Pandorum opened

This isn't coming from me because as you may have figured out, horror is not my thing. I've outsourced this post to my horror/sci fi go to power couple, Charlie and Theresa. What they tell me is "Pandorum" is worth hiring the babysitter and plunking down the 12 bucks. This is a deep space horror story, perhaps in the "Alien"/"Aliens" and "Outland" vein. Two astronauts wake from a suspended state but don't know where they are or what there mission is. Much deep space pandemonium ensues, or so I'm told. I can tell you that the director, a young German filmmaker named Christian Alvart is considered to be one of the five most promising faces of the new German Cinema. I guess the old faces of German Cinema are all dry and wrinkly now. Anyway, my horror guys on the street give it a thumbs way up.

More Advetures in Cinema 2009

So it's May 2009 and Mom is in the hospital (she's fine). This as always provides me with an unusual opportunity to be out of the house. I can now get caught up on my film going and do it in actual theaters the way God intended man to see films, God in this case being either an all-powerful and omniscient being or one of the early studio heads like Louis B. Mayer or a Warner brother.
But what to see? It's May after all, before the start of the summer blockbuster season but well post awards season, a kind of cinematic no man's land. Except not so much in 2009. In 2009 I have some options. Toward the end of this five day late- night popcorn frenzy I find myself at The Westside Pavillion's new (at least to me) cinema complex for an 11pm showing of "Adventureland". My expectations are not all that high but sometimes, just occasionally, that makes for a pleasant surprise. This, happily, is one of those cases.
Maybe I was expecting silly comedy. After all director Greg Mattola directed "Superbad" a giant silly hit of the type I usually hate (See the post on "The Hangover"). Here's what I got-- a dark, touching and earnestly amusing look at growing up in the eighties. A character driven coming of age story with wisdom and heart. That's what I got. Hmmm....nice surprise.
This movie has much more to do with "American Graffiti" and "Dazed and Confused" than it does with "Superbad". And thank God for that. At the center of this story are two noteworthy performances by young actors who I hope to see more often. Jesse Eisenberg, who did such a great job as the snide older sibling in "The Squid and the Whale". Here he's a book smart (but not street smart) recent college grad who gets stuck in the summer job from hell at an amusement park. Turns out it's not so bad. He kind of finds his tribe. And there's a beautiful and slightly odd girl (naturally). Romance ensues. The girl is Kristen Stewart who I call a newcomer much to the outrage of most tween girls. Turns out Kristen is also cast as Bella, the lead in the "Twilight" series. Who new? My days as a teenage girl (kidding) are way behind me. Stewart is extraordinary in this complicated role as a complicated young woman. The awkward and honest relationship between Eisenberg and Stewart is what makes this film so effective. And the choice to place it in the eighties, (when Mattola grew up I'm guessing) makes it more so. Ahhh, the eighties. You really have to go a long way to make growing up in the seventies look good. This film is a sleeper for my top ten of 2009. It was a nice surprise. I love surprises.

Weekend Box Office Sept.18, 19, 20

Here are the numbers:
Film/Weekend Gross/Total Gross/# of weeks

1. Cloudy with a
Chance of Meatballs/$30,304,648/$30,304,648/1
2. The Informant!/$10,464,314/$10,464,314/1
3. I Can Do Bad All
By Myself/$9,877,436/$37,749,545/2
4. Love Happens/$8,057,010/$8,057,010/1
5. Jennifer's Body/$6,868,397/$6,868,397/1
6. 9/$5,563,134/$22,918,077/2
7. Inglourious Basterds/$3,818,142/$110,116,807/5
8. All About Steve/$3,373,212/$26,651,633/3
9. Sorority Row/$2,499,758/$8,880,742/2
10.The Final Destination/$2,388,473/$62,405,20/4

Of Interest:
Harry Potter is just about to cross the $300 million mark (domestic)
Julie and Julia is just about to cross the $90 million mark (domestic)

