Mary and Max, or How 'Aspies for Freedom' should be sold as a shirt

Mary and Max

Written, Directed and Designed by: Adam Elliot

Voiced by: Toni Collette & Philip Seymour-Hoffman

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Mary and Max would make a great double feature alongside PIXAR's Up. After all, in their own ways, they paint a picture of 'living life anew' pairing an older character with a younger one both for contrast and for character development. But whereas Up gives us a candy-colored adventure, Mary and Max immerses us in a world as stark and monochromatic as its color palette.

You see, Max (Seymour-Hoffman doing amazing voice-work) is a jewish-raised older New Yorker suffering from Asperger's syndrome while Mary (as an adult voiced by Ms Toni Collette, a wonder as always) is a young Australian girl with distant and cold parents. They begin an unlikely pen friendship throughout the years and the film moves episodically with their correspondence through deaths, marriages and everything else the world throws at them.

To call the film's humor "dark" would be an understatement (see one of my favorite visual jokes of the film below), but this - alongside its no-nonsense trip through mental illness and depression and their consequences in the lives of Mary and Max- makes the film a pleasure to watch, especially given its visual beauty (the choice to make New York a mostly black and white environment while tinging Australia in brown hues makes for a simple yet inspiring move). At times absurdly hilarious (Mary, for example, believes that Aussie babies are found in beer glasses by their fathers, while Max informs her that in America babies are hatched: by Rabbis if you're Jewish, by Nuns if you're Catholic, and, by hookers if you're an atheist; both a result of their respective parenting) and at times harrowingly uncomfortable (Toni singing 'Que Sera Sera' in a pivotal scene in the film is heartbreakingly stunning), Mary and Max makes for a roller-coaster ride of a film (not just because of its quick shifts in tone, but for its lulls - an unfortunate side-effect of the structure of the film, based on the epistolary conversation between the two characters). A-

PS. I couldn't not share the following frame which seems to pay homage to Collette's breakout film (Muriel's Wedding for those of you wondering) as Mary finds herself crying over heartbreak after getting all dolled up for her neighbor Damien (Eric Bana):

Julia, or How Tilda will fuck you up!

Julia

Written by: Michael Collins, Camille Natta, Aude Py & Eric Zonca

Directed by: Eric Zonca

Starring: Tilda Swinton

What's scarier than Tilda in a mask with a gun?

Mexicans with guns!

It's like Babel meets Tilda Swinton. A-

Julie & Julia, or How Meryl's Julia Child is a treat

[Disclaimer. Excepting the title, this post has been edited to purposely exclude food puns. If you want those, please go ahead and read any and all other reviews about Nora Ephron's latest]

Julie & Julia

Written and Directed by: Nora Ephron

Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina & Jane Lynch (!)

The premise is simple: Julie Powell, a lowly cubicle worker in NYC (living in Queens - eek!) decides to plow her way through Julia Child's 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' and write a blog about it: 524 recipes in 365 days is no small feat but also not very cinematic. This explains why the other half of this film focuses on Child's years in Paris as she learns the art of cooking. Indeed, this double narrative gives Ephron a way to explore the larger than life Child figure and off-set the shrewish and at times off-putting antics of Adams' Julie. While the Queens-dwelling blogger's story is what drives the plot, I think the screenplay gives her little to do other than give a framing device for the much more exciting (and laugh-out-loud funny) story of her icon, Julia Child. This is of course, fine by me. I love Adams, but I love Meryl more.

There is a key therefore, to understanding this film and its centerpiece (namely, Streep's depiction of Julia Child). Since as audience members, we are put squarely in Julie Powell's shoes we are invited to see and explore Julia Child's life through Julie's eyes. The movie is very forthcoming about this in one of its final scenes, but I think it bears pointing this out because for all the strong work that Adams does as Julie, it is Streep (and to a lesser extent, Tucci as her husband and Lynch as her sister) who steals the show and does so by playing, not Julia Child per se but Julie's Julia Child. It is because Streep understands this that her depiction of Child hits the right chord: in a crowded NYC theater, every gesture (smile, look, grunt, you name it) from Streep delighted the audience. Just like Julia, Streep seems motivated by the motto: 'Never apologize' (and why would she? She's Meryl effin' Streep for goodness sakes!). This makes watching Julia's move from 'wife' to 'hat-maker' to 'cooking student' to 'cookbook writer extraordinaire' that much more thrilling; it gives the audience (and Julie) a way out of our own lives and into the cinematically enhanced world of Paris with Julia as our foodie guide.

