Bullitt list -- 02.26.16

Today's category: What I learned this week

Hey, look, I think that by now we all realize that life is tough and full of disappointment and the best that you can hope for is to enjoy any rare, brief moment of happiness and maybe learn a few things along the way.

So, here are a few things I've learned this week…

• That movie Thor: The Dark World is even more unwatchable than most comic book movies.
  
  I get that part of enjoying most movies, but especially comic book movies, is suspension of disbelief and "buy-in" to the internal logic of the film's story line. But even by its own logic, a race of hyperintelligent, god-like aliens should know better than to bring a sword to a laser blaster battle.
  
  I mean, why not give all of the regular foot soldiers in the Asgardian army an Odin Plasma Spear, or at least an assault rifle. I mean if you've got superior technology and science, use it! I'm guessing there's no Second Amendment on Asgard.
  
  
   
• But it's good to know that science has your back when your up against the wall, when you desperately
  
  need to cross the bridge but some weirdo trollish wizardy guy is blocking your path, making you answer he these silly questions three. In those situations, it's nice to have this little factoid in your mental pocket:
   The air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow (European) is...


• Speaking of science, no less of a luminary than Albert Einstein himself made an appearance this week with the news that he had verified that there was a force in the universe even more powerful that the splitting of an atom: The Power of Love.
  
  In a letter to his daughter, Einstein wrote,

  …what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.

  But there was one late 20th Century philosopher who did understand. I refer of course to Hugh Anthony Cregg II, who once wrote…

  

  The power of love
  is a curious thing
  Make a one man weep,
  make another man sing
  Change a hawk
  to a little white dove
  More than a feeling
  that's the power of love

  
  
• And speaking of philosophy, the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō once said

  A flute with no holes is not a flute. And a donut without a hole, is not a donut.

  … or something like that. It loses a little in the translation. The important point is that I learned this week that regardless of flutes and donuts, a croissant is still a croissant even if it's not crescent shaped, at least if your in the UK.
  
  This is terrific news… for some reason… probably…


• Finally, since we're getting into the realm of poetry, I just wanted to mention that I learned this week that one of my favorite new bands is getting ready to release a new album.
  
  I first heard of Frightened Rabbit on an NPR music segment and almost immediately went online to buy their album Pedestrian Verse. In my opinion there's not a weak track on it. Here's the video for the excellent Woodpile…
  
  

The new album, Painting Of A Panic Attack, is on pre-sale now on all of the major online record stores (Google Play, iTunes, Amazon, Spotify… is that all of them?), and I expect a review very soon on Dan's new blog. In fact, I'm specifically DEMANDING a listen from Dan ASAP.

That's enough knowledge from me for now, I don't want to blow your mind too much. Hey, here's an idea: Let me know in the comments what YOU learned this week (if anything)…

Movie Mini Review: Despicable Me

Title: Despicable Me

Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Segal, Miranda Cosgrove

Plot Summary: Evil super villain Gru (Steve Carell) plans his biggest caper yet, but he needs the help of three young orphans to pull it off. He adopts them out of evil selfishness, but in the course of pulling off the heist he grows to love them and has a change of heart… but he still pulls off the heist (spoiler alert).

My Thoughts: Over the past 4 years or so, I've seen a lot of "kids" movies. It seems, more times than not, when we go to the theater it's to see something for my daughter. I'm not complaining. Being the only dude in our household (even our dog is neutered) it's either kid flicks or chick flicks for me at the theaters.

I'm just sayin' I've seen a lot of them in recent years. Up, Finding Nemo, Shrek(s), Ratatouille, Kung Fu Panda and more. Believe me, this isn't to brag. It's just to say that I've got a base of experience to pull from here.

I can tell you that Despicable Me is one of the better efforts in this genre that I've seen.

We open with an introduction to the main protagonist, Gru, an super villain nearing the end of his career. He comes across as mean, more than evil. Sure, he's got the freeze gun that he uses on everyone in front of him at the coffee shop. Yeah, he smashes other peoples' cars and pops a kid's balloon. But his most nefarious accomplishment is the theft of the Times Square jumbotron, and a few fake landmarks from fake Las Vegas.

Contrast that with young up-and-coming super villain Vector (Jason Segel), a cocky hipster nerd villain with a secret benefactor who shows up Gru by stealing the Great Pyramid of Giza. Vector enrages Gru by stealing his shrink ray gun, a device Gru himself rightfully purloined from its Japanese creators and which he needs to pull off his magnum opus: stealing the moon.

So he needs to get his shrink ray gun back, but Vector's lair is impregnable. The only only people able to penetrate the tight security is a trio of orphaned little girls who are selling cookies for the morally questionable matron of the orphanage.

So Gru adopts the girls and uses them to gain access to Vector's lair to steal his shrink ray to steal the moon, to… well, I don't want to give too much away.

At this point I'll just say that the voice acting was pretty solid, as you would expect with the likes of Steve Carell and Will Arnett in the cast. The story was interesting and well paced, and the characters were for the most part compelling and interesting. I particularly enjoy the kind of story construction where an audience is led to root for a "bad guy" who eventually becomes the hero (the first Shrek movie did this quite successfully).

