For most moviegoers, this Christmas will forever mark the awakening of the Force, but at independent cinemas across the country, those choosing to make an audience for Macbeth will see Michael Fassbender cross over to the Dark Side. For Justin Kurzel's Macbeth is nothing if not dark - every brutality, and every vicious, bloody, violent death is played and replayed (no off-screen deaths here, this one's not for the faint of heart); It is impossible to watch this version of the Scottish play and remain comfortable at any distance. Except, perhaps, for the scene in which a shirtless Fassbender emerges from a pond.
This is not the Scotland of Brave, nor does it feel much like the romantic Scotland of Outlander, but a dank, cold, green land heavily laden with mist and fog, accosted by wind, rain, and snow, burdened with mass graves and mysterious forces like the Weird sisters. Atmospheric and given a rich cultural context, Kurzel's exquisitely shot Macbeth sacrifices any comic relief to keep the story moving. It's slower than I would have liked, despite the aggressive battle scenes. Many of my grievances lie with the play itself, which features many characters lost in thought or rapt in their own minds. This means it's not the Scottish accent that makes the words unintelligible, but the whispering and hoarseness called for by many of the passages. Stage productions have found the need to minimize the use of this subtlety, but the intimacy of cinema encourages it.
In the title role, Fassbender is a physical Macbeth, a warrior first and always. One of my favorite performers since his incredible performance in Frank, it's impossible to ignore his physicality and the minutiae of his choices. While Kurzel's film is unlikely to find a place in English lit classrooms due to extensive text edits and violence, certain scenes are very likely to be referenced in acting classes. Act III, scene 2, in particular - having achieved the crown, Lady Macbeth would have her husband inhabit it, but the Weird sisters' prophecy eats away at the newly-crowned King. Cotillard is quite excellent as Lady M, tackling Shakespeare one Oscar and twelve years after her first English language role (in 2003's Big Fish). She is strongest as Lady Macbeth struggles to rein in her husband, whose instability becomes wildly apparent at a court feast. Cotillard is so strong, as a woman and as a character, I would have started Lady Macbeth's downfall a bit earlier than this film does. Macbeth's paranoia grows, and with it, Fassbender's domination of the role. A brief montage of Macbeth doing physical exercises in his room, steeling himself for the ongoing war he wages on the world, adds a dimension not often afforded to the King. Too many Shakespeare performances rely on the language, even in film, to convey the entirety of a character; Kurzel, in his film, does not. He has, however, allowed the screenwriters to arrange the text to their liking. Still, it's a worthy contribution to the Shakespeare cinematic canon.
In a role played by Orson Welles, Patrick Stewart, and Kenneth Branagh, Michael Fassbender proves his mettle and cements his standing as one of the top performers of our time. He is supported by the superb character actors David Thewlis (best known as Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter series) as Duncan, and Paddy Considine (featured in Simon Pegg's Hot Fuzz and The World's End, as well as the brilliant BBC\Netflix series Peaky Blinders) as Banquo. It helps to have the familiar faces at hand, to help differentiate the rugged, white Scottish guys running around. If anything, Kurzel's film rattles the dust off Shakespeare's play and thrusts the audience into the disturbing and depraved story at the core of it, resisting a neat resolution, right down to the last shot. It won't sit well with everyone, but those ready for more disturbing enactment of Shakespeare's devastating Scottish play will not be left wanting.
Notes:
- Two years ago, and in the same theatre (The Avon), I caught the National Theatre Live production screening of Macbeth, starring Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston.
- Macbeth is only the first collaboration of Kurzel, Fassbender, and Cotillard; Kurzel is also at the helm for Assassin's Creed, in cinemas 2016. Bonus: Assassin's Creed will also feature Brendan and Brian Gleeson. You can't see it, but I'm making a heart with my forefingers and thumbs. Gleeson family previously mentioned here, here, here, and here.
- French actress Elizabeth Debicki appears in Macbeth as Lady Macduff. She also played a lovely, languid Jordan Baker in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.
- From IMDB.com: "Before directing Macbeth (2015), [Kurzel] worked as a designer of a stage production of the play in which his wife played Lady Macbeth." I would have paid good money to see that show; Clearly, Kurzel has a hell of an eye, and he is married to Essie Davis, whom most will know from her leading turn in The Babadook, but I know best as Miss Fisher of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. I love her!
- For a superb and modern adaptation of a Shakespeare classic, I recommend Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing.
- At 3 am this morning, I realized that Disney's Beauty and the Beast features a quote from Macbeth in "The Mob Song." Lady Macbeth's famous line: "Screw your courage to the sticking place."
Monday, December 21, 2015
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Things My Boyfriend Taught Me About Film
One of the first things my boyfriend and I did when we started dating was to make a list of things we felt the other needed to see. My list was about eight films long, whereas my boyfriend's list was eight or nine tv shows long. I guess he knew then that I'd be sticking around for a while. Even so, I've managed to persuade him to choose certain movies for us to watch (we take turns choosing), and I wanted to make a post about some of the new-to-me things I've been watching - things I wouldn't have seen without my man.
The Fisher King
Not at all what I expected, but rather a romantic dramedy; Cyrano de Bergerac in New York City in the late eighties/early nineties.
Miller's Crossing
Right up my alley. The Coen brothers nailed this neo-noir, fast-talking, double- and (triple-) crossing gangster film. Many have called it a black comedy, but I don't see it. Moments of humor that punctuate the film are not in the service of humor, but in a careful manipulation of the audience, to sustain them through the two-hour, dialogue-driven crime drama. Lately, I've come to think of the cinematography as 'savory,' a real work of art from early on in Barry Sonnenfeld's career. Not 'lush,' or 'lavish,' as you might describe Big Fish (also starring Albert Finney) or Sonnenfeld's executive-produced Pushing Daisies; Savory.
The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen
I expected Monty Python, but I got whimsy and clever.
True Detective
The Fisher King
Not at all what I expected, but rather a romantic dramedy; Cyrano de Bergerac in New York City in the late eighties/early nineties.
Miller's Crossing
Right up my alley. The Coen brothers nailed this neo-noir, fast-talking, double- and (triple-) crossing gangster film. Many have called it a black comedy, but I don't see it. Moments of humor that punctuate the film are not in the service of humor, but in a careful manipulation of the audience, to sustain them through the two-hour, dialogue-driven crime drama. Lately, I've come to think of the cinematography as 'savory,' a real work of art from early on in Barry Sonnenfeld's career. Not 'lush,' or 'lavish,' as you might describe Big Fish (also starring Albert Finney) or Sonnenfeld's executive-produced Pushing Daisies; Savory.
The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen
I expected Monty Python, but I got whimsy and clever.
True Detective
I'm halfway through it, and wow. Wow.
Person of Interest
Guilty pleasure time. Intrigue, questionable activity, unsung heroism, explosions, sass - what's not to enjoy?Person of Interest
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Mind Games: Inside Out, Infinitely Polar Bear
Two recent films have made an impression on their audiences by speaking honestly and poignantly on the themes of family and emotions. With Inside Out, Pixar performed its customary magic of making a family movie that holds a profound and bittersweet significance for its adult audience; Screenwriter Maya Forbes made her directorial debut with an intensely moving ensemble piece, an original screenplay called Infinitely Polar Bear.
Inside Out
I had approximately zero interest in seeing this film - not because I believed it was intended for kids (I love animated films and they are certainly not always for children), but because I could not understand how it would work. I remembered items like this article from 2012, which included the working title "The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside The Mind" and the pitch summary from John Lasseter: "The emotions of this little girl are the characters and it takes place in the head of this little girl, and shows how they control things that go on." Being of little faith, I could not fathom how these characters could be anything other than one-note, and the concept art did nothing to convince me that I could become attached to any of the characters.
Lo and behold, much like with Wreck-It Ralph, there was so much more to Inside Out than could possibly be expressed in a trailer (without giving too much away), and more than I ever imagined. Much like with Wreck-It Ralph, I went in with low expectations, and found myself blown away.
Of course, the concept art evolved into Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness, as we know them in the movie, all of whom live in Riley's mind. Beautiful, singular, colorful, and brilliantly cast: Amy Poehler (a bouncy and optimistic representation of Joy), Lewis Black (no one better to voice Anger), Mindy Kaling (who manages to make Disgust charming), Bill Heder (bringing his vocal versatility to the role of Fear), and Phyllis Smith (whose rich tones perfectly bring Sadness to life). The different combinations of emotions, their presence or absence, make a vividly clear metaphor for the way our bodies react to certain events. There's a perfect balance between what's going on in Riley's life, and what's going on with the emotions in her mind/body. We even get an inside look at how our bodies communicate with one another. Another careful balancing act is managed by making Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness not so much manifestations of singular emotions, but as personalities, each one more sensitive - becoming more dominant - in response to triggers of their namesake.
For young viewers, it's an exploration of five common emotions and how they work together; For older viewers, it's a study in adolescence, memory, nostalgia, and how our emotions have grown with us (or not).
Infinitely Polar Bear
There are many obstacles or subjects that might be tackled in Infinitely Polar Bear: parenthood, family, feminism, independence, mental health, adolescence for a biracial child in the late 70s, sexism, the socioeconomic climate of 1978-1980 - among others, I'm sure. Instead, writer/director Maya Forbes touches on all of them in the way that life does, having penned a screenplay that covers a specific slice of time. First pinning the story to a specific time and place (1978 Boston), and then focusing on a particular family, Forbes set her sight on truth. This means that instead of the politically-correct atmosphere or underdog story of idealism that often permeates this type of tale, Forbes shows the world as it is (at the time), and allows her characters to react and cope (or not, ahem), rather than dwell on how it should be.