Ultimately, Julie & Julia is a well crafted picture with a wonderful lead performance by Streep that has an obscenely hilarious first hour (the second half lags a bit) which effortlessly teeters between froth and funny without sacrificing character and offering up mouth-watering shots of food of all kinds. A-

The Hurt Locker, or How Ms Bigelow's film is electrifying

The Hurt Locker

Written by Mark Boal

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Antony Mackie, Brian Geraghy, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce & Evangeline Lily.

The Hurt Locker follows a unit of bomb defusers in Bagdahd circa 2004. Not quite following a plot per se, the film becomes quite early a study in mood and character as Sergeant First Class James (a reckless impulsive "redneck"), Sergeant Sanborn and Specialist Owen work through their last 38 days of their assignment in Iraq. Episodic in structure, Bigelow and Boal keep the adrenaline rushing in their audience by perfectly pacing the sheer danger that recurringly surrounds these characters, never falling back on moral/political preaching. Indeed, why the film succeeds is because whether in focusing on the fear of death which afflicts Owen, the sense of danger which James pursues or the socio-political issues which American soldiers come in contact with in Iraq, instead of "telling" the film simply "shows": it is never a didactic film or a 'message' film, but more importantly, it is an electrifying jolt of a ride with more testosterone and high-voltage action-thrilling sequences than most of the summer box office draws out there. A

Harrry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, or How Hogwarts keeps growing up

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Directed by David Yates

Adapted by Steve Kloves

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham-Carter, Bonnie Wright and Maggie Smith.

The sixth installment of J.K. Rowling's famous boy-wizard saga gets the cinematic treatment at the hands of David Yates who gave us Order of Phoenix (and will give us Deathly Hallows in two installments). Along with screenwriter Steve Kloves, Yates manages to slim down Rowling's sprawling penultimate chapter and center it around three (at times competing) narratives: the blossoming of teen love amongst our heroes, Draco Malfoy's plot to fulfil the Dark Lord's plan and Dumbledore's quest to find a crucial memory that'll help him know more about how to defeat Lord Voldemort. This probably explains the low-simmering pace of the first two thirds of the film, as Yates brings us back to Hogwarts for Harry's sixth year at the magical school (now heavily guarded against Dark forces after the attack on the Ministry) giving us some love woes courtesy of teen awkwardness; some Quidditch matches to fulfill fans needs; some random attacks on students and a rather peculiar Potions book ("property of the Half-Blood Prince") that helps Harry ace the class. All in all, the film moves slowly but surely towards setting up two crucial events: the death of a main character and the revelation of who the eponymous 'Prince' is - both of which fall limp (no pun intended) given the action-less climax during which they take place. Yates and his cast succeed at creating wonderfully nuanced quiet moments (Hermione and Harry at the bottom of the stairs, Harry and Slughorn in his office, Tom Riddle's two memories) but - and this seemed to be a consensus around me in the theater - the two climactic 'battles' at the end of the film (Dumbledore versus the Inferi and the attack of the Death Eaters on Hogwarts) fell short (especially given the wondrous adrenaline-rush of the Ministry-attack in Order of Phoenix). The sight of Dumbledore surrounded by fire (giving us a wonderfully Biblical image) is stunning but the pacing of the scene suggests no real urgency while the Death Eaters rampage through Hogwarts (given how much was stripped from the book) feels needless and aimless (thank god for Ms Bonham-Carter who - providing her own wardrobe and hair, I'm sure, manages to give this scene some spunk). But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise well-accomplished film which depends (quite rightly) on the strength of its cast (both the young trio and the slew of accomplished British thesps proving supporting turns).

Overall this sixth installment did/does what it needed/needs to do: mainly, set up the last (two) chapter(s) in the Harry Potter story. If the action sequences felt muted (or needlessly unthrilling) it might be because this is indeed the calm before the storm, so even if I would have liked to see more crazy Bellatrix, or a more rabid Greyback (really, was the attack on the Weasley's really necessary as a plot/story/action device?) I was happy to see that the dramatic (and comedic - god bless Jim Broadbent!) aspects of the franchise have found its footing in what is arguably one of the most visually stunning and lushly art-directed and -produced installment in the series since Cuarón directed (my #1 HP film) Prisoner of Azkaban. A-

Best scene: Harry after drinking the "Liquid Luck" potion. Who knew Mr Radcliffe could play for comedy so earnestly?

