Thoughts: Away We Go

Okay, I loved this film more than I've loved a film in quite a long time. I left the theatre just plain happy for the experience, and I don't think there is anything better you can say about a film. I know it isn't perfect, but I'll come back to that later.

Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolf) have been together for years, but they've just got a surprise, they're having a baby. After finding themselves without anything to keep them tethered to their current location, they embark on an adventure around the continent trying to find a home to start their new family. The rest of the film plays out in episodic form. Each location has its own story and characters, some good some bad. The story stumbles and soars throughout these segments, but overall they are more fun than not.

Where the movie succeeds is not in these individual episodes, but in the relationship between Burt and Verona which is nothing but enjoyable to watch. Thanks in no small part to the wonderful performances by Krasinski and (especially) Rudolf. They spend the film completely in love, there is no terrible fight that threatens to break them up. They know they are going to be a couple in love forever, but how they can be a family is the question lingering over their lives through the film. Krasinski and Rudolf bring subtle performances to a film that is anything but. They are, for the most part, quiet observers and drifters trying to find their way when they don't seem to fit in anywhere. Don't worry though, both of these comedic actors have their share of comedy to bring, it's just very different from the type of funny seen from the rest of the cast.

It seems that the rest of the characters in film were created for the page and not the screen. This isn't surprising considering this is Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida first screenplay. I think they just need to pick up on the differences between characters that the reader does the acting for and characters where you can let an actor fill in the traits not explicitly stated by the text. Although, to be honest, sometimes ridiculously over the top characters can be fun to watch.

Speaking of fun to watch, I think we need to compare this film to Sam Mendes' previous film Revolutionary Road. It's amazing how one filmmaker can make two films in a row that deal with the same themes (a couple trying to deal with ending their old lives and living a life settled down as a family) but could not be more different. While Revolutionary Road dragged on and accomplished very little, Away We Go is nothing but a joy to watch. Overall, the movie was just like any good relationship. It was, at times, beautiful and ugly, romantic and ridiculous, funny and sappy, and just plain good and bad. Sometimes, you just need a little bit of everything at just the right moments to make something truly remarkable.

Good News, Everyone! Chan-wook Park edition.

Some good things are happening for the Chan-wook Park fans out there. First of all, as you may or may not know, Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are developing an American adaptation of Oldboy. Okay, calm down. That's definitely not the good news. The good news is that, according to ANN, the publisher of the original Oldboy graphic novel is suing to put a stop to this. I'm sure that they just need to renegotiate their contract, but hopefully it will stall production enough to keep this from ever being made.

In other news, IGN has the first US red-band trailer for Chan-wook Park's newest film Thirst. I've embedded the trailer below for your viewing pleasure. I'm honestly surprised that I can still be excited for another vampire movie at this point, but I sure am!

80's Flix Response: Altered States

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, my brother is trying to watch the fifty top-grossing films from every year in the 80's and write about them at his blog, 100 Weeks of 80's Flix. Yesterday, he watched Altered States and I decided I would watch it as well, and then chime in with my response. I just ask that you read his take first.

#34 Altered States

Alright, I knew that this movie was going to be weird, but I was not prepared for a movie that was clearly based around the very concept of weirdness. Not only is there a completely laughable scene when the main character devolves into a monkey-man and fights with a dog, but there is a shot that spends nearly a minute zooming out to reveal a 7-eyed goat-headed man hanging crucified from a cross. On top of that, most of the scenes that weren't hallucinations contained layers of dialogue and sound that were completely unintelligible.

That being said, I did enjoy this movie. Not in spite of those things, but actually because of them. Sure, most of the special effects looked completely ridiculous by todays standards, but that's excusable. The weirdness builds a manic energy that mirrors William Hurt's character's obsession with this concept of unlocking the memories held within atoms. The plot seems completely simplistic (a scientist may be going too far!), but I believe that works to the film's advantage. You don't have to worry about following along with a complex plot while all of this insanity going on. It really allowed director Ken Russell to let loose, overwhelming the viewer's senses. You can bet that if he could have installed something that released scents in your face and various apparatus that poked and prodded you in the theater, he would have.

My Verdict
3.5 Stars
It is hard not to get caught up in this film's wake as it charges forward with little to no interest in plot or character development. Even as the film becomes laughably absurd, it is still hard not to enjoy yourself. Unfortunately, this film now seems entirely dated. The sound and visual aspects are clearly the most important parts of this film, but they do feel 29 years old at this point. I'm sure if I saw this movie in 1980 I would have been properly shocked into enjoyment.