At the center of Forbes's script are Cam (Mark Ruffalo), Maggie (Zoe Saldana), Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky), and Faith (Ashley Aufderheide). Cam works to manage his bipolar disorder, or manic depressive episodes, while his wife Maggie struggles to take care of their two daughters, even as she works to keep them financially afloat. When Maggie is accepted to business school in New York City, she looks to Cam - barely recovered from his latest breakdown - to care for Amelia and Faith (and the apartment, and the chores, and himself) during the week. Lest you think Infinitely Polar Bear is about the parents, I should mention that most of the narrative is shown from the children's perspective. Few scenes occur without the girls, or without what the girls have figured out since the events took place. Wolodarsky and Aufderheide are superb as the siblings, bringing a most natural maturity and youth to the performance. They love their father, but being kids, they go from unexpectedly observant in one moment and downright bratty the next, they are more than capable of playing opposite Mark Ruffalo, whose Cam Stuart is friendly, subtle, doting, creative, and dedicated to his children - if not always consistent in his self-care. Equally stellar and important is Zoe Saldana's Maggie, the very capable, if thwarted, head of the family. Despite having the least screen time of the foursome, Saldana makes Maggie interesting, compassionate, strong, and intelligent, while avoiding cliches of frazzled and independent motherhood. She faces the very obstacles one might expect for a black woman pursuing a career in the late 70s, but her persistence and will to succeed keep her from becoming a preachy symbol of any sort.
I hope this film continues to find its audience, as the unexpected result is a satisfying story of acceptance - of circumstance, of personality, of options. I have yet to do more research on Maya Forbes, but the film feels at least semi-autobiographical, which either explains the truthfulness at its heart, or is a result of such a concentration. In any case, it's no wonder Forbes received the Director to Watch award at the 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival. I am already interested in her next project - whatever it may be.
Notes:
. Frequent J.J. Abrams-collaborator Michael Giacchino composed the score for Inside Out.
. What Inside Out May Be Saying About Gender by Paul Emerich France, via Huffingtonpost.com
. J.J. Abrams's production company Bad Robot served as one of the production companies for Infinitely Polar Bear. #nowonderit'ssogood
. Infinitely Polar Bear shot in Providence, Rhode Island - holla at my adopted hometown!
. Maya Forbes is married to Wally Wolodarsky, who cameos as Wally, and their daughter Imogen stars as Amelia.
. Whomever enters trivia for IMDB.com is preoccupied with Marvel; The only trivia involves Ruffalo and Saldana's roles as Marvel characters, and the fact that they Ruffalo wears a lot of green.
. Infinitely Polar Bear was also nominated for the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic film.
. Observation: The majority of the press for Infinitely Polar Bear features Mark Ruffalo being asked about his career, and Zoe Saldana being asked about motherhood.
Inside Out
I had approximately zero interest in seeing this film - not because I believed it was intended for kids (I love animated films and they are certainly not always for children), but because I could not understand how it would work. I remembered items like this article from 2012, which included the working title "The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside The Mind" and the pitch summary from John Lasseter: "The emotions of this little girl are the characters and it takes place in the head of this little girl, and shows how they control things that go on." Being of little faith, I could not fathom how these characters could be anything other than one-note, and the concept art did nothing to convince me that I could become attached to any of the characters.
Lo and behold, much like with Wreck-It Ralph, there was so much more to Inside Out than could possibly be expressed in a trailer (without giving too much away), and more than I ever imagined. Much like with Wreck-It Ralph, I went in with low expectations, and found myself blown away.
Of course, the concept art evolved into Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness, as we know them in the movie, all of whom live in Riley's mind. Beautiful, singular, colorful, and brilliantly cast: Amy Poehler (a bouncy and optimistic representation of Joy), Lewis Black (no one better to voice Anger), Mindy Kaling (who manages to make Disgust charming), Bill Heder (bringing his vocal versatility to the role of Fear), and Phyllis Smith (whose rich tones perfectly bring Sadness to life). The different combinations of emotions, their presence or absence, make a vividly clear metaphor for the way our bodies react to certain events. There's a perfect balance between what's going on in Riley's life, and what's going on with the emotions in her mind/body. We even get an inside look at how our bodies communicate with one another. Another careful balancing act is managed by making Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness not so much manifestations of singular emotions, but as personalities, each one more sensitive - becoming more dominant - in response to triggers of their namesake.
For young viewers, it's an exploration of five common emotions and how they work together; For older viewers, it's a study in adolescence, memory, nostalgia, and how our emotions have grown with us (or not).
Infinitely Polar Bear
There are many obstacles or subjects that might be tackled in Infinitely Polar Bear: parenthood, family, feminism, independence, mental health, adolescence for a biracial child in the late 70s, sexism, the socioeconomic climate of 1978-1980 - among others, I'm sure. Instead, writer/director Maya Forbes touches on all of them in the way that life does, having penned a screenplay that covers a specific slice of time. First pinning the story to a specific time and place (1978 Boston), and then focusing on a particular family, Forbes set her sight on truth. This means that instead of the politically-correct atmosphere or underdog story of idealism that often permeates this type of tale, Forbes shows the world as it is (at the time), and allows her characters to react and cope (or not, ahem), rather than dwell on how it should be.
At the center of Forbes's script are Cam (Mark Ruffalo), Maggie (Zoe Saldana), Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky), and Faith (Ashley Aufderheide). Cam works to manage his bipolar disorder, or manic depressive episodes, while his wife Maggie struggles to take care of their two daughters, even as she works to keep them financially afloat. When Maggie is accepted to business school in New York City, she looks to Cam - barely recovered from his latest breakdown - to care for Amelia and Faith (and the apartment, and the chores, and himself) during the week. Lest you think Infinitely Polar Bear is about the parents, I should mention that most of the narrative is shown from the children's perspective. Few scenes occur without the girls, or without what the girls have figured out since the events took place. Wolodarsky and Aufderheide are superb as the siblings, bringing a most natural maturity and youth to the performance. They love their father, but being kids, they go from unexpectedly observant in one moment and downright bratty the next, they are more than capable of playing opposite Mark Ruffalo, whose Cam Stuart is friendly, subtle, doting, creative, and dedicated to his children - if not always consistent in his self-care. Equally stellar and important is Zoe Saldana's Maggie, the very capable, if thwarted, head of the family. Despite having the least screen time of the foursome, Saldana makes Maggie interesting, compassionate, strong, and intelligent, while avoiding cliches of frazzled and independent motherhood. She faces the very obstacles one might expect for a black woman pursuing a career in the late 70s, but her persistence and will to succeed keep her from becoming a preachy symbol of any sort.
I hope this film continues to find its audience, as the unexpected result is a satisfying story of acceptance - of circumstance, of personality, of options. I have yet to do more research on Maya Forbes, but the film feels at least semi-autobiographical, which either explains the truthfulness at its heart, or is a result of such a concentration. In any case, it's no wonder Forbes received the Director to Watch award at the 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival. I am already interested in her next project - whatever it may be.
Notes:
. Frequent J.J. Abrams-collaborator Michael Giacchino composed the score for Inside Out.
. What Inside Out May Be Saying About Gender by Paul Emerich France, via Huffingtonpost.com
. J.J. Abrams's production company Bad Robot served as one of the production companies for Infinitely Polar Bear. #nowonderit'ssogood
. Infinitely Polar Bear shot in Providence, Rhode Island - holla at my adopted hometown!
. Maya Forbes is married to Wally Wolodarsky, who cameos as Wally, and their daughter Imogen stars as Amelia.
. Whomever enters trivia for IMDB.com is preoccupied with Marvel; The only trivia involves Ruffalo and Saldana's roles as Marvel characters, and the fact that they Ruffalo wears a lot of green.
. Infinitely Polar Bear was also nominated for the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic film.
. Observation: The majority of the press for Infinitely Polar Bear features Mark Ruffalo being asked about his career, and Zoe Saldana being asked about motherhood.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Ex Machina
Ex Machina was meant to be a big deal. Whether it's because you're a fan of Alex Garland (28 Days Later...), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter, About Time), or the Isaac/Gleeson collaboration expected for the upcoming Star Wars sequel - Ex Machina has something for you. Perhaps it's one of the modern, yet timeless, themes: artificial intelligence, life origins, human sexuality, manipulation.
Wide-eyed coder Caleb is chosen to fly to a remote location, to an obscure home/research facility owned by his employer, Nathan. It's a home nestled in nature; embedded in forest, built out of the cliffs. Garland shot much of the film in Norway, showcasing the mountains shrouded with fog, making commentary of the setting from the start. From his arrival at Nathan's estate, Caleb observes, as we do, that Nathan vacillates between detox and alcoholism, from friend to employer. He wants to be Caleb's buddy, a total 'bro,' but one of the first things he asks Caleb to do is sign a non-disclosure agreement. It may be non-standard, as Caleb observes, but the rationale behind it is sound: Nathan has created an AI (artificially intelligent computer), but he wants Caleb to test the robot, to evaluate whether or not it truly is artificially intelligent. Caleb is stunned, observing, "If you've created a conscious machine, that's not the history of man - it's the history of Gods." It's a concept that's only reinforced with cinematic visuals, going forward. Often, Nathan is seen studying his estate, exercising, trying to conquer the landscape. And yet, inside the research facility, Nathan keeps everything closely monitored, especially Caleb's interactions with the lithe and graceful Ava. Caleb is keen to discuss Ava's creation and mechanics, but everytime he puts forth a theory or a question, Nathan shoots him down, saying he doesn't want Caleb to be so scientific about his observations, that he has no interest in Caleb's familiarity with "high-level abstraction." But if Caleb's feedback isn't what Nathan is after, what is?
Caleb asks Nathan, "Did you give her sexuality as a diversion?" A completely fair question. Are Ava's flirtations merely challenges to determining the validity of her AI? How, then, does one explain her outright, subversive concern for Caleb? Who is telling the truth - the creator or the created?