Best scene 2: The mourning wands dissolving the Dark Mark - if only because of the way Maggie Smith can emote without even trying and still out-acting anyone around her.

Away We Go, or How Mendes + Maya = :D

Away We Go

Written By: Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida

Directed By: Sam Mendes

Starring: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Catherine O'Hara, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Alison Janney, Melanie Lynskey... (and the list goes on)

There must be something that Mendes does that I instinctively react to (when, everyone else seems either indifferent or blasé or full-out disappointed). Away We Go, which is basically a bookend of sorts to two of Mendes' previous works (American Beauty & Revolutionary Road) is a meditation of marriage and parenthood (and wouldn't that make a great essay worth writing...). Early on we meet Burt and Verona - editor's note: why must all indie™ characters have quirky names? - one of those 'fuck up' couples everywhere who don't quite have everything figured and decide to roam around the country (Oh, and Canada's Montreal) to 'find themselves.' Okay, so if the setup sounds a bit hokey, it is; but there was something about Mendes' film that worked for me despite the road-trippy structure and the (at-times over-the-top) acting that populates the film. This probably stems from (quelle surprise!) the main actress in the film. Just as Anette and Kate shined in Mendes' earlier attempts at tackling American marriage, Maya Rudolph is a revelation here, grounding the film and making it believable... relatable even. As a sworn fan of Ms Rudolph in her SNL days (oh how those Donatella Versace skits crack me up!) I was completely thrown aback by the skill with which she took on this clearly aimless and vulnerable female and made it work. Everyone else might get the laughs, but it is Rudolph who gets the heart of the film, with her rotund pregnant figure and with just a few looks and smiles. Mendes is a great actor-director, so this should have come as no surprise, but to see such a wonder of a performance is always rewarding. (Oh, and to see Ms Gyllenhaal as a hippie Feminist mom and Ms Janney as white-trash, end up being lovely pleasurable asides). A-

Half of 2009 over?! or How Let's Assess...

I'd be lying if I said I was planning on writing this regardless and didn't credit James for inspiring me to emulate him (highest form of flattery, remember!), but reading over his post just made want to jump on the bandwagon and choo-choo away!

Wait, 2009 is halfway done?

Why do I always feel like the first half flies by while the latter half just stretches on and on? Maybe it's the fact that for me "the year" doesn't end til AMPAS hands out little golden men, yet the midpoint of the year is still mid-summer... which just makes for some crazy calendar calibrating. But I digress. We're halfway there and we must use this opportunity to crank out lists:

Top 5 TV Shows

... that premiered during the Spring Season

(or in one case, was previewed and will return this fall)

Honourable Mentions:

Flight of the Conchords

(Oh those crazy Kiwis! The Michel Gondry episode alone made the lackluster second season worth it)

Big Love (reruns - Season 1 & 2)

(Okay so the whole 'Mormon' political power-grabbing storylines are starting to tire me, but the 'family' drama is utterly gripping. Also: Ginnifer + Chloe + Jeanne = A holy trinity indeed.)

Skins (Series 1 & 2)

(Slowly catching up with this sexy, daring BBC "teen" show - those are quotation marks because it showcases more nudity, drugs, sex & cursing than ALL of US Network TV shows pooled together! Heck throw Showtime and HBO in there and you're still not there...)

5.Glee

After being shown only the first episode I can safely say I have found a new show to look forward to once Fall TV hits. Singing! Dancing! Witticising! It's all I ever dreamed would be in a good show (see 2.)

4. Dollhouse

Joss returns to TV with his beloved (and beautiful) Eliza Dushku playing 'Echo' [and here I'm referring to Wikipedia for a non-confusing account of who she is:] "a member of a group of people known as "Actives" or "Dolls". The Dolls are people whose personalities and existence in the outside world have been wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas—including memory, muscle memory, skills, and language—for different assignments (referred to as engagements)." Despite a shaky start, it picked up steam and I'm aching for more already.

3. United States of Tara

Toni Colette plays a suburban mom with multiple personalities (a teen girl that goes by "t", a truck-driver called "Buck" and a Stepford Wife called "Alice"). Hokey? Maybe, but thankfully at the hands of Colette and written by Diablo Cody, Tara morphs into a compelling study of suburban family life. Add in a great ensemble playing a host of well-defined characters (including her teen gay son, her rebellious daughter, her weird-boobed sister, etc.), add in great pop culture references and you've got a pretty fine-tuned show. Also I did mention Ms Colette is amazing, right?

