COWBOYS AND ALIENS

8/1/2011

I was looking forward to seeing this. I love sci fi, a touch of Spielberg, the fine steady hand of "Ironman" Jon Favreau directing, Harrison Ford and hot stuff 007 Daniel Craig starring...what could be bad?

Well...sort of...everything that could have made the film a great film...

Why? Why? Why?

Was not someone with a brain in the editing room? Who decided to linger long and embarrasingly on Harrison Ford's line deliveries? Who approved this script? It sucked.

Oh wait...there are 8 (count them) WGA writers given credit on this black hole.

It's another of these films that starts with promise...a very cool opening scene...nice photography...a mystery...Daniel Craig wakes up and it's the west and he doesn't know who he is, where he is...yes yes...then some cowboys wander by and you get your first inkling that this film might stray into dumbness and bad acting not saved by editing or score...and look at these producers! Spielberg, Ron Howard, Favreau, gag...?????? Oh...let's excuse the badness because it's supposed to sort of be stylistically sort of comic bookish? But...no it doesn't even go there...it just...falls...flat. Why, Steven, Why Ron, Why Jon you guys are the masters of making magic out of the ridiculous, the far out, the comic book hero?????

Somehow, Daniel Craig comes out of this mess not looking like a complete idiot...I did think he was thinking..."what else can you expect from American actors and Hollywood" as he walked through the film and did nothing which seemed to be the safest choice with the lack of care these esteemed editors put into putting actors in their best light...thank goodness he was cast! G-d knows what they'd do in the cutting room with an actor who tried to do more...I won't even post their names here...Paul Dano added a real touch of interest near the beginning of the film as the cattle baron's (Harrison Ford) rambunctious son...

Considering the huge build up using tv ads...etc. you almost think there is someone behind the curtains and this is a "Producers" like business venture to create a bomb that's going to pay off big on tv and video because of the names attached...not sure...uh...

This one made Starship Troopers look like a Bergman film.

To give it a scrap of credibility the film is entertaining in a very low brow sort of way because it is a sci fi film that takes place in the old west! It may become a cult classic but not for the right reasons....maybe someone will make a musical out of it! There are some cool looking aliens, cowboys, real Indians...but this film, unlike some of the spaceships you see, never takes off.

BRIDESMAIDS

5/20/2011

The happy professional relationship of Kristen Wiig to Judd Apatow finally got the girls their due with this groundbreaking comedy film featuring a slew of middle aged women being funny. (Screenplay by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo).

The reason it's groundbreaking in my opinion is because really, not since the days of The Women (1939)...the golden age of matinee films that recognized women as being a huge audience in and of itself...the argument out there remains there's no audience for women comedies.

While, most notably, Nora Ephron has gotten some funny women front and center, even she whines that you can't get a film made in Hollywood if it doesn't satisfy the Hollywood fundraising rule that a film must cater to the men to succeed and that she will purposely write her stories to satisfy that audience (and oh yes she said this at a talk she gave at an NYWIFT speech last year in Manhattan much to my chagrin as she apparently buys into it.)

In this film it's women's relationships with each other that is the fun of this film. Apatow doesn't cringe away from laying on the toilet humor thick (excuse THAT pun) even in this women's film he manages to let it FLY...but you know you'll get through it and laugh.

Some wonderful talent in this film from Ms. Wigg to her bride pal Lillian played by Maya Rudolph. Melissa McCarthy is howlingly funny as the butchy sister (and fan of Fight Club) of the bridegroom, Matt Lucas and Rebel Wilson are the fantastically horrible brother/sister roommates to Wiig's character, Rose Byrne is perfectly cast as Helen...an actress to watch in the future for sure, Chris O'Dowd gives a fine "straight man" performance that holds the story together in a more realistic way, and Jill Clayburgh does herself proud in her last film appearance in her amazing career as Wiig's mother...how fitting it was in this film that will probably advance the cause of professional women, and in particular professional straight women of a certain age, in Screen Actors Guild being seen as a commodity, not as a liability, shut out of roles written for them of any weight...

I hope this film's returns at the box office continue to push back at the fictional barriers which are really sexism/ageism in the Hollywood industry.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

8/8/2011

Joe Johnston does a great job directing this appropriate adaptation of the Marvel comics superhero Captain America.

Well made film, very nice casting of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers who carries this film admirably and dramatically as the skinny, unhealthy geek who after being turned down five times for serving during WWII finally gets recruited by Dr. Erskine (Stan Tucci) for active duty by way of a top secret experiment. Other actors of note include winsome Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Tommy Lee Jones as crusty Colonel Phillips and Hugo Weaving as the evil Schmidt.

The film is what you expect for an action adventure based on a comic book character, maintains the fun, captures the aura of America during the war years and sets the audience up for the inevitable sequels....while no it isn't a Spielberg Indiana Jones, it's red, white and blue entertainment with clear cut good and bad guys for the PG+13 through adult of all ages crowd.

....the 3D version I watched was mostly young guys in the audience having a vicarious WWII thrill with their buddies! Interesting. Very different from the Sex and the City film audience!...a little later I watched a bit of the 2D and the audience was a much more mixed crowd. I did enjoy this film in 3D I think in this case it enhanced a stepping back in time experience which was more compelling to me, especially the Brooklyn and fair scenes, than the way the 3D impacted the shock and awe effects in the action sequences.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

8/15/2011

A romantic comedy about two rejected sensitives who decide to be "just friends" who have sex on the side.

Fast paced, edited very well for this genre and style, witty dialogue (if it doesn't make you stick your fingers down your throat to barf at the stupidity of how the subject matter is handled) and a dream team of supporting actors...Emma Stone (the ubiquitous "cute" and funny girlfriend when she's not in a movie like The Help), Woody Harrelson as an awfully amusing "strictly dickly" co-worker, a solid Richard Jenkins and the refreshing Jenna Elfman. Revelatory as a screen dream is Olympic star Shaun White...would have liked a lot more of him as a movie in himself.

The couple? Mila Kunis as the NY headhunter who is recruiting (Mila a rejected woman? yeh right...like...who would buy that?) and Justin Timberlake as the LA wunderkind being recruited for an art director job at GQ.

Hey, I loved Justin as the nasty dic* in The Social Network.

