Away We Go is the 5th film from Director Sam Mendes. Known for American Beauty, Road to Perdition and last years Revolutionary Road which are very dark in tone and content, this is a step away from the norm from him and frankly is a breath of fresh air. Away We Go is the story of Burt, played by John Krasinski (The Office, Leatherheads) and Verona, who are a mid-thirties couple who find out they are going to have their first child. Burt’s parents played by Jeff Daniels (Gettysburg, Speed) and Catherine O’hara (Best in Show, Beetlejuice) decide to move to Belgium a month before the baby is born. Burt and Verona, having no ties to their home town any more, go exploring for the perfect place to raise a family. visiting lots of friends and family across  the country, it is a fun adventure of possibilities.

The performances in the film are all pretty good, but the one surprise performance that stands out is that of Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary). She plays Burt’s cousin and takes the idea of being close as a family to a whole new level, to the point of being creepy. Her performance is spot on as she delivers her lines with complete confidence without batting and eye as she talks about sharing a bed with her husband….and her kids! She is so good in this role, I could see her getting a Supporting Actress nomination.

Overall I don’t think this is Sam Mendes best film as the movies mentioned previously are very powerful films, but this is a very light, intelligent and delightful film. I would recommend seeing this movie, it is something fresh and not the usual rehashing of a story line you have seen twenty times already. Worth watching for sure!

Jeff Bridges stars as a faded Country music star hitting the comeback trail.

Jeff Bridges has built a career of playing outsiders, losers, and misunderstood souls, from his earliest leading roles to later, under-appreciated projects like American Heart and The Fabulous Baker Boys to the still-in-theatres The Men Who Stare At Goats. He’s seldom given a bad performance in forty years (though he’s appeared in a few bad movies) and created at least one cinema legend in Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski. Yet for all that work the man has yet to win a Best Actor Academy Award, despite four nominations going back to 1971’s The Last Picture Show.

His latest film, Crazy Heart, might be the film that changes that. Based on Thomas Cobb’s novel and adapted and directed by first timer Scott Cooper, it tells the story of Bad Blake (Bridges), a washed up and alcoholic country singer whose fortunes improve when he falls for a music journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal) sent to profile his life and career. Colin Farrell co-stars as Tommy Sweet, an up-and-coming performer that Blake takes under his wing even as Sweet’s growing popularity eclipses his own resurgence.

Bearing immediate resemblance to The Wrestler, judging by the trailer below the film also draws influence from well-remembered works such as Tender Mercies (1983) and the 1976 remake of A Star Is Born. Actually, the connective threads run pretty tight: Tender Mercies starred Robert Duvall as a washed up country singer undergoing spiritual rebirth, and Duvall appears in Crazy Heart, too. A Star Is Born featured Kris Kristofferson as a faded music star, and with his leathery skin, scraggly beard and flowing hair Bridges’ Blake looks an awful lot like that legendary singer-songwriter. The rustic cinematography also reminds us, though more implicitly, of Hal Ashby’s 1976 Woody Guthrie biopic Bound For Glory and Clint Eastwood’s Honkytonk Man (1982).

Kristofferson (Not Bridges.)

Which is not to say that all that homage is necessarily a bad thing. For years now, raiding the film legacies of the 1970s and early 1980s has helped energize the careers of filmmakers such as Steven Soderbergh and James Gray, and of course Quentin Tarantino seemingly can’t help but return to those wells again and again. But the films that Cooper ostensibly draws from here – Tender Mercies especially – are particularly well-regarded, both critically and by devoted fan bases. Bridges is such a slam-dunk for a part like this it’s sort of surprising that it hasn’t happened yet (1989’s The Fabulous Baker Boys, in which he played a hard-drinking and self destructive lounge pianist, notwithstanding.) For the sake of creating a story around his undoubtedly pitch-perfect turn the rest of the film needs to be more than the sum of its influences.

Ultimately it’s always a pleasure to watch Bridges work, and this part is exactly the kind of role for which Academy members love to vote; a win for Bridges might also serve as mea cupa for chickening out on giving The Wrestler’s Mickey Rourke the statue he deserved last year. Everybody needs redemption sooner or later, even Oscar voters.

Crazy Heart opens in limited release December 16.

-Michael Kabel

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

My pet weekend peeve – because it happens every weekend – is journos including themselves in celebrity interviews. Particularly those who do it in the first sentence. You’re interviewing them, you’ve described what they’re wearing, and I’m smart enough to figure out that you’re probably there. That You Met A Famous Person. Good for you.

In yesterday’s Good Weekend Janet Hawley interviewed John Safran. First sentence:

Heading into the night after spending a long, confusing, ultimately illuminating first day with John Safran, the image that remains for me is overwhelmingly of the lonely comedian.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for the “for me” to be there.

Third sentence:

It’s on “the Jewiest street in Melbourne’s Jewtown – 3183″, Safran had told me with a grin as we wove our way past yarmulke-wearing bearded men ambling into kosher delis.

That’s just taking the piss. The story is about Safran, not Hawley. And as much as she’d like to think so, she is no Hunter S Thompson or Tom Wolfe or Truman Capote or any number of great writers who are/were also journalists. The next sentence – the fourth, for fuck’s sake – starts with “I’d” and on it goes.

In Sunday Life, Claire Black interviewed Maggie Gyllenhaal. First paragraph:

“What does it matter? What do you mean by genuine?” I’ve annoyed Maggie Gyllenhaal, although I didn’t mean to. We were talking about celebrities who get involved with “causes”, and I made the point that it can be hard to swallow when there’s a suspicion that it’s a publicity stunt rather than a real commitment.