These kinds of movies also throw a bone to the adults in the theater by including some inside jokes that only the grownups would get. There are some delicious examples of this in Despicable Me, including the "formerly known as" moniker on the Bank of Evil (where super villains get their operating capital. What? You don't think they have all that money laying around the house do you? Do you have any idea how much a secret lair built into volcano costs?)

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 minions



tagged: movie, review, Despicable Me, Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove, minons, Gru, Vector

Movie Mini Review: Leap Year

Title: Leap Year

Cast: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode

Plot Summary: Boy meets girl. Boy and girl hate each other. Boy and girl go on epic journey full of contrived events. Boy and girl fall in love and live happily ever after. I blow my brains out.

My Thoughts: Let's face it. This is a chick flick. With no apologies and no pretensions to be anything more or less. As an unabashed chick flick, this movie automatically get's my "unscoreable" score. However, because it was honest, and for a couple of other reasons, I will say that this is one of the very few watchable chick flicks I've had to sit through.

So let me fill you in on what you won't miss. We are introduced the female lead, Anna Brady, while she's working at her job as a real estate stager (ooookay?) dressing up condos/houses so they will sell faster. Her girlfriend drops a hint one day that Anna's boyfriend was spotted carrying a little red box out of a high-class jewelry story and that a proposal was imminent.

Of course, the dude doesn't want to get married (the box contains a crummy pair of 40-carat diamond stud earrings). They're two modern, urbane, sophisticated adults who don't have to truck with such trivialities as marriage. Then Anna's dad tells her about this Irish tradition that states women can ask a man to marry her on Leap Day and he has to say yes.

So much for being modern and sophisticated. Anna, bitten by the romantic bug, hatches a plan to surprise her beau at a conference in Dublin. But fate conspires against her. On her way to Ireland, she's stranded in Wales during a storm. She insists on hiring the SS Minnow to sail her across the Irish Sea to Dublin. The boat is blown off course (of course), and lands in Dingle on the southwest end of Ireland. This makes no sense when you look at the geographical relationships between Cardiff, Dublin and Dingle. But this is a chick flick, so there you go.

Anyway, in Dingle she meets the male lead and proprietor of the local pub, Declan, who immediately hates her because she is entitled and annoying. But again, this is a chick flick, and as fate would have it, he needs a load of cash to stave off creditors. So he offers to drive Anna to Dublin for the low, low price of €500 (I think that's, like, $1,500).

The next hour or so is comprised of the couple's misadventures as they travel by jalopy, foot, train and buss to Dublin.You learn about the tragic romantic history of hunky Declan while the two are placed into painfully contrived situations forcing them to fall in love.

There are all kinds of plot holes and time line inconsistencies to complain about (uh, it's like two years until the next leap year), but only if you're paying attention. But the biggest offenses are the extremely cliche situations foisted upon the audience. The car breaking down, only one room at the inn that the two have to share, missing the train, accidentally stumbling into a wedding. PUHLEEEZE!!!

The writers (if there were any writers) pulled out every overused chestnut in the "Romantic Comedies for Dummies." Really, you could pretty much outline the entire movie after the first 10 (5 probably?) minutes. You knew who was going to get the girl and why, blah, blah, blah.

But, as I said, this particular chick flick ranks as one of the more watchable for one important reason: The locations.

For all that the movie lacks in plot and originality, it makes up (somewhat) in beautiful, breathtaking even, wide shots of the Irish countryside and the Dingle Peninsula. In fact, I found myself thinking more about the logistics involved in shooting some of the scenery than the actual story (which, let's face it, doesn't require a lot of cognitive bandwidth).

Final Rating: Zero out of five stars (But three out of 5 on the chick flick scale).



tagged: movie, review, Leap Year, Matthew Goode, Amy Adams, Ireland, Dingle Peninsula

Movie Mini Review: The Blind Side

Title: The Blind Side

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron

Plot Summary: An affluent white Southern family adopts an athletically gifted homeless black teen. They provide a bed, home, food and educational assistance that eventually allows the teen to pursue a football career.

My Thoughts: The Blind Side is based on Michael Lewis' book (same name) about physically gifted but socially disadvantaged teen Michael Oher.

The story is fairly well known by now, and the movie is directed as the quintessential holiday feel-good hit. It wastes no time charging the emotions with a sad soundtrack to match the tragic life circumstance of the principal character, Oher.

I have some pretty mixed feelings about the film, and it could be that I'm just over thinking it.

It does deliver on the tugging-at-the-heartstrings mission of the typical holiday hit. Pretty much all of the ladies in the theater were tearing up within 20 minutes of the start of the movie. By the time Michael Oher admitted that "I've never had a bed before" there wasn't a dry female eye in the house.

But there was something about how the film was executed that just made me felt a little uneasy. It's a good story, don't get me wrong. But I don't know if it was the directing or the editing or what, but it just came across to me a bit exploitative.

One problem is that the story is rife with stereotypes. From the affluent southern bigot to the redneck southern bigot to the black gangster thug to the poor ghetto junkie mother, there was no real character development even in the primary characters.

