Movie: NORMAN--The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer

Junebug and I watched a film last night on cable movies on demand.  I remember when the movie came out it interested me.

This movie might not be everyone's cup of tea.  It certainly isn't a film that cost a billion dollars to make and is about comic book characters, animation or films geared for male aggressive pleasure.  If that is your taste I apologize.  I mean no insult.  It's just that in this day and my age there are so few films that appeal to my taste.  This is sort of a dark comedy/drama.  We thought it was great.

Richard Gere plays the lead character (Norman Oppenheimer).  I thought this was one of his best performance.  He should do more character roles.  He has the chops to do it.  The cast is impressive too:  Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Hank Azaria, Josh Charles and others.

RottenTomato gave it an 89% critic rating which is high.  Although I could care less what critics say. If a movie interests me I'll watch it, just as we did with Norman.

Gere delivers an impressive performance.  IMDb describes the story :  "Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman's life dramatically changes for better and worse (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4191702/)"

It is an impressive ensemble cast performance, a very curious story line, great cinematography and film editing as well as directing.  The ending was absolutely perfect in my opinion.  There are a few moments in the film that seem prescient to the lunatic Donald Trump.  The film was made in 2016 so someone was a little clairvoyant in the Israeli Prime Minister character.   There are many moments when two characters are communicated by phone and the screen juxtaposes both actors side by side.  It looks like they next door to each other.  I know I'm not explaining it well, but I really was impressed.

This is a small little film that delivers on every level.

I have a feeling some of you mayfind it boring.  We didn't.  It was a compelling, piercing, emotional, heartfelt piece of film-making.

Richard Gere is at his finest (although this is not his only commendable performance)!

INDEPENDENT films: 3 Generations & This Beautiful Fantastic

 I love movies and have for my entire life.  Unfortunately, the film industry's obsession with comic book-themed films that are obscenely over budget (and not interesting) are the overwhelming product that are made these days.

I have always loved independent films.  They aren't very prolific these days.  So I don't see movies very often.

Tonight was an exception.  We watched two movies that were pay per view on tv. They were good in different ways.  But I feel satisfied, which is rare, with our movie viewing experience tonight.

The two indie movies that the Bug (my mom) and I enjoyed tonight are:

3 Generations--Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon, Elle Fanning and others.  "After Ray [Elle Fanning} decides to transition from female to male, Ray's mother, Maggie [Naomi Watts], must come to terms with the decision while tracking down Ray's biological father to get his legal consent."  Sarandon plays the mother to Naomi Watts and grandmother to Elle Fanning.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4158624/

This Beautiful Fantastic--Starring most notably Tom Wilkinson and Anna Chancellor (she played "Duckface" in 4 Weddings and a Funeral).  "A young woman who dreams of being a children's author makes an unlikely friendship with a cantankerous, rich old widower."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4560008/

A GREAT Independent Movie: TABLE 19

We just finished watching a great, quirky small independent film titled, Table 19.  It has a great cast (Lisa Kudrow, Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson, among others).

Years ago in my 20's, 30's and 40's I relished indie films.  And they were prolific compared to 2017.  Most movies are made for young men.  They have recently been the drivers for the billions of dollars generated by testosterone-geared movies.  I was very happy to see that Wonder Woman which is from that genre, defeat and make huge amounts of money.  I'm thrilled.  But I doubt I'll watch the movie.

Table 19 is a film about a handful of odd characters who find themselves seated at the last table of a wedding dinner.  They are individually eccentric, to say the least.  I really enjoyed this film.  I wish more indie films were made.  I'm so old that maybe I'm just clueless.  But I would recommend Table 19!  If you don't like it then go watch the latest $300 M Mavil comic book which will premiered next Friday.

Great cast.  Good script.  Good production values.  And not about comic book characters.  I doubt they even spent more than $20-$30M to make it.

MOVIE: The Space Between Us

We watched this movie tonight and really enjoyed it.  It was an interesting premise that posed several interesting questions.  This post may be a spoiler.

The central character, Gardner Elliot (played by Asa Butterfield), is born on a space mission to Mars. His mother dies.  He survives and is brought up on Mars by a surrogate mother.  His birth was kept a secret.  At age 16, he escapes captivity gets back to Earth, but he is in a delicate state physically since he was born in space.

When he arrives on earth, he sought out a female computer message friend, Tulsa, (Britt Robertson) as well as the man that he thinks is his father.  Gardner and Tulsa fall love and go on an odyssey to find his father.

Gardner's body cannot take earth's gravity and is dying.  He wanted to die. He was saved and transported back to Mars.  If I were Gardner, I would have committed suicide like he tried to do.  Earth is really an awful place.  He ends up back on Mars which is home planet.  I would take a rocket to Mars in a New York minute to escape this stupid Trump/Republican world.  But alas, his love Tulsa, doesn't go with him.  The movies ends but hints that they will reunite and enjoy life on Mars.

This was an entertaining film.  I enjoyed it.  It is worth watching, if anyone is reading this.  Great cast which also includes B.D. Wong and Gary Oldman.  The end was particularly curious.  In my opinion, it suggests that Mars is a better alternative to earth.  I couldn't agree more.  Donald Trump and Republicans are the downfall of our society and our planet.