Again, absolutely no reason why “I” should be there. It’s just lazy, self-important writing. And fucking annoying.

* Yes, I know there’s one in celebrity, but that would ruin my headline

For some sentimental reason, I’m really looking forward to this movie! I think it’s the American West that does it, or maybe the music, or maybe the “last chance saloon” feel to this movie. Either way, it looks like a decent Christmas sit-down-and-cry and wake-up-felling-better winner. As they say in the movie, “one more try…”

Esta ocasión repasaremos la carrera de la tal vez mi actriz preferida: Maggie Gyllenhaal, quién cumplió 32 años el pasado 16 de Noviembre. Comenzemos con lo personal, la hermana de Jake Gyllenhaal esta casada con Peter Sarsgaard y tienen una hija llamada Ramona.

Y por qué es mi tal vez actriz favorita? Simplemente porque es demasiado aventada, o no? Quién la haya visto lo ha de saber también como yo. Si, ya se, la vi por primera vez en The Dark Knight, y agradezco a Dios que hubieran quitado a Katie Holmes (Gracias!!) con su actuación deshabrida.

(referring to when she started acting) “Even in elementary school, I took it really seriously. I was always doing plays.”

Aquí hay un recorrido en el tiempo por las múltiples facetas de Maggie Gyllenhaal:

En la SECRETARIA, interpreta a una chica masoquista que consigue trabajo con un jefe sádico…ya pueden imaginarse el resultado. La película esta muy bien, aunque sí la recomiendo para adultos, a menos que quieran quedarse como yo cuando la vi: :O  WTF?  La enseñanza de la película es: sí son secretarias, nunca se equivoquen con la máquina de escribir. Aunque después de ver esta película no creo que se vuelvan a equivocar…

Toda una estudiante promiscua en los años 50 en LA SONRISA DE LA MONA LISA, quién no tiene prejuicios y hasta tuvo una relación amorosa -y corta, claro- con su profesor de italiano, bajo la tutela de Julia Roberts y compartiendo créditos con Julia Stiles (10 cosas que odio de ti).

“I want roles that challenge people to question where they are in life.”

Una madre con antecedentes penales a causa de las drogas y el alcohol que quiere ganarse el cariño de su hija de cinco años a quién no ha visto en años, esto es en SHERRYBABY, una genialísima película donde su actuación es tan convincente que dan ganas de golpear a la madre sustituta.

Una adolescente dark que trabaja como niñera de unos niños que pelean contra una MONSTER HOUSE…claro, sólo dobló la voz.

Logra que Will Ferrell pruebe las galletas con leche, y por ahí se convierte en su novia, en MÁS EXTRAÑO QUE LA FICCIÓN, mostrando su lado sarcástico y dulce a la vez.

Y, pos supuesto, es la novia de Harvey Dent, el interés de Bruce Wayne y una parte del plan del Joker en…THE DARK KNIGHT, siendo Rachel Dawes.

Estas son sólo algunas de las memorables actuaciones de Maggie, y bien vale la pena verlas; y más aún las películas independientes. Feliz Cumpleaños (atrasado) Maggie!

“There are two ways to be cool: One is to be disinterested and make it seem like you must be doing something much more interesting than everybody else if you are this disinterested. The other is to be extremely interested. You are not trying to please anyone, but you are really invested are really focused.”

I am looking for movies that are actually about something and that are questioning something. Movies that are provocative in some way and I am also looking for roles that I think will force me to grow or learn something about myself or the world in order to play them well.

It’s Thursday, and we’re spending time this week looking at the PCA Fave Lady Movie Star noms (you all had LOTS to say about Sandra Bullock AND Anne Hathaway…whenever I think I’ve gotten a suitable cross -section of films you remind me that Ella Enchanted and While You Were Sleeping should have been a players in our daily poll. Good call.) Now, turning to the actors, it’s been revealed that Johnny Depp is People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. Again. This is a distinction he shares with very few gents, as in George Clooney and Brad Pitt. So bravo to Johnny D: great actor, undeniable looker, philanthropist, and by all reports a genuinely committed father of two (not that common in Hollywood, you’ll note) — plus, a PCA nominee too. So there’s that. Now on to our poll. Which has to do with an amazing performance I saw today in a movie you’ll definitely want to catch. It’s all  about  a down-on-his luck country music singer. It’s called Crazy Heart, and I was curious because I’d heard some quiet Oscar buzz about this little film. Apparently, even though we might think this year’s Best Actor Oscar race is clear (more on that later) this movie features a performance that could change that. A role belonging to  none other than Jeff Bridges. Brother of Beau, son of Lloyd, arguably one of the most well-liked men in Hollywood who’s  been Oscar-nominated 4 times (First time? 37 years ago) and has never won. Plus, JB’s long been referred to as “the Most Underrated Actor in America”. So today, I want to throw out the idea that quite possibly he’ll get nominated again for this movie. Where he (opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell) is so good you cannot take your eyes off him. And if he gets nominated, you heard it here first. With this in mind, and because we’re going to hear a lot more about Crazy Heart (which hits theatres mid-December) let’s focus our poll upon the work of its star. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which Jeff Bridges movie is your favorite.

1) The Big Lebowski

2) The Contender

3) The Fabulous Baker Boys

4) Iron Man

Still from Stranger Than Fiction, 2006

How easily do the comic actors get dismissed as good for nothing else performers who can be part of commercially viable comic projects only. Frankly, I used to believe so too. And it wasn’t till very recently that this belief of mine stood strong in my head. And the person, or rather the actor, who literally crushed my belief system and changed it all for me was someone I could never have expected in a million years. I’ve seen him do corny and trashy and really, really terrible stuff in the not so distant past. I would, however, like to clear that the actor I’m referring to here is a mainstream, commercial performer and the movies in consideration were made with mainstream audiences in mind.

