Posts published under “Let’s Talk About”
Let’s Talk About…Our Oscar Hosts
James Franco and Anne Hathaway: your 2011 Oscar hosts (artist’s rendering)
Sarah: So Kimberly, what do we make of yesterday’s announcement that Anne Hathaway and James Franco will be hosting the Oscars this February? I think it’s weird. Do you think they’re just calling everyone in Hollywood until someone says yes, or what? I guess Hathaway sang a song with Hugh Jackman a couple of years back when they had that “salute to Broadway” theme (UGH), and I heard she was a decent SNL host last weekend. But does that qualify her to run the show, really? And is it some sort of conflict that they’re both in movies that are being talked up for nominations this year (Franco more so than Hathaway, but still)? I say we nominate these dudes instead.
Kimberly: Yet another reason why you should be our Oscar producer. Truly, I am baffled by this choice. Pretty people get everything in this crazy world—the biggest houses, the shiniest cars, the hottest drug dealers, the finest meats and cheeses—now they get to host the Oscars too? Are these two even popular enough to increase the numbers for the usually low-rated telecast? Are they going to do a dance number? You know Hathaway wouldn’t sign on until they agreed to give her a Judy Judy Judy moment. And I guess Franco can add this to his overachieving, manic resume—he is officially qualified for all the jobs now. I hope Twitter is still around in February, because this will be fun.
Sarah: The New York Times seems to think it’s a bid to lure younger viewers, I guess? But does that even make sense? Hey kids, tune in to watch the stars of The Princess Diaries and Pineapple Express make jokes about The King’s Speech! We know just what you like! Perhaps it’s time for producers to accept the Oscar telecast for what it is: a low-rated celebration for movie and fashion nerds (this is us, Kimberly) that most people don’t care too much about. Own it!
Let’s Talk About…Morning Glory
MORNING GLORY (2010/IN THEATERS)
From: Rebecca
To: Kimberly
I predict a darn good box office for this movie. At last night’s screening here in Denver (thanks to GOFOBO for those free tickets—see Brian’s write-up just below), we had a BIG line to get in and lots of laughing out loud from the audience. I think the movie is fine—funny, well written and with some really good performances. I always love Jeff Goldblum and he’s wonderful here as the cynical boss of IBS—the 4th ranked network– with its failing morning show “Daybreak.” Also really enjoyed Diane Keaton in her pitch-perfect spot as the morning anchor—particularly when things got nasty on-air. Rachel McAdams does a fine job with her incredibly perky main character, Becky, and Harrison Ford is appropriately grumpy (maybe even a little over the top) in his portrayal of the “3rd worst man on earth” former news anchor from hell Mike Pomeroy. People in my audience were roaring at the montage of scenes about 2/3 of the way through the picture when Becky has transformed her weather man into her “live action” reporter (bringing to mind Bridget Jones sliding down that fire pole in Bridget Jones Diary).
Many others writing about this movie have mentioned Broadcast News, but seriously, this one is not in the same league. It is fun, however, in a light-hearted, skim the surface kind of way. Would I recommend this movie to others? Definitely.
My Grade: B
P.S. I’m sure you noticed how Becky’s hair cleverly mirrors her rising self-confidence in the film…heck, Harrison Ford’s Mike Pomeroy even calls out her poor bangs. Nothing like beating the audience over the head with symbolism.
Let’s Talk About…The Girlfriend Experience
You are getting very sleepy...seriously.
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE (2009/DVD)
To: Kimberly
From: Brian
So, Kimberly, in keeping with the spirit of Steven Soderbergh’s barely there, it’s-just-as-boring-as-real-life The Girlfriend Experience, I think we should Let’s Talk About it using as few words as possible—and let’s be sure to choose our bland, pointless words carefully to ensure any readers an instantaneous yet unsatisfying nap.
