Ein Rheinländer kann sich in Bayern schon mal schwerlich zurechtfinden, den eigenen Akzent abzuschalten und den des Gegenübers zu ignorieren und sich irgendwie verstehen zu können, fällt da nicht immer leicht. Das ist aber kein Vergleich zu dem Kulturschock, den Bill Murray und Scarlett Johansson in Sofia Coppolas oscarprämierten Film erleben.

Zwei amerikanische Bürger stranden in einem Hotel in Tokio. Bob Harris (Bill Murray), ein ehemaliger Filmstar, dreht aus der lieben Not heraus Werbung in der Millionenmetropole. Seine Familie lässt er in der Heimat zurück und vergisst zu allem Übel auch noch den Geburtstag seines Kindes. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) hat sich aus Langeweile entschieden, ihren Ehemann John (Giovanni Ribisi, Phoebes Halbbruder in “Friends”) zu begleiten. Der hat allerdings keine Zeit, sich mit ihr ins Stadtleben zu stürzen, da sein Job ihm jede Minute und eine Menge Energie kostet.

Ganz abgesehen davon, dass in Großstädten die Bewohner vollkommen anonym neben sich her leben, haben die beiden Amerikaner noch ein weiteres Problem: Sie sprechen kein Wort japanisch. Um diesem Manko vorzubeugen, steht Bob stets eine Dolmetscherin zur Seite, deren Übersetzung Bob aber ins Stutzen bringen – anscheinend haben Japaner sehr lange Wörter. Charlotte langweilt sich zwar nicht mehr in der Heimat, sitzt dafür den Tag über im Hotelzimmer, bis sie abends in der Bar Bob über den Weg läuft. Schnell merken sie, da haben sich zwei gesucht und gefunden. Denn von der Schauspielerin Kelly (Anna Farris) und Freundin von John ist viel zu oberflächlich und die Bekannte in Tokio vorerst uninteressant. Doch mit dem Aufeinandertreffen der zwei verlorenen Seelen ändert sich der Aufenthalt der beiden schlagartig.

Bob: What are you doing?
Charlotte: My husband’s a photographer, so he’s here working. I wasn’t doing anything so I came along.
Bob: What do you do?
Charlotte: I’m not sure yet, actually.
—————————
Charlotte: You’re probably just having a mid-life crisis. Did you buy a Porsche yet?
—————————
Bob: Can you keep a secret? I’m trying to organize a prison break. I’m looking for, like, an accomplice. We have to first get out of this bar, then the hotel, then the city, and then the country. Are you in or you out?
Charlotte: I’m in. I’ll go pack my stuff.
Bob: I hope that you’ve had enough to drink. It’s going to take courage.

Quelle: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335266/quotes

Bob und Charlotte lernen sich in einer schwierigen Phase ihrer beider Leben kennen. Der in die Jahre gekommene Filmstar sieht sich der Midlifecrisis gegenüber und sucht nach einer neuen Erfüllung in seinem Leben. Auch die Ehe hängt nur noch an losen Fäden. Ständige Reisen haben das Ehepaar auseinander getrieben. Die Kinder halten die Ehe scheinbar als letzte Instanz zusammen. Charlotte hat ihr Philosophiestudium abgeschlossen und sucht nun nach ihrer wahren Berufung. Ihr Ehemann hat keine Zeit sich auch noch mit ihren Problemen herumzuschlagen, auch wenn er sie liebt. Die junge Frau scheint zu begreifen, dass Liebe allein nicht ewig eine Beziehung am Laufen halten kann.

Langsam kommen sich die beiden Herumirrenden näher, vertrauen sich gegenseitig an, da sonst niemand da ist, dem sie sich öffnen können und wollen. Auf einen Schlag wird der Aufenthalt in Tokio zu einem wunderbaren Erlebnis für beide und die schönste Zeit ihres Lebens.

Trotz des relativ großen Altersunterschied der beiden Hauptdarsteller Scarlett Johansson und Bill Murray, die durch das Drehbuch allerdings auch vorausgesetzt wird, überzeugt die Beziehung der beiden Zueinander auf ganzer Linie. Ohne Abzüge nimmt man den beiden ab, dass sie Seelenverwandte sind, die beide verloren in der großen weiten Welt umher irren. Wenn man es so lapidar ausdrückt, wirkt der Film ein wenig banal, ist er jedoch überhaupt nicht.

Sofia Coppola führt nicht nur Regie, sie hat auch das Drehbuch verfasst. Für diese Arbeit erhielt sie auch den Academy Award und man kann ihr ihn nicht verdenken. Um Bob und Charlotte wird japanisch geplappert, wenn es nur möglich ist. Sind die beiden alleine, beherrscht eine drückende Stille den Raum. Wenn sich die beiden Treffen, berühren die sanften Dialoge und das fröhliche Lachen den Zuschauer. Dass die Bilder den Eindruck noch verstärken, dass die beiden “verloren” sind, muss bei ihrem Können wohl kaum  noch erwähnt werden. Die Bildsprache beherrschte Sofia Coppola schon vier Jahre zuvor wirklich gut, steigert in Tokio die Impressionen aber noch weiter.