The Hangover

Middle age men acting like juveniles for the sake of silly gross-out comedy. Except for slasher films this is my least favorite genre of film. These exercises in the ridiculous, most often perpetrated by a Saturday Night Live alum, are cheap and lazy attempts at filmmaking. They substitute caricature for character and almost never rise above the humor level of a High School freshman. I despise them. Zucker Brothers, hate 'em. Will Farrell movies, yuck. Adam Sandler flicks, stupid. "Wayne's World", "Something About Mary", "Kingpin"? I'd rather get my eyebrows waxed. Even "Tropic Thunder" lost me with the blood sucking of a severed head. Can't stand these types of movies. They're are silly and pointless and wastes of talent. (Except for Rob Schneider movies-he has no talent to waste) Okay, you get my point.
So why did I see "The Hangover"? Well, I got sucked in by the revues and there was a midnight showing. And guess what? Laughed my ass off. This is a sure sign that the apocalypse is on the way.
Here I think is the difference. Plausibility. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the behavior in this film is PROBABLE. Certainly not. But it MIGHT have happened. The possibility that these characters exist in the world somewhere is there. Unlike Will Farrell's tights-wearing skater or Sandler's idiotic Little Nicky or even Robert Downey Jr.'s (much acclaimed)skin-dyed Australian, who exist only in the sketch comedy-tainted minds of SNL graduates, the entire far-fetched scenario of "The Hangover" belongs to this world. I know it isn't a likely or even likable world (neither is Vegas)but at least it's a world I could buy into. And even better, there's a mystery to solve here. Where the hell is the groom? That's the hook. That's what draws you in. And even the answer to that riddle is plausible. You almost want to smack your forehead with your palm. Of course that's where he is! It all make sense now.
Why did I like "The Hangover"? Because silly is easy but story is hard. Besides, who doesn't love a movie where someone dry humps a tiger?

Another "Precious" win

TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) is in full swing, and "Precious" is again an audience choice award winner. This is the second major film festival to bestow it with an audience favorite award. Sundance was the first. Of course Sundance and Toronto get a lot of the same audience so it may not be that surprising. Still, I'm tellin' ya, this is one to look out for this year.

Emigration train - Sin Nombre

Issue movies can be preachy and one sided, hot button issue movies usually double down on preachy and one sided. But the immigration debate, which has come under a lot of cinematic scrutiny lately, has found its clearest voice in two films that have absolutely no interest in preaching. They make their point by examining the individual life caught in the net of politics, policy and poverty. One is last years gentle story of friendship called "The Visitor" (An Oscar nominee for Best Actor and it deserved more nominations, especially in the acting categories). Since that film got a fair amount of attention (you should see it if you havn't) I'll move on to the 2009 entry into the immigration debate.
"Sin Nombre" is anything but a gentle story, although friendship does come into play. This immigration (actually emigration) story details the lives of the people who are driven to come here, and more importantly, what they go through to get here. Two people meet on a train (and I mean ON a train) both moving north for different reasons, one for opportunity and one for survival.
This isn't a story about America. That's just the destination. This story takes you into a world of gang warfare, murder, rape and lethal loyalty. It's not pretty but you've never seen anything like this before, I guarantee it. And by the end, you'll know why leaving is such an imperative.
The most effective scenes follow an entire immigrant population as they travel on the tops of rail cars toward a better life. Let me repeat that- ON TOP of rail cars.
I live in a city where half the population is latino and had no inkling of what it takes to cross a border for real.
This story has an interesting angle for me. It ties to my own life. My maternal Grandmother walked hundreds of miles to get to the port where the ship that took her to America was docked. Not easy. The characters in "Sin Nombre" go through a similar if not more dangerous journey. Those who make it are fire hardened, determined and driven. Those are the essential qualities of the American character. It's why this country is a great place to live.
You can see this movie on pay-per-view and I understand Netflix has it. It's one of the best films of the year so far. Don't miss it.

More catching up 2009

Star Trek:
Today I want to catch up on some 2009 films I saw earlier this year (before blogging).Star Trek is everything everyone said it was back in what, June? Lots of fun and a great cast (and by extension great casting). Here's what makes me happy as an old guy who as a kid watched Shatner and Nimoy run from one side of the bridge to the other to simulate a Romulan attack. The restart of the series isn't about a new set of characters. It isn't about Piccard or that female captain or Klingons on the bridge as good guys or a robot science officer. It isn't the next generation, it's MY generation. Those characters felt as comfortable as a warm glove. You can totally buy these actors as the originals, less worn, more energetic but the same people. It was Roddenberry's Star Trek with production design. Fans who used to watch the original series (he wrote deftly avoiding the trekker/trekkie controversy) rejoice! They're making more episodes of the original. The Oscar for casting goes to.......

