Watercooler: Fox still rules, but Precious draws the fools. Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock blind sided me.
One of these movies is not like the other.
One of these movies is not the same.
Well, in its first weekend of wide release, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox took a badger-sized dump at the box office with a lowly $7 million from 2,033 theaters. Compare that to the stunningly overrated Precious which earned about the same in only 633 theaters in its 4th week of release. Meanwhile, buoyed by a recession busting $50 ticket price, the special NY/LA release of The Princess and the Frog took in an eye-popping $356,000 per theater in two locations.
As for Fox, I saw it again Sunday night (hence the delayed Watercooler) and it was even better the second time. It is a sweet-natured, clever and joyous film and this is from a guy that doesn’t even have kids.
It’s like this: if you’re a parent and you haven’t taken your children to see Fantastic Mr. Fox, it’s tantamount to child abuse. Seriously. If you dragged the litter to that goddamn money machine Ice Age 3 over the summer, you should make up for it by coughing up the dough for the family to see a movie that doesn’t totally suck. I mean it. You get all kinds of sweet tax breaks stinking up the planet with your sticky-fingered little swine flu carriers, the least you can do is expose them to things that won’t turn them into morons. Isn’t it your patriotic duty?
I’ll give you one more week, and then there’s going to be… trouble.
In other news, I caught Viggo Mortensen in The Road and the aforementioned Precious. You can read the respective reviews below. If you eyes are too tired from the long holiday weekend to scan down, suffice it to say the former is underrated goodness and… well you already know what I thought of the latter.
Finally, though it isn’t my cup of tea, I decided to catch up with Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side to see what all the fuss was about. God help me, but I kind of liked it. All of the critics who turned their noses up to this but tumbled for Precious should find new lines of work. They’re both simplistic, button-pushing crowd pleasers aimed squarely at the middle, but at least The Blind Side is exactly as advertised. If you didn’t know exactly what you were going to get from this film, you weren’t paying attention. Besides, it has a spunky, entertaining Sandra Bullock performance to accompany you through the telegraphed story beats and even a narrative wrinkle or two I wasn’t expecting.
Sure, if only every orphan from the inner city was actually a gentle giant with latent football skills and every privileged white family had a heart of gold the world would be a better place. Sadly, they’re not and they don’t. It’s all bullshit, but it’s entertaining and likable bullshit which is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp, precious stick.
The funny thing is, Pete Hammond has been pumping Ms. Bullock for an Oscar nomination for a couple of weeks and I think he might be right. Not only that, I wouldn’t be shocked if the film itself nabbed one of the ten best picture slots. I’m not saying it should, but Oscar history is lousy with middle-brow feel-gooders and The Blind Side might be just the ticket with the expanded number of nominees. It’s certainly as good of a pick as Star Trek or The Hangover which have both been garnering their share of Oscar buzz.
Also, am I the only one who thinks it’s funny that righty wingnuts are all up in arms over a single tossed off Bush joke in The Blind Side when the film otherwise kneels down to orally pleasure the Heartland while gently fondling its Christian balls? I’ll tell you what: feel free to enjoy some chips and dip to go with this six pack of shut-the-fuck-up.
Finally, why aren’t more people seeing John Woo’s Red Cliff? If Ridley Scott made an epic action flick half this entertaining, the fanboys would be shitting their Spider-Man underoos all over the internet. They get all excited for a Prince of Persia trailer that looks like something Stephen Sommers crapped out after a night of cheap liquor and bad clams, but they can’t get up for a fun, outsized action flick directed by a master of the genre working at peak confidence. Spare me your sequel rumors and Thor casting announcements. Why don’t you put your support behind things with a shred of originality?
Filed under: Watercooler
Lucille and I (and Broadway Bob Eagleson) attended a one-woman show at the City Center Theatre on 55th Street on Saturday evening at 8:00 P.M. that featured legendary actress Lynn Redgrave in an extended hour-and-a-half reflection that focused on her relationship with her grandmother, Beatrice Kempson. There were some interesting segments, but the two directions the marathon monologue ventured to never came together, and much of this play was torture to sit through, even though Ms. Redgrave is often enchanting with some childhood anecdotes. A full review is planned for the site.