Links:
- Grantland piece on Alex Garland
- NY Times article on the film's design choices for Ava
- My kind of article from Forbes, featuring trivia and coincidences
- The Verge interviewed Alex Garland at SXSW
- Deadline analyzes A24's marketing for the film, and why it worked
- Buzzfeed articles: Oscar Isaac's characterization of Nathan, Oscar and Domhnall play Would You Rather, 'Creepy-Sexy Sci-Fi Movie' review, behind-the-scenes dance-scene story
Wide-eyed coder Caleb is chosen to fly to a remote location, to an obscure home/research facility owned by his employer, Nathan. It's a home nestled in nature; embedded in forest, built out of the cliffs. Garland shot much of the film in Norway, showcasing the mountains shrouded with fog, making commentary of the setting from the start. From his arrival at Nathan's estate, Caleb observes, as we do, that Nathan vacillates between detox and alcoholism, from friend to employer. He wants to be Caleb's buddy, a total 'bro,' but one of the first things he asks Caleb to do is sign a non-disclosure agreement. It may be non-standard, as Caleb observes, but the rationale behind it is sound: Nathan has created an AI (artificially intelligent computer), but he wants Caleb to test the robot, to evaluate whether or not it truly is artificially intelligent. Caleb is stunned, observing, "If you've created a conscious machine, that's not the history of man - it's the history of Gods." It's a concept that's only reinforced with cinematic visuals, going forward. Often, Nathan is seen studying his estate, exercising, trying to conquer the landscape. And yet, inside the research facility, Nathan keeps everything closely monitored, especially Caleb's interactions with the lithe and graceful Ava. Caleb is keen to discuss Ava's creation and mechanics, but everytime he puts forth a theory or a question, Nathan shoots him down, saying he doesn't want Caleb to be so scientific about his observations, that he has no interest in Caleb's familiarity with "high-level abstraction." But if Caleb's feedback isn't what Nathan is after, what is?
Caleb asks Nathan, "Did you give her sexuality as a diversion?" A completely fair question. Are Ava's flirtations merely challenges to determining the validity of her AI? How, then, does one explain her outright, subversive concern for Caleb? Who is telling the truth - the creator or the created?
If not her flirtations, perhaps one of Ava's questions is the real diversion: "What happens to me if I fail your test?" It's a question that Caleb endeavors to answer, and he's not happy about the outcome. What he fails to consider is what might happen if Ava passes the test. What are the implications of Ava's success? How intelligent is she?
As Ava is structured, and Nathan's facility is structured, the film is equally formatted. For every scene, we have an "Ava Session;" no doubt, this is what contributed to one reviewer's assessment of the film as a glorified stage play. Four primary characters, minimal locations, dialogue-laden ideas; I see the reviewer's point, but I can't help but sense a certain condescension at the notion. Such thorough development should instead speak highly of the film. I expect it will do well to be included in college film courses, with many more of the remarkable details delineated in students' research papers.
As Ava is structured, and Nathan's facility is structured, the film is equally formatted. For every scene, we have an "Ava Session;" no doubt, this is what contributed to one reviewer's assessment of the film as a glorified stage play. Four primary characters, minimal locations, dialogue-laden ideas; I see the reviewer's point, but I can't help but sense a certain condescension at the notion. Such thorough development should instead speak highly of the film. I expect it will do well to be included in college film courses, with many more of the remarkable details delineated in students' research papers.
Like the Turing test, what you get out of it depends on the questions you ask. Like any good film, it only improves with subsequent viewings. I confess to not having been surprised by the plot, but the more analysis I apply, the more I appreciate the Ex Machina, and it's messages. Oscar Isaac has been touted as 'one to watch,' and heavily featured on the press circuit, whereas Domhnall Gleeson makes considerably fewer appearances, plays the much less showy role, and is nowhere to be seen in the trailer for Star Wars The Force Awakens. It's a shame, because his work is equally as important as Isaac's, or Alicia Vikander's. As with any ensemble piece, the strength of one actor enhances the skill of another. Gleeson's Everyman richochets from Nathan to Ava, and his alliances, his experiences, are crystal clear for us. Vikander's training as a ballet dancer allows her to create unique movement and gestures for Ava. I've linked to an article on Ava's design - it's both new and familiar, making Garland's vision of the near-future very real.
Having seen it twice in cinemas, I anxiously await the DVD release. As a companion piece, I highly recommend Gleeson's episode of Black Mirror, "Be Right Back."
Links:
- Grantland piece on Alex Garland
- NY Times article on the film's design choices for Ava
- My kind of article from Forbes, featuring trivia and coincidences
- The Verge interviewed Alex Garland at SXSW
- Deadline analyzes A24's marketing for the film, and why it worked
- Buzzfeed articles: Oscar Isaac's characterization of Nathan, Oscar and Domhnall play Would You Rather, 'Creepy-Sexy Sci-Fi Movie' review, behind-the-scenes dance-scene story
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Standby
In January 2015, I flew to Dublin, Ireland for the first time, for a short visit. I had purchased my plane fare two weeks prior, inspired by the press release and photo call for The Walworth Farce, deciding that I would not miss the opportunity to see Brendan, Domhnall, and Brian Gleeson in a play together. It was a great show, an incredible experience, and I loved being in Dublin. I'd like to see more of Ireland, but perhaps on another visit.
Of the three Gleesons, Brian is the one I know least. I've seen a lot of Domhnall's stuff (duh), and quite a few movies of Brendan's, but Brian's credits are a bit elusive to me. I considered re-watching Snow White and the Huntsman (Brian plays one of the dwarves), but thought better of it. I had seen him in Noreen, a short film Domhnall wrote and directed, and then in a whole bunch of the Immaturity for Charity sketches. He's great in all of these, and he proved more than capable of owning his share of The Walworth Farce. Of course this meant I was all the more interested in catching one of Brian's latest films - Standby.
In Standby, Brian, who looks more like his father Brendan than brother Domhnall does, plays Alan, a man in his late twenties, who lives at home with his father, and works with his mother at the Dublin airport after being fired from his job in finance and stood up at the altar. He's floundering, when a former flame gets stuck at the airport. She plans to catch a flight in the morning - but he's hoping she'll spend some time with him and help him get back in the saddle (so to speak).
The one-night time frame sets up a nice deadline for action, which screenwriters love. That's why they keep going back to it. Sixteen Candles, Before Sunrise, Can't Hardly Wait, Empire Records, Before Sunset, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, In Search of a Midnight Kiss. Comment below with more of your favorite movies set over the course of one night - I know they're out there!
So it's not perfect. Gleeson and leading lady Jessica Paré aren't the most believable couple, though Alan's rockabilly side (he plays upright bass) is unexpected and fun. Paré hardly seems "the one who got away," but I tried not to hold it against her. Maybe the suspension of disbelief in the mismatched couple is part of the fun - making room for the dream that I could be mismatched with a Gleeson of my own. Netflix thought I would love it, and I did. The plot isn't new, nor is it unpredictable, but it is charming, and Irish, and Gleeson.
Of the three Gleesons, Brian is the one I know least. I've seen a lot of Domhnall's stuff (duh), and quite a few movies of Brendan's, but Brian's credits are a bit elusive to me. I considered re-watching Snow White and the Huntsman (Brian plays one of the dwarves), but thought better of it. I had seen him in Noreen, a short film Domhnall wrote and directed, and then in a whole bunch of the Immaturity for Charity sketches. He's great in all of these, and he proved more than capable of owning his share of The Walworth Farce. Of course this meant I was all the more interested in catching one of Brian's latest films - Standby.
In Standby, Brian, who looks more like his father Brendan than brother Domhnall does, plays Alan, a man in his late twenties, who lives at home with his father, and works with his mother at the Dublin airport after being fired from his job in finance and stood up at the altar. He's floundering, when a former flame gets stuck at the airport. She plans to catch a flight in the morning - but he's hoping she'll spend some time with him and help him get back in the saddle (so to speak).
The one-night time frame sets up a nice deadline for action, which screenwriters love. That's why they keep going back to it. Sixteen Candles, Before Sunrise, Can't Hardly Wait, Empire Records, Before Sunset, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, In Search of a Midnight Kiss. Comment below with more of your favorite movies set over the course of one night - I know they're out there!
So it's not perfect. Gleeson and leading lady Jessica Paré aren't the most believable couple, though Alan's rockabilly side (he plays upright bass) is unexpected and fun. Paré hardly seems "the one who got away," but I tried not to hold it against her. Maybe the suspension of disbelief in the mismatched couple is part of the fun - making room for the dream that I could be mismatched with a Gleeson of my own. Netflix thought I would love it, and I did. The plot isn't new, nor is it unpredictable, but it is charming, and Irish, and Gleeson.
Throwback Thursday: Rear Window
When my sister broke her leg recently, the first message I sent her was an image of Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. Leg in a cast, sleeping in his wheelchair. "Don't start accusing your neighbors of murder," I said. Hitchcock's 1954 classic has been referenced in numerous films and television shows (an excellent Castle episode comes to mind), and served as an inspiration for the 2007 movie Disturbia. Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events brought the restored film to cinemas across the country March 22nd and 25th, celebrating its 60th anniversary last year. The film has held up remarkably well.
There are some things that don't make sense - caretaker Stella calls 56-year old Stewart a "young man" - and cameras have certainly changed, but suspense, nagging wives, torrid affairs, and being overly interested in the lives of others, has remained very much the same.
The trivia about the film is as interesting as the film itself. Hitchcock insisted on using a full-scale set, the largest of its time; Rear Window is the only film in which Grace Kelly can be seen smoking; There was so much lighting required to simulate daylight that Paramount Studios' sprinkler system was set off.
It's such a good, engaging, classic film that I can't find much to say about it! If you haven't seen it, you should; if you have, give it another watch, to savor the quality.