This just in! Sasha Grey is a lot cooler than you (and me, unfortunately).

My good friends (okay, they don't know me at all) at The Rotten Tomatoes Show recently spoke to Sasha Grey, star of the new Steven Soderbergh film The Girlfriend Experience (clip embedded below). Wait, I swear I've seen her in something else though. Let me just check her IMDB page. Hang on just one second. Alright, here we go. Oh yah! Now I remember her. She was in Teenage Whores 3 and Strip Tease and Then F*ck 10, two of my favorites. Okay, kidding aside, she is an adult film actress (or "pornstar" for the less sophisticated), and is starring in The Girlfriend Experience as a high priced escort (or "whore" for the less sophisticated). I haven't gotten to see it yet, but I'm looking forward to it, and hope to see it sometime this week.

But I know what you're thinking: "She has experience doing this type of thing, so she probably doesn't really have to act. She's just a vapid pornstar, right? No real knowledge about film?" Well, prepare to be drop kicked right off that high horse.

Enjoy:

Triumphant Return!

Alright, here's what I've been up to. Movie-wise. I think I may be forgetting some things, but I haven't watch TOO much since I've been so busy.

Movies Purchased
Very little purchased recently (although, quite a bit of TV on DVD/Blu-Ray)

8 1/2
Picked up Fellini's masterpiece for $6 at Blockbuster, very happy about that. The very best film about film (though it's about much more than that). It has inspired a play, that was turned into a novel, that inspired a musical, that is being turned into the movie Nine. So now's a good time if you've never seen this one.

Australia
Bought this one at the behest of the girlfriend. I have to agree with almost every other review I read on this one. First half good, second half bad. Looks pretty nice though.

Vicky Christina Barcelona
Good movie with some great performances. The best Woody Allen has done in quite some time. Although, being a painter makes it weird to watch movies about painters, but I have to say this is better than most others in that respect.

Fanboys
A strong comedy for Star Wars nerds (like myself). Worth the wait? Probably not. Don't expect too much, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Seth Rogen fighting himself is good for a few extra laughs too.

Movies Rented
I am having trouble getting a good rhythm going for my Netflix, but I'm working on it.

Yes Man (Blu-Ray)
I wasn't really expecting too much with this one, but it's actually very good. Does it have similarities to Liar Liar? Of course, the comedy is the same but the jokes are all new, so I don't have a big problem with that.

Twilight (Blu-Ray)
Alright, so I figured I had to watch this one, seeing as I'm supposed to be reviewing movies now. I have to say it wasn't horrible, it was worse than that. It was mediocre at times and just plain stupid at others. This movie is written to be over-acted, but somehow they manage to push it beyond acceptable limits. And yet, my girlfriend is demanding we see the next one as soon as it comes out in theaters. Girls.

Elizabeth & Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Another request from the girlfriend. I had never seen either of these. The first was great, but the second was a sub-par movie with a great performance by Cate Blanchett.

Milk (Blu-Ray)
A decent biopic that may have stuck a little too closely to the facts. Why this got so much more mainstream attention than Van Sant's far superior Paranoid Park I may never understand.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Blu-Ray)
A solid, enjoyable film that got a little too much praise. The whole movie looked fantastic, and the concept could make for a great movie, but the story just doesn't cut it. That said, this type of special effect/makeup work being used in period drama like this was great to see, and I hope this establishes a strong enough precedent for other films to follow (and it seems that Criterion agrees with me).

Movies Watched

Les Chansons de Amour (Love Songs)
A French musical about the relationship between a boy and two girls (yes they are all involved with each other). Sounds great right? Well, it was, just not exactly what I thought it would be. It is more about people dealing with a terrible tragedy, with singing!

The entire Planet of the Apes collection
Ah, Planet of the Apes, a great Sci-Fi film followed by a couple terrible films and a couple good ones. A fun way to spend a Sunday morning regardless.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
I've been reading (yes, I still do) X-Men comics since I was six or so. So everytime a new movie comes out, I'm expecting a lot. I am always as least a little disappointed (X2 came so close though!). This time, not only was it as X-Men movie, but we finally got to see Gambit and Deadpool! So you can imagine how disappointing it was when this movie was just plain terrible. Cheesy does not even begin to describe this one. Ryan Reynolds did not disappoint as Wade Wilson (who will become Deadpool), but that lasted a solid 5 minutes. It was all downhill from there unfortunately.