“Lost in Translation” ist ein humorvolles Drama um zwei Menschen, deren Leben auf den Kopf gestellt wurde, ohne es selbst verursacht zu haben. Diese Lebenssituationen passen aber zusammen wie die beiden Schauspieler, die sich in ihrer Leistung gegenseitig wundervoll ergänzen – ein durch und durch gelungener Film in einer fremden Kultur.

What a great movie!
Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Chris Klein, Chris Marquette and Anna Farris. I love Anna Farris and I really enjoyed Ryan Reynolds as the comedian.

I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time.

Poor Ryan Reynolds, the guy tries so hard to impress a girl and everything keeps going wrong.

Chris Marquette did a hilarious job playing the bratty brother who constantly fights with Ryan.

In reality throughout the movie, he’s such a jerk and your kind of happy when the bad things happen to him.

But then you want him to wake up and smell the coffee and learn to be himself again.

The guy she really likes in the first place.

I’d have to say awesome directing, editing and dialog in the movie. The producer should make more funny comedies like this one, it was perfect!

just friends 2005 anna farris chris marquette

just_friends_movie-dvd-ryan_reynolds-amy_smart-chris_klein1

Just-Friends_Poster02

Observe And Report (2009)

Running Time: 86 Minutes

Rated: R

The movie is trying to be serious in some way, indirect but constantly makes itself look embarassing. Observe and Report is your buddy cop like feel mixed with dark humour with the character being protrayed by Seth Rogan. Trying to fight crime. Pretending to be something far bigger then himself. As being head of mall security, you can tell that they’re sensitive. Like many Seth Rogan films, its MPAA rating will always render R(restricted) as himself cannot be funny without the penis jokes and the “F” word. Counting the use, I apparently landed on 30. Although who cares right? Despite how you feel about Rogan, his character actually becomes acceptable to my view. Very couragous and although his racial indifferences and dark sense of humour gets to him every now and then, his last minute heroics clearly helps. But apparently not enough of it as this plot surfaces around finding some streaker whos probably diagnosed with Alzheimers. Nevertheless, it never bothers to stay with it long enough. Or in other words, not determined.

As read above, Seth Rogan plays as Ronnie. The head of mall security who claims his title as holy or ordained. His position is often misread or just harrassed. Ronnie is a loveable guy but then again, his antics get the better of him. On a ordinary day of mall shopping, a unknown man starts flashing himself to women in the parking lot. A lot of them doesnt matter as it was just a crude introduction to the flasher. The most significant scene is where Brandi(Anna Faris, and Ronnies dream girl) gets flashed and sooner or later, gets traumatized. Dont know how or why, all I know is Brandi is clearly sensitive about penises. Especially if the man is old, chubby, and ugly blonde. It becomes a case and hence the involvement of police. Both Detective Harrison(Ray Liota) and mall man Ronnie promises to catch the flasher. All starting by going around and messing with store owners(predominantly brown people). There is a subplot of mall robbery but its almost insignificant as it doesnt do a whole lot with the film exept to glance at some beautiful store owners or trying to percieve a connection between Ronnie and a line of events. You’ll soon find out what it is.

The thing about this story is that it never sticks with it enough. Sometimes it loses track and Ronnie is drinking free coffee while conversing with his future love. And all the meanwhile, the flasher doesnt come out. I guess he only does it every other day or when Brandi is done working at her job, although all she does is gossip with her gay friend. Theres no pattern or no predictability. Which is good I guess. There are to many subplots to go around and theres not much time to deal with them. Dreams of being a cop is stopped short because Ronnie thought using the shotgun was the best thing in the world and creating a relationship with Brandi is almost impossible because he’s to busy messing around with Detective Harrison, let alone another one with the coffee girl. Nothings steady and it finishes off its questions with a sole absolute answer. Its either Ronnie is retarded or just very wierd and unattractive. Could be all three because he tries to make the scenes very serious in manner. Seems redundant and silly but it kinda works.

There isnt much to say or to dismiss(not to mention like) exept the fact that this is just another Seth Rogan film. Where love is twisted into sex and drugs and honor comes between bickering with a muslim store onwer and drunk rape a women whos reaction, although funny is quite controversial within the feminist. Besides, there is no nudity of Anna Farris. Just other women who probably have nothing else to do. Not to mention Seths total reaction of comebacks from Harrison is nonetheless just sad and his attempts at being something else is purely excrutiating to witness. Unless courage is your favorite sport. Other then his unconditional love for his drunk mother who promises to switch to beer and his cute monologues with the coffee girl, there isnt much to love exept his physical appearance if you get my drift. Wether this attempt is to illuminate Paul Blart: Mall Cop(an earlier mall cop film starring Kevin James) is besides the point although a similiar approach on dignity and fighting crime is suprising. Its usage of crude humour being used by a very suspect cast is a all or nothing cannonball that doesnt seem to find its x mark. Its just gags after gags building up eachother until you finally see the penis. Is that all we hope for? I hope not.