Notes:
- Other Hitchcock films with Jimmy Stewart: Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo
- Other Hitchcock films with Grace Kelly: Dial M for Murder, and To Catch a Thief
There are some things that don't make sense - caretaker Stella calls 56-year old Stewart a "young man" - and cameras have certainly changed, but suspense, nagging wives, torrid affairs, and being overly interested in the lives of others, has remained very much the same.
The trivia about the film is as interesting as the film itself. Hitchcock insisted on using a full-scale set, the largest of its time; Rear Window is the only film in which Grace Kelly can be seen smoking; There was so much lighting required to simulate daylight that Paramount Studios' sprinkler system was set off.
It's such a good, engaging, classic film that I can't find much to say about it! If you haven't seen it, you should; if you have, give it another watch, to savor the quality.
Notes:
- Other Hitchcock films with Jimmy Stewart: Rope, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo
- Other Hitchcock films with Grace Kelly: Dial M for Murder, and To Catch a Thief
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
On Stage: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
I doubt that Victor Hugo could have imagined his masterpiece The Hunchback of Notre Dame would be told in song, with singing gargoyles for comic relief. Yet that's precisely what Disney animated, and gave a happy ending. Why not? The Lion King is Hamlet, with a happy ending. Notes for the current stage production of Hunchback state that the musical is "Based on the novel by Victor Hugo with songs from the Disney film." A 1998 Berlin production followed a book by James Lapine, which was closer to the Disney film than is the new book by Peter Parnell. (For non-musical people, the book is the text of the script, as opposed the lyrics.) Working toward a suitable adaptation has been tricky, but it's clear that Parnell, composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin), lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked), and director Scott Schwartz (yep, it's his son) have revisited the original text, and tried to bring a more faithfully dark, Gothic production to the stage. Hunchback's first run at the La Jolla Playhouse extended its run; Having transferred to New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, the show continues to run to very full houses.
The production is certainly taking the long road to Broadway, where it is expected to run some time this year, but there's a lot to be said for the persistence of its creative team. Look at the other Hugo adaptation on Broadway: Les Misérables. It's not likely that Hunchback will quite live up to the success of Les Mis, but that's the scope and level of grandeur required to bring a Hugo novel to the stage. Director Scott Schwartz worked with designer Alexander Dodge to create a uniquely realistic set. In Berlin, set designer Heidi Ettinger was able to build an expansive (and expensive) set on hydraulic lifts. I'm not convinced that they are necessary, but I miss the vastness of the space created in the Berlin production. The cavernous, echoing emptiness. Dodge's set is very much a Gothic church, and does provide space for the considerable number of people in the cast, but it can seem a little cramped on the Paper Mill stage. Howell Binkley's lighting design is notably excellent, and I liked Chad Brock's choreography.
One of the biggest changes to this version of Hunchback is the use of the "Congregation," or ensemble. Functioning as a Greek chorus, it makes the production more fluid, and effective. The chorus as a dramatic tool was widely used in morality plays, and Hunchback is not shy about its morals. It's a parallel that makes dramatic sense. However, the use of the congregation minimizes the need for Clopin as a narrator (which is how he was used in the film). Schwartz and costume designer Alejo Vietti use cement-grey cloaks as a neutral for the congregation, covering up the costumes for bit parts, as needed. The cloaks also allow for ensemble members to transform into gargoyles and or saints that adorn Notre Dame. While we do still have gargoyles as characters, they're no longer the laughable trio of the animated film. It's clear that the various voices communicating with Quasimodo are his own thoughts, and when he finally casts them out, their exit creates a powerful absence on the stage.
In the main cast, Michael Arden is phenomenal. His Quasimodo is the Elephant Man of Musical Theatre. I wonder at how he blends his own beautiful voice with a character voice for the duration of the production (never mind the challenge of constant posturing). Arden has also learned some sign language, as Quasimodo is partially deaf. He later tells Esmeralda that he reads lips. As Esmeralda, Ciara Renée reminds me of Mimi, from Rent. (Renée actually played Mimi in college). Renée is very good as the kind-hearted gypsy. I'm not sure I believe that these three men would all find her such a lust-worthy figure, but I don't think it's because of the actress. Patrick Page, veteran of Disney stage shows The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, makes for a masterful Frollo. Am I the only one who first heard of Patrick Page as the husband of Paige Davis, host of TLC's Trading Spaces?
In any case, I truly hope Arden, Renée, and Page will be recording The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Not all of the new songs are as catchy or memorable as the songs featured in the 1996 movie, but some of the additions are very good. Esmeralda and Quasimodo share "Top of the World" toward the end of act I, the inclusion of "Someday" for Esmeralda and Phoebus becomes extremely moving, and Quasimodo's "Made of Stone" is the best of the new songs, and the strongest in the second act. Someday was part of the original soundtrack, recorded by Boyz II Men. Naturally, it is better served by being given a dramatic context.
My favorites are still my favorites, and Out There remains dear to my heart. My copy of the sheet music for the movie has been falling apart for years. Between Eponine and Quasimodo, I found the music created to express the unrequited love and feeling of being an outsider immensely relatable in my teenage years. Stephen Schwartz, of course, went on to write the music and lyrics for Wicked, which has similar themes. Structurally, The Hunchback of Notre Dame bears some similarity to Wicked. 'The Bells of Notre Dame" provides exposition in the same way as "No One Mourns the Wicked," but "Out There" is an early act I song of optimism in the same vein as "The Wizard and I," and Quasimodo makes his decision to act as though he is "Made of Stone" like Elphaba proclaims herself the Wicked Witch in "No Good Deed." These may be coincidences, but I think it also says something about the importance of the sentiments behind them.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as staged by Scott Schwartz, is a remarkable theatrical feat. It has not been easy to depict this story on stage, but the cast and crew have succeeded in making Hunchback a watchable, enjoyable show, grim though it may be. I'm interested to see what changes may yet be made for the Broadway run, if any, and how long that run will be. Without the heartwarming finales of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, or even Mary Poppins, I doubt that its tenure will be long. Sadly. See it while and when you can.
Notes:
- TheaterMania.com article with pictures from La Jolla Playhouse production
- Video advertisement from Paper Mill Playhouse
- Disneywiki with pictures from original Berlin production
- Cool for me: Alexander Dodge was the set designer for Bloody Blackbeard at Triad Stage in North Carolina, for which I was assistant director.
The production is certainly taking the long road to Broadway, where it is expected to run some time this year, but there's a lot to be said for the persistence of its creative team. Look at the other Hugo adaptation on Broadway: Les Misérables. It's not likely that Hunchback will quite live up to the success of Les Mis, but that's the scope and level of grandeur required to bring a Hugo novel to the stage. Director Scott Schwartz worked with designer Alexander Dodge to create a uniquely realistic set. In Berlin, set designer Heidi Ettinger was able to build an expansive (and expensive) set on hydraulic lifts. I'm not convinced that they are necessary, but I miss the vastness of the space created in the Berlin production. The cavernous, echoing emptiness. Dodge's set is very much a Gothic church, and does provide space for the considerable number of people in the cast, but it can seem a little cramped on the Paper Mill stage. Howell Binkley's lighting design is notably excellent, and I liked Chad Brock's choreography.
One of the biggest changes to this version of Hunchback is the use of the "Congregation," or ensemble. Functioning as a Greek chorus, it makes the production more fluid, and effective. The chorus as a dramatic tool was widely used in morality plays, and Hunchback is not shy about its morals. It's a parallel that makes dramatic sense. However, the use of the congregation minimizes the need for Clopin as a narrator (which is how he was used in the film). Schwartz and costume designer Alejo Vietti use cement-grey cloaks as a neutral for the congregation, covering up the costumes for bit parts, as needed. The cloaks also allow for ensemble members to transform into gargoyles and or saints that adorn Notre Dame. While we do still have gargoyles as characters, they're no longer the laughable trio of the animated film. It's clear that the various voices communicating with Quasimodo are his own thoughts, and when he finally casts them out, their exit creates a powerful absence on the stage.
In the main cast, Michael Arden is phenomenal. His Quasimodo is the Elephant Man of Musical Theatre. I wonder at how he blends his own beautiful voice with a character voice for the duration of the production (never mind the challenge of constant posturing). Arden has also learned some sign language, as Quasimodo is partially deaf. He later tells Esmeralda that he reads lips. As Esmeralda, Ciara Renée reminds me of Mimi, from Rent. (Renée actually played Mimi in college). Renée is very good as the kind-hearted gypsy. I'm not sure I believe that these three men would all find her such a lust-worthy figure, but I don't think it's because of the actress. Patrick Page, veteran of Disney stage shows The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, makes for a masterful Frollo. Am I the only one who first heard of Patrick Page as the husband of Paige Davis, host of TLC's Trading Spaces?
In any case, I truly hope Arden, Renée, and Page will be recording The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Not all of the new songs are as catchy or memorable as the songs featured in the 1996 movie, but some of the additions are very good. Esmeralda and Quasimodo share "Top of the World" toward the end of act I, the inclusion of "Someday" for Esmeralda and Phoebus becomes extremely moving, and Quasimodo's "Made of Stone" is the best of the new songs, and the strongest in the second act. Someday was part of the original soundtrack, recorded by Boyz II Men. Naturally, it is better served by being given a dramatic context.
My favorites are still my favorites, and Out There remains dear to my heart. My copy of the sheet music for the movie has been falling apart for years. Between Eponine and Quasimodo, I found the music created to express the unrequited love and feeling of being an outsider immensely relatable in my teenage years. Stephen Schwartz, of course, went on to write the music and lyrics for Wicked, which has similar themes. Structurally, The Hunchback of Notre Dame bears some similarity to Wicked. 'The Bells of Notre Dame" provides exposition in the same way as "No One Mourns the Wicked," but "Out There" is an early act I song of optimism in the same vein as "The Wizard and I," and Quasimodo makes his decision to act as though he is "Made of Stone" like Elphaba proclaims herself the Wicked Witch in "No Good Deed." These may be coincidences, but I think it also says something about the importance of the sentiments behind them.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as staged by Scott Schwartz, is a remarkable theatrical feat. It has not been easy to depict this story on stage, but the cast and crew have succeeded in making Hunchback a watchable, enjoyable show, grim though it may be. I'm interested to see what changes may yet be made for the Broadway run, if any, and how long that run will be. Without the heartwarming finales of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, or even Mary Poppins, I doubt that its tenure will be long. Sadly. See it while and when you can.
