Posts by Sarah G. «
Movies That Make You Cringe: a special dispatch from our friend Justin
Posted for Justin by Sarah G.
THE GREY (2012/In Theaters)
Do you like wolves? Plane crashes? Watching Liam Neeson struggle to survive? If so, then you will love The Grey. This is a fantastic movie about a group of men trapped in the Alaska wilderness who have to combat the cold, the snow, and intruding wolf packs. Directed by Joe Carnahan, this movie depicts a survival situation that no one would want to find themselves in. This movie is intense and emotional, especially the effective lead performance by Neeson (along with many others). It is loaded with great cinematography, great effects, and no CGI. The cast and crew worked outside in the freezing cold while making the movie and surrounded themselves with actual wolf packs. In fact, Neeson is under fire from PETA for eating wolf meat during the shooting. (Being a movie star, I don’t understand why he just didn’t go for filet mignon.) I am a huge fan of survival movies and this one is one of the best I’ve seen in a while. I compare it to Deliverance, Into the Wild, and Alive. Anyone will enjoy this film, and a lot already have, seeing that it won the box office on its opening weekend. See it and be prepared to be scared the next time you see a big dog on the street.
GRADE: A-
Let’s Talk About…The Artist
THE ARTIST (2011/IN THEATERS)
Sarah! I am so glad we were able to preview The Artist at the St. Louis International Film Festival, well before the unwashed masses. It’s always a pleasure to see the Tivoli packed to the gills with nerdy film buffs like ourselves, even if we suspected that many of them bought tickets in hopes that supporting actor and Hometown Hero John Goodman might make a special guest appearance. He did not! (Though his image from The Big Lebowski adorned the Major Filmmaker Awards.) Lucky for everyone, The Artist was a total delight. That a gleeful homage to the silent era could hold an audience rapt from beginning to end is no small feat in the era of 3D and seizure-inducing vampire baby nightmare birth scenes. But this B&W charmer (which follows the waning career of a silent-era star, played by the alarmingly suave Jean Dujardin, and the rise of talkie ingenue/love interest Berenice Bejo) had a magnetic cast, chipper score, beautiful sets (a staircase scene was pretty amazing in scale and choreography), and an engaging plot that, while maybe directed a little broadly, was no less sweet and compelling for it. And though it costars a very talented dog (who some people are think should be nominated for an Oscar? Whaaat? Let’s get Serkis in there first, then work our way toward actual animals, you goofs) it requires zero warning barks on my patented scale. Win-win!
An Ominous Oscar Contender
TAKE SHELTER (2011/IN THEATERS)
So we have lots to say about what happens in Take Shelter—the menacing and effective new movie starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain—but we’re not going to say any of it here. Go see it today, and then leave us a comment when you’re back from the theater so we can have some lengthy discussions. We’ll be waiting.
Alright, fine. Here are a few thoughts and details. Writer and director Jeff Nichols has a brief resume; this is only his second film. His first (Shotgun Stories, a past Ebertfest pick and longtime resident of our DVR) and his current project also star Shannon, whose amazing eyes you may recognize from HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” or Revolutionary Road, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. His performance in Take Shelter is mesmerizing, as is that of the suddenly ubiquitous Chastain as Shannon’s wife. Chastain came out of nowhere to star in no less than SEVEN films slated for release in 2011 (a year we will refer to in the future as 20Chastain), including biggies like The Tree of Life and The Help (sorry one of your films costars Gerard Butler, Jessica! We’re sure it won’t happen again). I had sort of decided to be annoyed by her based solely on the fact that she is everywhere, but I can’t now because she’s excellent in this movie, bringing subtlety and nuance to a character that could easily have slipped into cliché in less capable hands.
I found this film completely compelling. I was transfixed in the theater and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. The photography is gorgeous, the acting is masterful, the concepts and questions posed are…well, the less said about that, the better. I don’t really understand the ins and outs of the new Oscar nomination process, but if the system works at all, this film should show up in ALL THE CATEGORIES.