While I’ve always appreciated Soderbergh’s arty side—balancing out his Hollywood fare with ambitiously quirky, low-budget (and often trail-blazingly digital) diversions as far back as 1996′s Schizopolis through 2005′s Bubble—occasionally his pampered, overindulged muse drops a diamond-shaped turd, such as the daringly boring 2002 Full Frontal and this film, which manages to make boring a scenario (I refuse to say “story”) set in the days leading up to the 2008 presidential election about a (sort of) ambitious high class call girl (played lifelessly by real life Porn StarTM/somnambulist Sasha Grey) who offers her clients a perfect girlfriend experience: super hot, easily undressed, listens to their boring whining shit attentively, etc. While the premise is seemingly rife with dramatic possibilities, unfortunately none were realised by Soderbergh’s mashed potato cast in this disappointingly dry, limp effort. Read more »
Let’s Talk About…Let Me In
LET ME IN (2010/IN THEATERS)
From: Brian
To: Kimberly, Sarah
So, ladies, was this as a big a surprise for you as it was for me? Let Me In totally DIDN’T stink! We should really discuss it. VIA FAKE EMAILS!
First thing, though, let’s acknowledge the amazing film of which this is a remake, the haunting and devastatingly sad 2008 Swedish flick Låt den rätte komma in, released in the US as Let the Right One In. (Hey, who knew that Swedish movie titles aren’t all capitalized like ours? Now YOU do.) Basically it’s a tragic romance between a weird, isolated 12-year-old boy (Owen in Let Me In) and a new girl (Abby in LMI) that moves in next door. Well, she’s a vampire, OF COURSE, and is as isolated and lonely as her new friend. The older man livingwith her, who most assume is her father, is actually her caretaker, in charge of hunting victims, draining their blood into a jug, and bringing it home to the little girl monster. Besides one unfortunate (meant to be?) absurdly comical scene in which a whole mess of CG cats attack a recently made vampire lady, Let the Right One In was a masterpiece of its genre, and one of best films released in 2008, period.
When fans of that film (myself definitely included) heard it was getting a US remake, well grumble grumble grumble. The things that really made it stand out, amazing artfully stark cinematography and knockout performances from the two young Swedish leads, would be completely lost on a US director, right? Well, mostly NOT right at all! (You curmudgeons you!) While the remake doesn’t try to recreate the strangely lit, often gorgeously unreal visuals of the original, director Matt Reeves (of the so-so Cloverfield) has created in Let Me In a world rooted deeper in realism, which benefits the story in a whole new way. And as for the remake’s young lead actors, I adored the original Swedish duo, and was expecting to not accept slick American kid actors (who usually BLOW) in these subtle, dark roles, but I felt Let Me In‘s Kodi Smit-McPhee (last seen in another bleakathon, The Road) and Chloë Grace Moretz (whose turn as Hit-Girl was the only redeeming quality in the otherwise pretty awful Kick-Ass) really handled these challenges like old pros. Read more »
Let’s Talk About…Jennifer’s Body
JENNIFER’S BODY (DVD/2009)
From: Kimberly Faulhaber
To: Brian McClelland
So were you as surprised as I was to actually enjoy this movie? I have been a staunch opponent of Diablo Cody–penned anything over the past few years—I found Juno’s dialogue totally insufferable (though it must be mentioned that the Rushmore-aping direction by Jason Reitman didn’t help), and let’s not even bother discussing the unfun trainwreck that is “The United States of Tara” (even the name pisses me off). I rented this thinking it would be a decent enough treadmill distraction (to qualify, a movie must be pretty to look at and highly mockable or a quick-moving classic) and ended up laughing throughout. Not “at,” but “with”! Cody really dialed back the quippy puns, and I was able to ignore the few she left in because the overall tone was so silly and surreal.
Cohen: LIVE
One-sentence plot summary! Jennifer (Megan Fox) and Needy (Amanda Seyfried) are BFFs who have a falling out that involves the loss of a soul and some boy eating (not in a dirty way). It’s essentially a metaphor for how terribly mean girls (particularly the teenage variety) are to each other—even when they’re besties—and the sexual, competitive, and bullying undercurrents that run through a lot of high school friendships. Jennifer pushes, provokes, and talks down to Needy, and her initial downfall essentially comes because she wants to prove what a tough chick she is by getting into the back of a band’s van. I really like that the sexual-tension-in-friendships aspect is done in a titillating, but not exploitative “girls having pillow fights in their panties” kind of way. It’s a delicate balance, and I think you need to be a truly feminist screenwriter to achieve it believably (not, say, Michael Patrick King or the people who write Amanda Bynes movies). Cody also had a very knowing take on band worship (the scene in which Jennifer falls under the spell of Low Shoulder, a small-time band who are willing to do anything to “be as rich and awesome as that guy from Maroon 5,” looked a little familiar, didn’t it?). Read more »
Let’s Talk About…Cemetery Junction
One guess which is the bad boy.