Notes:
- TheaterMania.com article with pictures from La Jolla Playhouse production
- Video advertisement from Paper Mill Playhouse
- Disneywiki with pictures from original Berlin production
- Cool for me: Alexander Dodge was the set designer for Bloody Blackbeard at Triad Stage in North Carolina, for which I was assistant director.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Cinderella: A Little Bit of Magic
I attended Disney's live-action Cinderella with a lot of trepidation. Cinderella has long been one of my favorite fairy tales; one popular version of the story was written by Charles Perrault in the 17th century, but similar stories were told in ancient Egypt. Still, it wasn't until 1950 that Walt Disney premiered his second princess, creating the most iconic version of the story on film. Disney himself often said that Cinderella's transformation from rags to ballgown was one of his favorite pieces of animation. Fast forward to 2014, when Kenneth Branagh signs on to direct a live-action version of the Disney classic. Branagh, best known for his Shakespeare work (Performer Profile), was last in cinemas with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and before that, directed Thor. An unlikely candidate, perhaps, to helm Cinderella, but I think Kenneth Branagh is secretly a Disney princess. Take a look at his lovingly rendered adaptation of Love's Labours Lost (2000), the Shakespeare play re-envisioned and inspired by the Golden Age of movie musicals. And there's no denying the romanticism of his Much Ado About Nothing. Maybe he's not such an odd choice...
Branagh and screenwriter Chris Weitz have done what the best adaptations do, by revisiting classic versions of the Cinderella story (namely Perrault's), as well as making direct reference to important visual and storytelling highlights of the 1950 animation. A number of shots also harken to other adaptations of the tale, such as stage and screen versions of Rogers and Hammerstein's musical. You have all the key elements: pretty blonde girl, stepmother, stepsisters, an old-fashioned pink dress that is turned into an exquisite blue ballgown by a fairy godmother, glass slippers, pumpkin coach, dance with the Prince, stroke of midnight, abandoned shoe, and scouring the kingdom for the maiden who fits the shoe. Unique to the Disney edition are the anthropomorphized animals. Even if they don't engage in direct conversation with Cinderella, their characterization and integration is central to the Disney film. I had concerns about their live-action presence, but they're handled perfectly, more like Pip from Enchanted. They're still mice, a cat, and a goose, but they're characterized in the same way we engage our pets. #nailedit.
Sandy Powell's exquisite costumes have already generated enough word of mouth to attract fashionistas to the cinema, the wedding gown featured in Vanity Fair. Powell designed for Cate Blanchett in The Aviator, but nothing as remarkable as the chic gowns worn as Lady Tremaine. They are beautiful garments, and I understand the use of a 50s inspired silhouette to make Lady Tremaine and her daughters stand out, to be incongruous, but my purist heart hates it. It is the only thing about the film I disliked. It did seem as though Blanchette had wandered in from the set of Far from Heaven or The End of the Affair (both designed by Sandy Powell). Yet, the rest of the costumes are divine, too. Harvey Weinstein has been quoted as saying, "Sandy's great gift is her ability to make historical costumes look contemporary. She manages to be both true to the period and modern." Was it necessary to make such a drastic choice for the Tremaines? Why fix what isn't broken?
Branagh has also done well to ensure that the technical and design features have not interfered with the storytelling or performances. Lily James is relatively unknown outside of Downton Abbey, but this works exceedingly well for Cinderella. She's able to play much younger than she looks on the red carpet, and believably inhabit Ella's kindness and sweetness - no Hollywood ego or rivalries to precede her. She's charming, just as charming as her Prince. Richard Madden is dreamy and shiny as "Kit," the Prince, and thankfully he's given more of a personality than the original Disney prince. In one of the changes from the original Disney films, Ella and Kit cross paths before the ball, in the woods, on horseback. It is this encounter that inspires Kit to invite every maiden in the kingdom to the ball. Acting legends Derek Jacobi and Stellan Skarsgård round out the royal presence, as the King and the Grand Duke, respectively. I found the King's deathbed scenes amusingly similar to Odin's deathbed scenes in Thor. Another happy addition to Cinderella is the Prince's Captain and BFF, played by Nonso Anozie. While not the most recognizable face in cinema, the Jack Ryan vet is really fun to watch onscreen; he makes a great Horatio (to the Prince's Hamlet) (it's a Shakespeare metaphor, just go with it). Of course Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter are reliably good in their roles, even if they're on the verge of being overpowered by their costumes; More Carter than Blanchett, who manages to pierce through her every scene.
It's a bit sad to think that some children will grow up with Burton's Alice in Wonderland as their primary reference of the story, or with Maleficent as their dominant vision of Sleeping Beauty, but I am completely satisfied and look forward to sharing Branagh's Disney's Cinderella. I look forward to sharing it with my own children, someday. While it's unlikely that it will ever replace the 1950 classic (none of the songs feature in the live-action film), Lily James's transformation into her blue ballgown is magical. I cried, even as I tried to distance myself from the very blue virtual magic. Somehow, there's still an element of the trailing sparkles from the animation - it's still a dream manifest, and a wish my heart made a long time ago.
Notes:
- Anything Branagh can do, Joss Whedon can do... just as well, or better. Branagh directed Much Ado About Nothing and Thor, while Whedon directed Much Ado and Thor, in The Avengers.
- Chris Pine, Branagh's lead in Jack Ryan, played Cinderella's Prince for Into the Woods.
- Cinderella isn't Helena Bonham Carter's encounter with magic: not only has she played Bellatrix Lestrange, but she has also played Merlin's nemesis Morgan Le Fay. And while she's no stranger to Shakespeare, either, neither Twelfth Night nor Hamlet were Branagh films. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, however, was.
- Branagh has also worked with Derek Jacobi (the King) before; Jacobi was in Branagh's Henry V, Dead Again, and Hamlet. He and Branagh also acted together in My Week With Marilyn.
- Composer Patrick Doyle has scored nearly every Branagh-directed film, including Cinderella.
Branagh and screenwriter Chris Weitz have done what the best adaptations do, by revisiting classic versions of the Cinderella story (namely Perrault's), as well as making direct reference to important visual and storytelling highlights of the 1950 animation. A number of shots also harken to other adaptations of the tale, such as stage and screen versions of Rogers and Hammerstein's musical. You have all the key elements: pretty blonde girl, stepmother, stepsisters, an old-fashioned pink dress that is turned into an exquisite blue ballgown by a fairy godmother, glass slippers, pumpkin coach, dance with the Prince, stroke of midnight, abandoned shoe, and scouring the kingdom for the maiden who fits the shoe. Unique to the Disney edition are the anthropomorphized animals. Even if they don't engage in direct conversation with Cinderella, their characterization and integration is central to the Disney film. I had concerns about their live-action presence, but they're handled perfectly, more like Pip from Enchanted. They're still mice, a cat, and a goose, but they're characterized in the same way we engage our pets. #nailedit.
Sandy Powell's exquisite costumes have already generated enough word of mouth to attract fashionistas to the cinema, the wedding gown featured in Vanity Fair. Powell designed for Cate Blanchett in The Aviator, but nothing as remarkable as the chic gowns worn as Lady Tremaine. They are beautiful garments, and I understand the use of a 50s inspired silhouette to make Lady Tremaine and her daughters stand out, to be incongruous, but my purist heart hates it. It is the only thing about the film I disliked. It did seem as though Blanchette had wandered in from the set of Far from Heaven or The End of the Affair (both designed by Sandy Powell). Yet, the rest of the costumes are divine, too. Harvey Weinstein has been quoted as saying, "Sandy's great gift is her ability to make historical costumes look contemporary. She manages to be both true to the period and modern." Was it necessary to make such a drastic choice for the Tremaines? Why fix what isn't broken?
Branagh has also done well to ensure that the technical and design features have not interfered with the storytelling or performances. Lily James is relatively unknown outside of Downton Abbey, but this works exceedingly well for Cinderella. She's able to play much younger than she looks on the red carpet, and believably inhabit Ella's kindness and sweetness - no Hollywood ego or rivalries to precede her. She's charming, just as charming as her Prince. Richard Madden is dreamy and shiny as "Kit," the Prince, and thankfully he's given more of a personality than the original Disney prince. In one of the changes from the original Disney films, Ella and Kit cross paths before the ball, in the woods, on horseback. It is this encounter that inspires Kit to invite every maiden in the kingdom to the ball. Acting legends Derek Jacobi and Stellan Skarsgård round out the royal presence, as the King and the Grand Duke, respectively. I found the King's deathbed scenes amusingly similar to Odin's deathbed scenes in Thor. Another happy addition to Cinderella is the Prince's Captain and BFF, played by Nonso Anozie. While not the most recognizable face in cinema, the Jack Ryan vet is really fun to watch onscreen; he makes a great Horatio (to the Prince's Hamlet) (it's a Shakespeare metaphor, just go with it). Of course Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter are reliably good in their roles, even if they're on the verge of being overpowered by their costumes; More Carter than Blanchett, who manages to pierce through her every scene.
It's a bit sad to think that some children will grow up with Burton's Alice in Wonderland as their primary reference of the story, or with Maleficent as their dominant vision of Sleeping Beauty, but I am completely satisfied and look forward to sharing Branagh's Disney's Cinderella. I look forward to sharing it with my own children, someday. While it's unlikely that it will ever replace the 1950 classic (none of the songs feature in the live-action film), Lily James's transformation into her blue ballgown is magical. I cried, even as I tried to distance myself from the very blue virtual magic. Somehow, there's still an element of the trailing sparkles from the animation - it's still a dream manifest, and a wish my heart made a long time ago.