Jody Hill, a man respnsible for The Foot Fist Way(a film that solidified Danny Mcbride as a comedian) was kinda a hit and miss target but often when the hits come, they were huge. While regarding to this film, it seems he went over his head for this one. Often judging his comedy on Seth Rogans improvisation(it can help and hurt the film) and the unlikely chemistry between Seth and Ray. Almost seems pointless but I enjoyed them together on screen. Even though its them trying to rip eachothers heads off. It works and it creates laughs. Jody thought he had something good and it only leaves with something old thats wearing a blue uniform. Despite its edgy and rather controversial material(noting the drunk sex scene and racial profiling), this film finds a set of morals to deal with and thats independence. In other words, the mojo that tells you everything is possible and you can do it yourself. Even a sometimes funny and silly primetime pep talk in the end by Seth on going undercover is quite realistic in nature. Well in movies at least. It really describes your persona or rather character. A moral that is relatable for most of us. Ronnie may be a little fat but his abilities shall not be tested. He did break an arm or two once in this film. When you see it, I bet you’ll laugh. So Ronnie isnt that bad.

When your done observing this film, you can report to yourself that “is this my comedy?”. Because that question will really be asked. It can be hilarious to most or just plain dumb to others. Because its how it is. Observe and Report is’nt the so call american humour that gets everybody laughing, its a hit and miss affair that if the wrong people wacth it, can be really offensive. Its punch line never has much punch and the ending becomes the ending that we all hope for. But honestly, do we want him to win? Does Ronnie deserve our grace or prayers or acceptance? Is he even reliable? I guess if he can shoot somebody in front of a crowd and get away with it, then the term reliable is correct and I’m terribly wrong. The film shouldnt even be taken as serious yet it tries to be. It could be indirect but it still shows. Wether Seth Rogan is a cop(superbad) or a mall gaurd, there isnt much to describe exept he’s the same douche that gets people laughing for his “f” bombs and his perspective on the male penis. His charm will last long enough only for you to realize that this film is just pure cheese. It doesnt balance in the end. Or it could but I’m to busy trying to find out why Anna Farris is hardly likeable in this film. Shes cute and clumsy but in this…she’s just a bitch.

Its mall vibe hides from the distinctive hero as he tries to save the day from flashers and cliches while still trying to hold on its queer laughs from unfitted jokes and impersonal sequences.

*For lack of better understanding…read below
_______________________________________________________
(Even with the mall enviroment and its highly regarded vibe, it hides from the worthy hero as he tries to save the day from the flasher and cliches while still trying to hold on its unusual laughs(from the reaction from something that is taken seriously) that is from jokes that kinda doesnt work in its scenerio and from sequences that doesnt mean much to the plot.)
________________________________________________________

2/5

Written By: Xou Xiong

Kate Langenburg/A&E Groove

Looking back on my childhood, I must admit that one of my favorite things to do was read books or have them read to me. Having avid readers for parents also helped my situation, and made me the voracious reader that I am today. One of my all-time favorite books of my childhood had to have been Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. Now that it’s a movie, I’m stoked.

What a great book. Photo from atomicpopcorn.net.

The children’s flick opened in theaters this past Friday and made a whopping $30 million this weekend. Many theaters that showed the movie played it in 3D, which I’m sure gave audiences quite a thrill. It was even opened in a few IMAX theaters.

From reading a bit about the plot, it seems that the movie will differ slightly from the book, which is to be expected. It is rare that a movie stays true to its printed word counterpart. Apparently, the story starts with an inventor who wants to improve people’s lives. I’m sure you can guess where it goes from there….meatballs, pancakes, and ice cream start falling from the sky!

Actors in this film include Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader, Anna Farris, James Caan, Mr. T, and even Evil Dead’s own Bruce Campbell as mayor of the town.

For me, this movie brings some nostalgia. I remember cold winter nights, and my Dad sitting next to my bed reading me the fabled tale about the town of ChewandSwallow. Oh, to be a kid again. But if you’re anything like me and LOVED this book when you were young, go check out this movie.

Just to mention, the movie has a terrific website to check out. You can find videos, play games, find downloads and learn more about the story. Visit the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs website.

Watch out for that giant pancake predicted to land right on your school.

shortntweetnews House Bunny star Anna Faris secretly wed actor-boyfriend Chris Pratt on July 9. Congrats!

2002. Directed By Lucky McKee

May is the first feature length film that Lucky McKee has sole directing credit on. It’s a great accomplishment and stands amongst the best directorial debuts in horror films, although it would not be to the films credit to classify it as simply a horror film. In fact the horror almost comes secondary in May. That’s not to say that there aren’t scene of murder and mutilation, but May is equally (if not more so) concerned with being a very interesting character piece.

May is a young woman who, because of a lazy eye, has always been an outcast. As a child she was made to wear an eye patch, obviously leaving her an open target for childhood trauma. She grows up to be a rather sweet, if slightly deranged, young woman who works as a veterinary assistant. Although she gets flirtatious attention at work from secretary Polly (played by Anna Farris), she is otherwise starving for any sort of human contact. She’s not lonely exactly. She does have a doll named Suzy, encased in a glass box, who she can tell everything to.

Things start to change for May as she makes her first tentative steps towards having a boyfriend. She gets corrective contact lenses to rid her of the lazy eye, it’s apparent from the start just how attractive she really is. Despite her nervousness she ends up getting to know the object of her affection, Adam (played by Jeremy Sisto). He’s handsome, charming, and “has the most beautiful hands in the world.”

Adam is an interesting character, early on May tells him that she is weird. Adam says that he “Likes weird. A lot”. Adam’s  definition of weird is hearing the gory details of May’s job, and watching Dario Argento movies. May turns out to be a little weirder than Adam can handle, and he starts to avoid her. He doesn’t return her calls, and begins seeing someone else.