Grade: A
Trailer Trash: Accents and Kmetko Edition
Come join us for a discussion of the trailers we’ve been privileged to experience over the last month or so. Are they tantalizing nuggets of the hits of tomorrow? Or harbingers of Larry Crownes to come? We do not know! But we will assume that we do, because it is our way. Have YOU seen a trailer lately? Do tell. In the Comments, please—we can’t hear you from our cubicles.
Sarah: So is this Main Street movie happy or sad or maybe menacing? It’s unclear from the trailer, but I think we can be pretty sure it’s going to be boring. Last time we discussed Anne Hathaway’s stupid British accent, and this time it’s Orlando Bloom and Colin Firth with stupid Southern U.S. accents. I’d like to propose that, going forward, British people be cast in all the British roles and American people in the American roles. We can elect one or two people to cover special accents: Damon and Affleck will have to do all the Boston movies, and I guess we’ll just have McConaughey do all the southern ones? I don’t know — it’s obviously not a perfect system. It will be up to the rest of Hollywood to either get better at talking or just set all movies in areas of non-regional diction. (P.S. Hi Mags!)
Totoro: Magical for Kids of All Ages
Waiting for the bus with Totoro
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (1998/DVD) This DVD arrived in the mail for my little ones the other day as a gift from a very wise aunt. The next 86 minutes were spent in rapt delight by all of us as we took in this wonderful and unusual film. A creation of the Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki, it was originally released in Japan in 1998 and acquired by Disney and redubbed in English in 2006. It’s the story of two sisters (voiced by Elle and Dakota Fanning in the English version) who move with their dad into an old house in the countryside while their mother recovers from a long illness in a nearby hospital. The house and the woods around it are inhabited by spirits and magical creatures that only the girls can see. It sounds like a foreboding set up — sick mom, haunted house — but the movie is surprisingly lighthearted and charming. As Ebert sagely points out, part of this movie’s joy comes from the fact that it doesn’t hit you with the expected children’s movie scenarios. There are no villains. The adults don’t mistreat, misunderstand, or condescend to the children. A parent who is ill doesn’t have to die tragically. Giant fuzzy creatures lurking in the woods are friends, not foes. Plus, there’s a Cat Bus! Not a bus for cats, silly. A bus that IS A CAT. Case closed.
Grade: A+
This would make a wonderful gift for anyone you know with kids. Or anyone else who likes cats. Or buses. Or needs a reason to smile.
Trailer Trash: Triumphant Return Edition
Come join us for a discussion of the trailers we’ve been privileged to experience over the last month or so. Are they tantalizing nuggets of the hits of tomorrow? Or harbingers of Green Hornets to come? We do not know! But we will assume that we do, because it is our way. Have YOU seen a trailer lately? Do tell. In the Comments, please—we can’t hear you from our cubicles.
Kimberly: And, we’re back! Oh how I’ve missed our talks about the movies of tomorrow…today! Let’s see what Summer 2011 has in store. Try not to cry.
Sarah: Yay! So nice to be swapping thoughts on Hollywood’s least promising offerings with you once again. This trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes is making me laugh so much! Hee! Based on the trailer, I’m assuming that at least 60% of this movie will consist of slow shots of apes staring menacingly at the camera. Why does James Franco seem so wooden and self-serious? Is it some sort of performance art? Stop staring at me, ape!
Herzog’s Cave of Wonders
Rock art depictions of running animals in Chauvet cave
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (2010/IN THEATERS) Werner Herzog’s new 3-D documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, is not an easy film to write about. Like all of the director’s work, there is much more going on than a simple summary can explain and the tone is so unusual and slippery that you’re really going to need to see it to properly understand it. And you should see this one. Herzog was given very rare access to the Chauvet caves in Southern France, home to the earliest known cave paintings on earth. This artwork is unfathomably old–I thought I misheard Herzog’s delightfully odd pronunciation of “30,000 years” until an archaeologist said it again a little bit later–but still perfectly preserved due to a rock slide that closed the caves off at some point. Now access is restricted to a handful of scientists and art historians who are limited to hour-long visits. Herzog took a skeleton film crew inside the caves and filmed the interiors in 3-D, giving viewers an experience as close as we’re ever going to get to being in the caves ourselves. The cave footage is supplemented by interviews with a variety of researchers, most of whom are amusingly off-center. I particularly enjoyed a German archaeologist dressed in animal hides who plays some “tunes” on a flute made from a bird bone (I think that’s what it was?). Anyone who has dedicated his entire life to recreating the music that may have been played by prehistoric men as they drew on cave walls and hunted cave bears and mammoths is clearly Herzog’s type of dude, and his interviews with these people are as weird as they are informative. There are lots of long lingering shots of the cave walls accompanied by nothing but New Age-sounding music, and I’ll admit to veering dangerously close to falling asleep toward the end of a particularly lengthy viewing of some lovely horses we’d already seen plenty of. But I can see why Herzog wants to force us to sit with the images for as long as possible. It’s hard to fully appreciate how very special these paintings are and how lucky we are to be seeing them in detail until long after the movie is over. Check this one out. It will stick with you.