The man I’m referring to is Will Ferrell. I’d seen him in movies that not only made no sense to human intellect but were rather repulsive at time as well. ‘Things’ (not movies) like Zoolander, Talladega Nights – The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Anchorman – The Legend of Ron Burgundy (which was a good satire on news anchors and news channels as such), A Night At The Roxbury, Dick, Superstar and Bewitched to name a few. And just to clear things up, I saw these movies on TV for lack of anything better to do at the time. There was no reason for me to even consider Will Ferrell as an actor at any level. But two weeks ago, when I was watching the TV yet again for lack of anything else to do, I chanced upon another Will Ferrell movie, Stranger Than Fiction, co starring the very talented Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The story revolves around Harold Crick (Ferrell), an IRS agent, a loner, a man with a compulsive habit of counting everything. One day Harold wakes up with a feeling of a strange voice in his head narrating his life. The voice goes on and on as he counts the strokes of his tooth brush, counts his steps to the bus stop and the stairs to his office floor. At first he ignores the voice, but when the voice says that Harold will die in a few days, he suddenly snaps up to the reality that the voice in his head is actually that of a writer, authoring a book and he is the ‘hero’ of that book. Sometimes, he finds the voice describing his actions and sometimes, guiding his thoughts and actions. The situation gets interesting with addition of a beautiful young woman, Anna Pascal, into the story of Harold’s life, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is being audited by the IRS. Gyllenhaal herself is in her own time-space continuum in the movie, giving a nearly stellar performance (after watching this one, I actually expect far better things from her) as Anna Pascal, a feisty baker who catches the fancy of the IRS agent, partly being led on by the voice in his head and partly by the free spirited young woman’s subtle beauty. Things start to change in Harold’s life, he starts living for the first time. He stops counting the strokes of his tooth brush, his steps to the bus stop or even the stairs to his office floor or his apartment. He even buys a guitar, a stratocaster and learns how to play. Just when he starts to let go of himself and enjoy whatever little life the writer has decided to leave him, Harold finally manages to find out the woman whose voice he’s been hearing, describing him, guiding him and sometimes even mocking him.

Emma Thompson is a veteran actor, been around for a while now and really good at what she does. The biggest surprise element of Stranger Than Fiction was, undoubtedly, Will Ferrell with Maggie Gyllenhaal doing her part to perfection in no small way and looking gorgeous while doing so. She catches the essence of Anna Pascal perfectly, the slightly fluid tempered, easy living, free spirited, large tattoo sporting baker being audited by the IRS for refusing to pay her taxes as a mark of protest. Will Ferrell as Harold Crick just plonks a mirror in front of your face, telling you how mundane and superfluous your life is if you tune out the voice of your heart. What was really Stranger Than Fiction was watching this man make a u-turn from his usually unimaginative and rather slapstick performances and give the performance of a lifetime.

I liked to believe in Freud’s saying that people who go into the performing arts suffer from an external locus of identity and are seeking other people’s approval in whatever they do with their life. Well, if that is true indeed, then Mr. Ferrell is definitely Stranger Than Fiction and has my approval for sure.

I expressed my admiration of Jeff Bridges recently and how I look to him as an actor that can elevate my interest level in a film. Well, along comes “Crazy Heart”, a film about a worn-down country music singer who hasn’t caught alot of breaks and it stars none other than Jeff Bridges as the endearing Bad Blake. Filling in the cast around Bridges are Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, and even Colin Ferrell. Scott Cooper will make his directorial debut while he also penned the script.

Fox Searchlight, who also brought us another worn-down, beat up aging man tale in last year’s “The Wrestler”, will distribute the film starting on December 11 to qualify for the Oscars this pic is likely to contend for.

Thanks to Film School Rejects for the video.

S’il y avait un hall of fame des comédiens de la coolitude et un panthéon des “stars” ayant su garder un pied (voire les deux) dans une certaine marge, il y aurait sa place sans problème.  Jeff Bridges revient dans Crazy Heart de Scott Cooper. Il y est entouré de Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, Sarah Jane Morris, Colin Farrell… Son rôle est celui d’un d’un chanteur de country alcoolique qui a une chance de relancer sa carrière et retrouver goût à la vie au travers de sa relation avec une femme journaliste. Son interprétation d’un homme sur le chemin d’une rédemption est déjà annoncée comme exceptionnelle dans un film comparé aux USA à The Wrestler de Darren Aronofsky, et pour lequel aucune date de sortie n’est encore connue…

Et l’affiche : “plus dure est la vie, plus douce est la chanson”

*i have no idea where i got the most of those pictures, but if you know just let me know.

WORD

foment [foh-ment] v. 1. to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble; to foment discontent 2. to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments, etc., to (the surface of the body)

BIRTHDAY

Tiberius (42 BC), Eddie Condon (1905), Burgess Meredith (1908), Griff Rhys Jones (1953), Dwight Gooden (1964), Diana Krall (1964), Lisa Bonet (1967), Martha Plimpton (1970), Oksana Baiul (1977), Maggie Gyllenhaal (1977)

STANDPOINT

OK, so I had a whole big thing written about how modern society is making the free-thinking individual an endangered species, but, for once, I want to recollect my thoughts on it, and rewrite it. So it’ll be here tomorrow. Count on it.