2. Pushing Daisies (RIP)

The show that couldn't be brought back from the dead (not even by our dear Piemaker himself) came back for its last three episodes, which - despite a rushed "last scene" that tried to wrap everything in nicely tied bows (damn you ABC!), bristled with the usual charm, wit, colour, outrageous murder scenes and surreal musical Chenoweth moments we had come to expect from this gem of a show. Sigh. Not a great sendoff but a lovely bookend that brought our heroes full circle and gave us at long last a Darling Mermaid Darlings show. Ned, you'll be sorely missed.

1. Grey GardensI considered including Grey Gardens under the Films rubric but since it aired on HBO and is a made-for-TV movie (therefore eligible for Emmys and not Oscars) I'd figure I'd let it top my TV list. Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange uncannily (re)create the Beales for us in this lushly executed docu-film, tracing the riches to rags story of Jackie O's relatives, inhabitants of the eponymous summer house in Upstate NY.

Top 5 Films

... released in the first six months of 2009

(in which I sort of cheat because I have seen two too many a film that haven't yet been released, but I don't care, really because it already reads like an mB list - what with animation, musical theatre, Julia Roberts and witty post-modern comedies all accounted for!)

Honourable Mentions:

Sunshine Cleaning (review B)

(give me Amy & Emily and I'm in)

Star Trek (A-)

(who knew I'd actually enjoy this - the only one I've seen - movie from this dead in the water franchise?)

& Away We Go (A-)

(because Sam + ensemble cast + a star turn by a Ms Maya Rudolph pays for itself).

5. Ponyo (review A)

Who knew Miyazaki could retell the 'Little Mermaid' story and make it his own? Okay so we all did. Mainly because we all know he's able to craft wonderfully entertaining films, full stop. Here, the simple premise from Hans Christian Anderson's story gets re-mapped with little kids and all the innocence and wonder they bring.

4. Every Little Step (review A)

If you love musical theater (and why wouldn't you?) and you love A Chorus Line (and why wouldn't you?... okay that's less rhetorical, of course) you'll probably enjoy this dazzling documentary following a couple of Broadway hopefuls as they audition for the 2005 revival of the classic musical about a couple of Broadway hopefuls as they audition for a show. So meta- it's amazing! Plus: singing! dancing! always a plus.

3. Duplicity (review A-)

My letter-grade would suggest it should be lower than on #3 but having been the only one I've seen twice in theaters and considering I'd probably revisit it more often than # 4 and # 5 I decided to bump up Tony Gilroy's sophomore effort, which featured a star-studded, crisply written caper-comedy featuring one of my favorite leading lady (Ms Roberts), a dashing Clive Owen and great supporting turns by Mr Giamatti and Mr Wilkinson.

2. (500) Days of Summer (review A+)

Oh to fall in love! And then to fall out of love because the person you love doesn't love you back, or maybe they do but they don't show it, and then you want them back but don't want to seem like you want them back... I could keep going, but I'd be giving out too much of the "plot" of this film. Yet, even though we all know the plot of this film (it is after all a romantic comedy of sorts) the charm of this flick is the way the story is told, one day of Summer at a time. Also: best closing line exchange ever!

1. Up (review A+)

To say "PIXAR has done it again!" is to sell the Emeryville-based animation studio short: why wouldn't they do it again, pray tell? Sure, WALL-E set the bar (way way) high, but this film about a grouchy old man, a bubbly wilderness explorer, a colourful bird, a talking dog and a balloon-lifted house is endearing, mature, wonderfully riveting and utterly charming (not to mention all-out sad and depressing - in the good way!)

Top 5 Reads

This is for books read in 2009, not "released" in 2009.

(It's like cheating, only not, since I do want to plug these books)

Honourable Mentions:

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

(The plurality of narrators in Diaz's novel make for a great ensemble narrative device that takes through generations of Dominicans struggling both in Santo Domingo - with Trujillo-as-Sauron in power, and in New Jersey - could have done with a more nuanced ending, though)

& Buffy Season 8 (continued) exec produced by Joss Whedon (assorted writers)

Dark Horse's successful run continued with more action-packed (and one-off) adventures featuring our favorite Sunnydale blonde and her cohort of slayers.

5. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

(Unabashedly morally ambiguous, this tale of a professor accused of sexual harassment follows him to rural South Africa where his daughter lives in a farm where one brutal night will change their lives forever. Sound too cliche? It's Coetzee, he doesn't know what that is.)

4. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

A family history told from the point of view of an unborn child? Add in the fact that said "child" grows up to be an intersex child of Greek heritage and you have a compelling narrator, an intricately woven family saga and an entertaining read all in one!

3. Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe (Vol. 5) by Bryan O'Malley

The first four volumes were hysterical, so it was no surprise that this fifth installment continues telling the story of Toronto-dweller, indie-band member and resident loser Scott Pilgrim who's been fighting his love Ramona's ex-boyfriends (and girlfriend) in order to earn her love. Plus: I'm already excited for the film!

2. Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry by Leanne Shapton

Would you believe me if I told you you could tell a coherent story solely through objects? Well, that's exactly what Ms Shapton has done here. Through an auction catalogue, we follow the "love story" between Harold and Lenore. Intriguing premise? The execution is even better! Read my initial fanboy-ish thoughts here.

1. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Couldn't put it down: all 326 pages flew by in three days! After his brain-teaser and scavenger-hunt aficionado dad perishes at the towers on 9/11, Oskar Schell, age 8, finds a key in an envelope marked "Black" while snooping around in his dad's room. Where does the key lead? What does it open? More than a simple enjoyable story, Safran Foer's book immerses you effortlessly in a funnily written and poignantly staged family history about dealing with grief and loss. Brilliant.

Top 5 Blog Posts

...because I'm not beyond self-publicity. No shame 'bout that, really.

(Can we believe that my itty-bitty reposting of a couple of Dustin Lance-Black's pics - no, not those ones! - was my most visited page throwing my page-count through the roof, actually... when will I ever get 1000+ hits in a single day again... sigh)

5.New inductees to "Everything I know I Learnt From Animation":
Oscar nominated Bolt & Kung Fu Panda, Oscar-winner (and modern masterpiece) Wall-E, and Disney classics The Lion king & The Emperor's New Groove

4. Top 20 Movie Characters

And after compiling them I realised I'm some sort of schizo who can love Dolly-loving robots as much as suburban train-wrecks and brassy drunks... what does that say about me? Find out for yourself!

3. I love the ending to 9 to 5, don't you?

I have yet to see the Broadway version of this 1980s "work comedy" featuring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, but til then we can always revisit this comedic gem whose end-titles gave me something to write about for JD's blog-a-thon.

2. Did you know Heavenly Creatures is Ms Kate Winslet's career to a tee?
To celebrate Ms Winslet's victory at the Oscars (and the Globes!), I revisited Kate's career through the lens of her screen debut (courtesy of Mr Peter "Lord of the Rings" Jackson!

1. Academic OscarsThese are the types of posts I enjoy writing: marrying my academic pursuits with my pop culture obsessions. Just in time for the February ceremony, we explored 'manliness' in the Best Actor roles, we found the Best Actress lineup was full of mothers, encountered a couple of crazies in Best Supporting Actor lineup and delved into 'desire' with the Best Supporting Actress ladies.

(500) Days of Summer, or How I love this "story about love"

(500) Days of Summer

Written by: Michael H. Weber & Scott Neustadter

Directed by: Marc Webb

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Zooey Deschanel. 

First rule of fiction-making: the telling of the story affects the story itself.

This, it seemed to me, was the main lesson to be learnt after hearing Tom & Summer's story. Sure, the film centers around a romantic relationship, but its emphasis on (re)playing, (re)visiting, revising and repeating anecdotes, images and little moments throughout make this one of the most accomplished (post)modern "stories about love" (not a "love story") since Kauffman's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. For someone who is obsessed with Clementine and Joel's story, this is no empty praise. To attempt a plot synopsis would be to undermine the feel and intelligence of the script but, just as the trailer lets you know: this is a story about boy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Tom, a hopeless romantic waiting for the "one") meets girl (Zooey Deschanel's Summer, a free spirit realist), but this isn't your traditional "boy meets girl, happily ever after" film. The initial credits tell you this: "The following is a work of fiction and is not based on any real people. [next:] Especially you [insert name I can't remember]. [next:] Bitch." 