I managed two films over the past week:
The Road (Hillcoat) ** Wednesday evening; Paramus multiplex
Me and Orson Welles ****1/2 Friday evening; Angelika Film Center
THE ROAD, an apocalyptic tone poem based on the popular novel by Cormac McCarthy (which I read in its entirety shortly after it appeared and rather liked) is a dull, flavorless, one-note treatise that some have priaised -largely because of a touching final coda- and others have dismissed. There’s little insight into behavior as there is in the novel, and basically this is an incohesive lot of invidual set pieces, impressively filmed but with no direction. I have usually rallied behind bleak, apocalyptic films (Children of Men, Time of the Wolf) but this is a deadining and predictable journey that resembles the conventional horror film in tone and narrative. Surprisingly, the otherwise gifted Cave and Ellis’s score is overwrought. Both David Schleicher and Craig Kennedy liked it though, and that means quite a bit. (and I have since learned that Pierre linkes it too!!!)
ME AND ORSON WELLES If anyone would have told me two weeks ago that I would dislike THE ROAD and love a film by Richard Linklater, I would have said they were crazy. But there you have it. British theatre actor Christian McKay delivers an impersonation of the Mercury Theatre genius that must surely rank as one of the year’s best performances, and even the lightweight Zac Efron is reasonably charming in a film about Welles’s staging of Julius Caesar and his notorious mean streak and obstinancy. For once Linklater manages some genuine emotional resonance, and this is surprisingly one of the years most entertaining and well-crafted films. I went back and forth between 4 and 4 1/2 and I decided at the last moment to be generous.
Hence, of the four posters that provide the lead in to this Watercooler, I only like the first film, FANTASTIC MR. FOX. The other three are forgettable. With one exception I think Craig and I are fully in agreement.
The awards season has finally started in earnest and 2009 has finally gotten interesting, so I was all movies all my time this weekend.
I liked The Road, although I had issues with the ending and the score. It has some brilliantly beautiful yet devastating images of the end of it all that have been gnawing at me for five days now. Few other pictures accomplished such a feat this year, so I’m giving it extra points for that. And the performances were excellent.
Red Cliff was the most fun I’ve had in a theater watching pure popcorn. Compared to the lousy CGI porn fests that Hollywood has unloaded on the mouthbreathers this year, it was Oscar-worthy, but really it was somewhat cliche and predictable. STILL, 10x better than Hollywood’s so-called blockbusters. And Tony Leung is great.
Fantastic Mr Fox was good but didn’t overwhelm me, but I did enjoy it more than Anderson’s last effort and it may be the movie Wes Anderson was born to make.
Bronson was expertly made, but owes a massive debt to Kubrick, Scorsese, Alan Parker, Terry Gilliam, and about five other visually arresting filmmakers. I’m not sure what to make of it, but I give it points for trying awfully hard.
Angels and Demons was better than The DaVinci Code, but just about anything would be so that’s cold comfort. The ending would have made M Knight Shyamalan’s head spin with needless twists and turns.
Humpday had sturdy performances but was lousy with a condescending smirk at straight guys. Don’t bother seeing it.
Watched Letters from Iwo Jima once again, which I really enjoyed the second time through, even though I still don’t care for Eastwood’s framing device at the beginning and end. It’s one of the better films about honor and sacrifice I’ve ever seen.
Also returned to The Notorious Betty Page, which I enjoyed a second time for Gretchen Mol’s performance, but I’m still disappointed the movie overall isn’t stronger. Still, Mol deserved praise for her sadly overlooked work here.
It’s a shame you didn’t go for The Road, Sam. I’m not sure why it’s resemblance to a horror film in tone and narrative is a bad thing. To me it was a strength, particularly because it was matter-of-fact and not self conscious about it.
Plus, there’s a psychological progression to the characters that is more important than their physical journey and it keeps the film from hitting the same note over and over. The journey is important as an ordeal and it gives weight to the climax and I thought most of the individual set pieces were terrific.
Curiously I wasn’t too big a fan of the Robert Duvall section. I’m not sure why.
Anyway, this film certainly has its share of fans and haters. I don’t think it will end up in my Best of 2009 list, but I’m certainly one of the fans. I’m curious now to read the book and see how it compares.
Joel, I was quietly hoping you’d fall for Fox so I’m a little disappointed you didn’t like it more. Ah well, they can’t all be winners.
I’m glad you sought out Red Cliff though. There is plenty about it to nitpick…it’s cliched and a bit corny, but damn it was just pure fun which is something I can’t say about most action movies to come down the pipeline. I watched the first half of the 5 hour version last night and I’ll let you know how it goes.
As for Iwo Jima, I’d have to agree that its strengths outweigh its flaws and I might like it better myself on second viewing.