POSTSCRIPT:  I read an article online that discusses just the scenario that the movie portrayed.  It's worth a read:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4601270/The-100-mile-high-club-Scientists-study-sex-space.html

Watching HIDDEN FIGURES

I regret that I haven't seen this movie, Hidden Figures, sooner.  What a remarkable movie and timely a movie it is.  It is sad that the racial discrimination issues that the film depicts about from decades ago are forefront to our political environment theses days.

The movie is about 3 African American women working at NASA during the fledgling first of period of the space race between the US and USSR.  The film is a star-studded cast of actors which deserve kudos:   Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson.

The movie is brilliant.  I'm going to watch it again.  It is so hopeful in these days of terror we live in.  It tells the saga of three black woman who work at NASA and ultimately become the most part of NASA's early space missions, with their mathematical calculations and ability to master the new computer systems.  Talk about pioneering!

This film tells the true story and does so with a masterful team of actors also, including actors Kevin Costner and Kirsten Dunst.

I used to watch all Academy Award nominated films before the awards.  I failed miserably this last last award season.  

This movie is fantastic.   Please see it.  I seldom find movies to watch that are interesting and worth the effort.  This is definitely one of them.

GREAT MOVIE: A Hundred-Foot Journey

Watched this fantastic movie last night and rewatched again twice today.  This film is utterly charming.  

The film stars Helen Mirren, the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant in France.  A family from Mumbai buys the property across the street and opens up an Indian food restaurant.  The younger son, a food/cooking prodigy since a young age learns the fine art of French cuisine in the process of becoming a famous chef primarily by infusing his Indian roots into French classical cooking.  Two romances, wonderful food, spectacular setting make this one of my favorite films ever.

Also, the male lead, Manish Dayal (Hassan) is utterly gorgeous.   

And Dame Mirren is ever the perfect actor especially paired with Om Puri, who plays the father of Hassan.

Don't miss this.  It's out in DVD and cable.

Produced by Oprah and Steven Spielberg, the results are a magical wonderful film.  Direction Lasse Hallstrom.

Once you've watched the movie check out this interesting article on how they created, digitally, the village of St. Antonin-Noble-Val in France and the two restaurants in the movie.  Click here to read:
http://www.fxguide.com/featured/journey-to-the-hundred-foot-journey/

LUCKY THEM! This was a bit of serendipity for anyone who has the pleasure of watching

We watched a film last night, LUCKY THEM, ON DEMAND, via Time Warner.  I believe it is also available out in theaters (It is an IFC Film, so may be in limited run).

I am huge fan of of it's star, Toni Collette.   She co-stars with the equally brilliant, Thomas Haden Church.   Collette's character ("Ellie Klug") is a rock journalist (ala Almost Famous) who assists Church's "Charlie," who is producing a documentary of an iconic, cultish but dead rock legend--I thought when listening to the music and singing of the subject of the documentary as a reference to the brilliant Jeff Buckley.   I'm not sure if that was the film's intent.  But it was evocative.

The movie also stars Oliver Platt and Ryan Eggold (a delicious looking man who plays an up and coming singer/musican, "Lucas Stone."  It also includes a brief yet powerful, poignant and uncredited appearance by Johnny Depp (perfectly cast) at the end of the movie.

The biggest surprise was that the film was executive produce by Joanne Woodward and the movie is dedicated to her deceased husband, Paul Newman.

This is a wonderful film.   Great actors.  Excellent direction by Megan Griffiths.

I have enjoyed a small handful of wide-released and independent films this year to date.    A couple were memorable.  But this kept me awake on my sofa.  It proves that Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church are two of the best actors of the generation.  It was also a film that I enjoyed from start to finish, which I find is harder and harder to do each month anymore.

I highly recommend this film.   It was a well-crafted film with some great performances by some of the best actors around.

Architecturally famous house from FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF for sale

Highland Park, Illinois is home to a very special house. Architecture buffs will recognize 370 Beech Street as a steel and glass building designed by notable architects A. James Speyer and David Haid. 370 Beech was also an unforgettable movie where a Ferrari met its dramatic end in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

If you haven't seen the movie, this is a classic.  As is the house.

The house was originally listed with for $2.3 million. Today, the price has been lowered and the "Ferris Bueller house" is now $1.65 million. 

For this man (and others) you must GO SEE Star Trek

I saw the latest of the Star Trek movie series today, Star Trek: Into Darkness.

OMG, wow, fab, etc.   I truly appreciated Chris Pine's beauty in this film more than previous ones.  All of the actors (Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, etc) are really in fine form and the film has a great script.  Even the Star Trek original series icon, the original "Spock" Leonard Nimoy, makes an impressive, albeit short, appearance.

We saw the 3D version of tho movie.

I am not usually predisposed to these kind of films.   What I mean is that I am not interested in testosterone movies are only about killing destruction, violence, etc, that are geared for  Neanderthal, straight men or their pre- or pubescent counterparts.

As kid, I grew up watching Star Trek (and then the Star Wars films since).  Star Trek always had a before-its-time "hormonal" balance in its characters (although its humor and its scripts reflected the mores of the times). Men could show tenderness.