The other problem I had was what I perceived to be a not-so-subtle mixture of white guilt and White Man's Burden. The implication was that these white folk could save the black folk. It was a simplistic portrayal of race relations, where there was an opportunity to take a serious and sincere look at social issues that still exists.

Finally, Sandra Bullock's portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy really was tragic. I guess it could have been the director's fault, but Bullock managed to take what should have been one of the most sympathetic characters -- the woman who took a black kid from the projects into her home, fed him, clothed him and championed his education -- and make her an unlikable shrew.

Bullock's interpretation of Tuohy was that of an uptight, bossy, entitled harpy. Really, I remarked to my Supermodel Wife at about the 30-minute mark that "That woman hasn't smiled once yet." A few minutes later, she managed to squeeze out the ghost of a grin, but made it look painful, like it was about to break her face.

It was really almost enough to make me racist in reverse.

The rest of the cast did an okay job. Tim McGraw played an Everybody Loves Raymond househusband and Jae Head channeled Macaulay Culkin circa 1990 as the youngest sibling. Kathy Bates... was in the movie.

The best acting job probably goes to Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, though the sparse dialogue and understatedness of the character made it easy for him.

I hate to get too down on the movie. Like I said, a lot of people really liked it and it is a good story -- maybe even inspiring if you don't think too much about it. I would recommend the book over the movie, though.

Final Rating: Two out of five stars.



tagged: movie, review, The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock, Michael Oher, football, Tim McGraw

Movie Showdown: I Know Who Killed Me vs. Krull

A couple of weeks ago during a 2 a.m. feeding of our newborn I came to the realization that even though we have something like 500 television channels, there's nothing on at that time of day.

Well, obviously there's programing airing. What I mean is that there is very little that's actually worth watching. So I find myself exploring the upper reaches of the channel lineup -- you know, between Channel 216 (the Biography Network) to Channel 288 (the Independent Film Channel) .

Anyway, as I surfed these esoteric airwaves, I landed on two movies that were airing simultaneously: Krull and I Know Who Killed Me.

At first glance both movies seemed to be equally bad, and I kept flipping between them during commercial breaks and the (many) slow parts. But as my thumb became sore from mashing the "last channel" button on the remote, I thought that there must be some way to determine which movie is worse and just finish watching the least bad movie for the rest of the early morning.

So I looked at both movies according to four criteria to come up with an answer. Now look, these movies aren't worth watching, let along thinking about. So this isn't meant to be any kind of objective analysis.

Anyway, here's what I came up with:

Production value:
Obviously, I Know Who Killed Me (2007, staring Lindsey Lohan) is a more modern production than 1983's Krull (staring... well, nobody really. But a young Liam Neeson has a minor role with a pretty decent death scene).

Krull has all of the goofy animated "friggen' lasers" and stop motion "special" effects that were cutting edge in the early 1980's (when Members Only jackets were also considered cutting edge) but haven't really stood the test of time.

IKWKM is only better because they used modern camera equipment and the original film hasn't deteriorated through multiple late-night airings (yet). There are some very lame-ass dream sequence effects.

Winner (by default) I Know Who Killed Me. 1 Point

---

Acting:
Pretty much a dead heat here. Acting in both movies is so flat it makes Norville "Shaggy" Rogers look like an Oscar nominee. To steal a phrase from Nat X, I've seen better actin' in Tough Actin'® Tinactin®.

Lindsay Lohan lived down to her well-earned reputation as a stripper's actor in IKWKM. She played a psycho, overly sexed split personality potty-mouthed bad girl. I know what you're thinking, quite a stretch for her. And yet even with her copious experience with the material, she somehow found a way to make it seem strained and unbelievable.

But in Krull, the aforementioned Liam Neeson death scene was probably the second best acting job. All of the human actors were upstaged by the giant stop motion spider who guarded The Lady of the Web (seriously, who writes this stuff).

But the biggest disappointment was Neal McDonough, who played Lohan's father in IKWKM. I hoped for more from him since I've like his work in Band of Brothers and Boomtown.

So for Acting, I'll give the nod to Krull only because my expectations were higher for IKWKM.

Winner Krull. 1 Point

---

Writing:
At their cores, both story lines are pretty much the same, that being "let's see how lame of a story we can come up with and how long emawkc will watch before hitting the 'last channel' button or jamming the TV remote into his hear."

But on a more superficial level, Krull is your typical epic quest story, where the hero must acquire a special weapon then travel to the boss monster's lair to kill it. It's pretty much what happened in Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian and Super Mario Bros. Because they didn't do any actual writing, producers were free to blow the money that they would have paid writers on building a bunch of the bladed frisbee Glaive weapons to give away at the wrap party.

IKWKM, on the other hand, is your standard split personality psycho killer horror flick. While the concept had some potential, the writing is so tediously contrived that I wanted to freeze off my own limbs with dry ice just to remind myself that I'm still alive. Since they didn't have to pay a writer, they were able to use the money they saved to provide pain relievers to the editors who had to work for hours on the footage.

