“Here we believe in fate,” Tareq (Alexander Siddig) tells Juliette (Patricia Clarkson). In this film, what is fate, what is circumstance and what is choice is debatable, and is left to the audience to decide. This is a small and quiet film, but the two compelling lead actors kept me interested in the fate of the characters. [Read more →]
A passing of note for me — and for all fans of anime, really. Satoshi Kon, a highly acclaimed Japanese anime director, died suddenly of cancer on Monday evening. He was 47.
Kon was not an early pioneer of the genre … nor was he its most prolific artist. But he had a special significance, a special impact, nonetheless. [Read more →]
I have mixed feelings about Todd Solondz. I loved Welcome to the Dollhouse, liked parts of Happiness and disliked other parts and Palindromes stayed with me, but in an uncomfortable way. As for Life During Wartime, some of the scenes are interesting and funny in a dark way. I like the parts, but the whole left me cold. But maybe that was Solondz’s goal. [Read more →]
By now, my faithful readership (all three of you) knows what this column is all about. Celebrities are crazy, and need good advice. I am awesome, and give good advice. Everybody wins. Today, though, I feel compelled to share my wisdom with a different type of celebrity: The people of New York City. Individually, we may not be much. Collectively, we possess the star power of Elvis in his heyday and Bono on any day combined. This week, we New Yorkers have the power to harness that brilliance and put it to good use. I am speaking, of course, about the biggest decision facing our city today, the importance of which is even greater than our inevitable future decision whether to re-elect King Bloomberg for a 15th term: The choice of whether to screen Woody Allen’s Manhattan or John Cusack’s Serendipity at the upcoming Viewer’s Choice Night of the Central Park Film Festival. New York, you need to choose Manhattan. [Read more →]
Director/screenwriter Ryan Murphy (Glee) and screenwriter Jennifer Salt faced particular challenges in adapting Elizabeth Gilbert’s popular book. Eat Pray Love spent over 182 weeks on the New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller list, and both critics and fans were quite taken with Gilbert’s chronicle of her year long journey. Expectations for the film were high, and because it is a true story, Murphy and Salt were limited in what they could change. The filmmakers did not take many liberties, although some fans of the book may quibble with details excluded and embellished. The film is not perfect, but this fan of the book admires the effort Murphy and Salt made in Eat Pray Love. The filmmakers also get a big assist from a terrific cast. [Read more →]
In this film, twelve is a potent mixture of heroin and cocaine. It is expensive and highly addictive. The film Twelve (screenplay by Jordan Melamed based on the novel by Nick McDonell) is a straight up tale of drug dealing and violence among over privileged New York teens. But some sharply drawn characters and original direction elevate this film above others in its genre. [Read more →]
Dinner for Schmucks has two main problems. It is not very funny and not very interesting. This is a shame, because there is lots of comic talent languishing in this film. The initial idea has potential, but this film collapses under the weight of the poor screenplay by David Guion and Michael Handelman. Yes, it apparently takes two men to write a bad screenplay. [Read more →]
The Internet Movie Database ranking of the 250 films its users deem the greatest of all-time has always fascinated me, partly because I’ve spent a disturbing amount of my life creating lists for various publications and also because it reveals America’s self-proclaimed movie snobs to be deeply perceptive and total cretins all at once. The rankings inevitably feature a few artificially high recent releases (you may not have been aware of it, but Inception and Toy Story 3 are both among the ten finest films ever). Then in a few weeks things stabilize, resulting in relatively constant master list. Here’s what I love and loathe about the rankings:
A wonderful cast, an intelligent and funny screenplay and fine direction more than compensate for a few implausible plot twists in The Kids Are All Right. I found the characters compelling and parts of this film made me laugh harder than I expected. This film is not perfect, but it is very good. [Read more →]
I like the idea behind Inception more than I like the film itself. Considering its box office success and positive word of mouth, perhaps I am in the minority. Inception maintained a high level of excitement throughout and the action sequences and effects are first rate. I enjoyed the film while I watched it, but found it eminently forgettable. Why all the fuss? [Read more →]
The recent financial reform bill that passed the House and Senate was so important that even the people who created it don’t know exactly what it will do. And we can debate all day what’s the most important part of the bill, but I’d like to suggest that it’s the ban on the despicable practice known as “Movie Futures Trading” (MFT) that will have the most positive affect on the country.
MFT is the process by which people bet on how much money a work of art — a film — will “earn” at the box office. Much as the stock market speculators nearly caused the collapse of our entire financial system, so to does this crass gambling enterprise threaten the very foundation of an industry that is vital to our economy and to our standing in the world. Interim MPAA president Bob Pisano put it best when he said:
“After proposals for these speculative gaming platforms came to light, our industry came together to oppose these plans with an unprecedented coalition that included entertainment industry workers, creators, independent producers and distributors, studios and theater owners. We are pleased with final passage of this important legislation. Congress has acted decisively to ban proposed trading in box office futures and to make important reforms in the country’s financial regulatory system. We applaud the work the bill’s authors have done, and of course, the many Senators and Members who supported the provisions to prevent movie futures trading.”
Essentially, it encourages people to “root against” certain films — films produced by studios that already have a hard time ensuring their products make money.
In the Twilight universe, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is better than New Moon, although not quite as much “fun” as the first Twilight. The change in director was a good one, and the focus of the film is back on the more interesting characters. The cast still has a certain charm, and although I am beginning to tire of author Stephenie Meyer’s heavy handed and simplistic abstinence agenda, I cannot blame the filmmakers. They did what they could with the sometimes cringe-worthy story. [Read more →]
“No-one’s gonna really be free until nerd persecution ends.”
Many Americans do not live healthy lifestyles, leading to an obesity epidemic. I know this because there is a featured story on it on the nightly news just about every week and there are a bunch of shows on basic cable covering it, not to mention The Biggest Loser. Since this is all happening on TV, we can’t honestly blame real live people for this problem. So where do we start? Ronald McDonald, Burger King and that demon-haired Wendy are on the list to begin with. Not to mention the militaristic Colonel Sanders, rounding out our usual suspects. But those characters have all taken steps to clear their names and have cleaned up their menus as best they could, for the sake of public opinion. Thorton Mellon, would be a good candidate since his Big and Tall Stores take advantage of the overweight (“If you want to look thin, hang out with fat people,” his TV ad prescribes.) But his athleticism on the diving board should, and does, exclude him from blame.
No. It’s Lewis, Gilbert, Takashi, Booger, Wormser, Poindexter, Lamar and the rest of the Tri-Lams of Adams College, heroes of The Revenge of the Nerds movie franchise, that are our villains here. [Read more →]
In a summer full of expensive blockbusters and juvenile comedies, Cyrus is a welcome relief. This low key, 92 minute comedy manages to be quirky, dark and sweet. It has an indie low budget feel, but boasts a big star cast.
John (John C. Reilly) is lonely and cannot seem to connect with women. Although he has remained friends with his ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener), the news of her impending marriage to Tim (Matt Walsh) hits him hard. [Read more →]
Happy Independence Day to everyone.
For me this day normally consists of a nice cookout and fireworks with the kids (unless you live in a nanny state that says you can operate heavy machinery at 70 miles an hour but not light a Roman Candle). For the last several years (when I haven’t been deployed), Dave and I would go spend a ridiculous amount of money at South of the Border to get all the “good” fireworks. We would then have an amazing display in my backyard that the whole neighborhood would appreciate (at least I like to think that they appreciated it). I would make chicken wings and we would grill steaks and other animal parts. The kids would come over and love the fireworks. Eventually we would drink too much and start getting braver and braver (or dumber and dumber depending on how you look at it). Now my son just refers to the stupidity that I teach him on a regular basis. When I ask him what he’s talking about he simply says, “You taught me to shoot fireworks at people.” Oh. Yeah. That’s right. I did that.
Anyway, this year there will be no fireworks for me. But there is a cookout here and we just might get steaks cooked to order. When you’re deployed, that’s pretty significant. [Read more →]
This week I would like to review the latest film from master filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, entitled Mindbender: The Last Shyamalan. This is an exciting movie with lots of great twists and turns like you’ve come to expect from this unpredictable filmmaker, so hold on tight while I give you my four-star review (full disclosure: I did not actually see the film).
Warning: Spoilers ahead! If you don’t want to know about all the great twists, then don’t read any more. Go on, I dare you not to read it (please read it — also, click on the ad at the bottom of this review)! [Read more →]
Oliver Stone has a new movie out called South of the Border, which allegedly depicts President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela as some sort of humanitarian. Chavez has invested money in the poor areas of Bolivia, Ecuador, Cuba, and even the United States, but are his motives altruistic? More importantly what has he done for Venezuela? [Read more →]
The most interesting thing about this film is watching these four Saturday Night Live alumni as they hit middle age. SNL gave these young comics a chance to work on rebellious and sometimes edgy comedy and characters. Yet here are these four in the most conventional of comedies. Did writers Adam Sandler and Fred Wolf craft a funny screenplay? Well, if you think jokes about breastfeeding, urine streams, farts and men injuring themselves are side splitting, this is the film for you. The only redeeming thing about this film is the obvious chemistry between the leads. These guys are fun to watch and provide a few laughs. But the script is not that funny and not very interesting. [Read more →]
People may think she is the joke, but Joan Rivers is completely serious about being funny. Having never seen Joan Rivers perform live, I found her mildly funny (and sometimes annoying) when I would catch a snippet of her act on television. But I changed my opinion after watching this insightful and fascinating 84-minute documentary. Rivers is hilarious and to my surprise, inspiring.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work follows a year in the life of the then 75-year-old Rivers. [Read more →]
Hollywood has been repackaging my childhood for years. And frankly, I love it. You can’t beat the onslaught of movies based on comic book heroes and 1980’s franchises. I’m on the edge of my seat for Thundercats, and I’m holding out hope for a Gobots flick. This weekend I had the privilege of seeing The A-Team on the big screen, which, as a child, I watched in syndication on TV. The experience was WONDERFUL.
In a rare moment of insight, Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) says that he feels invisible. Used to attracting the attention of women and the respect of men, this once powerful man feels irrelevant. Michael Douglas proves that he is anything but irrelevant with a strong and nuanced performance in Brian Koppelman and David Levien’s Solitary Man. He is helped by a first rate supporting cast, fine direction and a thoughtful screenplay. [Read more →]
HBO has put For Neda — a documentary about Neda Soltan — on youTube, in its entirety. It’s a truly powerful and courageous film:
It belongs to a genre that I do not always like, so my expectations for Get Him to the Greek were low. But this film has smart dialogue, likable characters, great performances and best of all, it is funny. It is really funny. [Read more →]
What happens when the day you have been breathlessly anticipating finally arrives? You start to think it will never happen, and then just like that, you are sitting in a dark theater surrounded by gaggles of other like-minded women (and a few men). You and the other women just know that you will love Sex and the City 2, because you have loved these characters for years, and you would follow these four women anywhere. Those who never cared for the television series may not care for the film, but the filmmakers made this film for you, and other devotees of the television series. But while I loved the experience, Sex and the City 2 needs a clearer story and stronger writing. Like many sequels, Sex and the City 2 is not as satisfying as the first film. [Read more →]
This week I am devoting my column to one amazing clip I saw from an upcoming movie. Please allow me to explain. Now that I am a dad, I am soon going to be suffering through movies made for kids. And everyone knows the formula to a great kid’s movie- talking animals, dancing animals, sunglass-wearing animals, groin shots, and fart scenes. This clip takes the beloved, always funny, always painful, and always crowd pleasing shot to the groin to a whole new level. [Read more →]
I enjoyed the first Iron Man so much that I was really looking forward to Iron Man 2. I should have known better. I would watch Robert Downey Jr. in anything and Tony Stark is a compelling character, but Iron Man 2 falters under the weight of Justin Theroux’s bloated screenplay. Even able director Jon Favreau cannot recreate the magic of the first film. [Read more →]
While waiting in line for a preview screening of Letters to Juliet, I overheard an exchange between two twenty-something females in front of me. “I think this is going to be one of those romantic movies, and that is bad. Real life isn’t like that.” They were right of course. Real life is rarely like Hollywood romantic films. So if you do not like chick flicks, stay away. But in the category of chick flicks this one is not so bad. It looks gorgeous and has strong performances from charismatic actors. [Read more →]
10. “My money’s on Wolfman to win the Palme d’Or.”
9. “I wonder if Tim Burton had any influence in creating that new category, Best Weird Johnny Depp Movie.”
8. “Look, it’s Jabba The Hutt!… Nope, just Kevin Smith.”
7. “I’m confused. I thought all these films were supposed to be about cans.”
6. “I hear that new movie, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, is very derivative.”
5. “Our flight was almost cancelled due to the plume of smoke over Woody Harrelson.”
4. “Is Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience being shown out of competition this year?”
3. “Uh-oh, Woody Allen’s headed for the nude beach!”
2. “I was hoping some Na’vi would show up this year.”
1. “All About Steve– c’est magnifique!
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
I’ve seen both Iron Man movies and for the most part liked them — any films where Gwyneth Paltrow does not annoy the hell out of me deserve respect — but even by superhero blockbuster standards they are impressively implausible. In no particular order, things about the Iron Men that just don’t track:
1. In the original, Jeff Bridges arranges to kill Robert Downey, Jr. in Afghanistan because…why? To this point Downey has taken no interest in the company beyond occasionally inventing things that earn it gazillions of dollars. (It’s only after the near-death experience he loses interest in weapons.) I don’t care how evil you are: this is not sound corporate policy. [Read more →]
I am loath to criticize Babies, lest anyone misconstrue my comments about the film as criticism of the actual babies in the film. The babies are adorable and wonderful, and perfectly cast as adorable and wonderful infants. At times this film is exciting, moving, funny and provocative. Although the film has many wonderful moments, in its totality it is a bit dull. It would make an interesting PBS television special, but it doesn’t really succeed as an entertainment experience requiring the purchase of a ticket. [Read more →]
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