The plot/script of this movie is great.   The film's ensemble all deliver excellent performances.   Most of them with an homage/slight hint to the their character's personality on the original television series, where applicable.

Chris Pine is as gorgeous in every frame as an actor can be, as was Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook.

You should not miss this.  It was one of the few, and best, testosterone films that I've enjoyed in decades.

AN ODE TO JODIE FOSTER I loved her wonderful speech at GOLDEN GLOBES

I fell in love with La Foster as a youngster when I saw her play "Becky Thatcher" in the movie, Tom Sawyer. I had previously fallen in love with the character "Becky Thatcher" in a production by the local Children's Theater of Tom Sawyer (who was played by local, young actress Teri Eoff in Lubbock, Texas).

Getting Engaged
Tom Sawyer — MOVIECLIPS.com

The way Ms. Foster has lived her entire life with integrity and anonymity is why I was thrilled that she was honored Sunday night with the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globe Awards.

Her speech reminded me of why she has been fiercely, rabidly private throughout her 47 years in public life (she started out in show business at age three in as a model for an advertisement).

I thought La Foster was supremely true to herself in her speech and everything about her appearance on Sunday night to receive the accolades of her peers on Sunday night. The fact that she had that hateful, irate Mel Gibson sitting beside her (he snarled throughout the ceremony) at her table made me adore her all the more (although I despise him). She is true to her friends. And I also thought it interesting that for this distinguished ceremony she chose to be there with her at her table two of her friends who are also two of the most controversial men in Hollywood: Mel Gibson (is he ever happy anymore or just pissed off and angry?) and Robert Downey Jr.

And she had her two beautiful sons with her at the ceremony on view for the cameras, another way in which she "came out" because she has always sheltered them from the public eye.

She is true to herself, always has been. And that to me is one of the most integritous qualities in the world.

There have been few like her in the world who have been fiercely brave and also honest to her aspirations, standards, and lifestyle, at least of those people from my generation (I, like Ms. Foster, am 50).

Maybe she is the way she is because she started so very young in the public spotlight. And maybe, having a stalker who is obsessed with you whilst you're in college and then tries to assassinate President Reagan as a demonstration of his love, compounded by the fact that you're gay and the entire world is obsessing over your sexual preference during your teens, twenties, thirties, etc. (imagine how that would feel to be on such public display?)

I think that she did in fact, come out officially as gay in her Golden Globe speech and I thought she did it brilliantly. And she did it in her on smart ass, intelligent, and fuck you kind of way. ("I am Single!") Typical Tiger, no? (as in Chinese Birth Year of the Tiger: 1962)

Didn't we all know that Anderson Cooper was gay for all these years before he quietly announced it last year? Even he was equally blithe as Jodie in his statement (because they've both been "out" for so long, without saying it to a billion viewers on tv....which is what I think Jodie was trying to comment about Sunday night).

I admire her for the way she has bravely lived her life. And I admire her for her long, remarkable and distinguished career (as well as putting herself through Yale).

Liz Smith, the iconic news columnist, wrote a similar summary about La Foster's brilliant and emotional speech. Read it here:

If you missed Ms. Foster's speech here it is:

As an aside, I was THRILLED that Ben Affleck and his film Argo won the 2013 Golden Globe awards for Best Director and Best Film, respectively.

PRECIOUS a phenomonal film OSCAR countdown

The Bug and I went Wednesday to see Precious. Which means that we've now seen all of the films that include Best Actress nominations and all Best Picture nominees, except for two.

This movie , like another nominated Best Picture, The Hurt Locker, is utterly unrelenting and unflinching in its depiction of shocking and horrifying circumstances. In this case, it is the physical and sexual abuse of its heroine (and in every sense of the word), Precious, a teenage girl who lives a living nightmare in her apartment with her monstrous mother, played by Mo'Nique.

Hand Mo'Nique the award for everything because that is the most electrifying, perfectly realized performance in the history of film making. There is nothing likable about this character. And yet Mo'Nique delivers a performance that is so tragic, so frightening, and heartbreaking.

I must say as fair warning: this movie deals blatantly and candidly with incest/rape/physical abuse. It is not an easy movie to watch in this respect. And yet the movie is a work of intense dark beauty.

Precious, played brilliantly by Gibourey Sidabay (such a beautiful name), is the most abused person I think that has ever been depicted on the screen and yet somehow this character finds a way to move forward, and is certainly the most unlikely candidate. Precious is an obese teenager, who with a push of good intention from her High School principal is sent to a school which is designed to educate students with the same challenges as Precious. It is through this school that Precious, in spite of horrific acts of abuse, learns that she is a precious one of god's creatures and after having given birth to her second child (Precious' father was the father of her two babies) finds the courage and strength to walk away from her mother.

This movie is still resonating in my mind. I literally at moments during the film screamed or cried "NO!" it was that astonishing and unrelenting.