Watchmen:
I was a sci-fi/fantasy geek. From Tolkien's trilogy and the Sand Worms of Dune, Asimov's Foundation series, Heinlein, Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison. I stood on the banks of Riverworld and sat at The Left Hand of Darkness. Today, I'm so not that guy. Those authors and stories belong to my youth. I look at those old books like I'm standing in the well-lit halls of a futuristic museum. I did not keep up with my brother geeks and was subsequently kicked out of the fraternity. Therefore, the graphic novel is not my milieu. This hybrid of the sci-fi novels and comic books with a bit of X-Box and Play Station thrown in for flavor, belongs to the next generation of Sci-fi fan, and I have some advise for them. Don't hold so tightly to the material. Take a page from fans of Jane Austen or Henry Miller. Let the book be the book (or in this case comic book) and let the film be the film.
Watchmen is too long, it meanders, loses focus and exposes way too much blue penis. But when it's good, man is it good. It places you squarely in a world that never existed and makes you believe it could have or should have existed. Or that it will exist if we're not careful. That's the definition of good Science Fiction. The beginning of "Watchmen", the set up, is particularly fascinating. It shows us an alternate history with flare and efficiency. The rest of the movie, not so efficient. When the film heads backward to that alternate history (see Vietnam sequence) you can see why this next generation of geek holds so tightly to the novel. It's really good. It just needs a ruthless edit. Either that or you go the Peter Jackson route and make three long-ass movies. "Watchmen" just needs shortening. But no one can tell me that Rorschach's constant-motion mask isn't the coolest thing ever. I know. I used to be a geek.

Inglorious Arguement

Okay,I've avoided writing about "Inglourious Basterds" because I've argued enough about this film on the phone for the past 3 weeks. Oh, look. my spell check is going crazy. It must not like the petulant irrelevance of Tarantino's title miscues either.
That might have been a hint at exactly how much I disliked the film. Alright, let the games begin.
The opening scene, a cat and mouse game between the Nazi Jew hunter and the French farmer is everything a scene should be. Tarantino writes great scenes. I was with him-and then things started to go awry. The great Jew hunting Nazi has the teenage Jewish girl in his sights and a squad of Jew hunting bad guys at his disposal in rural France. And----he lets her go. Bye-bye, go, be free and repay me by owning a cinema in Paris because I've got this great idea......
Tarantino writes script like a teenage boy, interested not in the logic of the story or consistent characterization, but in indulging the petty sex and gore fantasies of an odd adolescent who's brain hasn't quite reached the level of sophistication of say...Beavis and Butthead.The story doesn't matter nor do the consequences of the story (which in this case is particularly heinous-turning Jews into the same kind of bloodlusting animals that the Nazi's were. And make no mistake- the scalping and head bashing of captured prisoners of war is indisputably immoral, unless your Dick Cheney) Tarantino's adolescent fantasies about bashing Nazi heads is immoral and disgusting and if you found yourself cheering, try a little soul searching.And there's more-a squad of Jewish killers that have no history but truck loads of hate, a lead character from the American south that we don't know a damn thing about, especially about what turned him into this blood lusting murderer (it isn't the Jewish thing because we know he's not Jewish and by the way southern g.i.'s in WWII were notorious for hating Jews). There's an interracial romance that makes about as much sense as a Jewish teenager growing up to inherit a French Cinema. And all of it tacked on because over margarita's one night Tarantino got the idea "Wouldn't it be cool if we burned Hitler while he was watching a movie?"
Which brings me to the title. Those of you who went to the USC Theater Dept. might remember Louis Fantasia talking about the very first clue to unlocking a story's meaning-"it's in the title, stupid". Or in this case in the stupid title. On Charlie Rose, Tarantino himself confirmed it when asked about the intentional misspellings. "Ehh," he said, "it's just an artistic flourish". Exactly. Signifying nothing. Much like the rest of this film. Aldo Rain? Really? Nice inside joke you self indulgent, petulant child. As for me, I'd rather watch the great film Quentin Tarantino will make when he grows up.
I want this blog to be civil, but on this film I'll take all comers.