Notes:
- Anything Branagh can do, Joss Whedon can do... just as well, or better. Branagh directed Much Ado About Nothing and Thor, while Whedon directed Much Ado and Thor, in The Avengers.
- Chris Pine, Branagh's lead in Jack Ryan, played Cinderella's Prince for Into the Woods.
- Cinderella isn't Helena Bonham Carter's encounter with magic: not only has she played Bellatrix Lestrange, but she has also played Merlin's nemesis Morgan Le Fay. And while she's no stranger to Shakespeare, either, neither Twelfth Night nor Hamlet were Branagh films. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, however, was.
- Branagh has also worked with Derek Jacobi (the King) before; Jacobi was in Branagh's Henry V, Dead Again, and Hamlet. He and Branagh also acted together in My Week With Marilyn.
- Composer Patrick Doyle has scored nearly every Branagh-directed film, including Cinderella.
Monday, March 9, 2015
What We Do in the Shadows
It took a Kickstarter campaign to bring the kiwi import What We Do in the Shadows to the States, but if the Sunday afternoon audience is any indication, the film should do quite well here. Written and directed by Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi, What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary on the life of four New Zealand vampire roommates - which is every bit as hilarious and absurd as it sounds.
There's Viago (Waititi), the dandy vampire, more sensitive than his companions. Then there's Vladislav (Clement), whose reputation as a torturer is reflective of the dark place he was in, emotionally and mentally, when he was turned into a vampire. Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) sleeps like a bat in a closet, and Petyr (Ben Fransham), a Nosferatu-style vampire, lives mostly in his crypt of the basement. No one's done the dishes in five years, and getting ready to go out on the town is an ordeal - you try getting dressed without a reflection in the mirror.
By paying homage to classic vampire movie characters, What We Do in the Shadows manages to avoid too much snark toward the current undead trend in media, though there are plenty of Twilight jokes. Especially fun are the appearances by Flight of the Conchords costar Rhys Darby as Anton, alpha male werewolf, trying to keep his pack in line.
I don't want to say too much, or reveal too many of my favorite bits, but even for those who don't love movies or shows with vampires and zombies and werewolves (people like me), What We Do in the Shadows is a riot. I hope it becomes standard Halloween fare, as well. Catch it in cinemas while you can - and keep an eye out for it on Netflix. You'll be laughing in the shadows.
There's Viago (Waititi), the dandy vampire, more sensitive than his companions. Then there's Vladislav (Clement), whose reputation as a torturer is reflective of the dark place he was in, emotionally and mentally, when he was turned into a vampire. Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) sleeps like a bat in a closet, and Petyr (Ben Fransham), a Nosferatu-style vampire, lives mostly in his crypt of the basement. No one's done the dishes in five years, and getting ready to go out on the town is an ordeal - you try getting dressed without a reflection in the mirror.
By paying homage to classic vampire movie characters, What We Do in the Shadows manages to avoid too much snark toward the current undead trend in media, though there are plenty of Twilight jokes. Especially fun are the appearances by Flight of the Conchords costar Rhys Darby as Anton, alpha male werewolf, trying to keep his pack in line.
I don't want to say too much, or reveal too many of my favorite bits, but even for those who don't love movies or shows with vampires and zombies and werewolves (people like me), What We Do in the Shadows is a riot. I hope it becomes standard Halloween fare, as well. Catch it in cinemas while you can - and keep an eye out for it on Netflix. You'll be laughing in the shadows.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Compilation: Part II
For my next trick...
The snow may not keep the mail from being delivered, but it did keep me home more than usual, like the day I spent watching Peaky Blinders. While not a film, the episodic series from Netflix and the BBC is something to see. It took three episodes before I liked Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy (Red Eye, The Dark Knight). The second oldest man in the Shelby family, Tommy's ambition is to build a legal gambling empire, taking business even outside of Birmingham (UK, just before the 1920s). He's got an aunt, an older brother, and two younger brothers, a sister, and a lot of enemies. I didn't realize Sam Neill is Irish - I don't think I've seen him in anything since the trailer for Jurassic Park. One of Tommy's chief enemies is Neill's Inspector Campbell, barging into the neighborhood in a black bowler hat. Rife with conflict, Peaky Blinders is dramatic and violent, but a fascinating look at a culture just starting to boil. Plus, in the second season, Tom Hardy joins the cast, unrecognizable behind a bushy beard, and with a heavy accent.
For a complete change of tone, I soon found myself watching a little movie from 2009 with a long title: Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. Chris O'Dowd is probably most famous for his role in Bridesmaids, or possibly Thor; I know I last saw him in Calvary, but there's a part of me that will always see him as Roy, of The IT Crowd. In FAQ, his character's name is Ray - perhaps a reference to his breakout role. With Marc Wootton and Dean Lennox Kelly (no, I'd never heard of them either), the three friends happen upon a time leak - in the men's room of a local pub. It's like a Simon Pegg movie he wrote after watching Doctor Who in his adolescent years. Has this been sitting in a filing cabinet somewhere, and only just got produced? Still, it's a good time, and lots more entertaining than Pegg's last few duds. (Sorry, mate.) Anna Faris plays Cassie, time traveler from the future, trying to help Roy make everything right. It plays like a pretty low-budget science fiction movie - maybe something George McFly penned...
I turned next to a more lighthearted caper: Muppets Most Wanted. The last Muppet revival was charming, if forgettable - this second "new" Muppets movie was much more entertaining. An evil Kermit-doppleganger, Ricky Gervais as "Badguy," and Tina Fey as a guard at a Russian gulag, and Ty Burrell as a French Inspector? Let's start the show, indeed. It did take me a while to recognize the new Muppet, introduced in the last movie, but kids starting with the new films probably didn't have that issue. And even so - it's hardly important enough to detract from the fun.
Even before my globe-trotting Muppets adventure, I visited Ireland on film. Fun and crime also came together to create the unusual dramedy The Guard. Starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle, an Irish police officer and American FBI agent have to set aside their differences to solve a murder, and catch a band of drug dealers (including Mark Strong). It's a dark comedy, with characters that offend, and Cheadle had to play straight man to Gleeson's absurdity, making it feel like a twisted, Irish version of Lethal Weapon. Don't get me wrong: John Michael McDonagh's screenplay is highly original, and he's more than capable as a director. It's a film I enjoyed very much, but I know I can only recommend it to a certain type of viewer. For more tame viewing pleasure, check out another Brendan Gleeson title, The Grand Seduction. While not inaccurate, the title was somewhat misleading, as it actually reveals very little of the plot. A rural village in Ireland, comprised largely of men and families living on welfare checks, goes to great lengths to convince a wayward doctor to stay. If the he does, a hazardous waste recycling corporation may put a factory nearby, providing jobs to the long-unemployed townsfolk. If you liked Waking Ned Devine, The Grand Seduction is a similar vehicle.
The Skeleton Twins was an entirely different experience altogether. Saturday Night Live alumni Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader starred in the dramedy as siblings Maggie and Milo Dean, and while they share an aptitude for comedy, it turns out that both Wiig and Hader are each independently exceptional dramatic performers. I loved this movie. I loved Hader as Milo, and I continue to admire Wiig's versatility. Milo and Maggie are troubled in their own ways, but the siblings complement each other, and their shared past helps them understand one another in ways no one else does. Costarring in the film is Luke Wilson, whose portrayal of Maggie's husband Lance is an impression of Matthew-McConaughey; Muppets Most Wanted's Ty Burrell plays Milo's former lover, Rich. I love how it all ties together, so far...
It wasn't until this year's Oscar night that I finally watched last year's top contender, Her. I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I liked the film, and by how much of it was upbeat. 2014's winner for Best Original Screenplay certainly lived up to the positive hype. I also now understand the frustration expressed by some commentators that there would be no award category for which Scarlett Johansson could be considered. On the other hand, I do wonder what it would have been like to see Her before seeing Be Right Back (season 2, episode 1 of Black Mirror). There is a kinship between the two projects - each having a human bond with a piece of technology. They do take different tactics, and at an hour, Be Right Back is half the length of Her, but I would like to see a film class compare and contrast the two, and what each has to say about human nature.
The snow may not keep the mail from being delivered, but it did keep me home more than usual, like the day I spent watching Peaky Blinders. While not a film, the episodic series from Netflix and the BBC is something to see. It took three episodes before I liked Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy (Red Eye, The Dark Knight). The second oldest man in the Shelby family, Tommy's ambition is to build a legal gambling empire, taking business even outside of Birmingham (UK, just before the 1920s). He's got an aunt, an older brother, and two younger brothers, a sister, and a lot of enemies. I didn't realize Sam Neill is Irish - I don't think I've seen him in anything since the trailer for Jurassic Park. One of Tommy's chief enemies is Neill's Inspector Campbell, barging into the neighborhood in a black bowler hat. Rife with conflict, Peaky Blinders is dramatic and violent, but a fascinating look at a culture just starting to boil. Plus, in the second season, Tom Hardy joins the cast, unrecognizable behind a bushy beard, and with a heavy accent.
For a complete change of tone, I soon found myself watching a little movie from 2009 with a long title: Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. Chris O'Dowd is probably most famous for his role in Bridesmaids, or possibly Thor; I know I last saw him in Calvary, but there's a part of me that will always see him as Roy, of The IT Crowd. In FAQ, his character's name is Ray - perhaps a reference to his breakout role. With Marc Wootton and Dean Lennox Kelly (no, I'd never heard of them either), the three friends happen upon a time leak - in the men's room of a local pub. It's like a Simon Pegg movie he wrote after watching Doctor Who in his adolescent years. Has this been sitting in a filing cabinet somewhere, and only just got produced? Still, it's a good time, and lots more entertaining than Pegg's last few duds. (Sorry, mate.) Anna Faris plays Cassie, time traveler from the future, trying to help Roy make everything right. It plays like a pretty low-budget science fiction movie - maybe something George McFly penned...