So, for my Oscar predictions/preferences. I ultimately think, having seen all of the Best Actress nominees' performances, that the race is down to Sandra Bullock and Helen Mirren (Carey Mulligan maybe). Ms. Sidabay gives a landmark performance, yes. But compared with MoNique's interpretation it isn't landmark enough, IMHO, to rate as Best Actress. I'm rooting for Sandra at this point!

See this movie. Lee Daniels also certainly deserves to win Best Director. But I think that honor will end up going to the director of The Hurt Locker.

What are your thoughts/predictions?

Tomorrow morning I'll go to see the last film I'll be able to view before the award ceremony Sunday evening. That's A Single Man.

The LAST STATION Another fabulous movie

Boy, what can I say but 2009 was truly a distinguished year, IMHO, for movies. At least the movies that are up for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The problem is, while this select few represent a really interesting spectrum of subjects/topics, there is really a dearth of quality movies made these days.

In fact, there is a dearth of films made these days, period.

Anyway, the Bug and I toddled on over to the Cinema Palme d'Or yesterday to catch The Last Station which is one of the last Best Picture candidates that we hadn't seen. Neither of us had a clue about what the movie was about. We knew only this: it was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress and its cast included the goddess Helen Mirren and that hottie James McAvoy.

I seldom read film reviews because I couldn't care less what a critic thinks of a movie. If I wish to see a movie, then I'll see the movie, critically drubbed or not. I don't watch tv. So I learn about new films and their subject matter by trailers or online or occasionally the Sunday newspaper.

But I somehow knew nothing about The Last Station (actually the same was true for An Education....I only knew vaguely that it took place in the 60s). How fun is that? What a wonderful surprise we had.

The Last Station is about the final months in the life of Leo Tolstoy, in early 1900's. Christopher Plummer, nominee for Best Supporting Actor, portrays the master writer and his wife, Countess Sofya Tolstoy, is played in usually brilliant fashion by La Mirren (who is nominated for Best Actress).

And then there is that remarkably fetching and talented James McAvoy. What a wonderful string of films he has made (my favorite film last year, Atonement, before that, The Last King of Scotland. Oh, and one of my other favorite movies, Becoming Jane). He brings an earnestness to the character of Valentin Bulgakov, who is Tolstoy's secretary (everytime he sneezes my heart breaks). This is an interesting character and I can't think of any other actor who could have brought a better interpretation than McAvoy. Valentin is an idealistic Tolstoyan, a practicing virginal celibate, who passionately believes in the tenets of the Tolstoyan Movement: brotherly love and world peace through pacifism, and a denouncement of material wealth and physical love.


Paul Giamatti is brilliant as the Movement's villainous leader, Vladimir Chertkov.

But this move is absolutely astonishing because of the dueling tour de force performances of Plummer and La Mirren.

I have to say that Mirren, in my opinion, is the only other Best Actress nominee, besides Sandra Bullock, who should win the award based upon performance. I haven't seen Precious yet, will see it this afternoon. So I may have to revise my opinion. But I still think Bullock will win. Mirren already has a Best Actress and I think Bullock will win because this is her one true shot at the award and she also set such a huge example for female stars with The Blind Side, which is the highest grossing film starring a major female actress, currently at $250million (domestic).

I haven't seen Jeff Bridges performance yet. He's my sentimental favorite. But Plummer should win Supporting actor........talk about a career! Father Von Trapp needs and Academy Award.

GO see The Last Station. A beautiful, magnificent film.

One observation for those more well-versed on Tolstoy or Russian History. After seeing this movie, I'm wondering if the Tolstoyan Movement didn't pave the way for the Russian Revolution? Anyone have anything to add. It seemed that, as depicted in The Last Station, that the Movement was anti-religion, anti-Tzar. Given that Tolstoy was so beloved by the people, he was even considered Saint-like, that kind of power and influence would have been the only thing capable of undermining the monarchy and the Russian orthodox church.

Tell me if I'm right/wrong.......Interesting thought though.

2010 Oscar Nominations

And here they are, in case you haven't heard: the 2010 Oscar nominations (not any surprises). I've made predictions as well (three gold stars)....will do this again (predict) when time draws nearer to ceremony. The predictions are, I should add, not preferences. Meaning I don't necessarily agree with the prediction. The films with * are the ones that I have seen.

What do you think?

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

82nd Oscar Nominations

Best picture

"Avatar" *** *
"The Hurt Locker" *
"Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
"Up in the Air" *
"Inglourious Basterds" *
"Up" *
"The Blind Side" *
"District 9"
"An Education" *
"A Serious Man"

Actor

George Clooney, "Up in the Air" *
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart" ***
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker" *

Actress

Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia" *
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side" *** *
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station" *
Carey Mulligan, "An Education" *

Supporting actor

Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds" *

Supporting actress

Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air" *
Mo'Nique, "Precious" ***
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air" *
Penelope Cruz, "Nine" *
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"

Director

Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds" *
Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker" *
James Cameron, "Avatar" ***
Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air" *

Animated feature

"Up" ***
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"The Secret of Kells"

Original screenplay

"The Hurt Locker" ***
"Inglourious Basterds"
"The Messenger"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"