CEMETERY JUNCTION (DVD/2010)
From: Brian McClelland
To: Kimberly Faulhaber
So, Kim. Did you know that the comic giants that created the original UK version of The Office, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (an actual semigiant at 6’7″!), co-wrote and co-directed a movie this year in their homeland called Cemetery Junction? Well, of course you do, because we are Let’s Talking About it, but until this DVD showed up in a red Netflix envelope last week, I had no idea it existed. So! What were we missing? Not a whole hell of a lot, really. I mean, it’s definitely a movie. It looks and sounds like a very competently made film, you bet. Unfortunately, the film’s content is mostly just a bland rehash of a zillion other coming-of-college-age period flicks with a few grains of Gervais & Merchant’s awkward, dark comedy sprinkled throughout. The biggest problem for me was the casting of some seriously blaaaaaaaaaaaand actors in the story’s romantic core–Christian Cooke as flippy-haired and way too handsome cad-with-a-heart Freddie Taylor and blank canvas Felicity Jones as, well, blank canvas Julie Kendrick. NO! Wait! Julie wants to be a NatGeo photographer. Sorry–these characters are so multidimensional that I’m almost overwhelmed in my understanding of them. Like, Freddie’s best pals Snork, who has an actually pretty hilarious crudely drawn front and back tattoo of a vampire lady and her vampire boobs luring himself (also in the tattoo) through a window, and Bruce, who is angry at the world, but mostly at his dad, who he blames for the departure of his mum way back when. Did you SEE ALL OF THOSE DIMENSIONS I WAS JUST NOW TALKING ABOUT?! Read more »
Let’s Talk About…What We Do Is Secret
WHAT WE DO IS SECRET (2007/DVD)
To: Nestle Crush (Brian)
From: Fig Newtron Bomb (Kimberly)
Thank you, Nestle, for watching this silly, shallow biopic with me. It is so much more fun to be appalled with a pal! So WWDIS tells a much abbreviated version of the Germs story (a seminal hardcore punk band that played in LA in the late ‘70s), focusing on Darby Crash, the singer/songwriter. What a lame, spineless tribute to someone who, while presumably pretentious and insufferable (because duh, he was the songwriter/singer in a hardcore punk band) was surely a little more multidimensional than he is portrayed? The deepest we get is in an unintentionally comical flashback: a 10-ish-year-old Crash being shooed away by his mother as she gets drunk in a diner, then sitting down to read Nietzsche. Baby genius alert!
Movies like this make the “punk lifestyle” seem totally achievable and palatable—just dye your hair, say a few positive things about Hitler, abuse some instruments, and you’re in! What a glamorous way for a bored teen to spend a few years. I am sure the people portrayed had it a little rougher than the well-pressed clothing and fashionably messy hair (OK, hilarious wigs) in WWDIS suggest. Read more »
Let’s Talk About…Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (IN THEATERS/2010)
BASS BATTLE!
From: Brian McClelland
To: Kimberly Faulhaber
So…Scott Pilgrim vs. the World! Having never been much of a gamer OR or comic book (ha, I called it a comic book, Kim) fan, I wasn’t expecting this film—touted as pretty much targeted to those precise demographics—to connect much with me. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Edgar Wright’s third film—following the excellent horror/comedy hybrid Sean of the Dead and the fun but slightly overcooked Michael Bay buddy cop tribute Hot Fuzz—is a hilarious and rollicking good time on par with his smashing debut. I smiled through through every frame of this thing.
