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.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
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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