May turns her attention to Polly, who has a “beautiful neck”, and to a new job volunteering at a day care for blind children. Polly and May have a one night stand, that May takes for something more. Finding Polly with another woman, May is heartbroken.

May brings her best friend Suzy into the daycare class to meet all the blind children. This scene escalates from happy and playful to being the most horrific of the film. Suzy’s glass encasement is smashed on the floor. Blind children grope on hands and knees through broken glass, while in the melee Suzy is ripped apart. For the rest of the film May sets out to creating a new best friend, out of all her favorite parts.

Angela Bettis brings May wonderfully to life. She is alternately beautiful and terrifying. She let’s the character’s innocence overshadow her psychotic nature, and makes May the most sympathetic character in the movie. Although May is in the villain role, we root for her to find happiness, because we can all relate to her. If Bettis was a lesser actress this would never have worked, but she is incredibly talented, and makes the movie completely intriguing.

Everyone is an outcast at some point in their lives, and although her methods are extreme, May just wants to be loved. How can anyone argue with that?

Katherine Heigl, T.R.Knight, Gerard Butler & Anna Farris show the warmth that always exists in The Ugly Truth. Here’s 10 hot news bites in Hollywood right now, on Horiwood.Com. Enjoy!

1. SIMON COWELL OPENS UP ABOUT HIS MANIC DEPRESSION, BUT WHAT ABOUT PAULA?

2. JOE JACKSON GETS EXPLOITED FOR A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AD

3. READY FOR TWILIGHT THE TV NEWS SHOW?

4. CHRIS BROWN FINALLY APOLOGIZES TO RIHANNA IN A VIDEO STATEMENT

5. MARY J. BLIGE IS SCREAMIN MY NAME WITH LANEAH

6. LADY GAGA IS A KERMIT LOVER

7. TRACE CYRUS & DEMI LOVATO’S TWITTER RELATIONSHIP ENDS

8. PETER ANDRE FALLS OFF THE STAGE AT T4

9. KATIE PRICE ATTENDS MICHELLE HEATON’S B’DAY BASH

10. AMBER ROSE’S FAVORITE MODEL IS…

Horiwood’s last tweet was: horiwoodRT: @TheEllenShow: “Im the guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance this Wed night on Fox. They dont call me the Polka Queen for nothing!”less than 5 seconds ago from web

(Photos by SplashNews)

BARDEM: with Julia?

FLICKERS: Oscar winner Javier Bardem will join Oscar winner Julia Roberts and recent Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins in Ryan Murphy’s big-screen adaptation of the bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love.  According to my sometimes reliable sources, Bardem will play Felipe, “the exotic, deeply spiritual foreigner Roberts falls in love with towards the end of her journey, who rocks her world by introducing her to the wonders of the multiple-orgasm and expensive Spanish goat’s milk cheeses.” Well okay then! … Ed Zwick hopes to reunite Brokeback Mountain lovers Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway this fall in Love and Other Drugs, based on the nonfiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman (no, I’m not making this up) …  she’s

GYLLENHAAL: with Anne?

still working on a final cut, but word is out that Oscar winner Brigitte Berman has done it again with her new candid study of Playboy personified Hugh Hefner … Neil Patrick Harris, so good at holding the Tony Awards together last Sunday, will star in The Best And The Brightest, an indie about New York’s cutthroat world of private kindergarten … in Paul Bettany’s next film, a horror western called Priest, he’ll play a warrior priest who turns against the church to track down a murderous band of vampires who have kidnapped his niece. Oh sure, same old, same old … add one more thriller to your summer movie Must List: Kari Skogland’s 50 Dead Men Walking. And you can sneak preview it by clicking right here.

GLOBAL’S GOT IT: Global’s fall line-up includes my favourite show of the new season so far – Glee, a series about a vibrant group of geeky misfits and the resurgence of their high school’s unpopular glee club. The pilot was exceptionally entertaining … say, is that U.S. or … US? Oh – it’s us! Get ready to see a lot more Canada Post mailboxes on screen on U.S. television. Home-grown series Flashpoint and The Listener, and still to be seen police series Copper and The Bridge, are all set in Toronto. Filmed in Toronto, yes, but actually set in Toronto. I ask you, what is this world coming to! … and let’s enjoy it while it lasts … and Anna Faris (House Bunny, Observe & Report) plays a suburban mom who dreams of being an actress in Legally Blonde screenwriter Kirsten Smith’s directorial debut The Spleenectomy at next week’s CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival.  

HOW’D YOU GET THAT IDEA? Her new series, How’d You Get So Rich? starts in August on the U.S. cable channel TV Land, and Joan Rivers couldn’t be happier. “The premise for the show came to me while I was on the road and driving through neighborhoods across America. Suddenly there would be a humungous mansion and I’d ask, ‘Who the hell lives there? How’d they get so rich?’ And then I’d wonder, ‘Is it a single, Jewish man?’

“How’d You Get So Rich? goes inside the doors of these opulent homes where we meet real go-getter Americans who have made their fortunes doing some incredible things.” 

For a sneak preview, just click here.

KIRSTIE: root beer floats?