That its plot seems at once fresh yet rooted in cliches shifts the emphasis from a simple "what's going to happen?" (cause you already know - especially if you've seen as many rom-coms and seen as much hopeless romantic TV as Tom has) to a "how is it going to be told?" That is not to say there are no surprising plot-twists (arguably the third act works because it throws a wrench in the works that's hard to surmise from our/Tom's perspective) but the film wows and wonders because it manages to tell an ordinary story in an extraordinary way, with impromptu dance sequences, hysterical karaoke sequences, wondrous split-screen scenes ("Expectations" vs "Reality"), inventive formal framing (that lovely sketched landscape) and a final line that will leave you utterly convinced that this is the must-watch Summer 2009 (date) film. A+

Up, or How Pixar remains my all-time fave studio

Up

Directed by: Pete Docter.

Written by: Pete Docter & Bob Peterson.

Voices by: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer & Bob Peterson.

Question: How do you know you're watching a Pixar film? 

Answer: When you find yourself describing a premise/plot that seems at once hilariously original and one which you find increasingly harder to figure out how they pulled off.

This is, after all the studio that gave us a story about monsters who need children's screams to power their city, a film about a vermin turned chef, an epic story about a Woody Allen-esque waste allocating robot in love and... well, you get the idea. Up - the tenth installment in the Pixar oeuvre, steers not very far away from this as it follows a cantankerous widower old man who decides to fly away to Paradise Falls (in South America: "It's like America, only South!") in the house he shared with his late wife with the aid of thousands of balloons. Little does he know that Russell, an eager wilderness explorer was hiding in his porch when the house took off; or that his trip to Paradise Falls will turn into the greatest adventure of his life since his lovely marriage to Ellie. And that becomes the message of the film: you don't need to leave your house to have an adventure. An adventure can be found in the small moments you share with those you love. Good thing the message is wrapped up in a wildly exhilarating balloon ride with great chase sequences, filled with exotic creatures, amazing vistas and more than one tear-jerking scene (can we just say that all montages should look like those presented in Up?). This is indeed a great addition to the Pixar pantheon, adding what's possibly their most complex and mature character to date in the role of Mr Fredricksen: whose squareness (figurative and physical) allows for some cleverly nuanced dramatic moments but also allows for some quirky comedic scenes as well. Adding to my gushing: Giacchino's score and the vibrant colours that populate every frame (I wanted to freeze (and) frame so many shots!). A

Wolverine, or How Bad Films Make for Fun Reviews

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Directed by: Gavin Hood

Written by: David Benioff & Skip Woods

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, Taylor Kitsch, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan & Ryan Reynolds.

Instead of railing against the blasphemous filmmaking that is X-Men Origins: Wolverine (dialogue: horrible, that 'Wolverine Pacific Northwest story' could have been good had it not been delivered so plainly and played for a joke; plot: infuriating, was it going anywhere? were there any stakes involved? what the hell was the boxing scene about anyways?; editing: appalling, re-watch the Gambit-Wolverine fight scene and tell me it's not one of the botchiest editing jobs ever in a big budget summer franchise film; directing: cliche here [walking into the sunset!], cliche there [they are animals, of course they'd run in the forest!], bad montage here [look! it's all these wars in 15 mins!], and don't even get me started on the CGI...) I figured I'd just throw some thoughts out there.

13 Random Thoughts I had while watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine:

- Hugh Jackman is a great actor. Given mediocre dialogue and thinly veiled metaphorisations all around, he grounds Wolverine/Logan in a place where you at least enjoy him on-screen. And yes, he's shirtless and/or naked enough to give us some eye-candy while at it.

- Okay so Weapon XI was Deadpool, correct? That's why it was Ryan Reynolds in his full-ab glory at the end right? So why is Scott Adkins billed as "Weapon XI"? Did something go over my head here?

- "OMG! That Nigerian building is where I spent most of my academic life in my undergrad years!": Who knew that Buchannan Tower at UBC worked so well as a diamond dealing fortress?

- Helicopter scene: Puh-lease. And no I'm not just talking about Wolvie jumping off with the help of the explosion's thrust onto the helicopter, but mostly about Agent Zero's jump into the helicopter... Oh who am I kidding, the whole scene was preposterous EVEN for a comic book film.

- Why do Wolverine's claws look like they're Hasbro-made when he's in the bathroom of that annoyingly nice elder couple? Also, why did they have to play that scene for comedy? That in it of itself seemed to be the biggest issue I had with the film, its tongue was so squarely placed in its cheek, I couldn't really follow through Logan's dramatic arc at all cause every time I did, one of the characters would spew out a useless 'zinger' that rang very hollow and it sucked me OUT of the film completely.