I found little to like in Bronson. The first time I saw it, I liked Tom Hardy, but the second time even he got on my nerves. No amount of style or energy (and there was plenty of both) can carry me through a vapid couple of hours with a thoroughly loathsome human being. Clockwork Orange may ultimately have been to “messagey”, but at least it had one. Bronson? I don’t see it.
Humpday. I’m kind of glad to hear you crapping on this one which is weird because I never actually bothered to see it. I’m not sure what about it bugs me, but I think you touch on it with the condescension thing. It seems to appeal to a group of dudes who are queasy about the whole gay thing, but are worldly enough to know they shouldn’t be. I don’t know. I guess since I haven’t seen it myself I should just shut it.
NBP was one of my favorite movies of that year, but I know I’m pretty much alone in that regard.
I need to read your review of The Road, Craig, as I found it surprisingly dull as well. Not bad, necessarily, but either the hype or the sound fx from the trailers (that I closed my eyes during) led me to expect something with a quicker pace and/or more urgency. I should reserve judgment until I read the book, but for the moment the film just wasn’t the gripping thriller I was expecting. And maybe I should be glad it wasn’t filled with silly or contrived action sequences in the first place.
And I think talk about “good guys” and “fire inside” typically never translates well to screen. Kids talking like that just annoys me.
That was about all I saw over the long weekend with the exception of an unplanned viewing of The Gods Must Be Crazy (hadn’t seen it in years).
Mr. Fox is next up on my list, and your recommendations and others have me pretty excited.
Humpday is one of those movies that takes an interesting premise and uses it to thumb its nose at the subject because it’s so smug and self aware. It would have been a lot more interesting if it had the courage to actually investigate what it instead chooses to mock. There’s a great movie in there and like I said, there’s parts of this that are very good, but Humpday is not a great movie.
Bronson: I probably misrepresented my opinion of it. I thought it was interesting to watch, but I agree that there’s no real apparent point to the film. I hesitate to mention it, but Bronson may be an excellent if unintentional argument for the death penalty, because its subject is hopeless, supremely dangerous, and far too vile and psychopathic to ever be rehabilitated. Or at least, that was what I took from it.
I was also disappointed to read that large swathes of the film are completely fictional, which makes me question what the point really was.
It’s a shame you didn’t go for The Road, Sam. I’m not sure why it’s resemblance to a horror film in tone and narrative is a bad thing. To me it was a strength, particularly because it was matter-of-fact and not self conscious about it.
It’s a bad thing because it’s NOT a horror film. It wasn’t written as such and the comparison in this sense is unflattering. Thwe apocalyptic message is a global warning of sorts, and the decent into ghoulishness mitigates the ominous essence of the material. If I felt it was “matter-of-fact” and not self conscious, I may have felt differently. But that’s just my take.
I’m not trying to make you defensive Sam. You (and Daniel) didn’t go for it and that’s fine. It’s the kind of movie that if it doesn’t click for you in some way along the way, it’s going to be a ruthless slog. It’s grim, it’s ugly, it’s devoid of humor so there’s not a lot to hang onto.
Daniel, the business with the good guys and the light could easily have bothered me too if it wasn’t the whole point of the movie. Or maybe I should turn that around and say if that bothered me more, I probably also would’ve hated the movie since it WAS the point. It’s simplistic and corny, but it fit for me because I think the kid’s growth was stunted in weird ways by being raised in that hellish environment. Not sure if that makes any sense or if it even really addresses your issue with the film.
In the end, it’s not a film I loved so much that I’ll go to my grave defending it. I think I did benefit from knowing that the trailer juiced up the action and that it was going to be a grim, slow slog beforehand.
Craig, if you re-call, there isn’t a grimmer, bleaker, more disturbing, and more reprehensible film in history than Lars Von Trier’s ANTI-CHRIST, and I saw that film at a very bad time in my life, the repercusssions which are still painful to the extreme. Yet I consider it one of the greatest films of 2009.
I liked McCarthy’s book and generally favor apocalyptic properties in film and in print. I felt it had serious inadequacies. But you are right. The film has many including yourself and Pierre who saw a lot of good there. I do respect that, and at some point I owe it to myself to give it a second shot.
I thought the message of the film was that in the face of such horror, there’s still hope for humanity, so the ghoulish aspects were pretty important as I saw it. It’s possible the message of the book is different, but not having read it I can’t say.
As for the horror of it all, the end of virtually all life and civilization as we know it *is* a horror film for me. The fact that most films on the subject treat it as excuse to be flippant and action-packed is what is truly disturbing. The Road is the rare film that gets the oppressive weight of such a cataclysm right.