Adapted screenplay

"District 9"
"An Education"*** *
"In the Loop"
"Precious"
"Up in the Air" *

Best foreign-language film

"Ajami"
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos"
"The Milk of Sorrow"
"Un Prophète"
"The White Ribbon"

Best film editing

"Avatar" *
"District 9"
"The Hurt Locker" *** *
"Inglourious Basterds" *
"Precious"

Art direction

"Avatar" ***
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine" *
"Sherlock Holmes"
"The Young Victoria"

Cinematography

"Avatar"***
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
"The Hurt Locker" *
"Inglourious Basterds" *
"The White Ribbon"

Costume design

"Bright Star"
"Coco Before Chanel" ***
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine"
"The Young Victoria"

Best documentary feature

"Burma VJ"
"The Cove" *
"Food, Inc."
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers"
"Which Way Home"

Documentary short

"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province"
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner"
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant"
"Music by Prudence"
"Rabbit à la Berlin"

Makeup

"Il Divo"
"Star Trek"
"The Young Victoria"

Music (original score)

"Avatar" ***
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Sherlock Holmes"
"Up"

Music (original song)

"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog"
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog"
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36"
"Take it All" from "Nine"
"The Weary Kind (Theme from "Crazy Heart") from "Crazy Heart"

Short film, animated

"French Toast"
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty"
"The Lady and the Reaper"
"Logorama"
"A Matter of Loaf and Death"

Short film, live action

"The Door"
"Instead of Abracadabra"
"Kavi"
"Miracle Fish"
"The New Tenants"

Sound editing

"Avatar" *
"The Hurt Locker" *
"Inglourious Basterds" *
"Star Trek" *
"Up"*

Sound mixing

"Avatar" *
"The Hurt Locker" *** *
"Inglourious Basterds" *
"Star Trek" *
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

Visual effects

"Avatar" *** *
"District 9"
"Star Trek" *

Saw NINE yesterday. Other movies I wish to see

There's a spate of great interesting films I want to see. I saw Rob Marshall's NINE, yesterday.

NINE 4.5 stars (my rating out of 5)
How could this movie NOT be seen: starring the truly hot (and talented) Daniel Day Lewis and a cast of goddesses: Penelope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, plus performances by Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, and Black-eyed-Pea's Fergie. I'm SO glad they didn't cast that awful Catherine Zeta Jones.

This film was wonderful. It was actually better than I expected. I thought Daniel Day Lewis was marvelous, although maybe miscast (can that be possible-to be marvelous and yet miscast in a movie?). Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, and Penelope Cruz were remarkable. Kate Hudson was quite fun and delivered an infectious performance. My main problem with the movie though was Nicole Kidman...completely miscast. She seems soul-less to me. Although her simple musical delivery of her song was admirable. Go see this movie!

Here's the other films I wish to see over the next few days and months. Have you any suggestions?

THE YOUNG VICTORIA
starring the marvelous Emily Blunt and the delicious Rupert Friend who starred in one my favorite movies this year, Cheri

A SINGLE MAN a movie by the beautiful Tom Ford starring the most beautiful Mr. Darcy Colin Firth and by the book of one of my favorite writers, Christopher Isherwood (although this is not my favorite of his books)...not to mention the always fabulous Julianne Moore

Terry Gilliam's THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS with the delicious Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell taking on the unfinished scenes of Heath Ledger.

IT'S COMPLICATED .....but of course because of La Streep, the goddess of all movie-time

VALENTINE'S DAY...starring everybody! Usually movies that includes a cast of a thousand stars turn out to be stinkers but this one might defy the odds. What a gorgeous of cast of absolutely wonderful interesting actors. the hottie Ashton Kutcher, the hottie Bradley Cooper, the hottie Topher Grace, almost-a-goddess Julia Roberts, almost-a-goddess Anne Hathaway, Emma Roberts, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Taylor Lautner, the hottie Patrick Dempsey, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Garner, the goddess Shirley MacClaine, Jaime Foxx, the hottie Eric Dane, Jessica "I'm not Latin" Alba (as per Perez Hilton), the diva Queen Latifah, George Lopez, Hector Elizondo, Joe Jonas. Who isn't in this movie? How did the afford to pay all of those people?

Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND with the delicious Johnny Depp and another star-studded cast including: Helena Bonham Carter, the almost goddess Anne Hathaway, Michael Sheen, always brilliant Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Crispin Glover.

Guy Ritchie's SHERLOCK HOLMES with the hotties Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr

WHEN IN ROME with Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel because I love romantic comedies/chick-flicks

As you can see I like chick-flicks mostly.

Recommended new movies!

I've seen some really great movies at the theater recently....which is unusual. It seems like I go through each year with nothing appealing enough to compel me to leave the house and go to the theater and then in the last few weeks of the year there are suddenly a bunch of great movies to go to. The majority of the year, nothing but bullshit testosterone movies made for teenage boys. Silly isn't it? (Well, they did have two brilliant films that were released earlier this year: Julie & Julia and Cheri).

So, here's my thoughts about some of the GREAT movies that I've just seen (and my ratings: 1 to 5 star, 5 star is the best):

UP IN THE AIR 5stars

This is an unusual movie. It is a serious comedy. Not really a black comedy, although it is that in a sense as it accurately reflects the rather bleak economic world we live in today. What I think makes this movie unique is that it has a perfectly blended balance of both humor and serious, upsetting material.