“If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.”  – Albert Einstein

QUOTATION

Now I know the things I know, and I do the things I do; and if you do not like me so, to hell, my love, with you! → Dorothy Parker

TUNE

Recently, I’ve been giving a closer listen to Time To Die by The Dodos. I think “Two Medicines” is the best track on the album. I’ll probably change my mind by tomorrow. But right now, that’s my official stance.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ Man, does everyone have a sex tape nowadays? Carrie Prejean, the moron who used to be Miss Calfornia, apparently let an old boyfriend tape her masturbating. And now some porn company has a hold of it. Just a matter of time before it gets leaked, if it hasn’t all ready. People get rich over this kind of shit. Even in this economy.

→ I don’t care what you think. I’ll admit it. I have always loved Allen Iverson. His current debacle with the Memphis Grizzlies might, sadly, be his swan song in the NBA.

→ I used to do a segment on this blog named Annoying Sayings & Misused Words. Check out how Cracked.com ripped me off. Also, they probably did it better than I ever did.

Depuis le temps que je l’ai commencé, voici ma review .

Une fois de plus, je suis allée au ciné à l’aveuglette. Mais vraiment total aveuglette (Je vous le conseille fortement, je ne le dirai jamais assez)(cela dit je suis consciente que tout le monde ne paie pas 3,50€ ou n’a pas une carte illimitée). Sur le programme du cinéma “indie” de Dijon (où je veux aller depuis des années sans y arriver), j’ai lu que c’était dans la trempe de Juno et je ne sais plus quoi niveau mettage de bonne humeur, et je me suis dit banco, j’y vais jeudi.

Ensuite, j’ai lu que c’était un film de Sam Mendes. Youpi !

J’ai dû surmonter des épreuves telles que “on ne prend pas la carte en dessous de 18€” et “le guichet de la banque qui n’est pas la mienne va-t-il accepter de me donner de l’argent que je n’ai pas ? Et ce en 2 minutes chrono parce que le film va commencer”, mais j’y suis arrivée. Enfin. L’Eldorado (c’est le nom du ciné).

Mais passons au film.

Synopsis : Lorsque Burt et Verona apprennent qu’ils vont devenir parents, c’est la panique. Ils détestent la ville de province où ils habitent, et maintenant que les parents de Burt déménagent, plus rien ne les y retient. Ils décident alors de partir à la recherche de l’endroit parfait où fonder leur famille. Sur leur chemin, ils rendent visite à leur famille et à de vieux amis. Certains leur paraissent fous à lier, d’autres leur donnent envie de suivre leur modèle… Mais finalement, tous vont aider à leur manière Burt et Verona à réaliser qu’ils n’ont peut être besoin que l’un de l’autre pour fonder leur foyer.

Away we go sur Allociné.com

Away We Go est un film qui fait réfléchir sur la famille, mais sans prendre la tête (et avec ce sujet, ça peut vite arriver). Surtout sur la famille qu’on veut avoir. Chaque famille dont il vont croiser la route les aide vraiment à déterminer ce qu’ils veulent et surtout ce qu’ils ne veulent pas être, car c’est bien souvent comme ça qu’on se construit, en évitant/cessant d’être ce qu’on ne veut pas.

La BO est super, elle colle très bien à l’ambiance du film, folk, tranquille. Vous pouvez vous faire une petite idée par là.

L’avantage d’aller voir un film à l’aveuglette, c’est d’être surprise par le casting. Là, ma surprise, c’était Maggie Gyllenhaal, dans un rôle complètement dingue et très drôle. Caricature de hippie moderne (j’allais dire bobo, mais là c’est vraiment au-delà). Cette partie du film est sûrement la plus drôle, j’ai beaucoup ri et je n’étais pas la seule évidemment.

Le couple de potes de l’université est très touchant, tellement que je ne sais pas quoi en dire. L’ancienne patronne de Verona est… consternante. C’est terrible le nombre de trucs qu’elle dit devant ses enfants. On sent que si son mari a l’air d’apprécier la picole à ce point, c’est pas à cause de son taf ;o. Le frère de Burt est très émouvant aussi, il est complètement paumé après que sa femme soit partie et est convaincu qu’il ne sera pas à la hauteur pour leur fille. Oh et big up au gamin au cactus, qui sait ce qu’il faut faire avec les bébés xD.

Et puis parallèlement à tout ça, il y a Verona qui fait son deuil. Ses parents sont morts des années auparavant, et cette “quête de la famille parfaite” réveille ce qu’elle repoussait depuis tout ce temps.

Le petit fil rouge à propos des battements du coeur du bébé est très drôle aussi .

Les acteurs sont géniaux, rien de spécial à dire.

Bref, j’ai adoré ce film, encore plus que (500) Days of Summer, et si ça continue, je vais être fan de Sam Mendes sur the Face of Book (peut-être d’Alexi Murdoch aussi d’ailleurs). Je n’ai toujours pas vu Revolutionary Road, je sais c’est un scandale, mais bon je fais ce que je peux ;o ><.

Note perso sur IMDb : 9/10
Note globale sur IMDb : 7,5/10

What is in my mind the finest month for the movies is almost here!  Let Marshall guide you through the best and steer you away from the worst, but most of all enjoy!  The studios have been holding back their best movies all year to dump them all here, where they can get serious awards consideration.