In this film, he actually pulls off the acting again so people know S.N.'s performance wasn't just a fluke...but as a woman who finds looking at him a bit disturbing, not to mention his geeky adolescent speaking voice, it's just hard for me to buy that a Mila Kunis in a part in a film or otherwise, would be doing this dude? I don't think he'd be even in my first 100 choices as the focus of a man who would bring romantic thoughts to my mind...maybe they should find him something like...a Lawrence of Arabia or something...but no...to continue...

In any case IT'S A MOVIE and I guess there are women who think Justin Timberlake is a heart throb...I just don't think this romantic magnetism crosses the proscenium in a movie theater...BUT MAYBE THAT'S JUST ME. So it was hard to watch a good bit of this film which indulged in soft porn tease (gratefully without the skin thanks to a blanket over the midsections of these two through most of these)...It went on too much..too long...too annoyingly.

I look forward to anyone going back to old fashioned romantic comedies that don't rely on endless screen time on sex acts under covers so we must know every position and possibility is covered as in this film.

I guess this film goes down (excuse the pun) as an attempt to push Justin and Mila more center stage on the A list...yes they both can act...and they both can do nude sex scenes in every position and look perfectly happy doing so...but I think they're both better than this...maybe their agents will get them in films with stories that are less stupid and embarrassing.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

THE HELP

8/14/2011

Skeeter, an ambitious college grad, returns home to Jackson, Mississippi with ambitions to be a writer.

Essentially, she becomes a spy in the midst of the southern belles she's had lifelong friendships with as she turns her sights on the hired help in their homes...the descendants of house slaves who are working without minimum wage or other basic decent treatment as employees, living within the boundaries of the Jim Crow laws and apartheid system still existent in the deep south in early sixties America at the dawn of the civil rights movement.

The film is written and directed by Tate Taylor, a hugely unknown director, but working under the able team of Michael Barnathan and Chris Columbus, the NYU wunderkinds and second generation Spielberg mantle carriers.

I hadn't gotten a chance to read the novel, and am sort of glad I saw the film first without having to compare...so let me start with the good stuff...

The film will have you laughing and crying...the script is that good (ok but this is a story from the book by Kathryn Stockett...not having read the book I'll guess the story and dialogue were kept true to the book??? Others can comment on this)...the performances, most notably by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, are Oscar winning as the housemaids Aibileen and Minny. Sissy Spacek as Missus Walters, Cicely Tyson as Constantine and Allison Janney as Skeeter's mother turn in strong performances. Jessica Chastain, as Ms. Foote (the bumbling Marilyn Monroe type woman rejected by her peers) turns in a surprisingly vulnerable and winning performance (see her as well in The Tree of Life). The Help is a well made film with acceptable production values. The score by Thomas Newman is unmemorable surprisingly for him...but acceptable.

My issues are with the able performances by our young white debs...Skeeter, played by Emma Stone...a winning young actress I just saw in Crazy, Stupid, Love...and Bryce Dallas Howard...Ron Howard's golden girl daughter who has already proved herself in such films as Shymalan's The Village, tee off as the writer and the Queen Bee racist, Hilly..and these girls are fine actresses...but for some reason I felt there was some sort of gloves on mentality choice made by these producers and director to never allow these talents to get down and dirty in the mud which I think would have put their performances over with more range...I just didn't feel they rise above the expected because you just don't feel privy to WHY Skeeter is so compelled to betray her personal friends, or why someone like Hilly is such a complete and utter racist...I think it was a mistake to just have it as a "given" in this movie because it makes Stone's performance somewhat pedestrian and shallow and Howard's almost stock caricature in this rich pastiche of a story, threatening to reduce the ambitious nature of this film to soap opera.

But...I think this disaster was barely skirted because this is an ensemble cast piece at heart, and the ensemble is so strong overall it manages to raise this film above the benign it could have become because of the unfortunate choice of minimalizing the dramatic performance and content of these two major characters.

In any case, see the film if you never read or don't plan to read the book...and if you read the book and see the film please comment!

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE

8/11/2011

Crazy, Stupid, Love, with a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, is a cleanly scripted story about the vagaries of love; at the heart of the story is the fallout for members of a suburban family after the father's childhood sweetheart wife asks for a divorce.

Very nice performances by this ensemble led by Steve Carell (the father: Cal) with Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore (Cal's wife: Emily), Emma Stone, interesting newcomer Analeigh Tipton as the babysitter, the precocious Jonah Bobo as Cal's son Robbie, and Marisa Tomei as Robbie's 8th grade teacher with men issues.

This is one of those films you'd classify as a dramedy. It's not sick enough to really be a black comedy, it's subject matter is too seriously handled to call it a comedy, but it resorts to enough shtick to still be in the comedy bin.

This is a crackerjack script that with development and interesting direction (directors on this were Glen Ficarra and John Requa) could have landed the film in "The Graduate" league rather than in the banal, soap opera pedantic category of filmmaking. I think it was a missed opportunity for the producing team and for Carell who seems to be seeking out vehicles for himself that show aspiration and ambition. Unfortunately that didn't happen here, though there's no faulting it is a well made, well produced film with smart choices to keep budget down and focus on the story and actors. It just didn't rise to the promise of this cast and script which would involve taking a chance on more creative direction.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

8/5/2011

A scientist (James Franco), inspired to push towards a cure for a disease his father (John Lithgow) is suffering from, sees positive response in a lab chimp. The experiment seems to go horribly wrong...

So begins this phenomenally good sci fi flick and prequel to the Planet of the Apes films. (though I believe the actual decline of humans in the original films was based on another human tragedy which I won't go into here...but ok it took dramatic license...there is always the multiple universe theory if you go back and forth in time and this one suggests a very likely scenario that many of us remain in denial about that could wipe out humanity and leave other species intact.)

It's hugely entertaining and a satisfying time at the movies on many levels.

While there's some validity in a few of the critiques saying the film is cartoonish, partly because there's a couple of stock characters and a bit of homage to the earlier Apes and Charlton Heston's dialogue...kudos...I believe this film is another animal entirely...more of the satisfying feel of those great sci fi films of the 50s like the original The Day the Earth Stood Still rather than the more contemporary Spidey movies....as well stylistically it in no way reflects the freewheeling approach of the classic Ape films...nor in the heavy handed Lucas type approach of the Wahlberg film directed by Tim Burton. It's photography is clear, defined, classic and uses San Francisco as its backdrop.