Weekend Box Office Sept. 11,12 13

Here are the numbers:

Film/Weekend Gross/Total Gross/Weeks in Release
1. Tyler Perry's
I Can Do Bad All
By Myself/$23,446,785/$23,446,785/1
2. 9 /$10,740,446/$15,160,926/1
3. Inglourious Basterds/$6,140,617/$103,903,468/4
4. All About Steve/$5,638,243/$21,650,628/2
5. The Final Destination/$5,522,377/$58,280,235/3
6. Sorority Row/$5,059,802/$5,059,802/1
7. Whiteout/$4,915,104/$4,915,104/1
8. District 9/$3,538,769/$108,456,233/5
9. Gamer/$3,293,055/$16,261,653/2
10. Julie & Julia/3,156,316/85,216,398/6

Limited Release
1. (500) Days of Summer/$1,174,165/$30,001,366/9
2. G-Force/$1,015,865/$116,715,916/8
3. Harry Potter/$908,482/$298,844,700/9
4. The Hangover/$709,225/$273,136,280/15
5. The September Issue/$693,862/$1,266,000/3

The Golden Lion

The Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival went to an Israeli film called "Lebenon". Sam Maoz's film is a soldier's eye view of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebenon, in which he participated. Colin Firth took the Best Actor award for fashion designer Tom Ford's directorial debut, "A Single Man". Italian actress Ksenia Rappoport won the Best Actress award for "La Doppia Ora"

Desert Story-The Hurt Locker

Unless you've been in one, it's probably impossible to know what it's like to fight in a war. Acknowledged. Doesn't mean we shouldn't make the effort to try and understand. When I directed the Vietnam play "Tracers", the writer John Di Fusco told me that most people didn't understand that except for the kill or be killed part, you could actually have a good time fighting a war, or to be more accurate, when you're not fighting it. Young guys, most of whom have never been outside their own back yard, exotic lands, lots of beer, kick-ass dope, good buddies around you,adrenalin, sex. War was a stew of experiences, some good, some bad, some horrific. And all of it punctuated by long stretches of boredom. I never thought the war genre ever captured the experience of the grunt. I may never know for sure but I think "The Hurt Locker" comes close.

Jeremy Renner is a bomb disposal specialist in a war where the weapon of choice is the bomb. The film is structured around a series of bomb removals, a simple progression of incidents that require this unit to risk being blown into unrecognizable fragments, each one a personal time bomb for the members of the squad. In between comes the banality of conversation, therapy, drinking, buying movies from street vendors, until, ooops, time to go out and risk your ass again. And the adrenaline becomes addictive, both for the characters and the audience. Director Katheryn Bigelow gives us a cleaner, less streaky window into the lives of the soldiers who fight our wars and why that fight leaves nasty marks for the rest of their lives. Not a lot of story arc here but a truckload of insight for those of us who may never quite understand.

In a movie where performance is everything, lots of terrific actors deliver, not the least of which is Jeremy Renner. The list also includes Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty (both nominatable) and David Morse (remember Duval in Apocalypse Now? just as good) Writer Mark Boal and director Bigelow could both take home Gold Statues-no exageration. It's that good. This would be a Best Picture nominee even if the world was sane again and there were just five picks.

Language Barrier

Taiwan's entry into the Oscar race for Foreign Film this year is called "No Puedo Vivar Sin Ti". Anyone else confused by this?

Asian Cinema visits Transylvania

For my favorite expert on Asian film:
"Thirst" is the 2009 entry from Korean director Chan-wook Park (Old School) A Korean priest turns into a Korean vampire when a medical expiriment goes wrong. Trying to find reviews but it's apparently an interesting twist on the Vampiric vs. Christian view of eternal life. Sounds interesting and Charlie was the first guy to spot last years Vampire masterpiece "Let the Right One In" (which really is a great vampire flick).