U ARE WOT U EAT:  “Sonic is doing free root bewer floats today,” Kirstie Alley swoons on Twitter. “I can’t believe I am missing out on Sonic root beer floats … I REALLY WANT ONE … I am having Fing nectarines … I hate being fat.” Given her too-celebrated roller coaster diets, you might think that Kirstie is the only Tweeter obsessed with food. Wrong. We all are, apparently. Before signing off a few nights ago screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno) informed us that she was “going outside for a

COUPLAND: cereal killer?

swim.” Why?  “Just ate two bowls of pasta and want to see if I float.” And author Doug Coupland (JPod, Souvenir Of Canada,) who seems like the least likely suspect, is constantly keep us in the loop about what he’s eating and when he’s eating it. “Through a chain of circumstances too complex to explain here I ended up eating just three hotdogs and five vanilla sugar cookies for dinner.” And: “Crazy summer heat …” (Yes, he lives in Vancouver.) “… Had to force myself to eat a bowl of Lucky Charms and Vitamin D milk.” And: “Breakfast is for losers.” And: “Brunch is the worst idea for a meal.” In short, not yer average ham ‘n’ eggs kind o’ guy.

-/-

Слатката Ана Фарис, на сите нам позната по одличните улоги во серијалот филмови “Scary movie”, се стави во форма за улогата на бившата Playboy зајчица во филмот ‘House Bunny’ и оттогаш изгледа феноменално.

Впрочем токму таа беше дел од најдобрите сцени со голотија за 2008 година (Mr.Skin’s best nude scenes) според веб-страницата на Mr. Skin.

Својата сексипилност таа ја покажа и во последниот број на магазинот “Арена” за кој направи исклучително жешка фотосесија.

Уживајте!!!

I’m going to cover three movies today, “Observe and Report”, “The Soloist” and “Obsessed”. Our next video review will include “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Star Trek”.
Oh this is going to be ugly.
“Observe and Report” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1197628/)– Written by Jody Hill and starring Seth Rogan. There were three things that should have tipped me off about this movie, first it’s a comedy (so I thought) that has only one writer. Not a good sign. Second, Seth Rogen’s name is above the title. I don’t think he’s been around long enough, or accomplished enough, to have his name above the title. And after he saw it, I bet he wishes he hadn’t negotiated that perk into his contract. And third, Ray Liotta is in it.
I had high hopes for this movie, thinking it would be everything “Paul Blart – Mall Cop” wasn’t, but I was wrong. Rogan stars as Ronnie Barnhardt, the chief security guard at a mall. Anne Farris plays Brandi (how original), as his love interest, and Ray Liotta plays slime ball Detective Harrison. The story, such as it is, involves Barnhardt trying to catch the local flasher both to give himself some self-esteem and impress the empty headed Brandi. In the opinion of this critic, it’s just not funny. Rogen, Farris, Liotta, and the ever charming Collette Wolfe (who plays Nell, the only decent character in the film) are all capable of pulling off the simple characters the script calls for, but they can’t make non-funny material funny. Farris, who has tons of experience bringing silly roles to life was completely wasted in “Observe”. In fact, she was gross. The flasher story gets lost in a maze of sidebar mini plots that add nothing and stretch the movie to an impossible length. Yes, eighty-six minutes was impossibly long for the plot, which is why we got so many sidebars. It’s simply a mess.
“Observe and Report” gets a PASS, wait for something better.

The Soloist

Cool Breeze wanted to see “Obsessed” before we saw “The Soloist”, but I made the argument that with Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr, how could it go wrong! Well let me tell you it went horribly wrong!

“The Soloist” – Directed by Joe Wright and written by Susannah Grant based on the book by Steve Lopez stars Jamie Foxx as musician Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey Jr plays LA Times journalist Steve Lopez. Folks, it’s all about the story! Writers need to learn to tell a good story. This story is about a cellist, Nathaniel Ayers. Nat is a Julliard dropout. The trailer leads you to believe that Nat is just a homeless person down on his luck, but it fails to tell you that Nat has at least one, perhaps more, severe mental illnesses. Wishing, hoping and having all sorts of gushing emotional angst isn’t going to change that fact, no matter what Mr. Lopez thinks.

Let me say now, the problems with this movie has nothing to do with Jamie Foxx or Robert Downey Jr. They both did the best they could with the material. The problems were all with the direction and writing. In fact, the entire time I kept wondering “Why did this movie need to be made? What is its point?” I’ll tell you the point in just a minute. But here’s the brief rundown: Nat is a homeless person, Steve is a journalist. Steve bumps into Nat when Steve is having a typical journalist “I take myself way to seriously” moment. Steve decides to write about Nat in the LA Times and before you know it the entire ultra liberal community of Los Angeles thinks all Nat needs is a hug. They set up a recital for him, and he, being mentally ill, freaks out! DUH! The man is mentally ill and he needs treatment, not a music lesson.
Now what did I really hate about it? Whew…where to start. First, it’s impossible to know exactly what a person with mental illness sees, so directors should simply stop trying and just tell the friggin story. Second, I’m not an infant, so when they play classical music I don’t need to see blobs of color like I’m on a bad acid trip at Haught Ashbury. Third, and this is the really the point of the movie, journalists are not mental health professionals. If this movie shows one thing, it’s that Mr. Steve Lopez, has absolutely no business trying to “help” Mr. Nathaniel Ayers by setting up a recital. Journalists write stories, and good journalists write good stories, but they aren’t the experts in everything they think they are.
Clocking in at 117 minutes, “The Soloist” is, ironically, 117 minutes to long.
“The Soloist” gets a PASS, wait for something better.