Most outstandingly, John Lithgow and James Franco as father and son bring dramatic depth to the film raising it above the level of the lightweight.

This film, as well, is downright disturbing in its underlying commentary on humanity's arrogance in its treatment of the creatures that share the earth with us, those who can't speak for themselves, the difficulty of not responding to violence to those who harm us, the rejection of our g-ds, our fathers, our benefactors when that worship and love puts us in chains.

This may be the first film, as well, where a cgi character may go down as the greatest performance of the year at Oscar time. Caesar the chimp. To be fair though, there seems to have been human collaboration as Andy Serkis is credited with this part...yes the same actor who played King Kong in Peter Jackson's opus as well as Gollum/Smeagal in Lord of the Rings....TYPECAST?????

Rupert Wyatt, the director, is an interesting fellow who's been quietly working with Picture Farm, developing films for companies such as Miramax, and debuted as a feature director with The Escapist...this film is going to put him solidly in the forefront if he chooses to continue with big fantasy blockbusters...I'd have happily sat through if twice the length and do hope he will be given the prequel sequel to this one.

I think it's impossible for small children to not have a switch go off at some point and relate to Caesar as one of their own rather than animal...it's a painful story of lost innocence, disillusionment in those who tell us they have our best interests at heart...a harsh lesson that's drummed home in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. While I think the filmmakers did an admirable job to keep the film as bloodless as possible thinking it would appeal to all ages, the film is horrifying on a much deeper level that makes it suitable for a more mature audience.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

INCENDIES

7/27/2011

Incendies is a 2011 Oscar nominee for best foreign language film and is directed by French Canadian Denis Villeneuve, based on Wajdi Mouawad's play.

Canadian twins, a boy and a girl, are read their mother's will by her boss of 18 years, which compels them to delve into their mother's secret past in order to obtain her final legacy.

Presented as a dual story, intercut between past and present, Incendies is a riveting tale that cuts to the heart of the madness of senseless war and the cruelty it incurs. In this film, we revisit the Lebanese conflict (Jordan is used for locations), though the story is one that could have been set within any borders and between any conflicted neighbors.

The film stars Belgian tri-lingual actress Lubna Azabal as the mother Nawal Marwan in an unforgettable, riveting performance.

While many accolades have already been laid on this film, I think what's most striking is the story and screenplay, the actors' performance one and all (and kudos to Remy Girard as the notary Jean Lebel) and the fine use of local talent in a culture western audiences don't often get to see up close and personal.

However, while some will walk out of the theater and dismiss the film as contrived and familiar ("Aha...Greek tragedy!")...well, the Bard never shied away from such twists and turns and you will get every one of them in Incendies...both expected...but then...I think for most...unexpected.

I do, however, feel that though the film flowed, never loses its interest, has purposeful imagery used thematically throughout the picture, and has that aura of je ne sais quois that especially french classic films have (even down to the minimalist sound score), it would have benefited from more care with choice of editing and coverage, especially closeups...and missing these chances on this film were unfortunate and for me killed the emotional impact I'd want to have had from the ending of this film. There are laudable scenic shots, and some especially fine editing choices during emotionally charged scenes, and safe choices that get these fine performances in, but...WELL...ok I said my say.

Overall, strongly urge you get a screening in of this one this year highly recommended and look forward to others comments on this one!

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2

8/1/2011

Perfect conclusion to the Potter series.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

HORRIBLE BOSSES

7/25/2011

Omigoodness is this a funny film.

So well done as a comedy, all around town nice, and in some cases, surprising performances that come out of the situation and characters.

Even the drawback that you have to suspend belief that three guy pals could make the dumbest choice of many options rational people could make to solve their problems placed at the heart of this story doesn't diminish the fun of this picture.

There's something great to be said about all the actors in this but I'll start with the icing on the cake. Jennifer Aniston is a sex crazed dentist, a bit of a twist on her usual nice girl parts; Kevin Spacey as a bad assed boss is interesting as always; fun to see Donald Sutherland in a comedy the man still delivers; Colin Farrell just physically goes all out there as a coke head nincompoop.

Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis are class comedy acts as two of the three friends at the heart of the story...

But it's without doubt Charlie Day (in the role of Dale Arbus) who in my opinion completely steals this picture, though it's certainly an ensemble film in every sense of the word. He's just a fine actor, not just comic actor, and though I see he has a long history in television I'd never seen him before and really enjoyed this performance as a rather bumbling, innocent dental assistant trying to thwart advances by his boss, Jennifer Aniston.

The other performance that's just great and hilarious is Jamie Foxx as this bad dude Dean "MF" Jones.

Catch this film if you want a fun time at the movies with some giggles you won't regret it but be warned Aniston's performance alone is too mature for the kiddies!

Kudos to Michael Markowitz for the clean, balanced story and screenplay (shares screenplay credit with John Francis Daley and Johnathan M. Goldstein) and the easy hand by the director Seth Gordon (is credited with directing a couple of episodes of The Office but has otherwise a few credits in a number of disciplines from cinematographer to producer before directing this...expect to see more and bigger features directed by this guy who has that touch with comedy) who got one great performance after another out of this talented cast.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

OUR IDIOT BROTHER

9/6/2011

After spending Labor Day in Coney Island, idiotically, watching idiots on amusement park rides that seriously looked insanely dangerous, some waves action in Brighton Beach, one beach over, with a friend in a yellow polka dot bikini getting a lot of attention from idiot men with wedding rings on, recently arrived from Kiev, then, a narrow escape from a probably blade wielding biker chick from the Bronx because of interest from the biker's idiot boyfriend at Nathan's, and an invite for salsa dancing on the Coney Island pier with some Latino fisherman catching crabs they appeared to enjoy torturing before settling them into their new home, the idiotic white plastic bucket...

I arrived back on the Q in Union Square...and off we went to see Our Idiot Brother.

This movie is about a trustingly naive organic farmer from LI who likes his weed, whose good nature is deemed idiotic by others, including his own sisters who, rather than appreciate the angelic nature of their brother, deem him an idiot and subsequently take advantage, dismiss, talk down and ultimately blame him for the consequences of their own actions.