- Rule # 1 of good filmmaking: you DON'T need to show us everything. Was I the only one annoyed at the fact that Hood cut to this after Logan says that's what he wants his dogtags to say?

- Did we really have to get rid of Dominic Monaghan so quickly? His short scenes at the circus/fair were one of the highlights of the film for me.

- Can we get Liev more work? Better work?... What's that? He's playing a cross-dresser in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock? Good!

- Uh, why is Emma Frost's transformation akin to being bedazzled by diamonds?!

- "Am I seriously liking this LESS than X-Men: The Last Stand?" (But then, anything with Sir Ian McKellen makes me like a film more... though the Patrick Stewart was a welcome sight)

- Am I ever going to be able to take Ryan seriously as an "actor"? I'm thinking: No. I'm content with admiring his bulging biceps and his beautiful abs.

- THE END: Are they seriously doing the "walking into the sunset" thing?... And then again? And then again?!

- THE BONUS SCENE: Are you EFFING kidding me? That was it? He was "still walking"? WTF?

Verdict? C -

Every Little Step, or How you really hope they get it

Every Little Step

Directed by Adam del Deo & James D. Stern

They say (who is 'they,' don't ask me...) that documentaries are as good as their subjects. Maybe this is why I enjoyed Every Little Step so much: its 'subject' (auditions and performers, Broadway and a classic musical) is utterly hypnotizing and makes for a great ride. Del Deo and Stern takes us back in time to the 1970s when Michael Bennett sat down with a bunch of NYC dancers and taped a session where they discussed their lives as performers. From that initial session came the stories that make A Chorus Line, whose revival sets the stage for another set of auditions and stories which the documentary tracks. It's 'meta' filmmaking at its best: a doc about auditions and performers vying for a spot in a show about auditions and performers based on try stories about auditions and performers. That all these strands are kept nicely balanced throughout, shows the deft and clear vision of its directors: we care about the performers we meet but we also follow the show's creation and process, and enjoy the snippets of the actual show we glimpse from auditions and callbacks. With a format that might mirror current reality TV, Every Little Step's never misses a beat by knowing that it is not only echoing but re-enacting the show which it is at once following and re-creating. A

Scene to watch out for: Jason Tam's heartbreaking audition for 'Paul' which left both the production team (and this audience member) in tears.

Gigantic, or How THIS is what's wrong with indies these days

Gigantic

Written by: Matt Aselton & Adam Nagata

Directed by: Matt Aselton

Starring: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman & Ed Asner.

It had been a while since a film infuriated me and frustrated me more than Gigantic did. In a way, the film takes most of the things we tend to love (or at least appreciate watching) in "indie" films (quirky characters, dysfunctional families, introspective leads) and uses them in such bizarrely contrived ways that you end up wondering why someone (Aselton, I presume) would think all of the elements belonged in one single film. Take for example Ed Asner's character: he is Paul Dano's father (I won't even bother with names, cause they alone made me roll my eyes every time; "I'm Happy, I mean, my name is Harriet, but everyone calls me Happy", seriously?) and every scene he's in becomes a "Old People Are Crazy" skit, having him ask for bourbon at an office ("Dad they don't do that anymore"), wonder why Paul doesn't have a porter in his apt ("He lives in squalor!" he exclaims) and be utterly overwhelmed by a cellphone. In the same way characters like Deschanel's "Happy," Goodman's "Al Lolly" and Dano's "Brian Weathersby" (see what I mean?) become mere caricatures of themselves by pushing their endearing quirks to awful extremes: Happy comes off as a 'happy drunk,' Al's racism and homophobia try to come off as tongue in cheek but that somehow rings hollow while Brian's big reveal at the end of the film seems like a cinematic cop out for character development since it doesn't feel earned or deserved.

There are good moments in the film (the pool scene between Deschanel and Dano is starkly cute) but these characters, their lives and their dialogue inspired little other than frustration so that when we get to the end of the film and Brian's mom and Happy share a balcony scene and actually utter the words "I think I fucked things up"/"Nothing in this world is fucked up" (or something as inane like that) I wanted to mirror a character in the film and punch these people in the face. Thank god I had Ms Deschanel's wardrobe to stare at (and sometimes puzzle over) otherwise I think I might have walked out. C -

Sunshine Cleaning, or How I could watch Amy & Emily any day, really

Sunshine Cleaning

Directed by Christine Jeffs

Written by Megan Holley

Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Clift Collins Jr & Steve Zahn.