UP IN THE AIR is about a man who works for a company that specializes in termination of employees. The firm, unlike the rest of the world, is enjoying a boon....it is thriving thanks to the rampant economic disaster which is rampaging through the world at the moment. Staff downsizings and layoffs are big business at the moment and this firm is riding the wave, doing the dirty work for companies who are facing bleak economic realities. Clooney is a professional "terminator" so to speak.

The movie is brilliant primarily because of the script. A script which crackles with humor and intelligence and a defiance of traditional choices that would have made most filmmakers turn this into a formulaic feel good movie with just a happy ending.

The movie is also brilliant because of the director, Jason Reitman (who also wrote the script).

But, finally, perhaps the most important ingredient in the alchemy which makes this a perfect film, are the actors. I must say that I've always thought George Clooney was an interesting, easy-on-the-eyes celebrity. But I never thought that he was necessarily a great actor. Until now. His performance is genius in its restraint and nuance. In fact, I really am not sure what other actor could have taken this role and created such a remarkable and gorgeous performance.

Vera Farmiga is absolutely stunning in a role that is in my mind an historical first in modern movies. She plays Clooney's equally ambitious sexual partner. As she says in the film to Clooney: "Think of me as you with a vagina." I won't say anything because I don't want to spoil the films dénouement .....but she is so gorgeous and sensual and her character so appealing and then, in its sheer originality, the script gives us a most unusual, nontraditional diversion. This actress deserves a nod from the Academy. A brilliant performance. And a brilliantly realized character by both the Reitman and Farmiga.

Anna Kendrick, who plays the naive young woman who Clooney is assigned to teach the ropes of his industry, is absolutely spot on with her interpretation of this young upwardly professional, just out of college, who begins to learn that life is not the idealistic perfection we all are raised in the US to expect.

Oh, and did I say that Clooney, in addition, to Farmiga is as delicious to look at as could be.

This is a perfect movie. Give it the Academy Award.


THE BLIND SIDE 4stars

This film has I believe been rather panned by reviewers. Some of the criticisms are that it is a schmaltzy story about a rich white family who "adopt" a young black man. But it seems rather foolish to criticize a film for being "formulaic" if the film is based upon a very true story. I doubt the Tuohys and Michael Lewis (the movie is based upon Lewis' book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game) lived their lives to tailor make a perfect Hollywood script for a future movie. The story is what it is. It happened. And it is a wonderful, uplifting story, saccharine though it may be. I perhaps could support criticism of the script if it was not based upon a true story, as it would seem blatantly formulaic. A movie to make rich white people feel happy about their Christianity and their good fortune. A movie that would make most rich white Republicans affirm just how good their white-bread world really is (most of these audience members would probably never have done what the Tuohy's did). But this story really happened, just as it is depicted in this film.

But the thing that makes this movie a great movie, is Sandra Bullock's tour-de-force performance, which I think is the best of her career. The same can be said about Quinton Aaron's portrayal of the film's protaganist, Michael Oher.

Bullock portrays a Southern socialite with absolute precision. The vocal cadence is absolutely spot on.
I do hope these two actors receive a nomination for an academy award nod despite the academy's usual snootiness when it comes to films of this genre.

Kathy Bates is just another great reason to see this film.

I must admit this movie made me feel wonderful, which I could have judged as being formulaic, contrived, gratuitous, and manipulative, if it wasn't a beautiful true story with two brilliantly beautiful performances by Bullock and Aaron.

NEW
MOON 4 stars
Okay, so I'm a HUGE fan of the Stephanie Meyers book series. LOVED every single book. Which is what I like about the associated film series, New Moon the most recent addition. The films are so true to the original stories and the casting so absolutely true to the original book characters that you cannot HELP but love these films. But, the reason I love the movies all the more is because his HOTNESS, Robert Pattinson, who plays the vampire Edward Cullen.

This actor is so beautiful....and his co-star, Kristin Stewart, who plays the book's protaganist, Bella, is equally as compelling.

I loved this film. Can't wait for the next two.

And, as much as I LOVE Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson SHOULD have been People's Sexiest Man Alive this year. Forget the just post-pubescent Taylor Lautner. Pattinson is sexiest.....first of all he is well-beyond the legal age. But also, I'd prefer to have the life sucked out of me by a vampire rather being chewed up by a smelly old werewolf.


COCO 5star
This is quite simply a stunning film. Audrey Tautou gives an incredibly nuanced and brilliant performance of Coco Chanel. But it is her two male love interests in the movie that I thought made the film unique. Benoît Poelvoorde (Étienne Balsan) and Alessandro Nivola (Boy Capel) play her older and younger lovers, respectively, and each of these men are absolutely delicious to look at. But this movie does something unusual: it imbues the male characters with vulnerabilities which make them all the more erotic and if anything only intensifies their virility. Coco and UP IN THE AIR both share a "pioneering" spirit in film in that they portray women who are equal in strength as men. I wish we could see more movies that represent the world as it is, not the cardboard one-dimensional portrayals of men and women right out of a Republican Party members' Bible.