Winner Krull. 1 Point

---

Highlights:
Using the term "highlights" to describe these movies is a little like using the term "sober" to describe KC's annual St. Patrick's Day parade. For IKWKM, I guess the highlight was Lohan's sexy pole dance scene. But given her escapades over the past few years and her level of overexposure (in more ways than one), I can't imagine that there was anything in that scene that most people haven't already seen on TMZ.

For Krull, the highlight is probably be the art direction for the Glaive, a weapon which resembles a starfish that grew steel talons. Still, it's impossible to see how an up-and-coming prince could yield this weapon without losing a few fingers.

So again, this one is a tough decision. But since I'm not a misogynist who likes to see pole-dancing strippers mutilated with dry ice, I'll give the nod to Krull in this category.

Winner Krull. 1 Point

---

And the winner is...

So there you have it. By a score of three points to one, Krull beats out IKWKM in this late-night movie showdown. Now, you shouldn't take this as any kind of endorsement of either movie. They're both about as entertaining as an open head wound. But at least the next time producers decide to do a nostalgic 30th Anniversary re-release of Krull, they can use the slogan "Hey, at least it wasn't as bad as I Know Who Killed Me."

tagged: movie, review, Krull, I Know Who Killed Me, glaive, pop culture

Movie Mini Review: He's Just Not That Into You

Title: He's Just Not That Into You

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly

Plot summary:
Young couples struggle to find love in Boston. It's basically Sex In The City with more characters and not in Manhattan.

My thoughts:
Being the romantic sunuvabich I am, I took my Supermodel Wife out to a romantic movie for Valentine's Day. I suggested this movie since she'd had to cancel previous plans to go see it a few weeks earlier at a girls' night out with some of her friends.

Now let me be clear. I fully expected this movie to live down to my low expectations. I'd seen enough of the trailers to know basically what the subject matter was. And I've seen enough episodes of Grey's Desperate Private Brother's and Practices to know that I'd have to turn my sap filter way up.

Still, with a cast featuring Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston and other reasonably recognizable names, I thought it might not be too craptacular.

Turns out, for once in my life, I thought wrong.

With stereotypical, two-dimensional characters and an off-the-shelf, cliché of a plot that had fewer twists and turns than I-70 west of Salina, not even the considerable acting genius of Ben Affleck could save this film.

I realize the movie is based on a best-selling book that I've never read, and I can only assume that the only thing it has in common with the best seller is the title.

Typically, a movie will try to have likable characters, but I couldn't imagine hanging out with any of the caricatures in this film.

You couldn't feel sympathy for any of them (with the possible exception of Jennifer Aniston's character). Kevin Connolly's character was a complete tosser. Johansson was a home-wrecking whore. Justin Long's "Alex" was a cynical douche. Bradley Cooper played a philandering dickhead, and Jennifer Connelly was his psycho control freak wife.

The director tried to make up for the junior high level plot and wooden characters by weaving them together in an interconnected storyline, like the one in Love Actually (a movie that I can tolerate, though it's not a favorite).

Billed as a "romantic comedy" I found it to be neither.

My final rating:
I'm just not that into it.

Favorite quote:
not applicable

tagged: movie, review, He's Just Not That Into You, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, pop culture

Movie Mini Review: Shaun of the Dead

Title: Shaun of the Dead

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Bill Nighy

Plot summary:
Quintessential loser Shaun decides to finally get his life together. Step one is to get his girlfriend back after she dumps him for being a layabout. Unfortunately, he picks a bad day to make a fresh start. It's hard to get your life together when your roommate's trying to eat you.

My thoughts:
I'm not going mince words here. I freakin' loved this movie. Every time I watch it I'm reminded that the first 20 minutes of Sean of the Dead is sheer cinematic genius.

Director Edgar Wright did a masterful job of cleverly and simultaneously introducing the main characters and the primary plot points. Seeing Shaun (Simon Pegg -- he plays "Scotty" in the upcoming Star Trek prequel) going about his morning completely oblivious to the zombie apocalypse happening around him was both hilarious comedy and insightful commentary on modern society.

When Shaun and his best friend Ed (Nick Frost) finally realize they are under attack by zombies -- killing the first one by frisbeeing vinyl records at it -- Shaun quickly formulates a plan: Take the car, pick up his mum and rekill his zombified step dad, go get his girlfriend, then hide out at the local pub until it all blows over.

The situations and dialogue along the way are witty and clever. I always laugh out loud at the way the characters handle all the weirdness with straight-faced matter-of-factness.

One could argue that the movie is formulaic. It does follow the standard "boy meets zombie, boy bashes zombie over head with cricket bat, boy saves girl" template. But Shaun of the Dead shows that, despite the suckage of 90% of the dreck shuffled out of Hollywood for the past 20 years or so, a talented director with a talented cast can successfully take a fresh approach to an old idea.

My final rating:
Five out of five zombie bites

Favorite quote:
"Take car. Go to Mum's. Kill Phil - "Sorry." - grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?"


tagged: movie, review, Shaun of the Dead, zombie, Simon Pegg

Movie Mini Review: In Bruges

Title: In Bruges

Cast: Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Jordan Prentice

Plot summary:
Novice hit man Ray (Ferrell) and his mentor Ken (Gleeson) flee to Bruges after a botched job in London to await instructions from the mob boss, Harry Waters (Fiennes). At first frustrated by the slow pace of the Belgian backwater, Ray eventually falls in love and finds himself in a fight for his life.