Paul Rudd stars in this movie which, though short on big comedy and a bit diluted because it follows too many relationships to ever do more than touch on each briefly as it relates back to the main character, is extremely pleasant. Rudd's often been the straight guy opposite the starring idiot which has worked very well with him casting wise, most notably in I Love You, Man and Dinner with Schmucks.

So no, this isn't a big film nor a huge laugh riot, with characters I found very California and LA and a bit unbelievable as being a group of characters brought up on Long Island where much of this story takes place to the point that my idiot friend at the end of the film, who is actually originally from New Jersey (I'm not saying it..just refer to Jersey Shore) actually asked me where these characters are supposed to be from...I just said probably out past Huntington in an idealized Suffolk County where most farming these days is by the big cash people who've bought out the potato farms and turned them into vineyards, and well, it's possible maybe one LI vegetable farmer is actually concerned about the organic nature of their dirt and is growing weed like the fabled farmers of Marin county, whatever, this movie is about an idiot, and I'd think assumes most in an audience watching it are idiots too and who really cares that these characters are hard to believe as being farmers anywhere on LI if you're from LI...it's just a movie.

In any case you can go to this film and leave with an idiotic smile on your face and a bit of shame in your heart if you've ever blamed a family member for your own issues because they outed you unintentionally when you'd been trying to deal with an issue by avoidance or dishonesty. And the next time you adopt a pet and idiotically name it after a country star, and it's possible a LI pot head organic farmer would do this and be a big fan of C&W as well, why not, after all I did mention above this is a movie where anything is possible, it means even I may finally become a goat farmer and create organic cheeses on LI because I am just such a fan and I'm an idiot, don't say you weren't warned....oh I'll need startup money for that anyone have 500 bucks?

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

LARRY CROWNE

7/9/2011

Tom Hanks directs this and co-writes with Nia Vardalos, the comedian/writer behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

This benign, quirky rom-com about an ex navy man (Hanks) fired from his job at a big box store for lack of higher education and his subsequent enrollment at a local college where his meets Julia Roberts, a jaded english teacher, has lots of potential but falls short on development and there's an air of forced joviality to the film that does the opposite of what it's supposed to do...it rings false in a film about simple people.

Alvarez, a student at the college is drawn to Hanks because they arrive their first day of college on scooters...then, this director and writer have her appearing throughout the film insinuated into the story as the deus ex machina which inevitably becomes annoying and, quite frankly, destroys the film along with other little mistakes...not the fault of this actress, Roxana Ortega, rather the mistake by these writers and director.

I think in the hands of a competent director who wasn't as close to the material this piece could have been developed into something quite nice, motivations of peripheral characters could have been strengthened and their actions quilted seamlessly into the story, but this isn't realized under the hand of Hanks.

Which is a shame because there's so much charm and potential in these characters and the situation that by the time the film is over, you sort of feel like saying..."ok, now let's have a do-over and get this film on its feet."

Guess we'll have to wait for the sit-com as the film is a good set up for such and they can lift this cast for that...it will work. But kudos to Hanks and Roberts in any case for doing what the rest of us are working at...making small independent films reflecting the filmmaker's voice that have no need to overreach on budget and be embarrassing...the difference is these guys don't have to knock their brains out raising the financing and Hanks should move on to his next little rom com as writer/director having learned the obvious mistakes in this...in any case it's downright refreshing these days when any Hollywood heavyweight recognizes the worthiness of small, character driven films in this era of cgi deluge and he should be encouraged to continue in this direction.

Another pleasantness...the use of songs by Tom Petty, ELO and the closing credits were quite nice!

MONTE CARLO

7/8/2011

This is a surprisingly charming teen and family friendly rom-com helmed by veteran executive producer Stanley Wlodowski (American Beauty, Eat Pray Love) with Nicole Kidman as one of the producers.

It has a young, fresh cast, many familiar from tv shows including Barney, Glee and Gossip Girls.

I'm a sucker for location films, in this case Paris and Monte Carlo...

Selena Gomez, who has a baby faced Sandra Dee aura about her, plays the lead (Grace) in this benign story about a Texas girl, her stepsister and friend who are sent on an unsatisfying and frenetic holiday tour of Paris and, thanks to a case of mistaken identity, land in Monte Carlo where they experience the high life.

These three young actresses are charming and talented and you want to watch them...Leighton Meester, as the stepsister (Emma), has the vibe of a young Olivia De Havilland and Katie Cassidy (Meg), daughter of pop star David Cassidy and granddaughter of Shirley Jones, has a bright appeal about her and as well a sophistication.

Cory Monteith (Glee) plays Meg's fiance Owen, Luke Bracey is the Australian hunk Riley who sweeps Emma off her feet. The young french actor Pierre Boulanger, as Grace's love interest, especially lights up the screen.

On a side note, it was interesting that Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille, Lost) composed a score that is reminiscent of a lot of the sixties, seventies teen tv shows like The Brady Bunch and I thought to myself did they in fact hire a television classic sit com composer on this but no...he's a versatile composer and it was a choice that worked and kept the spirit of the film light.

In each generation a film shows up that launches the career of a group of young actors. While this film may never be as important as a film like Diner or Pretty in Pink this group of actors will be rising through the ranks on their own and will all be actors to watch.

And if you're like me and like a bit of rom-com comedy fluff from time to time this film won't hurt one bit. A nice escape from the summer heat.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

TRANSFORMERS 3: DARK OF THE MOON

7/8/2011

Michael Bay knows how to do silly.

Shia LaBeouf is back as teen hero Sam Witwicky. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is the new babe of the month and this one looks like she stepped out of a Victoria Model magazine but she tosses off her lines with aplomb and really does seems to have fun performing in this film as do veteran actors Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and John Turturro. Someone hasn't tipped off Josh Duhamel that he can let his hair down in this one and Patrick Dempsey plays a bad guy, though he doesn't come across as much more than a wimp.

Give it up for Michael Bay and his aliens allied with humans at war movie! He does it again! He must have been awfully bored as a kid with his G.I. Joe! Thank goodness for cgi!

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

BEGINNERS

7/3/2011

Directed by Mike Mills, stars Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent.

I have to preface this by saying the advertising is misguiding. While this is advertised in television ads as a sensitive, lighthearted drama about a young man whose father, among other story lines but this is a major one, admits to being gay and comes out after the death of his mother, the film is heavy and depressing and focuses a lot on how father and son deal with the father's stage 4 terminal cancer with its onset after the death of his mother and his father's announcement of lifestyle preference.