I turned next to a more lighthearted caper: Muppets Most Wanted. The last Muppet revival was charming, if forgettable - this second "new" Muppets movie was much more entertaining. An evil Kermit-doppleganger, Ricky Gervais as "Badguy," and Tina Fey as a guard at a Russian gulag, and Ty Burrell as a French Inspector? Let's start the show, indeed. It did take me a while to recognize the new Muppet, introduced in the last movie, but kids starting with the new films probably didn't have that issue. And even so - it's hardly important enough to detract from the fun.
Even before my globe-trotting Muppets adventure, I visited Ireland on film. Fun and crime also came together to create the unusual dramedy The Guard. Starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle, an Irish police officer and American FBI agent have to set aside their differences to solve a murder, and catch a band of drug dealers (including Mark Strong). It's a dark comedy, with characters that offend, and Cheadle had to play straight man to Gleeson's absurdity, making it feel like a twisted, Irish version of Lethal Weapon. Don't get me wrong: John Michael McDonagh's screenplay is highly original, and he's more than capable as a director. It's a film I enjoyed very much, but I know I can only recommend it to a certain type of viewer. For more tame viewing pleasure, check out another Brendan Gleeson title, The Grand Seduction. While not inaccurate, the title was somewhat misleading, as it actually reveals very little of the plot. A rural village in Ireland, comprised largely of men and families living on welfare checks, goes to great lengths to convince a wayward doctor to stay. If the he does, a hazardous waste recycling corporation may put a factory nearby, providing jobs to the long-unemployed townsfolk. If you liked Waking Ned Devine, The Grand Seduction is a similar vehicle.
The Skeleton Twins was an entirely different experience altogether. Saturday Night Live alumni Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader starred in the dramedy as siblings Maggie and Milo Dean, and while they share an aptitude for comedy, it turns out that both Wiig and Hader are each independently exceptional dramatic performers. I loved this movie. I loved Hader as Milo, and I continue to admire Wiig's versatility. Milo and Maggie are troubled in their own ways, but the siblings complement each other, and their shared past helps them understand one another in ways no one else does. Costarring in the film is Luke Wilson, whose portrayal of Maggie's husband Lance is an impression of Matthew-McConaughey; Muppets Most Wanted's Ty Burrell plays Milo's former lover, Rich. I love how it all ties together, so far...
It wasn't until this year's Oscar night that I finally watched last year's top contender, Her. I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I liked the film, and by how much of it was upbeat. 2014's winner for Best Original Screenplay certainly lived up to the positive hype. I also now understand the frustration expressed by some commentators that there would be no award category for which Scarlett Johansson could be considered. On the other hand, I do wonder what it would have been like to see Her before seeing Be Right Back (season 2, episode 1 of Black Mirror). There is a kinship between the two projects - each having a human bond with a piece of technology. They do take different tactics, and at an hour, Be Right Back is half the length of Her, but I would like to see a film class compare and contrast the two, and what each has to say about human nature.
From human nature to Horns. Daniel Radcliffe's post-Potter career is doing quite well; His decision to never wear glasses again seems to be paying off. French director Alexandre Aja helmed a script deftly adapted from Joe Hill's novel by playwright Keith Bunin (The Credeaux Canvas, which starred Lee Pace off-broadway). As such, the film is a visual feast of bible references gone full fantasy (don't tell me you don't think a devil with horns is anything other than fantasy), a fantastical whodunit with the feel of a thriller. I thought briefly of Brick, which starred Joseph Gordon Levitt in 2005, and also of Odd Thomas, which saw the short-order cook from the novel by Dean Koontz played by Anton Yelchin (aka Chekov in the Abrams Star Trek). Otherworldly forces threatening the woman loved by our protagonist - it's a classic premise, but the thoroughness of the script and the dedication of the cast, including a top notch performance from Radcliffe, make it work. Plus: Radcliffe's got a great American accent.
That should bring me up-to-date! Which is good, because there are a number of upcoming releases I'd like to jump into reviewing once they come out. Keep your eyes peeled for thoughts on Cinderella and Ex Machina.
That should bring me up-to-date! Which is good, because there are a number of upcoming releases I'd like to jump into reviewing once they come out. Keep your eyes peeled for thoughts on Cinderella and Ex Machina.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Compilation: Part I
Hello, blog readers.
The thing is, sometimes it's really hard for me to write. Obviously, when I have something to say - a lot of it, usually - and when I feel passionately about something, I will write. I'll write about it twice. (About Time.) Y'all are lucky I've only written about Frank once...
That being said, I do like to use this blog as a record of sorts, and so I'd like to chronicle some of the things I've been watching lately. Netflix has been a huge help in catching up on some things, and the snowstorms we've been having in the northeast have really helped assuage any of the guilt I typically feel about spending so much time on my butt, at home, indoors.
I have organized the list of films by subject/theme, not by the date on which they were viewed.
Three films that were watched weeks or months apart, and for different reasons, Big Eyes, In a World..., and Short Term 12 all earned a tremendous amount of respect from me for the way they treated the female characters.
With Big Eyes, the latest from Tim Burton is the least Tim-Burton of all, and I loved it. No Johnny Depp in sight, no Helena Bonham Carter... refreshing, to see Burton apply his considerable skill and unique vision to a lesser known art scandal. Divorcee Margaret Keane married con artist Walter Keane in 1950s San Francisco to get a new start. Both painters, the couple showed their work together, until Walter saw the profit in taking credit for Margaret's large-eyed, sad-looking, plaintive children. Walter's criminal need for self-preservation made him emotionally abusive, and controlling. His manipulative ways allowed the ruse to go on for decades, until Margaret's need for the truth brought them both to trial. Amy Adams held her own, opposite the ever-charismatic Christoph Waltz, and with the Burton touch, the story maintains the art at its core, while exploring the artist(s) behind it.
In some ways, not much has changed since the 50s and 60s - at least, not in the world of Hollywood voice acting. Lake Bell's In a World... is a phenomenally entertaining comedy and an important commentary on the boys' club that is Hollywood. Bell wrote, directed, and starred in the film - brilliantly. Bell's character Carol was a vocal coach looking to break into the world of voice over acting when a chance gig put her in the running to voice a movie trailer - not just any trailer, but one that sought to revive the infamous "In a world" phrase made famous by Don LaFontaine, and which was retired with his passing. Such important gigs were still going to men like her father Sam, the powerful, masculine sound of Hollywood patriarchy. The prospect of such an important role has a profound impact on Carol and her family. While not a documentary (as the trailer had many believe), In a World... feels authentic. Something about it reminded me of Easy, starring Marguerite Moreau and Naveen Andrews. Perhaps it was the three dimensional female characters, and the earnestness with which they are portrayed. I'd like to see more like this from Bell; Last time I saw her was Million Dollar Arm, playing the token love interest, no less. Here, Bell has shown us complicated characters with obstacles new and old, using an excellent supporting cast of Rob Cordry, Demetri Martin, Ken Marino, and Michaela Watkins.
Short Term 12 crossed my radar as many films do - because of its leading man. John Gallagher Jr. was my pick for the male lead in The Last 5 Years, but of course, it's not up to me. Gallagher Jr. might be familiar to you from Newsroom, or Spring Awakening, or American Idiot, depending on whether you're a screen person or a Broadway person. While he's very good in Short Term 12, it's not his film. Brie Larson (United States of Tara, 21 Jump Street) carried most of the movie, a short, independent drama centered around a residential treatment facility for youth, at which Grace (Larson) and Mason (Gallagher Jr.) are on staff.
Since I mentioned it earlier, let's talk about The Last 5 Years. Well, crap. I hate having to admit I was wrong, but Jeremy Jordan is charming as hell, a really likable Jamie. Anna Kendrick's popularity and her own persona are the only things going for Cathy, however. Jason Robert Brown worked closely with Richard LaGravanesse to adapt the two-person musical for the screen, and it's certainly different. Most of the lyric changes are delightful, but it's a shame that they eliminated the profanity for a PG-13 rating, since the film didn't get a wide release, anyway. For those who don't know, The Last 5 Years broke on to the theatre scene in 2001, and made Jason Robert Brown the It Guy, writer of Joni-Mitchell-pop-Broadway-contemporary songs that were fun to sing. (Trust me, they are.) It was never meant to be the mega-popular show that it has become - it was a coping mechanism. Loosely based on his own life, The Last 5 Years uses story songs to illuminate Jamie and Cathy's five-year relationship. Cathy starts at the end of the relationship, whereas Jamie's first song is about the start. It made sense to turn to Richard LaGravanesse as the director - his [500] Days of Summer had a jumbled but effective timeline all its own. One problem that may have carried over from [500] Days: bias toward the male character. The beauty of The Last 5 Years lies in its ambiguity, the manner in which we slowly glean what happened, the way each song changes our opinion of each character. I didn't expect much from the film, so I was pleasantly surprised by Jordan's performance. I would have liked a clearer timeline. [500 Days] used title cards with numbers on them to indicate how many days into the relationship the scene was. I had hoped for an equally effective delineation from LaGravenesse on this project. Still, worth the watch.