My thoughts:
The DVD box was marked with words like "A Hilarious Twisted Pleasure!" and "Undeniably Fun and Refreshingly Un-P.C.!" It described the film as an "edgy, action-packed comedy..."

From what I could remember of the theatrical trailer, this seemed like a good choice for a fun night in. We popped the disc in the player, grabbed the popcorn and waited for the hilarity.

But the hilarity never came. And that's my biggest problem with In Bruges. It was billed as a dark comedy, but only a very sad, humorless person would actually consider this a comedy.

The so-called comedy in this film seems to be built the shaky assumptions that 1) nobody knows where Bruges is 2) all Americans are fat and rude 3) American dwarfs are racists and 4) murder and suicide are side-splittingly witty.

There were a few moments, a few snippets of dialogue that made me crack a smile, perhaps even chuckle out loud a little. I'd like to tell you about them, but I can't remember what they were.

There was a lot of potential for actual hilarity, the scene where a fat family of Americans were considering climbing the top of a bell tower, for example. Unfortunately it missed the mark by turning into a stream of unfunny insults. The large actors couldn't even get the American accent right (if you're portraying a Midwestern American, you should lose the Brummy accent when you curse).

Anyway, all this isn't to say that it was a bad movie. The story line is pretty solid despite a few contrived plot devices. It tends to wander off a little bit in the second act, and the bloody ending is anything but hilarious.

The acting is solid, as it the directing. The photography and locations are really the strong points as far as I'm concerned.

I actually might have liked, not loved, this movie if it weren't for the poor marketing and high expectations I had before we watched it.

My final rating: If you're prepared to hate it, you might like it.

Favorite quote:
"Jeez he swears a lot, doesn't he?"



tagged: movie, review, In Bruges, Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes

Movie Mini Review: Mama Mia

Title: Mama Mia!

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep

Plot summary:
A bride-to-be Sophie Sheridan (Seyfried) hatches a scheme to determine who her father is by secretly inviting three of her mother's former lovers to the wedding. Her mother Donna (Streep) is surprised by the sudden appearance of these men from her past. Hilarity ensues as Sophie tries to figure out who her true father is to the soundtrack of pop supergroup ABBA's greatest hits .

My thoughts:
Last week was a work week vacation for my Supermodel Wife and I. We had a list of home improvement projects as long The D's rap sheet, but we still wanted to make sure we did something fun on our vacation. So we chose Thursday as a movie night, taking advantage of the $5 weekday admission to see Mama Mia.

Going in, I expected an estrogen-packed chick flick. But since my Supermodel Wife was interested in this movie and not-so-interested in The Dark Knight, I suggested we check out Mama Mia because I'm a helluva guy.

I don't regret the decision. The suffering cause by sitting through this movie was more than made up for in the huge amount of chivalry points I earned.

That said, this movie was hard to sit through. I found my self physically cringing at times as the cheesiness hit Limburger levels. Within the first ten minutes, I felt I had met my Waterloo and was ready to send an SOS. But I battled through the to bitter end, because I'm a super trouper.

And it wasn't, as one might suspect, because of the music. I'm not ashamed to say I really like the music of ABBA. Maybe it's just nostalgia talking, but the music has always seemed to have an earnest pop optimism, not to mention great wall-of-sound production and musicianship that seems rare these days.

And maybe that's what made it worse. Seeing this music that I love cheesed up on the big screen (like it wasn't cheesy enough already) was just too much for me to handle. The songs (most of which we all know by heart) were a limiting factor on the story. Dialog and situations were contrived to simply to introduce the next song and not necessarily to advance the plot, resulting in leaps of logic too large even for a Broadway show.

The story and characters were pretty boilerplate. I think there was an episode of Eight is Enough or The Brady Bunch that followed the same storyline.

Anyway, I hate to bash too much. There were a few patches of silver lining, one of which was the performance of Amanda Seyfried as the lead character.

I recognized the up-and-coming actress from her work on HBO's Big Love. It struck me as interesting that in that series she portrays a character with multiple mothers, whereas in Mama Mia!, she portrays a character with multiple fathers. Anyway, she's a fresh face, quite fetching and her acting wasn't as over the top as others in the movie.

Also, I'd like to give kudos to Pierce Brosnan for attempting the singing role. Took guts. As a beer-swilling hetero male, I'm secure enough to say that the former Remington Steele makes a pretty good looking upper-middle aged man. But God bless'im, he just doesn't have a great singing voice.

The star of the movie, in my opinion, the best part (aside from the ending) was the scenery. Filmed primarily on the Greek island of Skopelos, the sweeping vistas and intimate ocean inlet settings had me planning a Greek getaway for our next vacation.

My final rating: Don't Take a Chance on it.