Amy Adams in 2009

In 2009 Amy Adams has solidified her position as the go to actress for female characters trying to find their place in a cutthroat world. I have friends who suggest that she doesn't show a lot of range but I don't really look for her to tackle roles like the raging alcholic or affect an accent. The gradations of character she exhibits are much more subtle. And part of this range problem is that her last 2 major releases have been in films in which Meryl Streep has shown buckets full of range. Compare anyone to Meryl in the range category and they take a loss. Amy has in 2009 carried or co-carried two outstanding films:

Sunshine Cleaning-Indies are great because they tackle subjects that mainstream studios shun like the plague or they offer you glimpses into characters that studio films don't have the time or inclination to explore. Sunshine Cleaning is a gem of the second category. Adam's Rose Lorkowski doesn't really know how to define herself so she relies on others to do it, especially her high school sweetheart. He's married now but knows Rose can provide a little on the side. As played by Steve Zahn he's a lovable user but he inadvertently throws her a life line by suggesting she go into business cleaning up crime scenes (or the newly departed and rotted) Adams uses the business to find the spine of her own life. It's charming and worth the time invested to take the journey. Two performances of note- Emily Blount is the best she has ever been as Rose's shleprock of a sister and Clifton Collins Jr., who is so good as the one armed cleaning supplies salesman that you'll think they just hired the one armed cleaning supplies salesman from down the block to play the role.

Julie and Julia-okay if your under thirty-five and have never asked yourself the question"How did so much of my life just slip away?", then this is probably not your movie. Oh, and if you don't like to cook or think that the latest Terminator installment had it's moments, then I'd give this one a pass. Otherwise this is a wonderful film. Won't talk about Streep here. She's brilliant blah, blah, blah. She is but enough already. The interesting thing about this film is how Nora Ephron told so compelling a story with almost no conflict. Yes Amy Adams' husband almost leaves but we know he's not really going to leave. He's too nice. The answer probably lies in how much you root for these two women to find fulfilment. Streep and Adams pull it off masterfully. It's becoming a habit with these two ("Doubt" pun--sorry)Loved every minute. And if anyone thinks it's easy to do what the blogging Julie did, I challenge you to make even one recipe from that cookbook. I have that book and I'm telling you, it was an almost impossible task.

Films of 2009

Okay I'm going to get caught up on films I've seen so far this year. These are my thoughts on big studio fare, indies, documentaries, what ever I see. Please comment.

AWAY WE GO--- This film was really interesting to me and a little hard to pin down genre wise. Romantic comedy doesn't seem right. Maybe just a relationship film. Directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) This is his follow up to "Revolutionary Road" which I hated. I don't blame Sam as much for Rev. Road because it was his wife (Kate Winslett) that really pushed that project to be made- to stultifyingly boring and melodramatic affect. So I'll give ol' Sam a pass on that one. "Away We Go" works because of the central relationship in the film. Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski are a newly expecting slacker couple looking for their place in the world--literally. Their search, their questioning of their own existance, their easy facility with one another are at the core of this film and it totally works. Strangely it's the supporting characters that hold this film back. While the lead characters are grounded the character actors in the film play everything over the top. And they're good actors too, usually reliable character people like Allison Janney, Jim Gaffigan and Maggie Gyllenhaal make these road pic side trips seem bizzare and out of place like Mendes directed the leads and Fellini directed the supporting cast. Anyway, the relationship at the core of this film makes it completely worth seeing and Maya Rudolph is still on my list as one of the best lead performances of the year.

EVERY LITTLE STEP----Attention theater people (my tribe). There is a fantastic documentary out there detailing the audition process for the Broadway remake of "A Chorus Line" and providing backstory about the creative process that spawned the original. Actually it provides some backstory on the creative process period. Even if Musicals aren't your milieu (lord knows it ain't mine) you will recognize yourself in the process. Not earth-shattering but interesting and fun.

Venice Film Festival 2009

Venice Flm Festival has two Ameican films in official competition this year. Check them out:

Bad Lieutenant:Port of Call New Orleans- This is a remake of the original Bad Lieutenant with Harvey Keitel though it doesn't seem to be a literal remake- new city and a plot involving the murder of African immigrants. There is a nun getting raped like in the original. Nicholas Cage plays the Keitel role with Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer in the cast. Cage's character has lots of addictions-perscription drugs, cocaine, sex. Right up Cage's alley. Can he be as creepy as Keitel? Werner Herzog directs. If anybody can make it creepy it's Herzog.