But ultimately this movie is brilliant because of Audrey Tautou. She must receive a nomination for Best Actress.

If you follow this blog, you know that one of my fascinations is with courtesans in history. Coco was a courtesan of sorts and the film gives an interesting portrayal of courtesans in France.

And by the way, tell me if you don't swoon every time that hotness Alessandro Nivola is onscreen.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE 4stars
This is a wonderful movie. The true brilliance is in the "Wild Thing" characters. They are so perfectly brought to life.

This film is such an incredible journey because of the sets and the costumes as well (and the soundtrack).

This film also has the always brilliant Catherine Keener cast as the mother.

JULIE & JULIA -- it was one of my favorite books and now is one of my favorite movies

The Bug lady and I went to see JULIE & JULIA a couple of weeks ago. Another perfect example of a perfect book and a perfect movie. The book was one of my top 3 favorite books in 2007. I absolutely relished its humor (Also the fact that the heroine, Julie, says the word "fuck" a lot. I know that some might blanch at this word but it is one of my favorite words).

I was very eager to see the movie particularly of the goddess, la Streep! And the movie was just AS GOOD as the book I think because of the two actresses.

There were slight differences......I don't think that "Julie" in the movie was nearly as funny as in the book. I've even seen a few reviews that called her character "whiny". But I think Amy Adams is brilliant in the film. And the other GREAT thing about the movie are the two "J's" spouses. The actor who plays Julie's husband is a total hottie (Chris Messina). And Julia's husband, played by Stanley Tucci, is equally as appealing.

The film is just a wonderful confection and most notably Streep's version of Julia Child. This actress just never does anything but brilliant and this role illustrates this. She captures the essence of Julia Child without become a caricature, a very difficult mission because Julia Child was really WAS a caricature in real life.

I'm going to go see this movie again this weekend. It is, like Cheri (see my previous post about the movie Cheri starring another godesss Michelle Pfeiffer), just so nuanced and such a work of art that multiple viewings is essential.

But I'd suggest reading the book first. It will make the film a little more interesting, I think. The book has a lot of biographical material about Julie Childs but I think they incorporate much more in the movie.

Go see this film! and READ this book. You can order it at my website: www.jmvintage.com.

Here's the movie's trailer (see how totally cute and adorable Chris Messina is!)

Inspiring videos on youtube--these will brighten your life

The three videos below were in my very first blog entry....but I wanted to listen to them again.

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq6b9bMBXpg



2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM


3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

MOVING MIDWAY--remarkable, beautiful documentary of a plantation in North Carolina....and so much more

We watched two documentaries this weekend. I'll talk about the first one in this posting and save the second one for a future entry.

We've been on a documentary binge......what a wonderful genre. Thanks to NetFlix there are hundreds to chose from.

We knew nothing about this film in advance, except the brief description on NetFlix. So we really had absolutely no preconceived notion or expectations. I'll give you a little background because you will not want to miss this special film.

Moving Midway is a documentary by Godfrey Cheshire, a New York film critic. NewYork Magazine named it runner-up as the best documentary film of 2008. (http://nymag.com/arts/cultureawards/2008/52779/index2.html). It is a movie about a family....it is a movie about a plantation. Most of all though it is a movie about our country, the South in particular. Cheshire returns to his family's ancestral plantation, Midway, in North Carolina in 2004 to discover that his cousin, Charlie Silver, who owns the land, has decided to have the buildings relocated. The lovely main house and outbuildings have been so encroached by growth, that they literally sit perched next to a busy highway, once a sleepy country road, and they seem poised to be gobbled up.

Initially, it is a story of the relocation of buildings, which in and of itself would be a fascinating focus of a film. But this film becomes so much more. On his way to discovering many interesting facts about the house, that it is haunted for example, Cheshire also discovers that his family is much larger than he or anyone else ever knew. And the fact that his cousin is selling the land to allow a parking lot for a gigantic shopping center to be built with all of the requisite stores has a much broader impact.

Cheshire discovers a whole branch of family when he is approached by Dr. Robert Hinton, an NYU professor of African-American studies (both seen in the photo above). It seems that the Midway's builder squired an entire family with one of his slaves. Hinton's grandfather was born a slave on the plantation. I offer this quote from the film's website:

"What is a Southern plantation? A relic of a bitter, divided past? A vanished realm of aristocratic charm and elegance? An impediment to the modern South’s frenzied effort to turn itself into an anonymous landscape of superhighways and strip malls?

Or, perhaps, all of the above, plus something else as well: a site for understanding and reconciliation, a meeting place of past and present, black and white.

A locus of home, family, enduring traditions…and new beginnings.........

While beginning a dialogue on the meaning of Midway from their very different perspectives, Cheshire and Dr. Hinton examine how the Southern plantation, a crucial economic institution in early America, generated a powerful, bitterly contested mythology that was at the center of a string of American cultural milestones, from Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Birth of a Nation to Gone with the Wind and Roots."