Favorite quote:
"Does she wear it or floss with it?"



tagged: movie, review, Mama Mia!, ABBA, film, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Skopelos, Waterloo

Movie Mini Review: The Curse of the Golden Flower

Title: The Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia)

Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Liu Ye, Chen Jin

Plot summary:
Set in feudal China’s Tang Dynasty, Emperor Ping (Chow Yun-Fat) returns home to the Imperial Palace to celebrate the Chrysanthemum Festival with his family. The Emperor has summoned his second son, Prince Jai, home from the frontier, and he has ulterior motives. But while the emperor has been away on military campaigns, his wife, Empress Pheonix (Gong Li) has been making clandestine plans of her own. Behind the silk veneer of the Forbidden Palace, all is not as it seems and tragedy awaits.

My thoughts:
I was home sick a couple of weeks ago and, while in a drug-induced stupor, the only activity I could effectively manage was channel surfing.

Luckily, I hit one of the action movie channels at the upper end of the dial while The Curse of the Yellow Flower was just beginning.

I watched the subtitled version, which I always recommend because overdubbing ends up looking awkward and cheesy. And even though I don’t understand the spoken language of the film, I think overdubbing tends to strip out the emotional inflection of the actors and waters down the director’s original vision.

And the director had a stunning vision for this film. Director Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers) brings us his stylized view of 10th-century China with sweeping vistas and vibrant colors. The camera work and musical score are really amazing, creating an epic film in the best sense of the word.

In the early scenes, I was expecting a martial arts tour de force, but Yimou soon exceeded my expectations. This isn’t just another wire-fighting kun-fu movie, although there is plenty of that (not to mention cleavage) and fans of that style won’t be disappointed.

But it is also a provocative story about the excesses and pitfalls of absolute power, the complexity and fragility of family relationships and the destructive force of greed.

The Curse of the Golden Flower has been criticized as a soap opera set in feudal China, a kind of dynastic Dynasty. And the film can be a bit over the top, especially in the final act. But in my opinion it’s a good kind of over the top, like a tragic Italian opera, and completely in context.



My final rating: Set Your DVR.

Favorite quote:
"What I do not give, you must never take by force."

tagged: movie, China, The Curse of the Golden Flower, Tang Dynasty, film, review, Zhang Yimou, Gong Li, Chow Yun-Fat

Movie Mini Review: That Thing You Do (Director's Cut)

Title: That Thing You Do

Cast: Tom Hanks, Tom Everett Scott, Steve Zahn, Live Tyler

Plot summary:
Hometown boys from Erie, PA, form a band and make it big with a hit record. They ride the wave of the success with the considerable help of their manager until everything falls apart.

My thoughts:
Okay, this movie has been out there a while. It's a good flick, light-hearted and enjoyable even on repeated viewings.

But what prompted me to add this title to the movie review lineup was this email I received a month or two ago from Nico Del Castillo:

Hi there!

I was just bloghopping and saw that you mentioned Tom Hanks in your blog (yes, strangers do stumble upon others' blogs). I work for a company called M80, which is working with FOX to find out what bloggers think about the recent extended edition of That Thing You Do!. So basically, I'm sending out review copies of That Thing You Do! to people and I was wondering if you would be into this sort of thing and write a review for us since it's related to Tom Hanks? Of course, an honest review is strongly encouraged since it is your blog, after all. Plus you'd get to keep the copy of the DVD for yourself.

If you're interested, please let me know. If not, no worries. And yes, there is a real person behind this email address.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Well, far be if from me to turn down free cyber swag. The disc arrived a week or so later, but it was several weeks before my Supermodel Wife and I could a screening into our busy social calendar.

If you liked the theatrical release of this movie, you'll probably like the director's cut as well. As vanity projects go, this was a far more successful venture for Tom Hanks than Beyond the Sea was for Kevin Spacey. It is more genuine, with music woven in more convincingly.

But I have to agree with the editors who left some scenes on the cutting room floor. The DVD director's cut that we viewed had scenes that didn't seem to advance the plot, or at best tried too hard to drive home minor plot points. For example, there were several extra scenes of Charlene Theron's character's developing affair with her dentist while her boyfriend and drummer, Skitch Patterson, was on the road.

There were other scenes that didn't seem to have any relevance at all to the plot, including an introduction to manager Mr. White's (Tom Hanks) gay lover.

The only other issue I had with the DVD was that the audio didn't seem to agree with our home theater system. I'm not sure it it's a flaw in the disc, or if I had a setting off on our tuner, but I haven't had the same issue with other DVDs so I'm inclined to blame the disc.

My final rating: Good, but the theatrical release was better.

Favorite quote: "Hey, wasn't that our fan?"

tagged: movie, That Thing You Do, film, culture, Tom Hanks, review, Steve Zahn

Movie Mini Review: Beyond the Sea

Title: Beyond the Sea

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, John Goodman

Plot summary:
Late-1950s pop sensation Bobby Darin reviews his life and times from childhood to his death in this musical bio-drama.

My thoughts:
I was pleasantly surprised to see the my Supermodel Wife had DVRd this flick. I remember being interested in it when I saw Kevin Spacey making the late night talk show rounds last year.

Back then, Spacey described Beyond the Sea as an homage to Bobby Darin and his music. And I guess that's one way to describe it.

But the way I would describe it is an homage to Kevin Spacey.