December 4

A major Oscars wild-card is “Brothers.”  No one really knows what to make of it.  If the movie hits big, it could completely change the game.  But it could just fly under the radar like most expect it to now.  However, the trailer makes it look as if it the movie could be absolutely mind-blowing.  Directed by Jim Sheridan, who has received six Academy Award nominations, “Brothers” follows Grace Cahill (Natalie Portman) as she and her daughters deal with the loss of her husband, Sam (Tobey Maguire), in war.  Sam’s brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes to live with Grace to lend a helping hand.  But romantic sparks fly between the two at precisely the wrong time: the discovery that Sam is alive and coming home.  With the two brothers both tugging Grace’s heart for their share, a different type of sparks fly.

You have heard me say plenty about “Up in the Air.”  If you haven’t read my Oscar Moment on the movie or heard my bliss at the release of the trailer, let me give you one more chance to hope on the bandwagon.

But the movies don’t stop there.  ”Armored,” an action-drama that is tooting its own moral horn, starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne.  ”Everybody’s Fine” appears to be a holiday movie, so that might be worth checking out if you’re in the spirit.  The movie, a remake of a 1990 Italian film by the same name, stars Robert DeNiro as a widower who reconnects with his estrange children.  And “Transylmania” looks to cash in on the vampire craze sweeping the nation by satirizing it, but I doubt it will be financially viable because it is being released by a no-name studio and without any big names.

December 11

The highlight of the weekend for many will be “The Princess and the Frog,” Disney’s return to the traditional animation by hand musical.  The movie looks to capitalize on what we know and love Disney musicals for, adding some catchy tunes to a fairy tale we have known since childhood.  Anika Noni Rose, best known for her role as Lorrell in the film adaptation of “Dreamgirls,” lends her talented voice to the princess Tiana.  As a huge fan of “Dreamgirls” during the winter of 2006, I couldn’t think of someone better equipped to handle the sweet, soft Disney music (which isn’t designed for belters like Beyoncé or Jennifer Hudson).  That being said, the music won’t sound like anything you’ve ever heard from a Disney fairy tale.  It is being scored by Randy Newman, not Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” etc.), and will have a jazzy feel much like its setting, New Orleans.

This week also boasts the opening of three major Oscar players. Two have been featured in Oscar Moments, “Invictus” and “A Single Man.” The former opens nationwide this Friday, the latter only in limited release. I’ll repost the trailers below because they are worth watching. But read the Oscar Moment if you want to know more about the movies.

According to the people that matter, “The Lovely Bones” has all the pieces to make a great movie. But for summer reading two years ago, I read the source material, Alice Sebold’s acclaimed novel. I found it dreadfully melodramatic and very depressing without any sort of emotional payoff to reward the reader for making it through. But maybe Hollywood will mess up the novel in a good way. If any movie could, it would be this one. With a director like Peter Jackson and a cast including Saiorse Ronan (“Atonement”), Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, and Susan Sarandon, it could very well happen.  It opens in limited release on this date and slowly expands until its nationwide release on Martin Luther King Day weekend in 2010.

December 16

Due to the flop of “Amelia,” Fox Searchlight has moved “Crazy Heart” to 2009 in order to milk some awards out of this year (although they should have just pushed “(500) Days of Summer” harder!).  The movie stars Jeff Bridges as an aging alcoholic country singer and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the young journalist that falls for him.  Bridges has been nominated for four Oscars but has never won, so maybe the Academy will feel generous to him this year.

December 18

We will skip the big blockbuster to address what is perhaps my most anticipated movie of the season, “Nine.”  I’ve already devoted an Oscar Moment to it, but it deserves some more talk here.  I’ll just throw out some names.  Daniel Day-Lewis.  Marion Cotillard.  Penelope Cruz.  Nicole Kidman.  Judi Dench.  Sophia Loren.  Kate Hudson.  Fergie.  Director Rob Marshall.  At what name did you start thinking, “Get here now, December 18th, I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!”?

Most sites I read think “Avatar” is going to be a huge box office success.  However, I wonder how they can think that when I have not heard a single teenager talk about the movie at all.  That is a critical demographic to the success of this movie.  It is what made “Titanic” the highest grossing movie ever (unadjusted for inflation).  And without them, this movie will flop.  A bomb is something that director James Cameron and the head honchos at 20th Century Fox simply cannot have happen.  Let me hit you with a statistic that will make your jaw drop.  ”Avatar” cost nearly $500 million dollars to make.  No, I didn’t tack on an extra zero to that figure.  Half-a-billion dollars have been dropped on this movie, so they need to make a whole lot of money to make it a profitable venture.  I’m sure with worldwide totals and video receipts, they will undoubtedly break even.  But if it is going to be a bonanza, there has to be more to “Avatar” than the coolest visual effects ever.  And I’m not getting the feeling from the trailers that it has all that strong of a story.  But at this point, no one knows.

Guilty confession: I’m actually kind of looking forward to “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” The movie stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as married members of the New York elite who loathe each other. However, they are forced to spend a whole lot of time together when they see a murder and enter the Witness Protection Program in Wyoming. Sometimes these “fish out of water” comedies turn out to be quite funny. Plus, Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker usually have good taste when it comes to selecting movies.

And to help out a fledgling production company, Apparition, I’ll plug “The Young Victoria” with an embedded trailer.  If Martin Scorsese is pushing it, how bad can it be?

December 23

In order to get “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” out of a convoluted Christmas Day openers crowd, they moved it to Wednesday, December 23.  Honestly, who wants to debate if this movie will be good or not?  I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes more money than “Avatar” the way kids ate up the first installment.

December 25

Celebrate Christmas at the movies with your family like everyone else in America!  ”Nine” and “Up in the Air” will be opening nationwide today.