“Obsessed” – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1198138/, Directed by Steve Shill and written by David Loughery. “Obsessed” stars Idris Elba, Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter.
Idris Elba plays Derek Charles, a successful asset manager who is married to Sharon played by Beyonce Knowles. Ali Larter plays Lisa, the home wrecking temp working for Derek’s firm.

Okay, I admit I thought Beyonce would be the weak link in this film as I haven’t been impressed with her acting up to this point, but she surprised me. Just checking out the trailer you can see the film draws from a host of similar movies, “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle”, “Fatal Attraction”, etc…and I was hoping they would give it a twist…they didn’t. Apparently the filmmakers felt having a successful black man stalked by a white woman was pushing the envelope enough. Regardless, they didn’t and now you know the basic plot. Man stalked by women. Man’s wife gets pissed. Man and wife fight and she kicks him out. Stalker comes back. Wife kicks stalkers butt. The End.
Yes the plot was predictable. But the movie didn’t try to be something it wasn’t. Given the disasters described above I was ready for just a well made movie, if not a great one. “Obsessed” was well made and the ending delivered all the tension it needed. The cast was spot on and the writing, although not pushing the boundaries, was solid. I’d have liked to see more tension between Derek and Lisa, but what they gave was good. I also liked the music, which set the tone from the start with a mysterious piano melody that tells you…”sumthin ain’t right”.

Cool and I both give “Obsessed” a MUST SEE.

Its hard to say rape, nevermind talk about it.  Yet talking about rape is the surest way to fight it.  Leaving rape as an unspeakable part of our discourse leaves victims and criminals out of the public consciousness, and only serves to aide rapists and rape-apologists.  The more we talk about rape, the less they have to stand on.

I’d like to talk about the date rape scene in Observe and Report, as well as Lil Wayne’s interview on Jimmy Kimmel.  They both provide an opportunity to discuss one of the more problematic and persistent aspects of rape apologetics: the notion that the victim deserves or wants the rape to occur.  (Trigger Warning).

The date rape scene in Observe and Report generated a lot of discussion (Feministing, Majikthise, Huff Post).  The scene in question depicts a mall cop (Ronnie, played by Seth Rogen) having sex with a woman (Brandi, played by Anna Farris) passed out from psychoactive medication and alcohol.  He has a brief moment of doubt, dispelled when Farris’s character says “Why are you stopping, motherfucker?”.  Within the context of the film the scene may or may not make sense.  The problem with the scene lies not within the scene itself as in the reaction to it.  It is being defended as sex rather than rape.

Then there’s an infuriating middle ground, which expands on Rogen’s statement in an interview that its only a quasi-rape scene.  NYMag, emphasis mine:

And he even shows a glimmer of self-awareness — after all, mid-rape, he stops for a moment, worried about whether he’s doing the right thing. Yeah, he’s so deluded and terrified that her drunken reprimand convinces him he is doing the right thing, but at least he thinks about it, which is more than you can say for his behavior in the rest of Observe and Report.

Because that makes a fucking difference.  But it is important to note that mainstream reviewers seem especially keen on reducing the severity of the scene.  There’s a real anxiety about allowing that scene to be seen as rape.

That’s when its even brought up.  Reviews at Pajiba are one of my favorite things (How could they not be with a slogan like “scathing reviews for bitchy people”?).  While they truly shine when reviewing the straight to dvd dross poured into theaters disguised as film, they also offer some fascinating analysis of the social and political implications of films.  Which made the review of Observe and Report all the more striking for its utter failure to even mention, let alone address the rape scene.  The comment section has a lively discussion going.  Cleveland writes:

Just once I want to see a mainstream Hollywood movie where a man is passed out drunk and raped and the critics see it as a great example of dark humor.

Actually scenes like this do occur.  A common thought in Hollywood is that “women raping men” = comedy gold.  For example, take 40 days and 40 nights. (Spoiler Alert).  A man (Matt) gives up sex for lent, and during this time meets the woman of his dreams (Erica).  At the same time an office pool has formed, betting on how long he can keep his vow.  His ex-girlfriend (Nicole), who was recently turned down when she tried to get back together with him, decides to get in on the bet, and ends up raping Matt.  Erica comes in as Nicole leaves, and storms out enraged at Matt.  At no point during the film does Nicole get in any trouble for what she did.  In fact the rape simply becomes another “romantic comedy obstacle” for Matt to overcome to get to Erica.

Rape is portrayed in movies in a couple of ways.  It is sometimes shown as the brutal, criminal act it is (in relation to the plot).  It is sometimes gratuitous, shown for its shock/titillation factor (often alongside scenes of torture, murder, and other forms of violence).  It is also sometimes depicted as acceptable.  This is usually the case in comedies, where the rape scene is meant to either turn our expectations on their head (“Oh a woman is raping a man, hahaha, that never happens”), or reflect some “fact of life” (“Hah, that frat boy had sex with that passed out girl, isn’t college hi-la-ri-ous?”).