Spacey, who gives himself credit as writer, director and star is never off screen for more than a minute or two. The scenes seem designed not so much to advance the plot, but to showcase Spacey's acting, singing and dancing skills.

It's too bad. I've really enjoyed some of the work Spacey has done. I think his roles in The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil were top notch.

But Beyond the Sea had the look and feel of a Spacey vanity project.

I understand Spacey has been spending a lot of time on stage productions for the last few years as artistic director of the Old Vic theater in London. Some of the stage and musical influence made its way into Beyond the Sea. But in my opinion it didn't translate well.

Many of the scenes were contrived especially to lead to a song and dance number. For example the scene that introduces the title track is only tenuously related to the content of the song.

Hearing some of Darin's best songs took a bit of the edge off of all of the Spaceyness. And even though I was looking at the clock on the DVR to see how soon the movie would be over, I still enjoyed Spacey's rendition of Mack the Knife.

My final rating: meh.

Favorite quote:
"Listen you prick, there are four guys around here who can't be fired. And you're not one of them. "

tagged: movie, Beyond the Sea, film, culture, Bobby Darin, review, Kevin Spacey

Movie Mini Review: The Station Agent

Title: The Station Agent

Cast: Peter Dinklage, Bobby Cannavale, Patricia Clarkson

Plot summary:
Finbar McBride, a railroad enthusiast living in New Jersey, inherits a remote train depot when his best friend and business associate dies. A confirmed loner, Finbar isn't prepared for the small-town friendliness of rural Newfoundland, New Jersey.

My thoughts:

The story is seemingly simple.

A life of being constantly mocked because of his dwarfism has left Fin to prefer solitude to the derisive laughter other people. He takes solace in his passion for trains, a hobby that allows him to keep his social circle small.

So when his only friend dies and leaves him an abandoned train depot in remote Newfoundland, New Jersey, Fin looks forward to an early retirement alone with his hobby.

When he arrives in his new home, he is unprepared for the overt friendliness he encounters. Despite his repeated hints that he prefers to be left alone, extroverted hot dog vendor Joe Oramas perseveres in his overtures for friendship. Before long the two are sharing lunches together in the parking lot of Fin's train depot.

Fin also meets flighty artist Olivia Harris after she nearly runs him down in her SUV. Twice.

Through a series of simple interactions, the three become fast friends. They come to care about each other deeply and even to depend upon each other.

Joe, who can't stand to be alone, depends on the others for companionship. ("Hey listen, if you guys do something later, can I join you?" "We're not gonna do something." "No, I know, but if you do, can I join you?" "We're not gonna do something later." "Okay, but, if you do?" "Okay...")

Fin, who has had very few true friends, learns that not everyone is out to make fun of him, that friendship is possible and that being a friend to others increase his self-worth.

Olivia, who battles depression due to past tragedy, relies on them both to help her come to grips with her loss.

There's no huge, dramatic climax. Sure, we see the characters go through some strife. All friendships do. But they end up better friends and as a viewer I ended up wanting to be their friends too.

There's no coincidence that the name of the town is Newfoundland. Fin finds himself in a new world where he values more than the mere loneliness and solitude that he thought he wanted.

The characters are compelling and believable. The acting is superb, sincere and understated. The writing is real and strong and at times poetic. The entire film is a study in restraint, and it is better for it.

Some have categorized this film as a comedy, but it really defies categorization. It has funny moments, but it's not really a comedy. It's poignant without being cheesy or moralistic. It's definitely one you should see.

My final rating: Definitely see it again AND buy the DVD.

Favorite quote:
"You said you weren't going to talk to me if I sat here, Joe. "

tagged: movie, The Station Agent, film, culture, Finbar, review, friendship

Movie Mini Review: Run Lola Run

Title: Run Lola Run (Lola rennt)

Cast: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri

Plot summary:
Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks and get it to her boyfriend, Manni, who lost a bag full of cash during a botched diamond smuggling operation. If she's not there on time, Manni will be sleeping with the fishes courtesy of the German Tony Soprano.

My thoughts:
This is another film that has been on the DVR for a few months now, so when my Supermodel Wife and I had some unexpected free time last week, we cued it up.

I had a vague idea of what the movie was about. I remember it receiving some good press when it was released in 1998, even winning an award at the Sundance Film Festival. But despite the title, I wasn't quite prepared for the pace set by director Tom Tykwer. There is literally only a few minutes before the action starts for the characters.

I thought the acting was strong for the main characters. Even though my knowledge of the German language is limited to schadenfreude and fahrvergnügen, the sexy Franka Potente did an excellent job of conveying her character's fear, anger and frustration -- sometime all at once.

The acting, combined with the video editing and a driving techno soundtrack did a great job of conveying the feeling of urgency and intensity that I think Tykwer was going for.

And the plot line was a nice change of pace. Like a couple of my other favorite movies, Pulp Fiction and Memento, Lola employs a non-linear storytelling device. The first twenty minutes advance through a story and then repeat back to the beginning. The story then unfolds again, but this time with slight changes in seemingly insignificant details that lead to major changes in the outcome.