So be warned.

It's well made and original in its approach but very slow paced. There's a wonderful chemistry on screen between McGregor and co-star Laurent as the two, somewhat injured by life, love interests who are trying to learn how to have a relationship after growing up with the confusing information about how to give and receive love bestowed on them by their parents. The father's relationship with his new boyfriend and activism with new friends through the gay community is countered to his mother's isolation and quirkiness prior to her passing...the memories through time and how the social realities changed through each era and its impact on these individual family members is prefaced with stills and commentary by McGregor's character.

A worthwhile film to see but no walk in the park to watch with its sad subject matter but a picture about being able to start fresh after recognizing how everyone, straight, gay, parent and child, was damaged by past laws and prejudices and choosing to move on to a place where possibility, hope and love need not be a hidden or an unattainable thing

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

HANNA

5/20/2011

Haven't been on in awhile doing reviews. I've been renovating a room. Got a cheap smaller tv, a Best Buy brand, to finish it off...a Dynex. It doesn't suck!

So I haven't been running to the movies as much or festivals for that matter...I'm addicted to AMC and of course HGTV which has taught me all the tricks for repurposing to achieve better design in one's home!

In any case to catch up here's one I saw weeks ago...Hanna.

Starts with so much promise then gets a bit predictable as an amalgam of Brother Grimm fairy tales and a sci fi story we've seen before...the motivation of her nemesis is not entirely clear even if you consider it explained away by insanity...the producers may have edited out the story thinking nobody would care much...well sheesh...

In any case the excitement is the actors in this...and some good looking locations and cinematography supported by the editor's work. Joe Wright (Atonement) is one of these atmospheric directors who knows how to do great work with his actors and he does no less here even with this stunted material...reining in a rather over the top Cate Blanchett and keeping her compelling.

Saoirse Ronan is a fascinating young actress if any of you have been following her most notably as the younger sister in Atonement and then in her breakthrough performance in The Lovely Bones as Susie Salmon. She, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett carry this nonsense winningly and she's the big story about this film...can't wait to see what she does next and hope she's not pegged to forever be cast in supernatural, sci fi, or what not thrillers...I fear next it will be outer space and an alien encounter????

Whatever...I just hope her agents can push her into worthwhile material so she can step into the promise she'll fulfill as possibly the next generation's finest young screen actress.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

BARNEY'S VERSION

1/18/2011

BARNEY'S VERSION, the adaptation of a novel by Mordecai Richler and directed by veteran television director Richard J. Lewis, is a rich pastiche of life as soap opera of one Barney Panofsky.

Luckily, what could turn maudlin and predictable is saved by these brilliant actors, subtly effective editing and light touch with the dialogue; the cast is spearheaded by Hollywood's own Snow White and the Seven Dwarves "Grumpy", Paul Giamatti, with his quirky and quicksilver behavior. Dustin Hoffman, the dream team dad to Giamatti's character is here, as is a truly fun Minnie Driver as a pampered J.A.P. and Giamatti's second Jewish wife who lacks that je ne sais quois after he finally runs into the shiksa of his dreams (and boy, I won't go into the offensiveness of these stereotypes but...moving on...boys will be boys and write novels and make movies AFTER ALL!!!!! However, I do assure you for myself and the majority of Jewish women, the vast majority of us aren't in and out of mental institutions, with families snobbish as a result of financial success, shrewishly demanding men wash prior to lovemaking!!!!!)

While the film is very well done technically, it's scripted in an old-fashioned way and is at heart pedestrian in that it's rather safe in its choices. I think the film itself, with the story spanning the years as it does, could have been a lot more creative and compelling if this approach had been less linear.

The result is a piece that seems to be in a war with itself: a "should-we-do-it-as Woody Allen would or no no no Douglas Sirk would do it better"....impossible not to make this comparison for me at least.

In any case, go see this film. Because there's quick skirting through a couple of the plot points you might enjoy it more during a second viewing once you're familiarized with nuances of the story...this is a satisfying couple of hours of movie watching, Giamatti's performance is completely wonderful with moments that will stay in your mind's eye, and the cast as an ensemble is superb.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

LITTLE FOCKERS

12/26/2010

OK well, look it's Christmas...I decided to do a small fete tonight (six which indubitably swelled to 8 when two crashers appeared) for the first time in a few years for my friends without family for various reasons (or living here with families in other countries)...

This year I had the brilliant idea of pre-buying a few tickets for a film so that I could have an excuse to get people out of my apartment late in the afternoon to avoid having party animals hanging out past midnight...

So three quasi brits and I merrily went off to attend the 4:20 of LITTLE FOCKERS figuring why not...some laughs on Xmas...

Why not hang with Barbara, Dusin, Bobby De...?????

Unfortunately this third in the series is the clunker...

But...if you want to spend some time during the holidays reliving the horrible ordeal of a family get-together, and won't be having the real thing, this film may be for you...if you want to laugh at another family having a really miserable time you will get this in spades in LITTLE FOCKERS...it's a film that in its ghastly way WAS the perfect film for Xmas with a house packed to the gills with Xmas revelers having a fun time watching this mess.

Hilight?

Ha ha ha yes I'm still writing here...

A surprise appearance by Harvey Keitel as a pr*(k contractor...what? no top billing?

And, Jessica Alba as a sex maniac nurse wild for Focker working for a pharmaceutical company...

Sad that these characters (and actors) who can be used in so many ways in any sort of story that could go in myriad directions with excuses for interesting locations and plotlines etc. could have so little thought put into the third of these series; instead it felt like a rehash of "Focker's hits" of the past; it did make me nostalgic for the National Lampoon's Chevy Chase Vacation series that never let me down in this way....worst of all...there was no real effort to incorporate the new Focker children in a significant and original way to bring a fresh perspective to the Deniro/Stiller relationship....a lost opportunity with this screenplay.

Best Xmas gift I received you ask? No, nobody bought me the new panasonic, but I did receive a Kmart elf hat! You put it on, press a button and it dances and sings on your head...scared the s*(t out of one of my cats.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

TREE OF LIFE

7/7/2011

Terrence Malick's masterpiece won the Palme D'Or at Cannes this year...I got an invite from a DGA member and off I went to see it today at a members' screening.