Nancy Meyers, the director of “The Holiday” and “The Parent Trap,” makes movies that are just plain enjoyable to watch.  ”It’s Complicated” doesn’t look to break that tradition.  I refuse to watch the trailer because I don’t want to ruin it, but the film’s poster shows Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin bearing smug expressions in a bed with the tagline “Divorced…with benefits” written on the sheets.  Featuring a cast that also includes Steve Martin and John Krasinski (“The Office”), this could be the perfect crowd-pleasing Christmas Day movie.

Also opening on Christmas Day is a reimagined “Sherlock Holmes,” directed by Guy Ritchie (yes, Maddona’s ex-husband).  I’m all for the fresh approach, especially because it includes Robert Downey, Jr.  I loved the smug touch he added to Tony Stark in “Iron Man,” and I’m sure he will bring the same energy to the timeless detective.  The movie will no doubt benefit from the presence of Jude Law as sidekick Watson and Rachel McAdams as a love interest for Sherlock.  Although the character has lost respectability over the past few years on the silver screen, this is a version that I am more than willing to get behind.

And it is with great sadness that I have to say that Heath Ledger’s last new movie, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,” will be released this day.  He passed while in production of the movie, and Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law stepped into finish the role.  The three stars donated their salary for the film to Ledger’s daughter, Matilda.  The movie seems to be quite a visual spectacle, and the eye-catching visuals could be a great complement to Ledger’s final performance.

December 30

The final release of 2009 is “The White Ribbon,” winner of the prestigious Palme D’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival this spring.  The film, directed by Michael Haeneke, follows a community in pre-World War I Germany as they deal with “the origins of terrorism,” as the director puts it.  It has been selected as Germany’s submission to the Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards this year, so it is definitely a player there.  But with quite literal universal acclaim, it could compete in more serious categories.

So, have you started planning how you are going to fit all these movies into your holiday schedules like me?  If not, at least do me the courtesy of telling me what movie you would see if you could only see one.

CRAZY HEART

Director: Scott Cooper

Reparto: Jeff Bridges, Colin Farrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, Sarah Jane Morris

Sinopsis: Bad Blake (Bridges) es un cantante de música country que vive una vida apartada de la sociedad, que ha pasado por demasiados matrimonios y ha tomado demasiado alcohol en su vida. Cuando parece que nada puede salvar la existencia de Bad, aparece Jean (Gyllenhall), una reportera que descubrirá al verdadero hombre tras esa dura apariencia.

I can’t wait to see this. Bridges is always cool and this has early rumblings for an Oscar.

Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who’s had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician.

It is directed by Scott Cooper and also stars Colin Farrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall and is out on 11th December.

Source: First Showing

madeleine via street hearts

this teacup from here

this cheeky swedish fish ad

via lula scrapbook

this photo

diptych via here

this photo via here

15 things worth knowing about coffee and this photo

apples and cute shoes via deviant art

maggie gyllenhaal’s outfit

Je n’arrive plus à comprendre Sam Mendes. Comment le cinéaste d’American Beauty a t-il pu tomber aussi bas ? Non pas qu’Away we go soit véritablement un film détestable. Je constate juste avec déception la chute de tension d’un cinéaste qui, clairement se laisse aller, et en arrive à nous pondre un film relativement bâclé, qui plus est de facture mineure. Où est l’homme qui a fait Les Sentiers de la perdition ? Avec Away we go, Sam Mendes semble renier tout son passé de cinéaste hollywoodien pour se ranger du côté de la production indépendante. On s’envole avec Burt et Verona, un couple de trentenaires qui s’apprête à accueillir un heureux évènement. Le but du voyage ? Trouver un nid et au passage, passer faire un petit coucou aux amis perdus de vue depuis longtemps.

Vous admettrez que le pitch est plutôt simple et promet une généreuse rasade de bons sentiments. Mendes glisse sur la même pente que Jason Reitman dont le très mauvais Juno traitait peu ou prou du même thème. Serait-ce la crise de la quarantaine ? Est-ce parce qu’il considère son cinéma trop adulte que Mendes l’infantilise aujourd’hui ? Nous sommes à des années lumières du regard clinique qui opérait dans Les Noces Rebelles, son film précédent. Certes, le sujet est toujours le même (le couple américain), et Away we go pourrait en un sens être considéré comme son antithèse : mari et femme ne sont plus cloitrés en banlieue et peuvent désormais partir en voyage initiatique pour leur bien être. En revanche, vous imaginez bien que l’issue sera cette fois bien plus légère.

Je ne serai pas cruel au point de dire que le film est bon à jeter. Away we go n’est pas désagréable en soi et Mendes y fait d’ailleurs preuve d’une gentille efficacité comique qu’on ne lui connaissait pas. Cependant on a préféré le voir traiter de sujets plus graves, loin de cette mise en scène rudimentaire qu’il pratique ici et qui plus d’une fois s’affale dans la caricature propre aux indépendants. Le travail photographique, pourtant si précis dans ses précédents films, est quant à lui curieusement passé à la trappe. Il semble d’ailleurs en avoir été de même concernant le point du vue de l’auteur, son intelligence acerbe s’acharnant à roupiller six pieds sous terre. Pas de doute, l’encéphalogramme général de son talent n’a jamais été aussi plat. Et si on passait vite à la résurrection ?

v

AWAY WE GO (USA, 2009) R. : Sam Mendes ; Sc. : Dave Eggers, Vendela Vida ; Ph. : Ellen Kuras ; M. : Alexi Murdoch ; Int. : John Krasinski (Burt Farlander), Maya Rudolph (Verona De Tessant), Carmen Ejogo (Grace De Tessant), Catherine O’Hara (Gloria Farlander), Jeff Daniels (Jerry Farlander), Allison Janney (Lily), Maggie Gyllenhaal (LN). Couleurs, 98mn.

Do you want your sister to lose weight? Tell her to get off the couch, stop eating twinkies and maybe go out for field hockey. You know what? No one ever knows what they want to be when they grow up. You know it takes a little, little while to find that out, right, Jim? And you… yeah, you. Sick of some jerk shoving your head down the toilet? Well, you know what? Maybe… you should lift some weights, or uh, take a karate lesson and the next time he’s tries to do it, you kick him in the balls.

– Donnie

I have no interest in seeing Richard Kelly’s latest movie, The Box. I thought I would go back to the movie that launched his career, Donnie Darko. Seeing this movie a mere handful of times over the years, I still find little nuggets that I hadn’t noticed in previous viewings. Overall, the movie that currently sits at #124 movie of All Time on IMdb is showing its age.

Taking place during October 1988, Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a Middlesex young man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. He has stopped taking his medication. He begins getting strange visits from a guy in a deranged-looking bunny suit, Frank (James Duval) that tells him that the world will end on All Hollow’s Eve.

Frank instructs Donnie as he sleepwalks to ask him to do bad things around the neighborhood, which afterwards he doesn’t remember what he has done the previous night. During one of his sleepwalks; a 747-airplane engine mysteriously crashes through Donnie’s bedroom. Dr. Thurman (Katharine Ross), the therapist that tries to help Donnie hypnotizes him to get to the core of his delusions.

During English teacher Karen Pomeroy’s (Drew Barrymore) discussion about Graham Greene’s short story “The Destructors”; a new girl, Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone) comes into class. Donnie is immediately drawn to the emotionally damaged girl.

On the drive home, Darko car almost hits Ms. Sparrow aka “Grandma Death” (Patience Cleveland) when she is constantly checking her mailbox. She whispered some chilling words in his ear that set the movie into motion. Donnie seeks the advice of Dr. Monnitoff (Noah Wyle) about time travel and portals.

The conservative gym teacher, Miss Farmer (Beth Grant), who teaches the ways of self-help guru Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze) urges the parents to help stop “subversive materials” in the classroom that influences the kids. She might have a point when Donnie is urged from Frank to break the water main at his private school.

Donnie begins to lose control of reality when small wormholes form from the chests people around him. The intentions of Frank become more sinister as the 30th comes up. Life begins to spin out of control.

The themes of life, faith, the very existence on this Earth went completely over my head the other times that I have seen this movie. The movie is still as disturbing as ever about a boy that doesn’t want to exist in this world. The only complain I have is that the CGI is a little wonky.

Judgment: An impressive film about a troubled young man.

Rating: ****

Just took my 11 year old on the twisted and freaky Donnie Darko ride. We’re both going to bed so confused. Perhaps it is all summed up in the lyrics “And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad, the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had. Mad World.”I wonder if Richard Kelly wrote the whole screenplay based on those lyrics, or it just occured to him after he shot the film that this TEARS FOR FEARS song got it so right. (Funny there is this whole subtext in the story about FEARS and how they hold us back.) I think it is such a great film and Jake Gyllenhaal and his sister Maggie are so amazing. So the week has finally closed. It is 35 minutes into Saturday morning now. I had an interesting week. I managed to sneak away to the Tate Museum to see the Baldesarri show, which i enjoyed but, well, not worth writing home about, or in more modern times I guess one would say, not worth blogging about. I managed to work out with Adonis three whole hours this week, so that’s an achievement. I managed to write and sell some shlocky scripts for household cleaners. I managed to have breakfast with a new best friend candidate. A brazillian photographer with a sweet energy and some pain. I managed to get through another week with a 9 week old puppy. I managed to have a colleague over for dinner. A big thing for me. I managed to go with my wife to Leicester Square to see a movie: Broken Embraces.  Visited the dermatologist. Had an adult conversation with my financial guy in New York. Christ I even went to a puppy training class in Maida Vale, with son and puppy.  Visited my favorite video store again, hence the Donnie Darko rental. Wow, what a difference NOT travelling makes eh ? I can actually do things and enjoy life a little bit. And tomorrow evening we are triple dating with some old jewish friends from way way back. Hedgefund managers and their wives, my kinda people. Not. But yeah, there you have it.

Una pareja de treintañeros se ve sorprendida por el embarazo en mitad de un cunnilingus. A partir de aquí, los dos protagonistas, deberán decidir qué hacer con sus vidas. Formar el mejor hogar posible. Una familia. Para ello, rebuscarán en su pasado e improvisarán en su futuro a través del presente.

Un presente materializado en un viaje por la geografía estadoudinense, un viaje  en busca de su hogar. Un viaje por Phoenix, Tucson, Madison, Montreal y Miami. Un viaje en el que contemplar diversos tipos de hogar. En Phoenix, una familia destrozada por la depresión crónica del padre, y la desfachatez sonrojante de la madre. En Tucson, una hermana a la que consolar por un pasado muy nostálgico y un presente triste. En Madison, una prima y su novio que viven en continuum con sus hijos, es decir, en plan hippie pedante. En Montreal unos antiguos compañeros de facultad ahogados en la tristeza de no poder tener hijos propios. Y en Miami, un hermano destrozado por el abandono de su esposa y el futuro incierto de la hija de ambos.