The advantage of this is that it gives the two principal actors that much sought-after death scene (sorry for the spoiler if you haven't seen this one yet, but c'mon, it's been out for nine years), while at the same time keeping them around for the ending.

The one thing that still bothers me is that Tykwer gave no reason within the world of the story for the characters to repeat the last 20 minutes. Perhaps it makes sense in the original German, but it didn't translate for me and I felt a little shortchanged because of it.

But I was happy with the examination of this sort of quantum principal that other worlds exist depending on what choice we make, what we observe and do at any given moment. It would be nice to have the kind of "do overs" in real life that Lola and Manni had in this film.

My final rating: Definitely see it again.

Favorite quote:
"The ball is round, a game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory. Off we go!"

tagged: movie, Run Lola Run, film, culture, Franka Potente, Lola rennt, Moritz Bleibtreu, Tom Tykwer

Movie Mini Review: A History of Violence

Title: A History of Violence

Cast:
Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt

Plot summary:
Tom Stall (Mortensen), the quiet down-to-earth owner of a small town diner, is thrust into the limelight when he foils a robbery/murder attempt in his diner with some quick thinking and even quicker pistol play. But the attention draws some not-so-savory characters to the diner who think they know Stall from a previous life.

My thoughts:
This is another one of those movies I wanted to see in the theater but was unable to because I'm an old geezer with job and family ties that keep me from doing anything fun (not really).

But unlike with The Life Aquatic, after seeing finally A History of Violence I'm not disappointed that I missed the "opportunity" so shell out $30 bucks to see it in the theater.

The premise is the film is great: Why would a mild-mannered small-town family man be so good at killing people. Did he just have one of those "heroic" moments when you just react without thinking and save the day? Or is there something sinister in his past, something that mob captain Carl Fogerty (Ed Harris) knows about and is keen to repay Stall for.

For about half the movie, the director keeps you guessing about who's telling the truth. Is it Fogerty, and Stall is really a reformed hit-man trying to get out of "the life"? Or is Stall telling the truth and it's all a case of mistaken identity.

The acting is solid (the main characters are played by journeymen actors) and the photography is pretty darn good. The violence in most cases is real enough to be shocking, but not so gratuitous as to be distracting. But I think the director missed opportunities in the that could have added layers of interest to the story.

For one thing, there was a superficial look at what happens to the erstwhile wimpy son who suddenly nuts up to the school bullies when his dad becomes a hero. I think a deeper examination of this character could have been satisfying.

And there are some scenes that just plain don't make sense, like the love/rape scene on the wooden stairs of the family home. Or the final scene when Stall returns home to the family dinner table after going on a killing spree and sits down without saying a word.

But the movie falls apart for me midway through, when it is blatantly revealed that Stall is in fact a hit man, brother of a Philadelphia mob boss who has put a price on his head. From there, the movie becomes the predictable "I gotta kill all my enemies or never live in peace" action flick.

I can't help but think that it would have been smarter to never clarify whether Stall was actually the mob guy, but have him kill the mobsters anyway.

So, I rank this movie "Good to watch on TV, but glad I didn't pay to see it."

Favorite quote:
"Any last words before I blow your brains out you miserable prick?"



tagged: movie, History of Violence, film, culture, Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Maria Bello, William Hurt

Movie Mini Review: Life Aquatic

I'm going to try to start a little series of movie reviews. Why? Well there are some movies I like and some I don't like, and what the heck, maybe by reader will get something out if it. If nothing else, we can start a discussion about how off base I am with my assessments.

So here's the first installment.

Title: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Cast:
Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum

Plot summary:
While making a documentary, the famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Murray) loses his dear friend, eaten by a mythical jaguar shark. He raises funds for an expedition in his ship, the Belafonte, to hunt the shark and make a new film. The journalist Jane Winslett-Richardson (Blanchett) and a pilot that claims to be his unknown son, Ned Plimpton (Wilson), join his crew in their journey, planned by his wife Eleanor Zissou (Huston). While making the movie, they are attacked by pirates and left without any money to finish their work. (credit to Claudio Carvalho)

My thoughts:
I remember being keen to see this movie when it was released in theaters back in '04. I didn't get to see it at the time (we don't get out much, what can I say), but the film didn't seem to do that well commercially.

Too bad, because it's a great movie. Although I can see how it would be difficult to market. It doesn't fit neatly into the genres that movie marketers seem to rely on.

It's not really a comedy, although it has some hilariously funny lines as you would expect from a movie staring Bill Murray. I found myself laughing out loud many times.

It's not a drama either, though there are some dramatic moments, like Owen Wilson's poignant death scene.

And this movie certainly didn't have a big special effects budget. On the contrary, the effects seemed to be deliberately low-tech, as if the director Wes Anderson were trying to make the underwater scenes kitschy in an attempt to poke fun at those high-dollar, CGI-enhanced blockbusters.

In the end, this movie is a great example of how you don't need formulas or special effects or billion-dollar budgets to make a great film. You just need a great story, excellent writing and solid directing and acting.

Unfortunately in Hollywood, those things are rarer than money.

Favorite quote:
"Son of a bitch, I'm sick of these dolphins."

tagged: movie, Life Aquatic, film, culture, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum