imagine Ron Howard directing a Very Special Episode of “Mad Men”. And now you can wait for the DVD.
So here we are, facing the end of another year. On the upside, I didn’t lose as many friends and family members in 2008 as I did in 2006 or 2007; of course, after 2006 and 2007 I don’t have as many friends and family members to lose, so statistically that was probably bound to happen.
Let’s stick to the upside, shall we? Cannes. Vienna. London, more than once. A great new job, which came complete with awesome benefits, a lovely new group of friends and heightened visibility, for good or ill. (This week, with the online bitching about my review of “Toronto Stories” still ongoing, falls over on the “ill” side of the scale.)
Marriage going well. Health seems good. I turned forty without developing any mysterious lumps, boils or goiters. Oh, and in similar life-changing news, the magnificent Caplansky’s opened within walking distance of my house. Upside: The walk helps works off the exquisite smoked-meat sammiches. Downside: I could, conceivably, eat exquisite smoked-meat sammiches six days a week.
No, wait, that’s an upside too.
Happy New Year, everybody. If you really have nothing to do today, check out my silly (but entirely credible) trendspotting piece in today’s paper, and then brave the freezing cold for a sammich or two. Because sammiches are really the best insulation.
Ask the dogs. They know.
It’s finally happened: Somebody got shot in a movie theater for talking.
The weird part? The movie was “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, a film that wouldn’t necessarily encourage loudmouthery.
Over at Cinematical, Peter Martin takes the long view of the incident, asking pertinent questions like “Who brings a gun to a Cate Blanchett movie?” and making sure we note that the assailant sat back down to finish the film after blasting his cap, while the rest of the audience fled the screening. (I’m just glad he didn’t open up on the other theatergoers for cutting off his view.)
Since the victim wasn’t critically wounded — just shot in the arm — it somehow feels okay to make light of this. And in truth, it’s pretty great that no one was killed, because this is the sort of incident that’s been coming for years.
People aren’t quiet in movies any more. And acceptable theater behavior — talking, texting, taking cell calls — has gone completely out the window since multiplexes have turned into party zones, with the video games and the Burger Kings and the bar service. (And who brings a kid to “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, anyway? Was “Marley & Me” sold out?)
I’ve shushed more than my share of babblers — usually by shaming them with the same voice I employ to stop dogs from eating my bedding — but I’ve never come even close to getting physical with anyone. Of course, I’m not packing heat, either.
Was it George Carlin or David Cross who came up with the bullet theory of reducing gun violence? (UPDATE: It was Chris Rock; thanks, Mark!) Let everyone have a piece, but make the bullets $10,000 each, so you really have to think through whether someone needs killing.
Ah, that won’t help. People will just club each other with their gun butts. Which would, I’ll freely admit, make “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” a lot more entertaining.
I am not a sentimentalist, but waking up from a mild turkey coma, seeing fresh snow on the ground and realizing that there are sixty Jaffa cakes begging to be eaten … ah, that says Christmas to me.
My values are slightly skewed, mind you. But not as badly (segue!) as the values of the people who green-lit the soulless failures that make up this morning’s Sympatico/MSN gallery, which nods in the direction of “The Spirit” and “Valkyrie” by running down seven other recent movies that appeared to have everything in place for successful ventures, only to botch the job hideously.
Sorry to bring up “The Golden Compass” again, but relevant is relevant.
Happy Boxing Day, everyone! May you make it safely through the malls, find great deals where you need them, and enjoy at least one piece of candy before noon.
I think there’s some stuff. Also, it seems Harold Pinter has died. Somehow that cheap shot about his “Sleuth” screenplay being a sign of early decline seems kind of mean now. Not wrong, mind you, just mean.
“Bedtime Stories”: Adam Sandler plays a shiftless uncle who learns the value of growing up when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start coming vividly true. But the really improbable part? Keri Russell plays his love interest. Rad bears witness.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button“: Brad Pitt ages backwards! Cate Blanchett dances! New Orleans serves as a clumsy metaphoric backdrop for an epic American tale that’s as digitally processed — and, ultimately, as pointless — as a certain 1994 Oscarpalooza directed by Robert Zemeckis. I don’t blame David Fincher for trying (and failing) to tell a human story as much as I blame screenwriter Eric Roth; now, that guy can just go Gump himself.
“Marley and Me”: Look, I know the dog is adorable. I also know what happens to the dog. I will be elsewhere, probably forever. But Rad acknowledges that the movie worked on him, so that’s something.
“The Spirit“: Frank Miller tries to bend Will Eisner’s doofy crime-fighter to his misogynist will, and fails mightily. Some eggs just aren’t meant to be hard-boiled — especially when Samuel L. Jackson is ranting about them at full volume in every other scene. (Louis Lombardi’s a hoot, though.)
“Valkyrie“: Yeah, Tom Cruise doesn’t really pull of the German-aristocrat thing as well as he thinks he does. But at least he’s not the only thing pushing against Bryan Singer’s tale of a 1944 coup attempt within the Nazi high command; that whole Hitler-assassination plot somehow fails to generate a whole lot of tension. On the upside, you’ll witness incredible advances in digital swastika technology.
“The Wrestler”: Darren Aronofsky’s gritty tale of a lug’s redemption has been greeted ecstatically at film festivals around the world, and it is indeed very good … though, much like Mickey Rourke’s disintegrating hero, it’s also a little on the clumsy side. But that’s really the worst thing I can say about it, and Rourke really is amazing, as Barrett and Jason argue at greater length.
Oh, and “Waltz with Bashir” opens tomorrow. It’s very good. If you aren’t braving the Boxing Day hordes, there are worse ways to spend a soggy afternoon …
Since Christmas falls on Thursday this year, this week’s NOW hits the stands early — and with it, my list of the ten best movies of 2008. (Barrett’s and Susan’s lists are in there as well, but obviously mine is the most awesome.)
Some more pre-holiday business: If you’re near a radio (or a computer) at 1 pm this afternoon, dial up 590AM (or click on the “Listen Live” tab at The Fan’s website) to catch me on my brother’s radio show. I have no idea what we’ll be talking about. Latkes, maybe.
Oh, and for all of you who were worrying that Blu-ray player prices weren’t coming down fast enough, check out these Boxing Day deals: Best Buy will be selling its house-brand Insignia player for $99.99 come 8 pm. Which means you’ll probably be able to pick up a Samsung or a Sharp for about $200. I’d recommend doing that, by the way; the Insignia is profile 1.1, which means no picture-in-picture commentaries or BD-Live functionality.
Of course, if you really love yourself, you’ll get a PlayStation 3. Spirit of the season and all.
Seriously, it’s in the Constitution or something.
Thus, I’m helping my wife with some last-minute shopping this afternoon, helping her entertain her brother later this evening (not exactly a chore, mind you), and helping my brother tomorrow afternoon by appearing on his radio show to talk about sports movies, or Christmas sports movies, or something.
Yeah, well, there’s not a lot of stuff to talk about on Sports Central this week. But I’ll be giving it my best shot at 1:05 pm tomorrow (Wednesday). In the Toronto area, tune us in at 590 AM; online, you can go to the FAN website and click on the blue “Listen Live” tab near the top right of the home page.
And if you’re experiencing a similar holiday slowdown, call in and tell me which “Slap Shot” movie is your favorite. I promise not to judge, unless of course you pick the wrong one.
Lovely news from England: Joanna Hogg’s “Unrelated”, which my FIPRESCI jury picked as our prize-winner at the London film festival last year, has won this year’s Guardian’s First Film award, beating out Anton Corbijn’s “Control” in what sounds like a very tight race.
I’m delighted, really; no disrespect to Corbijn or his film, but “Control” is ultimately a fairly conventional accomplishment. “Unrelated”, on the other hand, is something out of the ordinary — an unaffected, almost minimalist drama about simple human conflicts, played out under the unforgiving Mediterranean sun.
Ever since I saw “Unrelated”, I’ve been quietly agitating for a Canadian distributor to take a look. It hasn’t happened, for whatever reason — I suspect the film’s smallness works against it on an international level. I guess I’ll have to settle for importing the UK DVD when it’s released in February, and pressing it on friends with multi-region players.
It’s part of the job, really it is.
Counting down the days to Christmas, the studios are unloading their big guns … which include some serious Oscar-craving productions.
“Gran Torino”: Clint Eastwood plays a snarling, racist Korean War veteran who finds himself crankily taking sides in a Hmong turf war in his sleepy Michigan suburb. Eastwood is letting it be known that this is likely the last time we’ll see him in front of a camera, which can’t possibly have anything to do with the fact that he’s never won an acting Oscar. Because when you can’t campaign on merit, you go for pity. Adam and Barrett will explain.
“Seven Pounds”: Will Smith and Gabriele Muccino, who brought you the warm-n-fuzzy 2006 drama “The Pursuit of Happyness”, reunite for a somewhat overcomplicated redemption melodrama that works just a hair better than you’d expect, thanks to the fine chemistry between Smith and co-star Rosario Dawson. Susan agrees, and I agree with Adam: “Do Not Touch the Jellyfish” deserves to become the catchphrase of the year.
“The Tale of Despereaux”: All I know about this animated feature is that Sylvan Chomet, the unqualified genius who gave us “The Triplets of Belleville”, was originally supposed to direct it, but ultimately didn’t. Dierdre liked it more than Jason did; I’m curious to see the character designs, but couldn’t catch the screening.
“Yes Man“: So it’s finally come to this: Jim Carrey is so desperate to claw his way back to the top that he’ll take anything that smacks of his former blockbusters — even this naked retread of “Liar Liar” that finds him responding to any request in the affirmative, no matter how wacky. Remember when his comedy was so thrilling? So unpredictable and gleeful? Yeah, well, that was a looooong time ago.
Hang in there. Better stuff’s coming. Eventually.