De todo ello, los dos protagonistas aprenderán. Comprenderán que lo importante por encima de todo es el amor. Da igual si la ventana de la casa es del mejor material del mundo o de cartón. Un hogar no se cimenta en lo material, sino en lo sentimental. El amor, la añoranza por el pasado y el deseo de un futuro mejor se darán de la mano en esta cinta otoñal que habla acerca de la vida, acerca de la familia, acerca de las parejas. Bonita película de Sam Mendes que, una vez más, vuelve a romper el mito del sueño americano.

[Click here for a guide to Booze Revooze and the rating system used]

It’s not really ‘rock’, but it’s good folk tuneage and it is from  the soundtrack: Alexi Murdoch – Orange Sky

[From the Juiced-box and the beautiful soundtrack, press 'Play' to play it]

Ramblings: Away We Going, Going, Gone

Final Proof: 4 Shots

You know how you go to a bar and you meet strangers you’ve always known? Sometimes you’re just hanging out and you feel comfortable and it’s not because of the place so much but because of the people. The people feel like home. They’re people you can identify with, people so sincere you want to spend more time with them because they don’t care who you are as long as you are. The kind of patron that can make any bar your bar just because they’re there. They talk and you can’t stop punctuating their sentences with “Exactly” because everything out of their mouths is in your heart. They’re the kind of people that make you want to have another drink with them because they’ve got your back and you’ve got it all in common with them. That’s the way it is with Away We Go.

i was a little buzzed on two bottles of wine (one at lunch and one at home after work), dozed off in the movie and i still give it four shots. Away We Go is just that good.

Sam Mendes is English but nobody’s perfect.

He dated, among others, Rachel Weisz and Calista Flockart but i won’t hold that against him. He’s married to Kate Winslet and i’d like to hold it against her. Why am i babbling unnecessarily about him? Because he did a freaking great job.

i’m not gonna be some anal film critic who takes you back into Mendes’ childhood and tells you about his wet dreams involving his mother and how he made the stunning American Beauty and then some other film called Revolutionary Road. i’m gonna leave that to the smart people ’cause i got too much drink on and his history isn’t my business. Alls i got to say is that he’s finished his “American Trilogy” in style.

That he can do so well with so many different kinds of movies is a testament to his talent. American Beauty was this polished though quirky american tragedy, while Away We Go was an “indie” film in every respect except for the funding. Still, you couldn’ta guessed it wasn’t a real movie by watching it.

Another thing. The writers of this movie (Dave Eggers, Vendela Vida) did super work. First off, it’s not based on a comic book and god knows i’m pumped to see any movie where a writer hasn’t simply done a ‘cut & paste’ from a graphic novel but actually had an original thought and was able to translate that idea into a full length film. Not only that, but the screenplay was dead on–clever, catchy and oh my god so insightful.

For example, i’m a guy.

Miss Demeanor and i had a huge talk on the way back from the theater and i was trying to remember where i’d heard this (Miss D denies it came from her but i’m not so sure); all i know is i’m not clever enough to have thought this up on my own: Guys never completely grow up.

It’s a sad and twisted reality, and realizing it makes me pity women all the more because they have to put up with this gender that has tons of power in the modern world despite the little boy inside of us that never really goes away. Understanding this gesture from them is one of the secrets to understanding the benevolence of women.

It’s like a father who brings his kid into the bar and gives him tons of quarters to play the video games but no mattter what, the brat is always there bugging you when you’re trying to do adult things like have another round and flirt with the hot waitress who’s only flirting back because she knows you’re drunk enough to believe she’s flirting and has to worry about the tip your drunk ass is going to give her. She’s putting up with, dealing with and even encouraging the little boy in you because women are just that generous.

This acceptance on the female gender’s behalf is demonstrated flawlessly in Away We Go. The insights to relationships here is handled with such dexterity you feel like you’re getting a handjob.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: 1 Shot

The movie begins with Burt (John Krasinski) under the sheet and giving head to his partner and no-way wife Verona (Maya Rudolph). Then he talks to her about how she tastes ‘different’ and in trying to ally her discomfort, they realize she’s pregnant. Very cute start to the flick and from there it only gets better.

For example, Maggie Gyllenhaal is in the movie:

And as far as the sex goes, Maggie appears on screen breast feeding her 6-year-old kid because her character is hippie that way. Here’s what it looks like in real life:

Got Milk?

We’ve also got Melanie Lynskey (who i ‘ve already posted hot shots of in my The Informant post here):

Another pretty talent in the film is Carmen Ejogo (as Verona’s sister Grace):

Leggo My Ejogo

Plus, you know me, i’m all about the Silken Butterflies: those beautiful and talented girls who grace the screen with their splendor during their oh so fleeting appearances on film. Here’s to hoping we see lots more of them.

Here’s the young Katherine Vaskevich:

To round of the talent section of the show, there was a cameo by the tragically uncredited Sari Gagnon:

Best of luck, ladies.

Drink: ½ Shot

A couple brief references…

1. In the airport when meeting someone’s sister, Burt gives the brother-in-law a bottle of wine and he takes off right then and there to find a corkscrew.
2. On the way to a party/bar, they drink while riding in the car and make a forgettable toast.

Rock & Roll: 0 Shots

No rock, but the folk soundtrack suits the movie perfectly. Here’s another Alexi Murdoch song from the Juiced-box:

Boring Technical Crap

Written by: Dave Eggers, Vendela Vida

Directed by: Sam Mendes

Starring

Maya Rudolph – Verona De Tessant

John Krasinski – Burt Farlander

Maggie Gyllenhaal – LN

Carmen Ejogo – Grace De Tessant

Melanie Lynskey – Munch Garnett

Katherine Vaskevich – Katya

Sari Gagnon – College Student (uncredited )

Bottom Line

Definitely see it.