A Single Man- directed by Tom Ford in his debut effort. Based on Christopher Isherwood novel set in 1962 Los Angeles about a man who has to face a new future after the death of his longtime lover. Colin Firth and Julianne Moore star.

Out of competion films:
The Hole directed by Joe Dante- Believe it or not it's a 3D supernatural flick
Brooklyn's Finest by Antoine Fuqua-w/ Richard Gere, Don Cheadle. Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes
The Men Who Stare at Goats by Grant Heslov (writer of Good Night and Good Luck) w/ George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. Grant is a guy I went to USC Theater School with back in the day. Eichh! I'm old.

Weekend Box Office Sept.5-6-7

Here's what's makin' money.

Wide Release:
Film Weekend Gross/ Total Gross/ Wks
1. The Final Destination $12,435,000/ 47,566,000/ 2
2. All About Steve $11,200,000/ 11,200,000/ 1
3. Inglourious Basterds $10,847,000/ 91,042,000/ 3
4. Gamer $9,000,000/ 9,000,000/ 1
5. District 9 $7,000,000/ 101,274,000/ 4
6. Halloween 2 $5,608,000/ 25,664,000/ 2
7. Julie&Julia $5,200,000/ 78,840,000/ 5
8. G.I. Joe $5,100,000/ 139,416,000/ 5
9. The Time Traveler's Wife $4,215,000/ 54,557,000/ 4
10. Extract $4,187,000/ 4,187,000/ 1

Limited Release:
1. 500 Days of Summer $1,800,000/ 27,868,000/ 8
2. Ponyo $1,288,000/ 12,937,000/ 4
3.The Hangover $1,160,000/ 271,857,000/ 14
4. The Ugly Truth $875,000/ 87,319,000/ 7
5. Transformers $805,000/ 400,437,000/ 11

Of Note:
Harry Potter/ 296,919,000
Star Trek/ 257,070,000

up and coming

Here are a couple of interesting independents to keep an eye out for.

"Life During Wartime" Todd Solanz has a new film with familliar themes coming up. The director of "Happiness" revisits the land of twisted sexuality for a look at the repercussions of pedophilia . He ressurects and updates the lives of the central characters from "Happiness" but cast different actors to play them. Sounds like you might want to rent "Happiness' before you see this one. Then again, that's a lot of pedophilia for one sitting. Interesting cast though-Allison Janey, Ciaran Hinds, Ally Sheedy, Paul Reubens, Charlotte Rampling. Reviews have been pretty good.

"Precious" Gritty and urban, this is based on the Novel Push by Saphhire. Must have been a hell of a book because the film's full title is "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire". No kidding. Anyway this story of a black overweight teenage girl with two kids caught in a cycle of abuse and poverty was an audience award winner at Sundance and that means a big indie push at Oscar time. In fact, Mo'Nique may be the odds on favorite to win an Oscar (you heard me) according to those early Oscar blogs. You may hear a lot about this one. Also starring Gabby Sadibe as "Precious" (on a bunch of blogs as a possibility for "Best Actress"), Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz and Sherri Shepherd. Directed by Lee Daniels.

Fade In:

The purpose of the blog is two-fold. First it will help me to organize and catalogue my thoughts on the year in film. Already my reactions and thoughts on last years crop of films is slipping away. It's actually vital that I do this in 2009. I'm on the Screen Actor's Guild Nominating Committee, a task that I take very seriously (some of my friends say too seriously). And secondly, I would like to gather and compile from friends and readers as many Top Ten film lists as I can. I'll be asking you to submit a list of your ten favorite films and maybe the top ten for any given year (beginning with 2009). I'll be posting the criteria for the top ten lists on this blog soon, that is as soon as I come up with said criteria. There may be other purposes that I can explore as I go, things to keep you informed on the art and business of film (current boxoffice numbers, award show picks, film festival updates etc.) And since I expect to hear from friends first, I'm sure that my arch nemesis, The Great Sage of Azuza, will be chiming in periodically with his ludicris comments and observations. Well, everybody needs an arch nemesis. That's it for the first post. -----Rich's Cine-File.