This film becomes a wonderful journey of discovery about so many things for the viewer as well as Cheshire and Hinton and their families. It truly transcends itself and becomes a remarkable, enlightening experience about our nation's true history. And we witness two distinct branches of a family as they get to know one another.

Watch these two short video clips to get an idea. The first is the trailer for the film. But the second is a television ad for the film which ran at the time of the '08 presidential election. It has some of the same footage but I think it illuminates the larger global themes of this wonderful documentary.




I was literally captivated every exquisite second of the 98 minutes of this film (I was particularly enchanted with Dr. Hinton who I found very appealing). It was so many things and it was such an amazing and rare film experience. Please see this movie. You'll have a beautiful experience I assure you. I somehow feel changed by having seen it.

Find out more at the film's website http://www.movingmidway.com/index.htm. (all photos above are copyright of Movingmidway.com)

WITHOUT YOU--a beautiful memoir by Anthony Rapp--star of RENT

I finished reading a remarkably poignant memoir recently titled, entitled Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent, by Rent lead, Anthony Rapp. The book is primarily about the actors experience in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, Rent, which was a groundbreaking new musical theater experience when it debuted on Broadway in 1996.

The story of the play itself is remarkable which was makes Rapp's memoir riveting. For those unfamiliar, here's why: Rent was written by Jonathan Larson, a completely unknown playwright and composer before the show opened. It is a rock musical based upon Puccini's opera La Boheme. At one point in the book, Larson tells someone that he is going to change musical theater, which is what Rent did accomplish. It truly created a new sound for musicals--a modern rock-based show. Larson said his ultimate dream was to write a rock opera "to bring musical theater to the MTV generation."

But even more groundbreaking is the show's subject matter: AIDS. Set in New York's Lower East Side, it is the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of AIDS. Several of the characters are afflicted with the disease, at a time when there was little treatment or hope. The musical is a remarkable work of art but is made even more so because of Larson's death the night before the show made its off-Broadway debut. He died of an aortic aneurysym which went undiagnosed after three trips to emergency rooms.

Rapp originated the role of the show's narrator, Mark Cohen. The actor was actually involved with the play in its infancy. He was cast in the role before most of the other actors appearing early on in the first seen limited three-week Workshop production at the New York Theatre Workshop in 1994. Rapp's book tells the story of the development of the show from the early workshop and his friendship with Larson. The musical is one of the most successful Broadway musicals ever and was made into a film in 2007, a fine example of a translation from stage to film where they are equally well done. The movie included most of the original cast including Rapp, Adam Pascal, the goddess/diva and Idina Mendel (Wicked), Taye Diggs, among other notable original cast members who have gone on to distinguished acting careers.

Here's a video clip of a live performance by Rapp and Pascal, who originated the musical's two main leads, singing the song "What You Own" on the Today Show to promote the movie.


Rapp's book is a beautiful, heart-wrenching, candid, soulful read about the musical's development, Larson's death and the emotional impact on the cast, Rapp's own acting career as a child actor, the death of his mother, as well as the actor's own evolution as a gay man. It was truly a beautiful exquisite book. At two points I was literally sobbing from sadness, the first as the actor talks about the performances the night after Larson's death and the second moment at his mother's death from cancer while he was still performing the show on Broadway. I seldom have that strong of an emotional response, crying, from reading a book. I frequently guffaw and laugh but books (unlike movies or tv) seldom make me cry.

What was fascinating was learning about Rapp's acting career which began when he was a child and included an early Broadway show the flop The Little Prince and the Aviator, a musical based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel The Little Prince. He also acted in the film




Adventures in Babysitting in 1986 and "several movies and Broadway shows, most notably as intellectuals. His notable work includes films Dazed and Confused, A Beautiful Mind, School Ties, Road Trip, the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation, An American Family, Danny Roane: First Time Director and, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." (wikipedia).

Rapp and his brother, playwright, novelist, and filmmaker Adam Rapp, lived in New York and travel back and forth to their hometown in Joliet, Illinois, throughout their mother's illness with cancer. One of the things that profoundly influenced me and stays with me to this moment, is the following quote from the book:

"The only way out, is through."

This beautiful advice seems to me to be almost divine. This wonderful observation is given to Anthony by a friend who is helping him with the grieving process as his mother is dying. It becomes a process which defines much of Rapp's own evolution portrayed in the book, as the actor goes through a series of remarkable life-altering experience: the success of RENT, Larson's untimely death, his mother's slow and painful death from cancer, the actor's own youthful experiences of love. It seems to me that it is an "actor's" book.

The Broadway musical is still running. You should see it. And see the movie. I was very impressed with director's Christopher Columbus' translation. It is much more current and of our time, without losing any of the original musical's brilliance.

Here's La Vie Boheme, a video clip from the 2007 film


Read this book! Laugh with this book! Cry with this book! Relish every perfect word in Without You by Anthony Rapp, a very appealing, honest, interesting actor and human!

The only way out, is through! A beautiful and enlightened way to live indeed.

Short Film--SIGNS--this'll make your day

This short film oughta brighten anyone's day. Enjoy! You'll have a beautiful day after you've watched this. And isn't the cute dude the most earnest thing. (thanks to roborange for the discovery of this great short film.)

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