Grade: A-. Avoid viewing at nap time.
Movies That Make You Cringe: a dispatch from our friend Justin
Posted for Justin by Sarah G.
DELIVERANCE (1972/DVD)
“Squeal like a pig”
If you know this quote, then you know the movie Deliverance. This is a fantastic story of four men from the suburbs of Atlanta, who decide to embark on a journey down the Cahulawassee River in remote Georgia. The river is set to be destroyed because of a dam being built nearby. These men, who are out of their element, decide to take on the river before its destruction. They also decide to take on the people in the tiny rural towns along the river. This is a story of man against nature, nature against man, and man against man. It is one of the most telling stories of how advanced civilization takes us further away from the basic fundamentals of survival.
Based on the novel by James Dickey (who also wrote the screenplay), the story takes us into the minds of Lewis (Burt Reynolds), Ed (John Voight), Bobby (Ned Beatty), and Drew (Ronny Cox). These four men are thrown into the thick of moral thought and basic survival. Whether to kill and tell or run and hide is the basic premise of the movie. Without giving too much away, these men make decisions that only men in dire straits could make.
So, enough with the synopsis. Here is why this movie makes you cringe. For starters, you get to see a portly Bobby (Ned Beatty) get sodomized. I don’t know what is worse. Is it the raping of Bobby or is it seeing Bobby in his tiny underpants after a long day of paddling down a river? There is also the scene where Ed (John Voight) is being held at knife point, getting ready to be forced to perform obscene acts upon a toothless man. The cringe factor is diminished, however, because Lewis (Burt Reynolds) saves the day by shooting an arrow through the heart of the man who raped Bobby. There is also the scene where the men find Drew (Ronny Cox) dead, in the river, with a dislocated arm, floating amongst a broken tree. Most cringe inducing, though, is the scene where Lewis (Burt Reynolds) breaks his leg in a canoe. The femur coming out of Lewis’s wet suit and the horrible face he makes when he sees his bone and muscle protruding out of his pants are equally horrifying. Read more »
Let’s Talk About: Oscar Wrap Up
We're guessing the Academy goes a different direction next year.
From: Rebecca
To: Sarah, Kimberly
Some thoughts on the best and worst last night!
BEST
Fashion: I thought there were some fabulous gowns on the Red Carpet. Can’t wait for Joan’s team tonight on Fashion Police!
Opening Inception Montage: Cute in the Billy Crystal tradition. People at my party laughed.
Best Actor/Best Actress Intros: Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock seemed genuine and personal toward the nominees.
Christian Bale: Recognizing and plugging Dickie in the nose bleed seats!
Actual Telecast Length: It helps to have presenters give out two awards each.
British Acceptance Speeches: They do it so well! Witness Colin Firth and Tom Hooper. Read more »
And Now, Your 2011 Oscar Menu!
This dude wishes he could claim a party menu so deliciously punny.
Serious Movie Lover will be celebrating Oscar at multiple party locations this year. Check out our menu and begin working your way into our good graces for an invite in 2012.
For 127 Hours: Mini burritos that must be opened and eaten with one hand
For Black Swan: Blackened Swanee river shrimp E’ tutu ffee
For The Fighter: Down and dirty rice with a punch
For Toy Story 3: Three cheese dip with animal crackers
For Winter’s Bone: Winter’s “bone appetite” salad Read more »