“The fact that most films on the subject treat it as excuse to be flippant and action-packed is what is truly disturbing. The Road is the rare film that gets the oppressive weight of such a cataclysm right.”
I don’t buy into that. The film went overboard in applying its apocalyptic canvas. The tone was oppressive (I actually did read this particular book, one of the few novels I’ve managed in recent years) and not a faithful transcription of the written word. These critics have reason to be flippant. Yes, THE ROAD is a horror film in a metaphorical sense, but not in a literal sense. (a fact that becomes painfully obvious with teh way it plays out).
That’s the thing Sam, Antichrist hooked you for some reason. If it hadn’t it would’ve been horrible to sit through. The Road didn’t and I can see why for that reason it was a slog. I’m just saying it did click for me. There’s no right or wrong here.
I like Joel’s take on the horror elements. Like I said, I don’t think Hillcoat was being self conscious about them…he wasn’t saying, ok I’m going to make An Important Horror Movie, but those elements fit with the story and for me it added an element of interest and helped carry me through the bleak stretches.
Craig your response here (#11) is excellent. I can’t possibly add to it.
“For once Linklater manages some genuine emotional resonance, and this is surprisingly one of the years most entertaining and well-crafted films.”
I’ll always feel warmth towards Linklater as an artist. He gave me two films that have a special place in my heart – Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. I haven’t seen all his other films but I also thought Dazed and Confused was terrific and I liked A Scanner Darkly’s ambition.
In the end we didn’t watch any movies this weekend but did take in the first 5 episodes of the BBC’s Life on Mars. It offers a very clever concept with great possibility. The series doesn’t quite live up to its potential so far (a little too much ’70s British cop show homage and routine police procedural and not enough more incisive psychologically explorarion of the main character’s plight) but nevertheless is very entertaining and well acted.
Did you catch the American version of Life on Mars Sartre?
I tuned in for the first couple of episodes and quickly lost interest. Liked the concept, but not the execution.
Speaking of TV shows that I sampled and then they disappeared, whatever happened to that show with Al Swearingen? Kings or whatever it was called. I saw the first one and was kind of intrigued but sort of forgot about it.
I am the only person on earth sartre (no, there is one other, and it’s not Allan) who did not like the ‘Before’ films. Like Henry the VIII, after he requested punishment for complicity in the brutal death of the Archbishop of Canterbury, I have been whipped periodically for my cinematics indescretions.
I am trying to make it up to Linklater. Ha!
I have no interest in seeing you mercilessly flayed for not sharing my taste in the Before films, Sam. Just wanted to underscore that Linklater is viewed more kindly by some.
I haven’t seen the US remake of Life on Mars, Craig. Wanted to watch the generally well reviewed BBC version first.
LOL sartre! Linklater is actually very well liked by most. I’ve always seen it as such.
I saw surprisingly little over the holiday. I did see An Education and Fantastic Mr. Fox, and caught Adventureland and the 2nd 1/2 of Andrei Rublev on DVD.
I’d give Fantastic Mr. Fox at least 4 1/2 stars. Maybe even 5, but I’d want to see it again first. It’s now my favorite Wes Anderson film.
The script to An Education had a few facile elements that didn’t work for me, but gosh Carey Mulligan was compelling. She was as good as I’d heard. Four stars.
Couldn’t re-engage with the Tarkovsky film, unfortunately. Shouldn’t have split it up, but it never truly engaged me to start. I can appreciate why it’s acclaimed even if it didn’t wow me. Maybe someday if I get another jones for a 3 1/2 hour black and white film about 15th century Russian iconographic painters I’ll take another look.
Adventureland was ok. Much more of a light drama than a comedy. Not really funny. The husband liked it much more than I did. He’d give it 4 1/2 stars, I’d give it 3.
I’m a big fan of Linklater’s Before films. Imperfect and lovely.
JB, I never reviewed it so I had to go look up my Watercooler comments on Adventureland from back in April which I will now lazily cut and paste for you. Sounds like we’re roughly on the same page although it might be for different reasons:
“As for Adventureland, it was a huge improvement over writer director Greg Mottola’s Superbad (which he only directed). It was likably sweet at its core and it was also a nicely affectionate evocation of the mid-’80s without overdoing the nostalgia too much, but neither of those things change the fact it was yet another story of an awkward dude wanting to get laid. My awkward dude wanting to get laid years were neither charming nor particularly funny and seeing fantasy versions of them played out on the big screen over and over is my idea of one of the circles of hell.