Star Trek
Now this is what a summer movie should be. Explosions and aliens. It was exactly like any other Star Trek movie, except it was exciting and fun to watch. Now, I love Star Trek (although Star Wars is better), so it's a bit sad to think there won't be any more movies or shows based in the original continuity, but if the new continuity is always this good, I'm sure I'll get over it. And, no, you don't need to know anything about Star Trek to see this film.

Broken English
Watched this little indie romantic comedy on Netflix Watch Instantly. Nice little film. Clever at times, inexplicable at others. Parker Posey is great, as she often is. It was refreshing to see a RomCom about a girl finding the right man that didn't make the girl the perfect woman. I was amazed that I didn't think I would want to date this girl even though she was Parker Posey. That said, I was happy when things started to go her way.

The Missing Weeks

Alright, there hasn't been any posts in the past week, and there probably won't be any for at least another week.  Just finishing up school, then I will be back to work on the blog.  In the mean time, check out 100 Weeks of 80s Flix. My brother just started this blog. He plans on watching the 50 top grossing films from each year of the 80's, five each week. That's 500 movies in 100 weeks. Go wish him luck and follow along with his adventure. I'll be joining him for some of the movies once school is over. Should be fun!

My Week in Movies (April 11-17, 2009)

Okay, this will cover a bit more than this week, but whatever. Get over it.

Movies Purchased
Not much purchased this week, but it was all Blu-Ray, so that makes large quantities more financially difficult.

Tell No One (Blu-Ray)
This one was just fantastic. The French really know how to thrill, apparently. Basically, a man's wife is killed and eight years later he gets an email proving she's alive. The whole movie keeps you guessing right up until the end. There is even a great little twist. I thought it was a solid, exciting thriller that any fans of the genre should see.

Slumdog Millionaire (Blu-Ray)
I've felt divided over this one for a while. When it was first released, I really wanted to see it, but as the expected backlash started to occur my mind changed. In the end, I realized that I love Danny Boyle, and need to give him a chance (also, it was supposed to look great on Blu-Ray). I was somewhat underwhelmed. I figured I would either love it or hate it, but I ended up just liking it. It is a good solid film, but probably my fourth favorite Danny Boyle movie (28 Days Later, Trainspotting, and Sunshine currently lead). I don't think it deserved ALL the acclaim it received, but you should all check it out and decide for yourselves.

The Matrix: Tenth Anniversary (Blu-Ray)
A Blu-Ray version of The Matrix that allows you to pretend that the sequels never happened? Sign me up. The movie looks great on Blu-Ray, and the effects still don't look dated. I'm sure most of you already know whether you like this film or not, so if you do, pick this up. If not, just move on.

Movies Rented
My place of employment no longer accepts my mail, and my apartment has no outgoing mail, so my Netflix access is slowed a bit.

Resident Evil: Degeneration (Blu-Ray)
Alright, didn't have high hopes for this one, but I like the Resident Evil games, so I decided to give it a chance. It was basically what I expected. Creepy, lifeless CG character in action-packed situations. If that's what you're looking for, this is the uncanny valley at its finest.

The Flight of the Red Balloon
Kind of an odd one. A movie inspired by The Red Balloon, but in the film they talk specifically about the original movie. Ignoring that, the film is a solid examination of modern Parisian family life and its effect on a young boy. Busy mother, loving sister living far away, sweet nanny, a bad tenant, and one red balloon. Clearly this movie has it all. The film has a subtle touch of magic (both narratively and cinematically) that makes the whole thing simply beautiful. But, really, the most important thing is that I love Juliette Binoche, and she does not disappoint in this film. If you were to ask people who are not cinephiles (read: movie geeks) what they think French films are like, they would likely describe this type of film exactly, so really it's up to you to decide whether French films are your thing or not, I can't help you.

Donkey Punch
Oh good God! Why?! I should have listened to the dozens of reviews that said to avoid this movie, and not the one review that said it was great. I know it's meant to be a cheap exciting thriller, but it's really a tired concept excecuted poorly with ridiculous amount of scenes meant to be shocking. Recoil in fear.

Movies Watched

Observe and Report: See posted thoughts.

Adventureland: See posted thoughts.

Sunshine Cleaning
Not too much to say about this one. It was an enjoyable enough movie. The comparisons to Little Miss Sunshine are apt, but it's not as identical as some may claim, although Alan Arkin is basically the same character. I say rent this one if you're up for a good funny feel-good movie.

Matrix Reloaded
I was given this movie as a gift, and after watching The Matrix on Blu-Ray, I decided to give it another chance. It was exactly as disappointing as I remember it being. Oh well.