What these sorts of “acceptable rape” scenes hold in common with the scene in Observe and Report (which seems to fall somewhere in between being perceived as “acceptable rape” and “plot driven, obviously criminal rape” depending on who one talks to), is that they are often perceived as being simply “shocking sex” rather than rape.  Take these two examples from the comments section at Pajiba (emphasis mine):

Okay, I’m sick of this date rape bullshit. She’s not out of it during the scene, and truthfully, Anna Farris’s character is a pretty horrible person. However, it’s nice to see her in a good movie for once. She’s actually a pretty good actress, at least that’s what this movie indicates. – George

Without the benefit of having viewed it, and only going by I have read here. How is it a rape if she consented before she passes out? – BarbadoSlim

Samanthrax fires back (emphasis mine):

That’s right, George. She was a terrible person. Bitch totally deserved it.

Oh wait, no… that’s not right. Are you fucking dense? I saw the movie and homegirl was unconscious during the act. Without even hypothesizing if he got consent or not in the beginning, he should have stopped when she noticed she was passed out. Her semi-conscious utterances do not equal consent. And if that’s not good enough for you, Rogen himself refers to it at the rape scene.

Now, if you’ll excuse me while I fix my eyeballs which have apparently rolled all the way back into my head.

The idea that some victims are innately sexual, and therefore unrapeable, is discussed expertly by Cara at the Curvature (hat tip Samhita, Feministing).  I can sit here typing this and think to myself how common sense it is that no matter what a person’s background, rape is obviously rape.  Yet clearly this viewpoint is far out of the mainstream, to our great shame and detriment.

Let me ask a question.  Have you ever discussed rape with your friends?  Have you ever discussed it with your significant other?  How about family members?

I’d like to bring up another point.  From Cara’s post:

the (primary) reason that this was rape is because no affirmative, let alone enthusiastic, consent was obtained, and this would be the same even if both people were the exact same age.  Understanding that “surprising” someone with “sex” is in fact rape is required to understand that rape is what Lil’ Wayne seemingly endured, and far too many people don’t understand that.

“Enthusiastic Consent”.  Think about that.

Rape isn’t just the act of forcing someone to have sex.  It is also the effects and aftermath of the act itself.  In a situation where someone does not give enthusiastic consent, while neither participant might consider the act rape, many of the same effects may occur.

For every person raped who is socialized to believe they deserved it, or should want it, admitting to themselves they were raped can be indescribably hard (comment by llevisno at Feministing, emphasis mine):

My ex-boyfriend lost his virginity by being raped by a girl he knew. He was really drunk and it she just kind of climbed on top while they were fooling around. He was too drunk to really resist or know what was happening at the time. He still won’t call it rape though. He just describes it as “being taken advantage of.” For some men it’s just really hard for them to say those words out loud. And I know guys that know his story and say that he couldn’t have been raped because he was hard so he obviously wanted it. Actually, I know girls that say the same thing. It makes me sick.

Using the standard of affirmative and enthusiastic consent, evaluate sex while intoxicated, partially asleep, or otherwise not fully aware.  Doesn’t sound consensual at all any more, does it?

Yet our culture allows rape to be reclassified as sex even when that rape is phsycially violent, or occurs when the victim is fully unconscious, or explicitly rejects the sexual act!  All the more reason to unite around the standard of affirmative and enthusiastic consent, since it so effectively pushes the boundary of nonconsensual sex back to include situations that ought to be considered rape.

Using that standard, there is no doubt that the scene in Observe and Report is a rape scene.  There is no doubt that Lil Wayne was raped.  There never should have been, but this is a good lens through which to view sexual violence.

I therefore invite you to talk more, read more, and continue bringing the act of rape out from the shadows and into the light.  The more we discuss rape the more its occurrence and acceptance will crumble.

As a final word on this, I want to make clear the importance of allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Rape is an incredibly sensitive topic, and rightly so.  But we need to talk about it more, and in the course of doing so we are bound to mess up, trip, and potentially make fools of ourselves.  And I believe so very deeply that it is always preferable to speak up and trip up than to stay silent and errorless.  So let’s accept that risk in exchange for the very clear reward: a society less afraid to talk about rape and therefore able to be braver in fighting rape.

This week we’ve got three trailers that’ll make you hate all those kids who cried during the very awkward sex scene in the middle of Watchmen just a little more. Enjoy!

After a very long wait, the adaptation of that children’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are, is heading to theaters this Fall. Unfortunately, it’s being directed by Michael Bay. The “wild things” have been sent from the planet Megatron to watch Megan Fox sex things up with those big old fish lips of hers. Can’t wait!

This next one is really going to knock your socks off. Imagi Studios has teamed up with Capcom to release Mega Man on the big screen! And not just Mega Man, but all of your favorites are there, too! Dr. Wily, the less popular Dr. Cossack, Air Man, Metal Man, Shade Man and whatever the hell he did… wha… huh? Wait a second. What the hell is an Astro Boy? Well… nevermind. This could have been a cool movie.

This September, Sony Pictures is releasing Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which is another children’s book adaptation. Let me tell you, as someone who loved this book when he was in the second grade, and hoped one day to find a way to the magical town of Chewandswallow, this movie has absolutely NO respect for the book that came before it, and is only a further sign of our society’s impulsive need to bastardize good literature in order to make a quick buck. Burn in hell, Sony Pictures.