To speak of Sunshine Cleaning and framing it in light of the burgeoning repertoire of 'dysfunctional family/people Indie Films' is at once a disservice to the film at hand, but also a required disclaimer as it does honor and work within the constraints that this new 'subgenre' imposes: dysfunctional relationships, alternate models of 'family,' "growing up" storylines, quirky little kids, death, etc.

And yet, I couldn't help but enjoy myself watching the film. This is, of course, due to the talent of its two leading ladies: Amy Adams plays Rose, a high school cheerleader who's never outgrown the potential she had, but has yet to show anything for it other than an 8 year old boy, a house-cleaning job and an affair with a married cop; Emily Blunt plays Norah, Rose's 'little sister' whose yet to find a footing in life and prefers instead to wander, linger and not take life too seriously. Both in their scenes together and in those where they're allowed to shine individually I was captivated by their performances (Blunt's scene at the train tracks and Adams' scene in the restroom had me in tears, I'll confess). 

Other than that, the plot of the film - while a bit hokey - works just fine as a framing device for these two actresses, which is why when we're off in Alan Arkin-land (reprising his Oscar winning role, basically) or following Oscar's life in school I found myself wishing we'd go back and focus on the girls. In two words (borrowed from the boyfriend), this film is "endearingly morbid" and works quite well at that. B

Duplicity or How Julia and Clive sizzle

Duplicity
Written and Directed by Tony Gilroy
Starring: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson & Paul Giammati

Recipe for a smartly written adult spy comedy film:

- Add 2 A-List actors with great on-screen chemistry.
- Add an Oscar-nominated writer/director and a crackling script.
- Sprinkle a few seasoned actors in the supporting cast.
- Simmer with the score of a certain James Newton Howard.
- Glaze with Roger Elswit's lens.

Voilà!

Duplicity is sexy, funny, smart, quick-witted and maddeningly (but entertainingly) confusing. Scene that pays for the ticket alone: seeing Julia Roberts react to Carrie Preston's sob-filled confession. Watch that scene and I dare you to not agree that Julia is not one of the greatest comedic actresses of our time. A-

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Watchmen, or How I guess I watch the Watchmen?

Watchmen

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Carla Gugino, Matthew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

So, Zack Snyder delivered a 'well-crafted' adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen. Is it a good film? Not particularly. It's an entertaining ride and a great nostalgic companion piece to the (far superior, more intellectually stimulating and much more accomplished) graphic novel. The credits sequence in particular are breathtaking - it's odd how Snyder's 'talent' flourishes when he's not OCDing on painstakingly borrowing Moore/Gibson's "vision" and plotting it on screen. B

Some quick thoughts on the Watchmen themselves:

The Comedian

Who knew a Grey's Anatomy alum would have talent? (I kid... no, I don't) Morgan is crazy evil and loathsome as the character whose death opens up the story. You wanna punch him, you wanna kick him... and that's a good sign.

Nite Owl

Patrick Wilson. Need I say more? Okay: Naked Patrick Wilson. But, all gay fanboyishness aside, can we agree Mr Wilson has the 'social awkward yet smouldering good-guy' character down to a tee? I mean, isn't Nite Owl Joe Pitt without a costume and the mormon drama?

Dr Manhattan

Mr Crudup('s voice and gestures) make Jon a wonder of a character and much more plausible than I ever expected. His pain may not be 'human' but it is damn impossible to miss. Also: blue frontal nudity. 'nuff said.

Rorschach

So the growly voice might be a bit too Christian-Bale-Batmanesque, but it somehow works for Watchmen's most well-rounded and complex character and Haley 'knocks it out of the park' (he might also have beat it, set fire to it, hacked it, etc.) - this is after all his tragedy, no?

Silk Spectre II

Why are women's roles in so-called superhero movies under-written. Okay so you had to take away Laurie's penchant for smoking and thus nixed what is so clearly a window into her broken psyche and, yeah the whole mommy/daddy issues aren't really explored but did Laurie really have to be such a bland character?

Ozymandias

I love Matt Goode. He's a hottie and clearly talented. Why then was I so disappointed with his Veidt? Was it the blond hair? Was it the bluntness with which (SPOILERS AHEAD) Snyder and co. reveal from the get-go his malevolent ways? I say, a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.

Shoutouts to Ms Carla Gugino who is amazing and effortlessly wonderful as Silk Spectre I and to the F/X wizards credited with Mr Manhattan's Lower Manhattan.