Then, like I do, I went through a performer's back-catalog. Scoot McNairy was so brilliant as the band's manager in Frank, I sought out his other films, itching to see another performance I could enjoy so thoroughly. I don't think I would have chosen any of the three films I watched for Scoot... Monsters, Killing Them Softly, and Non-Stop. What's funny is that I had seen McNairy before, 2007's In Search of a Midnight Kiss - which I hated. I found McNairy's character abrasive and unlikeable, and I was impatient for it to end. Which is what I should have expected from a film whose main characters were brought together by a Craigslist ad, aka: desperation. Monsters was made a mere three years later, but it's an entirely different role, and a world away from Midnight Kiss. Photographer Andrew Kaulder (McNairy) went to Central America to capture the devastation wrought by the gigantic squid-like robots that plagued the area. After the boss's daughter (Whitney Able) was wounded in an alien attack on a hotel, he makes a dangerous journey with her through the 'infected zone' toward the US border. McNairy was very good in the film, and his on-screen chemistry with his now-wife Able is palpable. Really good survival adventure. With aliens. So maybe Six Days, Seven Nights, on a shorter timeline, with aliens, and more Jurassic Park than rom-com. Follow that up with Non-Stop, the airplane thriller with Liam Neeson. Oh, Liam Neeson. I wonder how much of his career is now spent in roles where he is acting with a cellphone. Of course, Non-Stop is one of those roles. This time, Neeson's a US Marshall being threatened via text message during a flight to London. Among the onboard suspects: Scoot McNairy, Julianne Moore, Lupita Nyong'o, Corey Stoll, and Lady Mary Crawley - I mean, Michelle Dockery. Anyway, the last airplane thriller I watched was Con-Air, back before 9/11 and terror threats. It's a scary prospect, and I say that as someone who frequently has to travel for work. Maybe I'm just a gullible audience member, but Non-Stop did succeed in making me doubt myself in terms of predictions. I changed my mind as to who the threat was coming from several times. Still, Non-Stop was more engaging than Killing Them Softly. Based on a book from the 70s, Killing Them Softly is a crime movie that's also political commentary. It's almost got the feel of a gritty disco-era crime flick, but the 2012 election audio grounds it. Frankly, it's not to my taste, and I'm not sure I can adequately gauge its quality. It's exactly what you expect of a Boston-based mob movie with Ray Liotta and Brad Pitt. (What?) It's full of characters, sprinkled with a few allegorical and soapbox monologues. McNairy's got the likeable factor in effect again here, even as a grungy, low-level crook. His accent amused me.
I'm not done yet, kids! There's seven or eight more things I want to talk about. Whole lotta drama in the A side of this compilation... but don't worry, there's a bit more comedy on the B. Compilation: Part II coming soon.
The thing is, sometimes it's really hard for me to write. Obviously, when I have something to say - a lot of it, usually - and when I feel passionately about something, I will write. I'll write about it twice. (About Time.) Y'all are lucky I've only written about Frank once...
That being said, I do like to use this blog as a record of sorts, and so I'd like to chronicle some of the things I've been watching lately. Netflix has been a huge help in catching up on some things, and the snowstorms we've been having in the northeast have really helped assuage any of the guilt I typically feel about spending so much time on my butt, at home, indoors.
I have organized the list of films by subject/theme, not by the date on which they were viewed.
Three films that were watched weeks or months apart, and for different reasons, Big Eyes, In a World..., and Short Term 12 all earned a tremendous amount of respect from me for the way they treated the female characters.
With Big Eyes, the latest from Tim Burton is the least Tim-Burton of all, and I loved it. No Johnny Depp in sight, no Helena Bonham Carter... refreshing, to see Burton apply his considerable skill and unique vision to a lesser known art scandal. Divorcee Margaret Keane married con artist Walter Keane in 1950s San Francisco to get a new start. Both painters, the couple showed their work together, until Walter saw the profit in taking credit for Margaret's large-eyed, sad-looking, plaintive children. Walter's criminal need for self-preservation made him emotionally abusive, and controlling. His manipulative ways allowed the ruse to go on for decades, until Margaret's need for the truth brought them both to trial. Amy Adams held her own, opposite the ever-charismatic Christoph Waltz, and with the Burton touch, the story maintains the art at its core, while exploring the artist(s) behind it.
In some ways, not much has changed since the 50s and 60s - at least, not in the world of Hollywood voice acting. Lake Bell's In a World... is a phenomenally entertaining comedy and an important commentary on the boys' club that is Hollywood. Bell wrote, directed, and starred in the film - brilliantly. Bell's character Carol was a vocal coach looking to break into the world of voice over acting when a chance gig put her in the running to voice a movie trailer - not just any trailer, but one that sought to revive the infamous "In a world" phrase made famous by Don LaFontaine, and which was retired with his passing. Such important gigs were still going to men like her father Sam, the powerful, masculine sound of Hollywood patriarchy. The prospect of such an important role has a profound impact on Carol and her family. While not a documentary (as the trailer had many believe), In a World... feels authentic. Something about it reminded me of Easy, starring Marguerite Moreau and Naveen Andrews. Perhaps it was the three dimensional female characters, and the earnestness with which they are portrayed. I'd like to see more like this from Bell; Last time I saw her was Million Dollar Arm, playing the token love interest, no less. Here, Bell has shown us complicated characters with obstacles new and old, using an excellent supporting cast of Rob Cordry, Demetri Martin, Ken Marino, and Michaela Watkins.
Short Term 12 crossed my radar as many films do - because of its leading man. John Gallagher Jr. was my pick for the male lead in The Last 5 Years, but of course, it's not up to me. Gallagher Jr. might be familiar to you from Newsroom, or Spring Awakening, or American Idiot, depending on whether you're a screen person or a Broadway person. While he's very good in Short Term 12, it's not his film. Brie Larson (United States of Tara, 21 Jump Street) carried most of the movie, a short, independent drama centered around a residential treatment facility for youth, at which Grace (Larson) and Mason (Gallagher Jr.) are on staff.
Since I mentioned it earlier, let's talk about The Last 5 Years. Well, crap. I hate having to admit I was wrong, but Jeremy Jordan is charming as hell, a really likable Jamie. Anna Kendrick's popularity and her own persona are the only things going for Cathy, however. Jason Robert Brown worked closely with Richard LaGravanesse to adapt the two-person musical for the screen, and it's certainly different. Most of the lyric changes are delightful, but it's a shame that they eliminated the profanity for a PG-13 rating, since the film didn't get a wide release, anyway. For those who don't know, The Last 5 Years broke on to the theatre scene in 2001, and made Jason Robert Brown the It Guy, writer of Joni-Mitchell-pop-Broadway-contemporary songs that were fun to sing. (Trust me, they are.) It was never meant to be the mega-popular show that it has become - it was a coping mechanism. Loosely based on his own life, The Last 5 Years uses story songs to illuminate Jamie and Cathy's five-year relationship. Cathy starts at the end of the relationship, whereas Jamie's first song is about the start. It made sense to turn to Richard LaGravanesse as the director - his [500] Days of Summer had a jumbled but effective timeline all its own. One problem that may have carried over from [500] Days: bias toward the male character. The beauty of The Last 5 Years lies in its ambiguity, the manner in which we slowly glean what happened, the way each song changes our opinion of each character. I didn't expect much from the film, so I was pleasantly surprised by Jordan's performance. I would have liked a clearer timeline. [500 Days] used title cards with numbers on them to indicate how many days into the relationship the scene was. I had hoped for an equally effective delineation from LaGravenesse on this project. Still, worth the watch.
Then, like I do, I went through a performer's back-catalog. Scoot McNairy was so brilliant as the band's manager in Frank, I sought out his other films, itching to see another performance I could enjoy so thoroughly. I don't think I would have chosen any of the three films I watched for Scoot... Monsters, Killing Them Softly, and Non-Stop. What's funny is that I had seen McNairy before, 2007's In Search of a Midnight Kiss - which I hated. I found McNairy's character abrasive and unlikeable, and I was impatient for it to end. Which is what I should have expected from a film whose main characters were brought together by a Craigslist ad, aka: desperation. Monsters was made a mere three years later, but it's an entirely different role, and a world away from Midnight Kiss. Photographer Andrew Kaulder (McNairy) went to Central America to capture the devastation wrought by the gigantic squid-like robots that plagued the area. After the boss's daughter (Whitney Able) was wounded in an alien attack on a hotel, he makes a dangerous journey with her through the 'infected zone' toward the US border. McNairy was very good in the film, and his on-screen chemistry with his now-wife Able is palpable. Really good survival adventure. With aliens. So maybe Six Days, Seven Nights, on a shorter timeline, with aliens, and more Jurassic Park than rom-com. Follow that up with Non-Stop, the airplane thriller with Liam Neeson. Oh, Liam Neeson. I wonder how much of his career is now spent in roles where he is acting with a cellphone. Of course, Non-Stop is one of those roles. This time, Neeson's a US Marshall being threatened via text message during a flight to London. Among the onboard suspects: Scoot McNairy, Julianne Moore, Lupita Nyong'o, Corey Stoll, and Lady Mary Crawley - I mean, Michelle Dockery. Anyway, the last airplane thriller I watched was Con-Air, back before 9/11 and terror threats. It's a scary prospect, and I say that as someone who frequently has to travel for work. Maybe I'm just a gullible audience member, but Non-Stop did succeed in making me doubt myself in terms of predictions. I changed my mind as to who the threat was coming from several times. Still, Non-Stop was more engaging than Killing Them Softly. Based on a book from the 70s, Killing Them Softly is a crime movie that's also political commentary. It's almost got the feel of a gritty disco-era crime flick, but the 2012 election audio grounds it. Frankly, it's not to my taste, and I'm not sure I can adequately gauge its quality. It's exactly what you expect of a Boston-based mob movie with Ray Liotta and Brad Pitt. (What?) It's full of characters, sprinkled with a few allegorical and soapbox monologues. McNairy's got the likeable factor in effect again here, even as a grungy, low-level crook. His accent amused me.
I'm not done yet, kids! There's seven or eight more things I want to talk about. Whole lotta drama in the A side of this compilation... but don't worry, there's a bit more comedy on the B. Compilation: Part II coming soon.
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