Making Canadians cool: Michael Cera and Co. in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Although the irreverent story—taken from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s manga-inspired series of graphic novels (Scott Pilgrim [Michael Cera] must defeat his new love’s seven deadly exes in order to continue dating her. What?)—is very silly and often quirky for the sake of being quirky, Wright’s sharp cast handles O’Malley’s cleverly absurd dialogue masterfully, grounding what is a fantastical premise with ease.
It’s to Wright’s credit that the cast remains in focus here, while inhabiting a hyperspace, visually explosive manga-infused universe. My fave visual element is when Scott’s band plays and their awesome rock power is seen as a visible, tangible element, flying off and over the band into the audience as if bursting forth from some awesome volcanic force. I found the visuals to be consistently and exhilaratingly kinetic without fatiguing my eyes, or my nerves, for that matter. I was pleased it wasn’t released in 3D—with this much action in the frame, it would likely have only served to distract from the quick and witty dialogue and just-quirky-enough performances from this shit hot ensemble of young actors. Read more »
Let’s Talk About…Step Up 3D
The Pirates represent!
STEP UP 3D (2010/IN THEATERS)
From: Sarah Gremillion, BFAB
To: Kimberly Faulhaber, Brian McClelland, Crew Members/Posse
So, Step Up 3D! This movie was a perfect outing for the three of us, combining Brian’s passion for good-looking digital 3D (I’ll let him fill in the details) with my and Kimberly’s love of the dance battle genre. A good dance battle movie has to include three elements: a ridiculously contrived plot moved along by poorly-delivered stilted dialogue, a boring romance no one cares about, and, duh, dance battles (the more the better, the sillier the better). Based on those criteria, Step Up 3D is the mother of all dance battle movies. The plot: Remember Moose from Step Up 2: The Streets? Of course you do. On the first day of his freshman year at NYU, he stumbles into and wins a battle in Central Park (happens all the time!), an innocent act which propels him into the New York underground dance scene where he is taken in by a dance crew called The Pirates (bitchin’ name, guys!) and their Vanilla Ice 2010 leader Luke. Their enemies are The Samurai, who dress in all black, obviously. This is a world in which all problems are solved by dance. And where people are constantly opening doors to reveal rooms full of people free-styling furiously in preparation for upcoming battles. Clearly, it is pretty great.
Rick Malambri battles some Samarai. Not in a gay way. At all.
And the battles! Oh so many battles. Director Jon Chu, who also directed Step Up 2, really sincerely does an awesome job with these dance sequences. One that took place in a dusty warehouse and another on a floor covered with a few inches of water were really fun in 3D. The dancing is all pretty fantastic, with the exception of one dude whose sole move is the robot – you are not invited to join our crew, robot guy – and another who finger-danced over the closing credits.
The hilarity of the plot contrivances and the bad dialogue and even worse acting is too pervasive for me to even explain here. A stand out example for me was the progression of time. Problems arise and are then solved in a matter of hours. Films are edited and completed in half a day. College applications are accepted, deans are met with, mortgages foreclosed and then saved, all in the span of about a week. Read more »
Let’s Talk About…Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans
BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL, NEW ORLEANS (2009/DVD)
From: Brian McClelland
To: Kimberly Faulhaber, Sarah Gremillion
Hello, Ladiez! Have either of you seen Abel Ferrara’s original Bad Lieutenant from 1992? One of the most harrowing tales of drug addiction ever, made even bleaker by the audience’s prolonged exposure to Harvey Keitel’s wiener. (Seriously, I think Keitel must have made the You-Gotta-Show-My-Wiener clause an ironclad contractual requirement for his ‘90s work. Who HASN’T seen it at this point?)
Which brings me to the film that is decidedly NOT a remake of Ferrara’s film—says the director, the awesome German weirdo/genius Werner Herzog—and a different monster altogether tone-wise, but for some reason titled in a way that would, uh, beg to differ: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans. Boy, there really is no possible way to say this title within the confines of casual conversation. It is TEN SYLLABLES LONG, people! But that weird title is par for the course for my fave crazy filmmaker, an eccentric artist who never met a p.o.v. alligator shot or lizard hallucination that he didn’t like. Read more »