For the past 5 years I have been a volunteer at the South By Southwest Music, Film, and Interactive Festival. This year my volunteer crew was dissolved (since no one shoots on film anymore) and I almost let the laziness take over. See, I am lucky enough to have a job where we get Spring Break off and it falls during the festival and with the beautiful weather it was hard, very hard, to not go with my true nature and spend the week, blissfully, in my hammock, doing yoga, and taking the dogs on epic hikes. But another part of my nature is taking advantage of things that are free, and watching movies, learning about technology, and enjoying music. In the end I decided to participate and it was so much fun. The first part of the week I spent seeing movies.

Some of my favorites were Moon, a low-budget but wonderfully acted  science fiction. I was really excited to see this because I love sci-fi but I am not into big-budget independence day-type movies that saturate the market. Indie Sci-fi is lot more interesting but a lot more difficult to make well without a budget. This one was great, the effects and set design were very believable and the premise was really interesting and original. The direction and the acting made it a really enjoyable and thought-provoking flick.I also enjoyed Sebastian Gutierrez’s Women in Trouble. It was one of those movies that makes you really happy independent film exists, or rather independent video in this case. You seldom see women characters in a mainstream movie and this one had at least 10 main characters that were women. Off the top of my head the only interesting female movie characters I can think of…. I can’t think of any, really. They mostly exist in TV (hello Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica) but they exist in real life as well (hello every lady I know) so it is disappointing that in movies women are only ever sex objects or family members. This was a movie where the women were either professional sex objects or mothers, daughters, and sisters and yet they managed to be dynamic multi-dimensional, entertaining characters as well.  And it was really funny! Women are never funny without being over the top emasculating bitches in movies so this was a real switch.It was sometimes confusing for me because it was shot on video with a lot of porn actress characters so I kept expecting the sex to start any second but it never did. Well, there was one very disturbing scene involving a story about sex but you will have to see the movie to learn about that. Instead, there was scene after scene of women in L.A. living their lives.

Speaking of women, if you are as terrified as I am by the idea of birth you might enjoy the movie Grace and the short animation Birth. Two very different but equally chilling takes on procreation.

I always enjoy the animated shorts but I especially liked the stop motion animation “Sweet Dreams“. It was original and fun and,  I think, even had a message although it starred a cupcake. I wonder if the filmmaker, Kirsten Lepore, is vegan?

Another film that I missed but really wanted to see and thought I should inform you all about is the movie Mine. It won the best documentary category but I was working my volunteer shift when it was on and missed it. It follows the story of dogs that got left behind in hurricane Katrina and then got adopted by new people. The hurricane survivors eventually found their dogs and a legal challenge ensued. What a nightmare. I hope it gets released and if it does I am going to see it. I love dogs.

One political doc that I did see and really enjoyed wasthe Yes Men Fix the World. If you haven’t heard about these guys, check out their first documentary, “The Yes Men” they are a couple of corporate pranksters who got their start making fake websites for places like Halliburton and then waiting to get invited to conferences and giving hillarious presentations. They are really funny and the movie even ends on a hopeful note.

I had one moment when I was a little bit star struck during the Q&A for Observe and Report. I really like Seth Rogen and everyone from Freaks and Geeks because it is the greatest tv comedy in the world but I probably would have passed if it he hadn’t been there along with one of my heroes, the funniest woman I know of, Anna Farris. I first fell in love with her in the creepy movie May but she completely won me over in the only girl stoner movie, Smiley Face. If you have ever enjoyed a stoner movie please check this one out, it is so hilarious and she plays a stoner better than anyone. I really enjoyed getting to see her!Finally, I learned a lot about mushrooms and mushroom culture in Know Your Mushrooms. First, I want to mention that I didn’t even know there was a such thing as mushroom culture, and for a while I lived in the heart of it in Olympia Washington. I wish I would have learned about foraging for wild mushrooms then! It looks like so much fun and tasty. It ended with a beautiful sequence of time lapse mushrooms growing and then we got a Q&A where I learned that it is supposedly really easy to grow your own mushrooms.

I didn’t attend the screening that had free mushroom pizza but I did try some new things in Austin, until I ran out of money.  Alin over at Pulling it Together raves about Lulu B’s little trailer and I have been wanting to go there since it opened, the hours just don’t mesh with my schedule but with a week off I finally got to go and I tried the tofu vermicelli bowl.It was really fresh testing with the cumber, greens, vegetables, and basil. The tofu was seasoned nicely and was the perfect texture, and perhaps best of all is that it was really a lot of food for a very low price so I will be coming back for sure! I want to try the avocado sandwich mmmm sandwich.

Halfway through the week my sister came to town which has been great. Dan has spent the week as her intern and is hoping to land a spot in the organization.

She is tough to keep up with! I don’t usually hang with people that consider going home at two am an early night. Her first day in town we saw some bands at Habana where they were offering free pancakes.

Did you know they have pancake batter in a spray bottle now? I don’t know if it is vegan but regardless I wasn’t about to try it. Instead, Sistah Smurf bought me lunch and I got the vegetarian platter. They have the best salsa in town and I am going to try and recreate the yucca fo’ sho’.While we were there I got to here the band Brothers and Sisters and they were really good.

I also got to see Erykah Badu at Auditorium shores which was followed by the always fantastic Explosions in the Sky which were followed by explosions in the sky.It was a good week.

Não conhecia a Anna até ver as fotos abaixo, extraídas da revista GQ no Egotastic (onde existem mais fotos). Já estou ajoelhado no milho porque, como diabos eu não sabia da existência dessa mulher?!

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