What's odd about seeing TREE OF LIFE is I was just watching a show on I think The Learning Channel this past week about dreaming and how, especially with nightmares, humans work through problems in order to better function during waking hours; that dreaming was probably what helped with the survival of the human species and that early man practiced myriad ways to escape wild animals, for example, in the dream realm so that when danger faced them they'd respond quicker and practiced.

It was argued that without dreams, humans would not have survived those millenia.

Watching Tree of Life was akin to entering a dreamscape that I imagine will imprint itself on any viewer who goes to see it and will stick in the unconscious and reappear in our own dreams...where do we come from, where do we go, what does our existence mean?

Put aside expectations of how to watch a film, what to expect and let yourself go with this extraordinary experience in film watching of the audio and visual...hey yeh you can freak someone out with 2D!

In this beautiful work, Malick explores the path one chooses and presents two choices: nature and grace. Using a middle class Waco, Texas family in the fifties filtered through the inspiration of the biblical story of Adam, Eve and their sons Cain, Abel & Seth, he explores the experience of birth through death mostly from the point of view of the eldest...a troubled young boy at the time of his coming of age...or shall we say awareness (as a man he is Sean Penn) and his strict father (Brad Pitt).

The grown-up Sean Penn, working in the sterile concrete jungle, is haunted by memories of the brother he lost, and his difficult relationship with the father he acknowledges he takes after.

As there is evolution in nature, so do we see the evolution of this boy and this man juxtaposed by the warm "eden" of this Waco home and the cold world he now exists in as an adult.

The film is impressionistic by nature with sections that will be reminiscent to the viewer of Kubrick's 2001 (especially in its use of a huge amount of classical pieces through this section and into the narrative as well the father is an accomplished organist who gave up his dream of being a musician for the realities of raising a family...and in there is a whole other discussion I'll leave to someone else) as Malick whirls through evolution from the time of creation of our physical universe through life on earth. The past present and future fuse at times both in editing and within the picture, images fly past like bits of the unconscious meant to lodge in the brain and be twisted over; much like the pondering the characters themselves go through as they reflect on life, their relationship to G-d, and their struggle to rise above the violence in their nature.

The actual narrative doesn't kick in until possibly 1/3 into the film; the filmmaker has made a film that begins, as we begin, taking in impressions in the way a child would until the day language must take precedence to express what is inexpressible by image and disconnected sound/words alone.

In any case, don't miss this movie. I look forward to everyone's reaction to it...even after this screening I heard at least one DGA member exclaiming if she'd had to pay for it she'd have walked out if she weren't being held captive in a theater...perhaps many will have this reaction to a film if they expect to watch a film that is told in a straight ahead narrative way...but as this is a filmmaker board, I must stress, its hard to argue the enormous effort evident in this work on all levels...the sound work is amazing, the child actors are compelling, the editing, script and directing is extraordinary and somehow meshes together and bonds into what it most certainly a unique, groundbreaking and extraordinary film unlike anything you've seen prior.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

THE KING'S SPEECH

12/24/2010

(Ha...I called this one wrong Oscar-wise...when will I learn that British Royalty and Prime Minister roles are Oscar winners!)

Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helen Bonham Carter, directed by Tom Hooper...this director helmed the John Adams series with Giamatti which was so well done.

In any case, Albert has a speech impediment and seeks the counsel of a speech therapist (Rush) and ascends the throne as George VI.

Nicely done...in this year of great films I doubt it will win "best film" at the Oscars which some are shrieking (?) but steady, clean work by all involved with strong solid performances by the actors.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

THE TOURIST

12/22/2010

You know I expected it to be worse...terrible trailer...

But quite frankly, I'm a sucker for scenic films...this one was shot in Paris and Venice. And, you get to coast along with a nerdy Depp and Jolie on a train in the requisite dining car scene.

Ah yes...

It's light tripe in the tradition of a one note whodunit and you get to watch Angelina wear these amazing earrings and necklaces and part of the fun is trying to guess if they're paste or worth the cost of the entire production budget. On loan from Harry Winston?

I found it light, amusing (oh and it's supposed to be) and forgettable...if you like scenery and looking at Angelina this is for you.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

THE BLACK SWAN

12/13/2011

I study ballet in a rather obsessive way...often managing five classes a week this past year...so of course, a friend who gave up ballet as a child because (so she claims) her feet were destroyed by dance classes demanded I attend this film with her after listening to her numerous lectures about the dangers I face studying this craft that have become more dire within the past few months...culminating in her shrieks of "do NOT talk of ballet to me EVER," when I meekly suggested she attend my school's Nutcracker!!!

Needless to say, I feigned illness and avoided attending the film with this friend on her urgent requests...knowing full well she'd sit next to me lecturing me through the film with "SEE! I TOLD YOU SO! Ballet is SICK! GIVE IT UP!" (Thank goodness she's not aware Zelda Fitzgerald decided to be a prima ballerina in her later years and famously worked the barre only serving to prove one who does such while approaching menopause MUST be psychotic!!!), and went tonight with another friend who claims ballet ruined her knees but not her love of the ART...so off we went!

This is certainly a dark, anti-Christmas holiday film, so perhaps you wouldn't want to see it on a day of joy and merry making...and I suggest you not drop acid or get drunk before you see this film...because you might get a bit freaked out.

But HOLLY GO LIGHTLY THIS IS A GREAT FILM!!!!

Natalie Portman is perfection in this film (there is a bit of channeling of Audrey Hepburn in this)...I've often thought her performances film to film have been uneven...her V for Vendetta work was awesome, Star Wars downright embarrassing...however, here she shines in the performance of a lifetime...and undoubtedly her Oscar.

Darren Aronofsky explores the black and white...in Pi he played with black and white film as he explores black marks on white "paper" (kabbalah) while trying to unlock the ultimate codes of G-d, here, with the black and white he explores duality of psyche in his choice of costume, character development and brilliant staged compositions for the camera as a corps de ballet prepares a production of Swan Lake at Lincoln Center...effects are seamless within the story...you're blown away by their visual effortlessness that must have involved enormous cgi work and care...