I’m being a little too harsh. Adventureland was likable and mostly harmless and Mottola has proven he has a knack for a certain brand of soft-hearted comedy. It’s just that I’m going to need some new raw story material.”
I’m with you on Fox. 41/2 maybe easily.
I’m in like with An Education, but I’ve cooled on it from my initial enthusiasm. They set up a nice quandary for the character, then veered into soap opera drama before wrapping it up with an overly optimistic and easy ending. Liked Mulligan and the dialogue and production design though.
I really enjoyed the Before Films, although I think the follow-up is better than the first. I also really like Dazed and Confused and Suburbia but I mostly appreciate A Scanner Darkly for its ambition. School of Rock was entertaining but slight.
However, I wouldn’t slight anyone for not liking the Before films. I’m a big Julie Delpy fan and I’m sure my fondness for her is a large part of my enjoyment of either film.
Sartre, I didn’t finish the BBC version of Life on Mars but I completely agree with your take, so with that I’d suggest ignoring the existence of the American version. It has a stellar cast for a TV series but I only watched because my girlfriend enjoyed it. It was pretty lousy and has one of the worst series finales. Ever.
Adventureland, to me, is a movie that the further I get away from it, the less I liked it. In general, I didn’t care for the performances, save Martin Starr. In particular, Hader and Wiig seemed like they were out of a different film altogether.
I have to admit I haven’t thought a single thing about it since I saw it except one or two times when it came up in conversation.
I didn’t dislike it or anything, but it was cinema vapor to me.
I loathe Kristen Wiig. I’d heard she was better, not doing her regular shtick here. They lied. The woman has 1 note. No perceivable talent. It’s not funny to me and it makes me turn into someone with violent urges towards hack celebrities she’s never met.
Don’t Wiig out on us, JB.
Oh, Joel. That was bad! Haha.
I didn’t get to the movies at all this holiday weekend but I did watch Nights of Cabiria on DVD. Such a great movie.
I probably also would’ve hated the movie since it WAS the point. It’s simplistic and corny, but it fit for me because I think the kid’s growth was stunted in weird ways by being raised in that hellish environment.
Good point, Craig. The sequence with Duvall was okay but didn’t stand out for me. I was a bit annoyed with the Theron parts, though, but I think that’s because of how I reacted to her character. (It doesn’t help that I’m not a fan of hers.)
The fact that most films on the subject treat it as excuse to be flippant and action-packed is what is truly disturbing. The Road is the rare film that gets the oppressive weight of such a cataclysm right.
And another good point, joel.
Alison, Cabiria is one of Federico’s best!
Nights of Cabiria is my favorite Fellini though it never seems to get the credit of his most popular work. Mainly I just love the great Giulietta Masina.
Can’t remember if I already said so above Pierre, but I was also a little disappointed by Duvall. Mainly because I had hi expectations.
Theron (who sometimes I like and sometimes I don’t) had an impossible task in the film…she was kind of a cypher…and I thought she did a good job. Those scenes were important as a representative of what Viggo was carrying inside of him.
Your hi expectations segued into bye expectations.
Recognizing it as Duvall with all of his usual ticks and mannerisms kind of took me out of the film.
Pierre, I agree with you on that. It is definitely one of my favorites of his.
Ditto on Giulietta Masina, Craig. She was a fantastic actress and she’s absolutely wonderful in Nights of Cabiria.
She kept getting kicked to the curb but she always had a twinkle in her eye. She never gave up.
It’s kind of sad that I think Felllini sort of delighted in torturing her even though (or maybe because) she was his wife.
Yeah, even at the end she was smiling. And of course the audience knows what’s coming before it happens to her. It’s such a great movie. Maybe Fellini liked torturing her – or maybe it was just something that went along with a 1950’s mindset about certain things, i.e. a woman lives for a man and she’s not complete until she’s married.
When I realized the old coot was Robert Duvall, I thougt, “Oh, it’s Duvall doing some schtick.” But I don’t feel he hurt the film.
I think Viggo has a shot at an Oscar nod. Although offhand I don’t know the competition for cinematography, I do think it was well done. And the score mostly worked for me, as well as the screenplay.
. . . and by the way, I imagine that Fellini and Masina had something of a unique relationship. I regard La Strada as a feminist film, along with Cabiria and Juliet of the Spirits.
Off topic, but the actor Richard Todd died. He was 90.
I saw that. I only really know him from Dam Busters and Stage Fright so it felt kind of half-assed to make an obituary about it.