I would call this film more of a psychological horror than a thriller and the film and music editing were extraordinarily effective in a way that can only be compared to some of the great Hitchcock moments...freaked out quite a number in the audience I was attending with....I thought the sound work was exceptional (I noticed the mix was done at Sound One).

I could go on...but let me just say this script is perfection, this is a perfectly made film from beginning to end and the story/script will leave you with endless unanswerable questions to mull over for days after a viewing...Barbara Hershey is outstanding as Nina's (Portman's) mother, Winona Ryder does a very good performance as a washed up prima, Vincent Cassel is the perfect counterpoint to Nina as the seductive company head/choreographer.

But above all, go see this film to see a masterpiece by Aronofsky in the art of filmmaking, the like of which is so rare to see in a movie theater...if you feel nostalgic for a Bergman or Cocteau, it's heartening to see an auteur film like this can still somehow be managed to be made.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

DUE DATE

11/26/2010

It's Thanksgiving, a day spent with family and friends in a restaurant where everyone but our table had ordered a turkey...throwing our host into high anxiety throughout the meal.

In vain did she try to persuade the waiter to at least cut her some slack and provide a turkey leg, but alas it was not to be and the tension reached a fever pitch!

I tried to get drunk through this but my pre-dinner bloody mary was missing the vodka; the red wine was from California...so I tried the Italian white as there was no chianti OR CHILEAN REDS...just didn't do it for me...

After this rather dismal meal my good friend and I hopped back on the LIRR into Manhattan and decided to partake of more turkey...in a Regal Theater in Times Square...just in time, too, for a 9 p.m. of Due Date that both of us had decided we couldn't bear experiencing alone and how lucky it was that the moronic holiday spirit had kept the fun going after the meal.

This is the year for comedy films about idiots who accidentally fall into some uptight guy's life and humanize them...Zach Galfianakis and Robert Downey Jr. gamely hurtle through this wackadoodle...to give you an idea of the humor they had a vivid dog masturbation scene and other fun stuff...

Yes we laughed our a**es off through this picture...but really...does one have a choice given the lead up to this, dare I call it, oeuvre? NO! FOWL I SAY!

In any case, this was a day of a lot of turkey, it was a fitting conclusion...but of course after that we spent quality time taking pictures of outrageous tabeleaus from current Broadway hits on the lit up stairs on 47th street and met tourists from Mexico who thought we were insane but obliged and did some of the camera work!!!!!! (this particular picture was snapped by my friend who is not Mexican, not even from Turkey, but of Eastern European descent from a city rather inappropriately bombed during a previous administration while she was stuck there during a red tape snafu involving her green card application...since then she's obtained her citizenship and a right to eat turkey as an American...it's a classic Fosse pose I was working with just the other day in a dance class with one of his famous Fosse dancers turned theater dance teacher but I think my thumb position is wrong!)

(FUNNY PICTURE OF ME IN TIMES SQUARE!...NOT REPEATED HERE!)

Benjamin Franklin tried his darndest to make the national bird the TURKEY but I do believe the right thing to do would be to simply to make the turkey the official bird of Hollywood IN HONOR OF THIS PICTURE AND SO MANY OF ITS FOREBEARS! After all there are A LOT OF TURKEY SHOOTS IN HOLLYWOOD!

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

BURLESQUE

12/20/2010

Omigoodness this is a film where you will shriek, "What were they thinking?"

Obviously it was made by someone who wanted to create a vehicle for a couple of divas...

Slap slap slap for this silly screenplay that could have been written by a grade school kid with every cliche in the book of the girl who goes to Hollywood (or NY) to break into showbiz but worse than this...the confusion of the direction...no excuse whatsoever for HOW BAD the choices were.

There have been bad screenplays before but for goodness sakes didn't anyone have the sense to have some respect for the musical form???...if the story is about a burlesque house must the film indulge in a ballad about lost opportunities sung as a burlesque "number" in the middle of the film by Cher, a song that would never be in a burlesque show I mean reality goes out the window and suspension of belief can't stretch this far.

Did it occur to them that perhaps writing in a real musical theater style where the songs come out of the character/situation if they wanted to make moments like this work might have been a better choice? How could THIS MANY PEOPLE have looked at the script as it was before they shot this mess and not realize IT WOULD NEVER WORK????

Did they have to cast Alan Cumming and have him recreate a look from his successful years in Cabaret? IF I WERE HIM I'd have preferred to wait for death to be immortalized for that role in wax rather than to have had it dusted off and put in this.

Did they have to have art direction that would reflect this same Cabaret the musical in the decor, the hair for Christine...and then pop back and forth halfway through the film into California neo-modern? Was there no one who worked on this who understands direction equals consistency of concept in the art direction as well as everything else in a film?

Ha ha ha what were THEY THINKING?????? BRING ON MORE RED FILTERS!!!! NOT!

What a great idea...an original musical film (to be of course down the line recreated on Broadway) based on breaking into a modern burlesque house in Hollywood...cute, quaint, adorable...and then be afraid to do something original or at least consistent with it???????

To not trust something unique and all its own would hold the interest of an audience with these stars, reduced to the gay icon status someone felt safe to rely on by pounding THAT about them over what they consider the dumbest of audiences heads, is insulting to the fabulous talents that were cast in this film and a project that had so much potential to be SPECIAL...shame on these choices.

If you want to go to enjoy seeing Aguilera, Cher, Tucci, Cumming and a surprisingly good Kristen Bell as the bad girl SINGING AND DANCING, or just appearing in the film, go for it...all I can say is as bad as the Sex and the City films have been, they had far more integrity than this film...even down to the scary song and dance by Liza Minelli in the last one...they weren't pretending they WEREN'T playing the gay icon card to the hilt...this film with its conscious high brow rip off of Cabaret didn't even seem to understand the difference between cabaret and burlesque...except for one attempt in a number by Cumming that seemed to have been thrown in as an afterthought...for the great film on burlesque go back and look at Friedkin's THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S...though set in the time period of burlesque (or the downfall of) it was a film with a story...as was FUNNY GIRL a vehicle for Streissand and a story of Fanny Brice, breaking into show biz in the Ziegfeld Follies, shows that grew in popularity at the same time burlesque still existed. Both those films, interestingly enough, were made in 1968.

1968 was a time of a sexual revolution for women in society...free love etc. so it isn't surprising those films were made that year...

Again...it leaves the question...WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?????? WHY MAKE A FILM called BURLESQUE in 2010? The long drawn out moment where Aguilera falls in love on her first encounter with "burlesque" goes on and on to the point of embarrassment but...hell...how else to set up this story which has so much nothing going for it...and then her scene with Cher which (suspension of belief doesn't help here) the Aguilera character claims is her first makeup lesson (they don't have makeup in Iowa, the "boring" state Aguilera's character comes from, and morning television talk shows and fashion magazines?????)....Hmm...anyone want to make a film? A musical about uh never mind.

OTHER THAN that...Aguilera has chops...great vehicle for her triple threat ability...she carries the film because she's likeable and you don't care what she's doing on film she's always charming to watch...THAT'S a big asset that this girl, never starring in a film before, pulls one off just for this reason...Cher looks a bit toasted in this and sort of sleep walks through the part in which she was stupidly used with the worst lines on the planet, Tucci needs to stop taking roles where he's the support and advice giver to the female newcomer...seen it before.

And...

I have to say...

Kudos to the editor on this mess...her name is Virginia Katz. I notice she edited Dreamgirls...this woman should win an award for making a film out of this awful stuff by piecing it together to keep it light and entertaining enough that you forget you're watching ripped off tripe. GIVE THE WOMAN A HAND SHE RICHLY DESERVES IT! And a bonus by these producers who should be kissing her a** for making this film bankable...without her the pasties would have fallen off.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

11 months ago

HEREAFTER

10/21/2010

Oh well...to be fair this is not Clint's worst film...Changeling was pretty awful...but let me start with the good things...

Good idea...good performances (some)...nice cinematography and direction and follows three characters lives and their relationship to death/near death...Matt Damon is a psychic in the US, a pair of twins in the UK and a French celebrity talk show host/writer is the third..I'm a sucker for location films that get great shots of exotic locations, Paris, London, Hawaii...I imagine this a compelling reason to CREW on this film...

However, I found the storytelling from the screenplay point of view weak, the characters' motivations within the context of this fiction not believable...the script seems to have been written cerebrally with no care that the characters in this film behave truthfully; the care wasn't taken...a great film has characters EVEN IF CONFRONTED BY WOOKIES behaving truthfully in the context of the world and emotional world they inhabit, and ergo their choices and actions. Not so with this film in the smaller and larger moments of this story, many that are interesting but then aren't put over well. Yes dramatic license...yes you can choose to overlook the nagging feeling of being had by this film but, well, it was a disappointment to watch it start out with such great promise...great characters, and then feel cheated by what I guess were easy choices by this screenwriter that I guess he saw as cinematic.

The editing was done with long strokes, pacing was slow but there's enough interest that you keep with it.

Overall, though the film misses because it's a good idea that just doesn't have the bite in the screenplay to push it over the edge, the viewing experience is pulled off well; you're mildly entertained and you like these characters .....the first scene is so exciting it essentially carries the viewer through a good way into the film until you realize there's not much more to it...

Matt Damon does a lot with a character in a story not going anywhere fast and Cecile de France is an ethereal, interesting actress who you'll want to see more of on American screens after this film.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

11 months ago

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER

10/12/2010

Ah Woody...if you need your fix here's his new film.

Intelligent tragicomedy about generational choices in the pursuit of happiness...is the fortune teller really able to predict or is she a charlatan out for money? Depends on your point of view according to this story...but fortune rises and falls depending on what you choose to believe.

Love Woody's use of London and his casting here...Naomi Watts gives the finest acting performance I've seen her do as Sally; here she's given the material to work with...gives a nice dimension to Woody's script having her as the daughter of Gemma Jones...Ms. Jones is just wonderful as an aged woman who comes under the influence of the fortune teller, and Anthony Hopkins is nice and even as her husband.

Josh Brolin appears as Watts husband, Roy, a one novel wonder who seeks out the attention of a new neighbor, a classical guitarist named Dia, (star of Slumdog Millionaire Freida Pinto has an ethereal beauty reminiscent of Jolie but with such innocence). Antonio Banderas is the art gallery owner Watts develops feelings for...

The film stealer though, with all this talent, is Lucy Punch as a questionable golddigger...now she was very wacky in Dinner with Schmucks as the psycho ex, in this film she's equally out there and she goes right up to the edge of camp but keeps it real...funny funny funny girl.

As I said, what a cast...

The disappointment is this script makes its statement then Allen ends the story just when your appetite is whetted for perhaps more madness and mayhem from these characters and you think "what's going to happen next...OOPS HE ENDED THE FILM!...well, they say leave your audience begging for more and this is what he did...good artist's choice but boy was I ready to sit through another hour...by the way...great long camera shots watch what he does in Sally and Roy's apartment and the color correction to give the film a warm glow tricking you into feeling you're watching a film from another era...faded photographs...his films continue to enlighten and teach future filmmakers with his intelligent choices in storytelling, both scriptwise and behind the camera.

Updated 11 months ago by the author.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

7/8/2011

I've kept a copy of Hemingway's A Moveable Feast on my shelf for years and took the advice to read A Paris Wife before attending this film.

While it isn't necessary after all to read A Paris Wife prior to seeing the film which starts out as a story about an American writer accompanying his fiance and her family to Paris (the father is on a business trip) before he stumbles somehow into unexpected time travelling, it does help to educate oneself on the historic friendship between Hemingway and Gertrude Stein and her penchant for holding court for the artists and writers of the time (early twenties in Paris) and I believe coining the phrase "The Lost Generation", before seeing this film.

It also helped re-immerse me in the peculiarities of the Hemingway style, his voice as you hear it in his novels and stories, his painful efforts to always write a true sentence and his relationship to the other writers of that period, particularly the Americans ex-pats...

That Woody Allen then takes to make this HILARIOUS film that captures the essence of such luminaries as Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Zelda, Dali, etc.

Look for fun turns by Alison Pill as Zelda, finally performing in an out of the ordinary adult role for her for a larger audience, and Adrien Brody as Dali. Owen Wilson is wonderful in this made to order part as the Hollywood hack turned novelist...he's the Jimmy Stewart of our time and the perfect protagonist for Woody Allen's dialog.

This is a true francophilian homage to Paris, it's lovely architecture and vistas, its incubation of artists in the 20th and 19th century, and a fun time at the movies.